Fried mozzarella cakes with one broken open to show the cheese on a white plate next to a white bowl of marinara sauce with a brown towel in the background all on a dark wooden surface (with logo overlay)

Fried Mozzarella Cakes

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Use fresh mozzarella with a delicious mixture of seasonings and breading to make your own fried mozzarella cakes at home.

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Anyone who’s ever gone out to eat with me can tell you that fried mozzarella sticks are my favorite appetizer. When I was in high school, my best friend and I would rate the local restaurants based on their mozzarella sticks. I decided to try to make something similar at home. It ended up as mozzarella cakes, but it was still just as good.

I could seriously make a meal out of mozzarella cakes or sticks. And overall, I don’t like or eat a lot of fried foods. But fry me up some mozzarella cheese and I am all over it!

When we made our Mozzarella (Not So) Flatbread, we ended up with extra fresh mozzarella cheese. Justin cut a few pieces off and would eat them with tomatoes to make a Caprese salad. But we still had a lot. 

Young boy in glasses holding a piece of mozzarella cheese covered with oil and seasonings over three white bowls with ingredients for making fried mozzarella cakes

One night we decided that we should make some fried mozzarella with the cheese. We thought about cutting it into strips to make them into sticks, but that was more work and we were feeling lazy.

So, instead, we just cut slices off of the large block of cheese and breaded them just like that and made fried mozzarella cakes out of them. Then, of course, we had to dip them in a delicious marinara sauce. Fried mozzarella just isn’t complete without sauce!

Fried Mozzarella Cakes

Fried Mozzarella Cakes Step by Step

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup oil (for frying)
  • 8 oz mozzarella cheese (fresh)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp basil
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Preparation

In a large skillet, heat your frying oil over medium heat. The exact amount of oil you need will depend on the size of pan that you have. You want enough oil that it will cover about half of the cakes once they are in there. 

Slice the mozzarella cheese into pieces that are about 1/2 inch thick. 

Slices of fresh mozzarella cheese on a bamboo cutting board

In one small bowl, mix the olive oil and seasonings. Use three more bowls to add the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs to their own bowls. 

Young boy's hands dipping sliced fresh mozzarella cheese into white bowls filled with oil and seasonings, flour, egg, and breadcrumbs

For each piece of cheese, bread it by going down the line. Start with the oil mixture, then the flour, followed by the eggs, and finally the breadcrumbs. Continue the process with all of the cheese.

Sliced mozzarella cheese next to one breaded piece on a bamboo cutting board with white bowls of flour, egg, and breadcrumbs in the background all on a wooden surface

Once the cheese is ready and the oil is hot, carefully set each piece of cheese in the oil and fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side. 

Breaded slices of fresh mozzarella frying in oil in a medium frying pan over a gas stovetop

Remove the fried cheese from the pan and place it on paper towels or a cooling rack to absorb some of the oil. 

Serve the fried mozzarella cakes warm with marinara sauce. 

Fried mozzarella cakes with one broken open to show the cheese on a white plate next to a white bowl of marinara sauce with a brown towel in the background all on a dark wooden surface (vertical)

Recipe

Originally Published On: September 11, 2018

Last Updated On: September 22, 2019

Fried mozzarella cakes with one broken open to show the cheese on a white plate next to a white bowl of marinara sauce with a brown towel in the background all on a dark wooden surface

Fried Mozzarella Cakes

Use fresh mozzarella with a delicious mixture of seasonings and breading to make your own fried mozzarella cakes at home.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course:
Appetizer
Cuisine:
Italian
Keyword:
cheese
|
fried
|
mozzarella
Servings: 12
4.75 from 8 votes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup oil (for frying)
  • 8 oz mozzarella cheese (fresh)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp basil
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Recommended Equipment

Instructions

  • In a large skillet, heat the frying oil over medium heat
  • Slice the mozzarella cheese into pieces about 1/2 inch thick
  • In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, basil, and oregano
  • In three more small bowls, pour the flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs into one bowl each
  • Take each piece of cheese and coat it first with the oil and seasonings, then the flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs
  • Once the oil is ready, place the breaded cheese in the oil and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side
  • Remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack or paper towels to absorb some of the oil
  • Serve warm with marinara sauce
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Nutrition Facts
Fried Mozzarella Cakes
Amount Per Serving (1 piece)
Calories 218 Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 4g20%
Cholesterol 42mg14%
Sodium 162mg7%
Potassium 39mg1%
Carbohydrates 8g3%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 179IU4%
Calcium 109mg11%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Photographers in Training

Lately, Tyler and Ryan have wanted to take photos of the recipes as we take them. We’ve started letting them use the camera and learn how to use it. I thought it would be fun to include some of their photos here, too.

Fried mozzarella cakes with one broken open to show the cheese on a white plate in front of a white bowl of marinara sauce with a brown towel in the background all on a dark wooden surface that you can see the edge of in the foreground
We are working with them to make sure they are only photographing what they want to see, not the edge of the table.
Fried mozzarella cakes with one broken open to show the cheese on a white plate near the edge of the frame in front of a white bowl of marinara sauce with a brown towel in the background all on a dark wooden surface
Tyler likes to move some of the food and dishes around to work on the composition of the shot.
Lizard seen on a window through the open slats of blinds looking out to a green back yard
And we were apparently distracted by a lizard on the window outside!

22 thoughts on “Fried Mozzarella Cakes”

  2. Marjie Mare

    5 stars
    My younger daughter Yanah will love that recipe. It’s simple and I will just share with her so she can make them. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  3. Flossie McCowald

    Whoa, a four-step breading process? I was thinking more the usual 2-step one I do (ok, a variation on a 2-step process since obviously you are you and not me!) – but those extra steps must make these truly amazing! I can see the herbs in the pulled-apart-cake pic, and can just imagine how incredible they must taste!!!

    Reply
  11. Glenda

    5 stars
    Those fried mozzarella sticks look so delicious. I am sure my son and husband will love these for sure! I will definitely be trying out this recipe.

    Reply
  15. Tycie

    3 stars
    These looked so good but I was super disappointed when I made them. They fell apart and were super soggy from the oil. None of the cheese stayed in the breading. I don’t know I did something wrong or if it just can’t be done by us ordinary people, but I’ve been able to fry just about everything else successfully so no I have no idea what went wrong here.

    Reply
    1. Stephanie Lynch

      Oh man, definitely disappointing. I have a few thoughts on it since I am not one who generally does a lot of frying either. Did you make sure the oil was hot before adding the mozzarella cakes? I know the few times I’ve tried to fry something before it was ready it gave the cheese inside too much time to melt before the outside was cooked. On a similar note, don’t leave them in for too long for the same reason. My other idea would be if too much egg was left on the cheese when dipping and not enough flour and breadcrumbs to really get a good coating without that being too runny. My last question would be what type of cheese did you use? We used fresh mozzarella, but not the kind in a block, the softer kind that you can slice. I hope these ideas help and it’s more successful for you next time!

      Reply
  17. Lee Ann

    5 stars
    I air fried these at 400 degrees. I sprayed them with cooking spray, fried for 3 minutes then flipped them over and fried 2 minutes more. They were delicious!

    Reply
  18. jeanettes

    Wow, these were delicious. My whole family loves them. I now have them every day for lunch. Thanks for such an amazing post about food. We loved it… Thanks for the recipe!!!

    Reply
  19. Melissa

    I just made this and it’s delicious. Just a heads up, do not use too much oil to fry them. I did that at first and the oil never got hot enough and the cheese melted out. Once I used the correct about of oil in a smaller pan, that came out great. Ty for the recipe. Served the over pasta and sauce and my big fuzzy man was quite happy

    Reply

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