These Easy Mozzarella Sticks Use Tortillas To Come Together In Minutes

Mozzarella sticks are a top-tier snack, a perfect combination of crispy, buttery breading that gives way to ooey, gooey cheese. But they're also admittedly a bit of a process to make at home, and they're not the healthiest dish in the world. So, what if we told you that you can make a twist on mozzarella sticks in under 10 minutes and a handful of ingredients — and that because you're in control of these ingredients and are using less oil and breading, the results are a snack you can enjoy more frequently? The secret is tortillas.

Changing your breading is a tasty way to upgrade mozzarella sticks, but tortillas in particular achieve this with the added advantage of effortlessness. Simply grab mozzarella string cheese and roll each one in a tortilla — smaller ones are best, like taco or fajita tortillas — tucking in the sides for a neat, contained finish. Then you'll brush them with a mixture of butter or oil and any spices and seasonings you want and pop them into the air fryer for about eight minutes. For even faster results, you can microwave these roll-ups. You'll still get satisfyingly melty cheese on the inside, although the air fryer creates that crispy, golden shell out of the tortilla. This is our new favorite two-ingredient hack for fast, delicious mozzarella sticks, and it helps that you can customize those two ingredients pretty endlessly. Use low-carb or gluten-free tortillas, for example, or skim or vegan cheese.

Once you get the hang of air-fryer mozz sticks made with just string cheese and tortillas, it's time to get creative. The options extend far past being able to tailor this snack to any dietary restrictions or preferences. You can change up your tortillas for flavor variations, switching between flour and corn or even using homemade spinach tortillas. Play with the cheese, too — we know these are literally called "mozzarella sticks," but you can get the same kind of snack with a fresh flavor profile by utilizing something like colby jack cheese sticks (colby jack is another cheese that melts well).

Where you can really try different things is in spices, seasonings, and sauces. You can make your best mozzarella sticks yet with one extra step: taking just a few extra minutes to make a dip. Keep it traditional by mixing garlic, basil, oregano, or red pepper flakes — or all of the above — into the butter or oil you brush the tortillas with, and pair the end results with marinara sauce. Use rosemary, thyme, and garlic, and dip the sticks into a coordinating garlic aioli. Try cilantro, chili powder, and jalapeño powder, with salsa or guacamole. Lean into heat with spicy peppers rolled into your cheese sticks, and complement that with cooling ranch. You can even go in a sweeter direction with jellies and jams as a dip. Try pepper jelly, or even something fruity like fig or apricot jam.