Baked Mozzarella Bites

I froze the pieces as recommended and used cornstarch to help the panko adhere.  Bake time easily was 5-8 minutes and even then the pieces were not warm in the middle.  Flavor-wise they were a little boring.  If I made these again, I'd add some onion or garlic powder and salt to the panko coating.

Just made these and the flavor is great. I did slightly toast the Panko but also had the same challenge to get the Panko to stick to the cheese. Will try the cornstarch next time. I also sprayed a mini muffin pan and baked them in that. They did not loose their shape Definitely worth perfecting for the next time.

Awesome! I used whole wheat panko, one egg and light string cheese, which didn't melt quite as much as part-skim would but was still delicious. I also took the advice of another reviewer and rubbed a little cornstarch on the sticks before coating in egg and the panko stuck very well. I had left over panko, though, enough to coat two more sticks, which makes me wonder if the coating was meant to be thicker. Great for a healthy snack to share with my sister, who had been craving these all day!

Great flavor and easy! Froze cheese sticks in advance, then sliced. I used Italian seasoned breadcrumbs and a real egg. Cracked the egg in a small bowl and poured breadcrumbs into a mound on waxed paper. Used a fork to dip each cheese bite into egg, then while still on the fork, dipped into breadcrumb mound. Used a butter knife to gently push off onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Used chunky garden spaghetti sauce for dipping. My son loved them! The key is not to go over 3 minutes, because the cheese will blob. They may not appear done at 3 minutes, but they will be. Great snack!

Like others I found the panko didn't stick very well to the cheese. I really pressed hard to get it to stick and that worked better than the egg wash. After that they were delicious. I would make these again. Really helps kick the snack food craving.

This looks good. JackieBlue had the right idea for aiding the sticking of the crumbs. Cooks' Illustrated (America's Test Kitchen on PBS) has the go-to sticking-aid of cornstarch. So, coat the cheese (or chicken or whatever you're trying to "crumb") with cornstarch (lightly!), THEN dip in egg or milk or whatever liquid is called for, then in crumbs. Cornstarch doesn't add any distinct flavor/taste, but it definitely helps the stickiness of any kind of crumbing. Haven't tried this yet, but sounds yummy. Will try the freezer trick.

We loved these & they're as good as the fried in restaurants, but feel lighter & "cleaner" to eat, if that makes sense. These were NOT sticks - they melted into patties, & we're surprised this wasn't acknowledged or remedied in the recipe. Next time we'll put them in the freezer before baking (not sure how long - experiment w/the time), as that should help them keep their shape - restaurants do this before frying their mozzarella sticks. But the shape doesn't matter when it tastes so good, & these are a real treat as a substitute for fried. We tried them w/panko & corn flake crumbs, & both were great in their own way (panko: more crunchy, corn flake crumbs: finer & coat better). When coating, 1 person should do the egg mixture dipping, & another the crumb dipping, as that will help the crumbs stick better (eggy hands will make a mess of the crumbs) - but the idea is to have a light coat anyway. Add Italian seasoning to crumbs for more flavor (no salt necessary - cheese adds enuf salt).

I have to admit that when the planko crumbs were not sticking to the cheese very well, I became doubtful. It turned out rather well though, and my son LOVED them!

So easy to make and we always have the ingredients on hand. Lighter than those in a restaurant or store-bought. No issue with the Panko sticking to the cheese. Our go-to easy appetizer.

The were yummy, but really messy to make. I won't make them again unless forced. :)

A few things will make these successful. 1. Cut the string cheese and freeze for a couple of hours. This prevents them from becoming "cheese blobs". 2. Dip the frozen cheese sticks in seasoned flour (garlic powder, pepper, italian seasoning), then egg, then panko 3. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking.

This recipe is a nice idea, but overall I didn't really feel like they were worth it. I had a hard time getting the bread crumbs to stick to the cheese. They were ok, but if I've got a craving for mozzarella sticks I'm going to save them for a splurge night. Be careful to really watch these when they're in the oven. I forgot about them for a second and the melted all over the place.

The taste was great, kids loved them but agree with earlier poster that they are hard to get the panko to stick to the cheese. I used a light string cheese (Sargento) made with 2% milk and I wonder if thats what caused the trouble. Maybe the regular string cheese is a little less smooth on the exterior and the egg white sticks better- I am going to try some different cheese stick varieties next time. When scooping off the pan I was able to remold them into bites instead of blobs as a few had started to melt too much. One small plate, one bowl and a pan later, my kids really enjoyed the snack they they helped make on this chilly afternoon!

My daughter was so excited for these, but they were really disappointing. The panko breadcrumbs did not stick on the cheese at all, and I don't think string cheese makes a good substitute for fresh mozzarella. I will not make these again.

Just made these this afternoon for my two girls, 9 & 7. We loved them. Followed the directions exactly. Used Sargento string cheese, made sure to buy the sticks that were 1 oz each. Lined my baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up. They were perfect after 3 minutes. We gobbled them up. Definitely will make again.

Oh my goodness . . . these are divine! And very easy to make. This will be a regular menu item for college football-watching parties this fall!

The taste was good, but they turned out as "cheese blobs" instead of "cheese bites." I would not make them again due to the mess.

I thought these were pretty good. I used Italian-flavored panko, and a low sugar marinara. It was a good tasting treat. I probably won't make them again, because I am on a diet, constantly, and I like them too much!

We really enjoy mozarella sticks, and I was ecstatic when C.L. put a recipe in their Aug 2011 magazine to prepare them at home as a snack. I tried this recipe this week and I thought that the prep time was actually a lot of work / dirty a lot of dishes for a snack. Plus, the prep time took a lot longer than it suggests; esp for the bread crumb toasting. When the sticks came out of the oven they first weren't soft at all - 1 minute later they had goobered all over the cookie sheet and were not reminiscent of anything other than melted cheese with breadcrumbs stuck all over. They were somewhat tasty, but bland and really just a disaster to make and eat - we (unfortunately) will not be making again. Good try C.L. - but I guess some things just can't really be made to be "light" in the end and taste / turn out the same....

These were so good! I will totally make them again. My kids loved them.