Serve these Baked Mozzarella Sticks on a summer snack platter when friends or family stop by. These nutty Baked Mozzarella Sticks can even be made ahead and frozen so you always have some on hand when company stops by unexpectedly.
Preheat the oven to 425 F. and prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Brush the parchment paper on one of the sheet pans with the 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Set this sheet pan aside to use to bake the mozzarella stick on. The other sheet pan will be used to freeze the mozzarella sticks on.
Unwrap the mozzarella cheese sticks and place them in a single layer on the ungreased baking sheet. Place the mozzarella sticks in the freezer for 20 minutes so the mozzarella sticks can firm up.
Put the Blue Diamond Nut-Thins crackers in a zip topped bag. Using a rolling pin or the bottom of a heavy glass crush the crackers into fine crumbs.
Add the shredded Parmesan cheese, the garlic powder, and the chili powder to the bag. Close the bag and knead to combine the spices with the cracker crumbs.
In a small bowl beat the egg with the milk and set aside.
Remove the baking tray from the freezer. Immediately dip each mozzarella stick one at a time into the egg and milk mixture. Drop each egg coated cheese stick into the bag with the cracker crumbs and shake well until the mozzarella stick is coated on all sides. Place each crumb-coated mozzarella stick onto the greased baking sheet in a single layer.
Repeat until all mozzarella sticks are covered in the seasoned cracker crumbs.
Place the baking pan into the preheated oven and bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until the mozzarella sticks are golden brown. Remove the baked mozzarella stick from the oven before they start melting and spreading.
Serve with Sabra Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.
Recipe Expert Tips
Follow steps 2 through 7 to make freezer meal Baked Mozzarella Sticks. Once all the cheese sticks have been coated in crumbs place the baking sheet into the freezer. Freeze the dipped and coated cheese stick for at least an hour.
Once frozen solid place the cheese sticks into a freezer bag and store in the freezer until ready to use.
To bake the frozen cheese sticks remove from the freezer and thaw 15 minutes and bake following step 8 directions.