What To Eat With Mozzarella Sticks
Mozzarella sticks are comfort food and the ultimate crowd-pleaser — the crispy breadcrumb coating with gooey mozzarella cheese inside make cheese sticks everyone’s favorite!
While mozzarella sticks are good on their own, sometimes you need to pair them with another dish for a wholesome and nutritious meal.
What to eat with mozzarella sticks? You can serve mozzarella sticks alongside your favorite salad, pickles, guacamole, fish and chips, and garlic bread. They are also delicious served with grilled chicken, steak, vegetables, mac and cheese, tomato soup, and your favorite stew.
Continue reading to learn more about the most delicious mozzarella stick pairings. In this article, we also tell you which sauces go well with mozzarella sticks and what to do with leftovers!
What To Serve With Mozzarella Sticks — Delicious Sides
You may be surprised to learn that mozzarella sticks have their roots in France.
While commonly regarded as a purely American thing, mozzarella sticks have their origin in Paris! French people have fried cheese sticks in oil starting from the late 14th century.
Mozzarella sticks became widely popularized in the United States in the late 1970s and have been a staple in fast food restaurant menus ever since.
But mozzarella sticks aren’t simply a fast food staple — they pair just as well with homemade meals. Depending on what sides you choose to serve with mozzarella sticks, you can serve them for lunch, dinner, as an appetizer, or snack!
1. Fresh Salad
Pairing mozzarella sticks with a bowl of refreshing and light salad is a good idea if you find mozzarella sticks to be too calorific and high-fat for your liking.
You can pair them with any salad you like — a garden salad and a fresh tomato salad are two of the best options.
You can also make a salad with the greens and vegetables you have at home at the moment!
Using mozzarella sticks as a salad ingredient is also an option. You can use lettuce leaves, cherry tomatoes, tortilla chips, and a creamy mayonnaise mustard dressing.
2. Guacamole
If you think the sauces and condiments that are typically served with mozzarella sticks are boring and want to branch out, serve them with guacamole!
This classic Mexican dip goes perfectly with cheese sticks. You can use store-bought or freshly made guacamole, but for better flavor and texture, we do recommend you make it yourself.
Making guacamole takes very little time and only a few ingredients — all you need is a ripe avocado, chopped tomatoes, red onion, lime or lemon juice, and cilantro!
You can also add some heat to this avocado dip by using some jalapeno or chili peppers in it.
3. Steak
Potatoes are one of the most popular side dishes served with steaks, but steak and potatoes can get boring if you eat this combination often.
You can change things up and serve mozzarella sticks with steak for dinner!
We recommend having a side of vegetables too for color and freshness.
And if you want it all, serve mozzarella sticks with steak alongside roasted, baked, boiled, or fried potatoes.
4. Mac And Cheese
If the cheese in mac and cheese is not enough for you, serve it with mozzarella sticks!
Creamy mac and cheese paired with crispy mozzarella sticks is everything a cheese lover needs.
Whenever you are making baked mac and cheese, top the macaroni mixture with mozzarella sticks before you put the baking dish into the oven.
Doing this not only takes your mac and cheese to the next level, but also warms up the mozzarella sticks and makes the cheese inside soft and gooey.
5. Pickles
For occasions when you will be serving mozzarella sticks as an appetizer, serve them with pickles.
Pickles go well with not only both fried and baked mozzarella sticks, but also with meats and a variety of other dishes.
Serve the pickles of your choice with mozzarella sticks — we think pickled cucumbers and peppers are two of your best options.
The refreshing and acidic flavor of pickles is what you need in between bites of cheesy mozzarella sticks.
6. Stew
Stews are hearty meals that leave you full — they are also very nutritious and a lot healthier than fried food!
However, stews are not always that exciting.
Serve mozzarella sticks with stew to get your family members excited about dinner!
Whether you are serving a meat or vegetable stew, mozzarella sticks will go well with it. You can even dip the cheese sticks in the stew if you like!
7. Caesar Salad
Caesar salad served with mozzarella sticks is a good option for both lunch and dinner!
You can pair mozzarella sticks with a classic Caesar salad or variations that include chicken, bacon, or shrimp.
Mozzarella sticks pairs nicely with all the ingredients in Caesar salad and adds a nice crunch to it.
If you don’t want to make the salad, make Caesar salad dressing and serve it as a dipping sauce for mozzarella sticks.
8. Tomato Soup
Mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce are a match made in heaven — just like tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.
If you can’t decide between these two iconic combinations, eat tomato soup with mozzarella sticks and get the best of both worlds!
Dip the cheese sticks in the tomato soup just as you would do with marinara sauce — you might even like the warm tomato soup better for dipping the cheese sticks!
9. Grilled Chicken
Chicken is one of the most versatile food products thanks to its neutral flavor.
It works well with a variety of ingredients, including different types of cheese.
If you have already decided that you will be making mozzarella sticks for dinner, but still don’t know what you will be serving with them, go with the safest choice — grilled chicken breasts!
10. Fish And Chips
If there is one thing that can make fish and chips even better, it’s mozzarella sticks!
Having a crispy golden coating, mozzarella sticks fit in perfectly with the combination of crispy fish fillets and fries.
Mozzarella sticks not only look good alongside the popular British meal, but they also pair well with any sauce you choose to serve it with.
If fried mozzarella sticks served with fish and chips are too unhealthy for your liking, bake all of the components of this meal. Baked mozzarella sticks served with baked fish and chips will taste and look just as great!
11. Garlic Bread
Garlic bread served with mozzarella sticks is perfectly served as an appetizer or side dish — both are easy to make and complement each other quite well.
Garlic bread turns out delicious and fragrant whether you use fresh or roasted garlic for it. You can even use garlic butter!
Get a baguette or ciabatta, soften some butter and mix it with garlic. Spread the butter and garlic mixture on the bread sliced in half lengthwise. Bake until golden and crispy.
12. Crispy Vegetables
Whenever you decide to serve vegetables with mozzarella sticks, it is good to make them crispy too.
Make crispy breaded green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, mushroom caps, eggplant, etc.
You will achieve the crispiest results if you deep-fry the vegetables. But if you want to keep things on the healthy side, bake them in the oven.
Crispy breaded vegetables, mozzarella sticks, and classic marinara sauce make an amazing appetizer platter.
13. Eggs
You can eat mozzarella sticks with eggs for lunch and even breakfast if you are feeling like it.
Mozzarella sticks will go well with fried or scrambled eggs, an omelet, and eggs benedict, so you can cook the eggs in your preferred way.
You can add other foods to your plate to complete it, including a handful of mixed greens, tomatoes, fried bacon, etc.
Best Sauces For Mozarella Sticks
Mozzarella sticks are typically served with marinara sauce. Marinara is a tomato-based sauce flavored with garlic, onion, and herbs.
While marinara goes perfectly with mozzarella sticks, sometimes you might want to change things up a bit!
Here are some other sauces you can eat with mozzarella sticks:
What To Do With Leftover Mozarella Sticks
Mozzarella sticks are perfectly crispy when they are freshly made and the cheese inside is gooey and stringy when the sticks are still warm, so its usually unlikely that you’ll have any leftovers.
But what should you do if you have made too many mozzarella sticks and now you don’t know what to do with the leftovers? Save them for later, of course!
When the mozzarella sticks have cooled down, transfer them into an airtight container or plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 7 days.
Sitting in the fridge for a few days causes mozzarella sticks to lose their crispiness.
To restore it, reheat mozzarella sticks in the oven, in an air fryer, or in a pan. If you don’t need the sticks to be crispy and simply want to heat them up, use the microwave.
