Baked Mozzarella Sticks (with Sugar Free Chipotle BBQ Sauce)
When I was little, I used to love telling people that my sister and I were half-French-half-English. She’s French, I’m English, I would explain. That was a long time ago, and as ironic as it may sound, living in England for 10 years has made my French blood run stronger.
Never is it strongest than in the matter of food. There is no meal I love more than a simple one of soup served with fresh baked bread and lots of cheese. A glass of red wine wouldn’t go amiss, either.
Cheese runs in my veins. Ok, that sounds gross, but you get the gist. 😉
My French nationality is there, for sure, but I will always in reality be what is called a “third culture kid”. Someone who is from one or two (or more) countries on paper, speaks more than one language and was brought up in yet another culture. I am a “mish-mash” of cultures and countries, and proud of it.
This recipe reflects all that: a simple bread-and-cheese French principle made with Italian cheese in an American way with a Mexican spiced dip. And of course, in true RSFK style, it is sugar free and made a little healthier than your average deep-fried vegetable-oil-laden mass-produced mozzarella sticks. These are fresh, real food, baked versions that retain the deliciousness, gooey-ness and more-ishness of the original, but are a much healthier way to enjoy them as a family.
And it helps that kids love them. Making them as much as eating them. Seriously, get the kids mucking in. Get older kids doing the whole thing themselves. Whether this is a lunch or dinner served with a side salad, fresh chopped vegetables or a bowl of soup, or whether you are just making a batch for some quick easy snacks for the week or to fill the freezer for the month ahead, what kid cannot dip, roll and mix (some with a little help)?
Yes, they do leak a little, which you wouldn’t get with the shop-bought kind. But be generous with the breadcrumbs and ensure that the mozzarella is entirely covered in the flour and egg before coating with them and you will minimise the melting of the cheese. And if they still leak? Don’t stress, they still taste completely amazing!
And that sauce. So easy. So yummy. So smoky. Just as nice for dipping raw chopped vegetables or veggie nuggets as for these beauties!
Yummy homemade mozzarella sticks that are healthier and easy to make at home, served with a sugar free smoky BBQ sauce.
- 250 g (9oz) fresh mozzarella
- 3 tbsp cornflour (or all-purpose flour or ground almonds)
- 2 medium eggs, beaten
- 5-8 heaped tbsp breadcrumbs (or ground nuts for low carb)
- 1 tbsp sugar free Cajun spice mix*
- 250 g (1 cup) sugar free ketchup**
- 1 tsp chipotle chilli flakes
- 1/4 tsp molasses, optional but adds to the BBQ flavour - it will make the whole cup of sauce contain 1/4 tsp sugar though, making it simply very very low sugar rather than sugar free
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Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Cut the mozzarella into thick sticks (should make about 10-12). Mix the breadcrumbs with the Cajun spice mix and season with salt & pepper.
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Put the flour, eggs and seasoned breadcrumbs into separate shallow bowls. Dip the mozzarella sticks into each: first the flour, then the eggs, then the breadcrumbs. Place them on a lined baking tray, then bake in the oven for 15-20 mins, until golden and the mozzarella is starting to bubble but not melt. If you want the coating extra crispy and golden, stick them under the grill (broiler) on High for about 2 mins, keeping an eye on them to make sure they don't catch.
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To make the sauce, whisk the chipotle and molasses into the sugar free ketchup and season. Taste and adjust flavour as desired. A pinch of smoked paprika can make an excellent addition or add smokiness instead of the chipotle flakes if you don't have them to hand.
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The sticks will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge, or they freeze really well - just freeze after coating but before baking and bake straight from frozen for an extra couple of minutes. They will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
*I make a big batch of this Cajun spice mix regularly and keep it in a container in the pantry for whenever I need it - it takes 30 secs to make
**I use the whole portion of my sugar free ketchup recipe
Good for your sugar free children. Yet, my children (7 in 7 yrs) ate everything healthy as junk food and sugar foods was never an option. Little ones will eat what mom and dad eat. My guys constantly could be found in my large veggie garden, taking a bite of a tomato, bell pepper, okra, cucumbers, green beans, etc… as they wallked thru!😂 They are still healthy eaters and raising their own children the same. P S. Perhaps you ought to take your title a step further. Raising Sugar Free Kids and Grown ups too !😀
Sounds similar to my upbringing and my own children’s! 🙂 I try to emphasise the fact that children copy what they see in their parents’ eating habits so it is vital that parents eat how they want their children to eat. We tend to stick to what we know – when I left home I tried processed convenience foods and found them frustrating, lacking in flavour and not worth the little time they saved me. I went straight back to what my mum had made for us growing up: healthy, home-cooked wholefoods. I never really questioned it – it was what I knew, and what my extremely busy working mother had made time for to do for us on a budget, so I had the skills and inspiration I had witnessed throughout my childhood to pass on to my own children. Having a veggie garden is fantastic, too! Studies continually show that kids who are involved in the process of growing, preparing, and cooking healthy food are far more likely to eat it. My kids and I try to grow a few veggies in our small garden each year. Our tomatoes were abundant and amazingly tasty last year. And I am so so far from green-fingered! 😉