BEST EVER KETO AIR FRYER MOZZARELLA STICKS

Steps:

• If needed, prep your air fryer basket insert with a tin foil liner. (This typically applies to mesh style liners. Detailed instructions are available in this post.)
• Unwrap the cheese sticks and cut in half to create two shorter sticks from each. Set aside.
• Beat your egg/eggs in a small to medium bowl. You can start with one egg and add another later if needed.
• In a medium dish (large enough to make it easy to coat your cheese sticks) blend together the parmesan cheese, almond flour, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and sea salt.
• Create a dipping station starting with your (previously cut) cheese sticks, followed by the egg wash, then the "breading" mix, and finally a small pan or dish covered with a sheet of parchment paper.
• One by one, dip each cheese stick in the egg wash followed by rolling the cheese stick in the "breading" mix. I use a method to help adhere the "breading" to the cheese by rolling between my palms which helps to press and secure the almond flour/parmesan coating onto the cheese stick. Repeat these steps a second time before placing the fully coated cheese stick on the parchment paper. To summarize, be sure that each cheese stick gets two egg washes and two rolls in the almond flour/parmesan breading.
• Once all the cheese sticks have been dipped and rolled, check each one to make sure that no cheese is showing through. Re-roll any that need extra "breading". If the cheese stick isn't fully coated, there is a greater risk that cheese will ooze out during cooking. You should have very little of the almond flour/parmesan mixture left by the time you are done with the coating process. Feel free to use it up by re-rolling any that look like they need a little extra lovin'.
• Place the pan/dish with cheese sticks in the freezer on a level surface for no less than 1 hour. This helps to keep the cheese from melting too quickly in the high heat of the air fryer giving the outer coating time to get crispy.
• Once frozen through, remove the cheese sticks from the freezer. With cooking spray, grease your air fryer basket and/or tin foil liner AS WELL AS each cheese stick. (I spray the top side then roll them over and spray the other side.)
• Place cheese sticks in an air fryer. (If you have a smaller air fryer, you may want to separate into two batches as the mozzarella sticks puff a bit while cooking.) Cook at 375 degrees (or 380 if your Air Fryer doesn't have 5 degree increments) for 7-10 minutes depending on your air fryer. I set my Philips TurboStar to 375 degrees and cook them for about 8 minutes. After 5 minutes in the air fryer, I suggest checking them every minute or so moving forward. If you see the cheese start to ooze out, then it's time to pull them.
• Serve immediately to ensure that your fried mozzarella sticks remain crispy, melty, and gooey. I like to accompany mine with no-sugar-added marinara and ranch dressing. Enjoy!