Smokin’ Fried Mozzarella Balls

An easy game day appetizer made with cheesy mozzarella balls rolled in a spicy adobo coating and breadcrumbs, then fried to crispy perfection!

A pile of fried mozzarella balls on a plate next to a bowl of marinara sauce.

Happy Friday everyone! It’s a soggy Friday here in CA, hope it let’s up, we want to go back to Disney tonight!

I couldn’t resist sharing this perfect game day recipe that I posted last year. These Smokin’ Mozzarella Balls are seriously so incredible, I could quite possibly eat all of these in one serving!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend 🙂

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A stack of fried mozzarella balls on a plate next to a bowl of marinara sauce.

Smokin’ Mozzarella Balls

Vegetable oil for frying

8 oz container Fresh Mozzarella “Ciliegine” (cherry tomato size)

1/2 Cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 egg

2 teaspoons adobo sauce from can of chipotle peppers (add more if you like it spicy)

½ Cup Italian Bread Crumbs

¼ Cup Panko Bread Crumbs

¼ Cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

1 Cup of your favorite marinara or pasta sauce, warmed

1. Pour a couple inches of oil into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to 350 degrees F. with an appropriate thermometer.

2. Drain liquid from mozzarella balls and pat dry with paper towels. Place flour, salt and pepper into medium size bowl. Place egg and adobo sauce into a second bowl; whisk to combine. Place bread crumbs and parmesan cheese into a 3rd bowl; mix to combine. Roll mozzarella into flour, then into eggs, then press into bread crumb mixture.

3. Carefully place 4-5 coated balls at a time into hot oil. Use a “spider” to constantly move them around in oil. Cook for 30-60 seconds or until golden. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Continue until all have been fried.

4. Place all balls onto a serving plate along with a bowl of marinara sauce. Serve warm.

4 servings

_______________________________________

Oh baby I could go for some of these today! Happy Football Watching, see you soon for Valentine’s Day Baking!! Woo Hoo!

A pile of fried mozzarella balls on a plate next to a bowl of marinara sauce.

Smokin’ Fried Mozzarella Balls

These are an easy game day appetizer made with cheesy mozzarella balls rolled in a spicy adobo coating and breadcrumbs, then fried to crispy perfection!
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 319kcal
Author: Jenny
Print Pin

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil for frying
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella balls “Ciliegine” (cherry tomato size)
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers (add more if you like it spicy)
  • 1/2 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
  • 1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
  • 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup marinara or pasta sauce, warmed

Instructions

  • Pour a couple inches of oil into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to 350 degrees F with an appropriate thermometer.
  • Drain liquid from mozzarella balls and pat dry with paper towels. Place flour, salt and pepper into medium size bowl. Place egg and adobo sauce into a second bowl; whisk to combine. Place bread crumbs and parmesan cheese into a 3rd bowl; mix to combine. Roll mozzarella into flour, then into eggs, then press into bread crumb mixture.
  • Carefully place 4-5 coated balls at a time into hot oil. Use a “spider” to constantly move them around in oil. Cook for 30-60 seconds or until golden. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Continue until all have been fried.
  • Place all balls onto a serving plate along with a bowl of marinara sauce. Serve warm.

Nutrition

Calories: 319kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 1394mg | Potassium: 88mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 144IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 324mg | Iron: 2mg
Keywords: fried mozzarella, game day food, mozzarella cheese balls

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13 Responses
  1. Tanda

    I made these for the game this weekend and used homemade buffalo wing sauce my husband makes instead of adobo and they were excellent! Love your site!

  2. Barbara

    Yummy on those mozzarella balls!! Too late for this afternoon, but not too late for my next cocktail party!

  3. sharon

    These look amazing! I received a fry daddy for christmas so maybe i’ll try making these.

    Please make the rain stop!

  4. Kim

    These are wonderful and oh so easy. Cheese sticks are the 1st thing my husband orders at every restaurant we go to, and he would much rather have these.

  5. Krista

    I’ve never even thought about making mozzarella balls. How perfect! My family would love these. I bet that we could drop them in the deep fryer, right? We’ll have it fired up on game day, so it’d be no big thing to throw in a batch of these.

  6. Jamie

    I remember seeing these last year and I’ve been wanting to make them. If I can find the mozzarella balls at my store, I may make them (finally) this weekend.

  7. Girl Japan

    I’m salivating here.. nice to see an update.. Oh gosh these remind me of… Benagans (sp)? YUM Jenny..

  8. Melody

    Do you think you could use a wing sauce instead of adobo sauce? I really dont enjoy chipotle flavor but I love me some buffalo wing sauce!

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