Mozzarella-Stuffed Italian Breadsticks
These Mozzarella-Stuffed Italian Breadsticks are the perfect appetizer for a college basketball tournament party. They’re fun, delicious and easy to eat!
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As far as I’m concerned, all of the college basketball games in March are kinda-like the Super Bowl, part 2. The games dominate the sports news for the month and a national champion is crowned at the end. But more importantly, March Madness is a great excuse to bring out all of the snacks and appetizers that normally appear during Super Bowl season.
Sure, maybe the tournament games don’t have as much hype as the NFL playoffs, but that’s no reason to skimp out on the snack food. If anything, that’s a reason to make even better appetizers. Like these Mozzarella-Stuffed Italian Breadsticks. Holy cow, these breadsticks were amazing! Easy to make, even easier to eat, and really flippin’ delicious. In my book, that’s pretty much the definition of the perfect snack food for the big game…be it the Super Bowl or college b-ball!
Mozzarella Stuffed Breadsticks
I’ve had breadsticks on my mind for quite a while now. Then I stumbled across a recipe for breadsticks stuffed with cheese. Wait, what? Breadsticks stuffed with cheese? Yes, please!
Variations
I knew I had to make these…and soon! I opted for mozzarella since it melts so well, but any good “melty cheese” would also work here. I’m thinking the next attempt might use cheddar cheese or Pepper Jack cheese inside and Southwest spices on top. Use your imagination here…there are so many fun twists to this recipe!
This recipe includes the ingredients for making your own pizza dough, but you could certainly use store-bought dough if you prefer. (I just think homemade pizza dough tastes so much better!) While these Mozzarella-Stuffed Italian Breadsticks are delicious enough to eat by themselves, I served them with a side of marinara sauce for dipping.
(In full disclosure, some of my breadsticks oozed melted cheese while baking. However, even with the couple of blowouts in the oven, the breadsticks still tasted awesome.)
Storing Leftover Breadsticks
Any leftovers of these Mozzarella Stuffed Breadsticks should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, wrap lightly with aluminum foil and place in a 350°F oven for 6-7 minutes, or until heated through and cheese has fully melted. These breadsticks can also be frozen – just let them thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Did you make this Mozzarella Stuffed Breadsticks recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Mozzarella-Stuffed Italian Breadsticks
Ingredients
- 4½ cups bread flour
- 1½ cups warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp instant dry yeast
- 3 Tbsp olive oil divided
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese in block form
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- In the bowl of a countertop mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the bread flour, water, salt, and yeast. Mix on low speed for approximately 3 minutes. Add 1½ Tbsp of olive oil to the bowl; increase speed to medium and continue mixing for 3 more minutes. (Tip: If necessary, add 1-2 Tbsp of additional flour after adding the olive oil.)
- Transfer the dough into an oiled bowl, cover, and place in a warm (~85°F) location to rise for 60 minutes.
- Turn dough out onto a floured countertop and fold several times, rotating 90° after each fold. Place dough back into an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm location for another 60 minutes.
- Turn dough out onto countertop and fold 2-3 times. Cover loosely and let rest for 10-15 minutes at room temperature.
- Meanwhile, cut the mozzarella into 12 pieces about 4” long and 1/2”-3/4” thick.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal-sized pieces (~1.75 ounces each).
- Roll each piece of dough into a 2″x5” rectangle. (Tip: Loosely cover the pieces of dough that you aren’t working with to prevent them from drying out.)
- Pat the top surface of the dough with water until dough is sticky to the touch. Place 1 piece of cheese lengthwise in the center of the rectangle. Roll the dough around the cheese, and pinch seams together to create a tight seal.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place mozzarella stuffed breadsticks seam side down on sheet pan. Cover and place in a warm location to rise for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F.
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil with the Italian seasonings, salt, and garlic powder. Mix until well combined.
- Gently brush the top of each breadstick with the olive oil mixture.
- Bake breadsticks in preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.
Looking for more tasty breadstick recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
These breadsticks would be a heavenly experience for my daughter! She adores breadsticks – but breadsticks stuffed with mozzarella would be AH-MAZING!
You’re telling me…my mind was literally blown when I thought about cheese-stuffed breadsticks. And those things were so freakin’ delicious, too!!
Breadsticks filled with cheese, It’s a drool fest. I wish I could just magic them to my plate
Haha! Only problem there, Chichi, is that I ate them all. Oops.
Silly question can i use my hand mixer??
Hey Roxana! You know, I’d say a hand mixer wouldn’t be the best for mixing bread dough. It’s great for ‘looser’ things like cake batter, but you really want that ‘paddle’ attachment like you see on countertop mixers when you’re making bread dough. With that said, you can totally make this breadstick dough by hand, too. You’ll just need to fold it on top of itself, rotate 90° and repeat that about 5-6 minutes. That should give you a nice smooth dough with no countertop mixer needed. I hope this helps!
I love making breadsticks and actually made some for dinner today- but I sprinkled the cheese over the top! They went down a storm and are really simple to make too! Loving the fact these breadsticks are stuffed with mozzarella and that marinara sauce looks lush!
Haha! Great minds must think alike, huh? I love breadsticks…so delicious and fun to make! 🙂
Ok breadsticks are already so addicting and you had to stuff them with cheese? I’m in love!! These look too good to be true 🙂
These breadsticks were delicious, Zainab! Too bad they disappeared WAY too fast. 🙂
I was just going through the fridge and found a block of mozzarella and I couldn’t remember what I got it for…hmmm I think I just discovered why I have it. I was talking to my mom yesterday and she starts telling me about the March Madness games… and I was all confused. Not by the games, but the fact that my mom knew about them. She then explained they have taken over her soap opera hour. I thought that was pretty funny… and handed the phone over to the hubby so they could bond over basketball 🙂
Hah! That conversation with your Mom must have been hilarious. Wait…what? Why are you talking about basketball?? Oh…..soap operas…I get it now! Haha! And yes, these breadsticks really go well with the games. Actually these breadsticks might even go well with soap operas…
I would triumphantly down a whole batch of these bad boys. Immediately following, I would require at minimum 1 hour nap. Sounds like a glorious weekend to me, haha
Haha…that sounds like a perfect weekend to me, too. Except I would probably need some ice cream and a 2-hour nap.
Oh, my. These could be dangerous!
Hehe…they would be if they lasted any longer! Too bad they were gone just about as fast as I pulled them out of the oven! 🙂
About how long did this take to make? I’m planning on making these tonight to go with dinner, but don’t know when to start making them. Also, do you think I could I replace the Kosher salt with regular salt? I only have regular salt & don’t feel like making another trip to the store. lol
Thanks!!!
Hey Lauren! I’d start about 3-3 1/2 hours before you want to put them in the oven. That sounds crazy I know, but most of that time is spent just letting the dough rise…so you can be off doing other stuff. And regular salt would be completely fine…you only need 1/4 tsp. I hope you enjoy this recipe…it’s one of my favorites! And now I’m craving it again. Come back and let me know how they turn out! 🙂
It seems my dough is quite dry. Everything by the recipe.??????
Hmmm…something must be off then, Charles! I don’t recall this dough being overly dry…it is almost identical to pizza dough (if that helps). I just checked my notes, and all of the amounts listed above are correct. It’s hard to say since I can’t see the dough, but are you sure you measured the water and flour correctly?
Is it ok to prepare the dough the night before and then bake the next day? Or will that dry out the dough?
Hey there Mikyia! Preparing the dough the night before won’t dry out the dough…but you might have an issue with the dough rising too much. My recommendation would be to make the dough the night before and then cover/refrigerate it overnight. (The refrigeration will help slow down the dough rising.) This would get you through Step 3. The next morning, I would proceed from Step 4…although you might need to let the dough rest at room temp for 30-45 minutes instead of 15 (because the dough is cold from refrigerator). I’ve never tried making these early with this dough, so I can’t promise that it will work. (The dough might rise too much overnight…even in the refrigerator!) But I have done overnight refrigeration with dough in other recipes (different doughs, though) and it’s worked out well. Does this make sense? If you do try making this in 2 stages, come back and let me know how it turns out! And enjoy! 🙂
Theese sound SO good!!! Stop, …… it’s too tempting…..!!!
Thanks so much, Emmiy!
Can I stuff with cheese sticks instead of cheese block??
Hey M! Yes, you could absolutely use cheese sticks for this recipe. It would be delicious! Just make sure the dough is completely sealed around the cheese so that you don’t end up with any blow outs in the oven. Happy baking! 🙂
You know it! 😊