Oven-Fried Mozzarella Sticks

By Roni84

PointsPlus™ Value: 5

Don't bust your waistline with high-fat, fried cheese sticks. Our slimmed-down version hits the spot and is much healthier for you.

Ingredients

• 2 spray(s) olive oil cooking spray, divided
• 8 oz canned tomato sauce
• 2 tsp ground oregano, divided
• 3 slice(s) reduced-calorie wheat bread, torn
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 8 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, cut into 8 finger-like strips
• 2 Tbsp honey mustard

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 12mins
Cooking time 22mins

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, combine tomato sauce and 1 teaspoon of oregano; set pan over low heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine bread, remaining teaspoon of oregano and thyme; process until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Place crumbs in a shallow bowl. (Tip: Use the ends of the loaf of bread for the bread crumbs since those slices are often uneaten.)

Coat cheese sticks with honey mustard. Transfer cheese to bread crumb mixture and turn to coat. Arrange cheese on prepared baking sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Bake until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Serve with warmed tomato sauce on the side. Yields 2 cheese sticks and about 1/4 cup of sauce per serving.