Fried Cheese Curds

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

23 Comments

5 from 7 votes
12 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Freezing Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Jump to FAQsJump to Recipe
Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Fried Cheese Curds taste just like the ones at your local state fair without the lines, crowds, or crazy expensive prices! SO GOOD!

Appetizers, especially fried ones, are always the hit of the party or state fair. These curds are no exception! Serve them alongside Fried Mushrooms or Fried Cauliflower for an unforgettable snack time! 

Cheese Curds, close up

Sabrina’s Fried Cheese Curds

Fried Cheese Curds aren’t just for the state fair anymore. Most people don’t buy cheese curds at the grocery store as they are not easily found. If you’ve ever enjoyed cheese curds then you know how much better they are than mozzarella sticks! 

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Fried Cheese Curds Recipe

Fried Cheese Curds taste just like the ones at your local state fair without the lines, crowds, or crazy expensive prices! SO GOOD!
Yield 12 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Cheese Curds, close up
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound cheese curds , room temperature
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup club soda
  • vegetable oil , for frying

Instructions

  • Once at room temperature until they start to sweat a little, toss cheese curds, coating them in flour.
  • Place on a pan, set remaining flour aside, and freeze floured curds for 60 minutes.
  • Use the remaining flour and add it to a bowl with the baking powder, salt, and club soda, whisking until smooth.
  • Heat a pot of oil 3 inches deep to 360 degrees.
  • Add the cheese curds to the batter using a skimmer to let the excess batter drain before adding them to the hot oil and cooking them for one minute until golden brown, stirring them after about 30 seconds.

Nutrition

Calories: 211kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 397mg | Potassium: 12mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 0.03g | Calcium: 302mg | Iron: 1mg

Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes

Pin this recipe now to remember it later

Pin Recipe

Table of Contents

Back to Table of Contents

About This Recipe

One of the world’s most famous places to get Fried Cheese Curds is in Wisconsin, also known as America’s Dairyland. They are renowned for their own Wisconsin cheese curds and a special kind called squeaky cheese curds due to the little squeak noise the cheese makes when you bit into it! The fresher your cheese, the louder the squeak! Super fun! 

Chef’s Note

You don’t have to have the special squeak to enjoy cheese curds. Now you can make them yourself at home! They can often be found in some restaurants as well. If you don’t have access to farm fresh cheese curds, don’t be alarmed. Cheese curds are still yummy cheese and will still taste absolutely delicious, especially when compared to mozzarella sticks. You can eat them by themselves or served with fresh Homemade Ranch Dressing or Easy Marinara Sauce. Enjoy!

Can this be Made Ahead of Time?

While the cheese curds can cost a small fortune at state fairs around the USA, there is a reason they are so popular. Since they have a really short shelf life (less than 24 hours), they have to be made and eaten right away.

How to Store

  • Serve: Serve the curds when they are fresh. Allow them to cool a bit so the oil doesn’t burn. 
  • Store: It will be very unlikely that you have leftover cheese curds because they are that good! But if you do, you can keep them in an air tight container in the fridge for up to a week. Reheat them in the oven or air fryer to help them regain their crunchiness. 
  • Freeze: Freeze cheese curds in an air tight container for up to 6 months. They can be refried from frozen, or heated up in the air fryer or oven, no problem. 

Alternative Cooking Methods

You can make your curds in the air fryer! To avoid the cheese melting out, be sure to completely cover them with batter. If you’re still having issues with the cheese melting out, double bread the curds by coating them again in flour, then the batter. Check it out! 

  • Prepare the curds according to the recipe. 
  • Line the air fryer basket with parchment paper or wax paper. 
  • In a single layer, place the breaded curds onto the parchment paper. 
  • Spray a light layer of cooking oil over the top of them. 
  • Air fry for 4 minutes at 350 degrees. 
  • Flip over, spray with cooking oil, and fry for another 3 minutes. 
  • Serve and enjoy! 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between regular cheese and cheese curds?

When cheese is made it starts as pasteurized milk before rennet is added to firm the cheese before cooking. Once cooked, pressure is added to create a firm cheese and expel any remaining whey. Cheese curds (if fresh they squeak!) are similar to cheese but they don’t go through the final pressing process.

What type of cheese should I use for cheese curds?

Most fried cheese curds are made using mozzarella cheese curds, but cheddar cheese is equally delicious. It is actually the default cheese used in the classic Wisconsin cheese curds. 

Should I refrigerate fresh cheese curds?

No, definitely not! Buy cheese curds as fresh as you can and leave them out for up to 24 hours. Do not refrigerate them as they will lose their squeak which is generally a sign of freshness in cheese curds. Just be sure you’re buying them with plans to use them soon.

Why do we freeze cheese curds for frying? 

Real cheese easily melts when exposed to heat. We firm up the cheese curds just before frying so that they don’t ooze into nothingness when fried. The extreme temperatures from room to frozen lets us get the perfect texture. 

What can I use if I can’t find actual cheese curds? 

As a last ditch effort, you can use mozzarella, or other cheese sticks, like string cheese. Simply break or cut them up into small even-sized chunks and prepare according to the recipe. They’ll be just as good!

More Cheesy Recipes

Read More Cheesy Recipes
Cheese Curds image collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Have you checked the FAQ section above to see if your question has already been answered? View previous questions.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Maximum file size: 10 MB.
Allowed formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF. Drop images here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  4. I cooked these for mothers day for my wife ( we did mothers day early, due to scheduling). They definitely earned the 5 stars, and brought back memories of my several trips to Wisconsin. I tried to make some on my own other ways and it was always a disaster. If you are looking for the real deal, this is it! Thanks for sharing. I printed it , and put it in my recipe book! Woohoo!!

    Reply

  6. I live in south Louisiana, I first tried cheese curds at my sisters home in Wisconsin. They were so good. You cannot find cheese curds in south Louisiana. I asked someone once where i could find them and they thought I was nuts.

    Reply

  8. Sorry but this failed for me completely. I have a bunch of melted cheese in canola oil now. Maybe it is better to freeze the curds and then dip in batter. I won’t be trying this again!

    Reply

    1. Oh no! Thanks for catching that. It should’ve read that it should have been frozen. Hope you’ll give it another shot!

      Reply