Light, golden brown, and crispy on the outside with a stringy gooey cheesy inside, this easy fried Cheese Curds Recipe is deliciously irresistible and will have you coming back for more.
If you’ve been around a while, you know how I feel about fair food. You know that my family and I looooove going to the fair each year and I can never get enough of the different fun food options.
Recently I’ve been busy recreating some of the best and favorite fair foods, I love Cheese Curds and had to share with you the recipe that we have been making for years.
If you’re from Minnesota, you know Cheese Curds are wildly popular all the time, everywhere, so why not learn to make yourself some at home? They’re served not just at the fair, but at many restaurants and even some fast food joints as appetizer or sides.
They’re everywhere and we pretty much order them wherever we go because it’s cheese country around here and Wisconsin and once you have them you can’t stop.
The hubs and kiddos love this Cheese Curds Recipe too. They’ve got a light batter with that ooey, gooey, cheddar cheesey curd flavor that you know you and love so much.
Now I don’t have to wait to set foot on those fairgrounds to get some of my favorite Fried Cheese Curds. Just heat up some oil in your home and go to town!
Some of our other favorite appetizers we have on our site include: Fried Pickles, Brown Sugar Bacon Little Smokies, and Fried Shrimp.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- You don’t have to wait for the fair to enjoy these.
- Super easy to double to feed a crowd.
- Easy to make using minimal ingredients and comes together in less than 15 minutes!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM)
Peanut oil
All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Buttermilk
Cub soda or beer
Cheese curds
Marinara sauce
Ranch
HOW TO MAKE CHEESE CURDS, STEP BY STEP:
- Add the peanut oil to the deep fryer or dutch oven until it reaches about 4 inches up the sides and heat your oil to 375°F.
- While you’re heating the oil, make the cheese curd batter. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, and onion powder in a large bowl.
- Next, stir in the buttermilk and club soda or beer until it’s nice and smooth.
- Coat the cheese curds in the batter.
- Carefully, a handful at a time, add the cheese curds to the hot oil. Do not let them touch each other in the hot oil. When you’re not frying the curds, place the remaining curds in the bowl back into the refrigerator so the rest stay cold.
- Let the curds fry for about 1 minute in the peanut oil, flip them halfway through and continue to fry them until they’re light golden brown.
- Remove the fried Cheese Curds from the oil, letting any excess oil drip off. Transfer them to a paper-towel-lined plate to soak up any excess oil. Then place the cheese curds on a wire rack that’s on top of a sheet tray while you fry the remaining curds to cool.
- Serve cheese curds immediately with marinara and ranch for dipping sauce options.
ARE CHEESE CURDS JUST CHUNKS OF CHEESE?
Cheese curds are typically made from baby cheddar. Some curds are also made from mozzarella cheese.
During the cheesemaking process, the young cheddar cheese curds are separated from the whey and are cut up and bagged instead of starting the molding process to be used in a future cheese wheel.
SHOULD I FREEZE CHEESE CURDS BEFORE FRYING?
For this Cheese Curds Recipe, I use cold cheese curds. Freezing or refrigerating your curds help stick the breading to the cheese and it gives the curds a nice firm texture.
You can refrigerate them, but if you want them nice and chilled, you can put them in the freezer for about an hour or so before you bread and fry them.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DIP THESE FRIED CHEESE CURDS INTO?
I like serving cheese curds with marinara and ranch dipping sauce. Other dipping sauce ideas to try are: honey mustard, garlic aioli, chipotle aioli, or burger sauce.
HOW TO STORE:
These Fired Cheese Curds are best eaten the same day that you make them. In fact, like most other fried food, they’re best when they first come out of the fryer.
But, if you must reheat leftovers, I suggest placing them back into the fryer until they’re warmed through. This typically takes 30 seconds to 1 minute.
You can also freeze these for up to 3 months storing them in a freezer safe bag or container.
To reheat, place the frozen curds right into the hot oil for a minute or two until warmed through again.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- I prefer to use peanut oil for frying since it has a high smoke point. It also doesn’t seem to stink up the house as much. But you can use whatever cooking oil you prefer.
- If you can’t find cheese curds, you can get a block of mozzarella or white cheddar and break it up into chunks.
- I did not add more salt to the batter because the cheese curds are already very salty themselves. This could vary with different brands, so taste a cheese curd first to check the salt level. Add up to ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt to the batter if they need it.
- You can freeze these for later, see my tips above.
- I like to serve with both marinara and ranch for dipping, but you can use other sauces, see above for some of our other favorites.
- These are best enjoyed when you first make them so be hungry!
- Easily double this recipe to serve to guests.
Are you a cheese lover and also a connoisseur of fried food? This Cheese Curds Recipe has been waiting for you and is ready in only 15 minutes!
IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
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Cheese Curds Recipe
Ingredients
- Peanut oil for frying
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ cup buttermilk cold
- ½ cup club soda or beer cold
- 1 pound cheese curds cold
- Marinara sauce to serve
- Ranch to serve
Instructions
- Add the peanut oil to the deep fryer or dutch oven until it reaches about 4 inches up the sides and heat your oil to 375°F.
- While you're heating the oil, make the cheese curd batter. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, and onion powder in a large bowl.
- Next, stir in the buttermilk and club soda or beer until it's nice and smooth.
- Coat the cheese curds in the batter.
- Carefully, a handful at a time, add the cheese curds to the hot oil. Do not let them touch each other in the hot oil. When you're not frying the curds, place the remaining curds in the bowl back into the refrigerator so the rest stay cold.
- Let the curds fry for about 1 minute in the peanut oil, flip them halfway through and continue to fry them until they're light golden brown.
- Remove the fried Cheese Curds from the oil, letting any excess oil drip off. Transfer them to a paper-towel-lined plate to soak up any excess oil. Then place the cheese curds on a wire rack that's on top of a sheet tray while you fry the remaining curds to cool.
- Serve cheese curds immediately with marinara and ranch for dipping sauce options.
Notes
- I prefer to use peanut oil for frying since it has a high smoke point. It also doesn’t seem to stink up the house as much. But you can use whatever cooking oil you prefer.
- If you can't find cheese curds, you can get a block of mozzarella or white cheddar and break it up into chunks.
- I did not add more salt to the batter because the cheese curds are already very salty themselves. This could vary with different brands, so taste a cheese curd first to check the salt level. Add up to ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt to the batter if they need it.
- You can freeze these for later, see my tips above.
- I like to serve with both marinara and ranch for dipping, but you can use other sauces, see above for some of our other favorites.
- These are best enjoyed when you first make them so be hungry!
- Easily double this recipe to serve to guests.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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