14 String Cheese Hacks You'll Want To Try This Year, According To TikTok Foodies
Stretchy, creamy, and a little salty, mild-tasting string cheese is a great grab-and-go snack. Kids love them in their school bags, and big kids — as in adults — take the same simple pleasure in peeling off strands. Mozzarella is the ultimate stringy stick, but you can also find cheddar string cheese and more. There are low-fat, full-fat, and organic varieties, too.
If you want to hear all sides of the argument on the 'right way' to eat string cheese, then the debate on TikTok continues. However, before you focus on that, let's dive into some string cheese hacks you'll want to try this year, according to TikTok Foodies. While a couple of them don't require any cooking or cheese-melting action, most of them do, and range from hot snacks and even main meals. You might want to check out the Mashed string cheese ranking before you start. Our favorite brand on this list was Sargento because of the quality of the taste and how stringy the sticks are. Galbani is a close second and offers a lactose-free mozzarella stick.
1. Use string cheese to stuff pasta
Cheesy pasta with a tomatoey sauce is divine. A super-easy hack promises la dolce vita if you're rushed for time. Instead of making a cheese sauce, stuff tubes of manicotti pasta with string cheese. It's amazing how they fit perfectly. Line up a layer of your stuffed tubes in an ovenproof dish, and cover them with tomato sauce. No judgment if you use a jarred variety. TikTok foodies are all about great-tasting shortcuts. Top up with a little water, add Italian seasoning and garlic powder, plus cooked Italian sausage meat with onion. Cover the meaty topping with more of the pasta sauce, and bake in the oven covered with foil. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes. Add shredded mozzarella and grated Parmesan, plus some parsley. You could always add more string cheese on top, too.
Or what about sticking string cheese in cannelloni and covering the pasta with a jar of cheese sauce for extra creaminess? For a triple-cheese delight, cover the dish with grated cheddar cheese. It doesn't get much easier and cheesier than this.
2. Make creative snacks for kids
Kids love creative food. There's a reason grown-ups try to convince little ones that broccoli florets are fairy trees. Being playful with snacks creates a good relationship with different foods, sparks the imagination, and is also fun. You don't have to wait until Halloween to make cheese and pretzel broomsticks. Cut string cheese sticks in half, fray the ends to look like sweeping brushes, and push a pretzel stick in the other end. What about cutting the strands and letting youngsters make their own brooms before chomping down on this creamy, salty, crunchy bite? You could also make some witches' fingers to pair with these. Wrap a string cheese stick with a thin slice of prosciutto. Using a little cream cheese as the 'glue' stick a half olive on the end to represent a black nail.
Some varieties of string cheese come with instructions on how to create cheesy characters, such as squid. Pull strands of each string cheese stick up to create a frayed effect. These are the tentacles. Add an eye, or in this world, a chocolate chip. A more elaborate design is to make a cheese stick man. Split one end of a string cheese stick in half to form the legs. At the other end, curl down two sections at each side to make arms. Fray the edges to create a funky hairstyle.
3. Create melted cheese meatballs
A great trick to know if you want to barbecue a burger is to stick the cheese inside so that it doesn't melt down onto the coals. Another appetizing meaty melt without the grill is slow cooker mozzarella-stuffed meatballs. This might reference a classic Italian dish, but the hack here is to use string cheese for that gorgeously gooey center. Use whatever ground meat you like, such as turkey, beef, or pork. Add breadcrumbs, garlic powder, and garlic salt, plus oregano and an egg.
Cut each string cheese stick into eight pieces and add one of these to the middle of 2 tablespoons of the meat. The secret to success is to completely cover the cheese. If you leave a gap, then it'll leak out and you'll be left with a hollow center. Broil the meatballs to seal and brown the meat to get rid of excess fat and to firm them up so they don't disintegrate in the slow cooker. Let them cool before adding to the slow cooker so that they don't stick together. Add canned crushed tomatoes, with tomato paste, oregano, garlic salt, and garlic powder, but be mindful of not stirring the meatball. You want to disturb them as little as possible so that the string cheese is fully enclosed and melts into the savory meat encasing. Make meatballs with sausage meat and ground beef, searing them in a skillet before baking in the oven, and serving them with a barbecue sauce.
4. Roll into a pizza crust
Is there anything more satisfying than biting into a pizza and creating a long stretchy mozzarella string as you pull the slice away? It's a universally much-loved part of eating pizza. You just need to make sure that the other toppings aren't dislodged at the same time. Reeling the cheese back in and chowing down on a frazzled slice of pepperoni is and crusty, yet soft base is the bomb. And it's straightforward to make your own quick no-knead pizza dough. You can keep it simple with a classic Neapolitan pizza or add fancy ingredients such as an irresistible truffle. Either way, what you want to try out is a string-cheese pizza hack.
Add string cheese stick pieces around the edge of some pizza dough. Roll the dough inward all the way around to create a cheese-stuffed crust. Leave spaces between the cheese to give room for it to melt. You might prefer adding less cheese to the base or simply enjoy double the amount of molten yumminess. Just watch that stringy hot cheese when you grab a slice. If you don't want to mess around with dough, use a round flour tortilla. Tear up string cheese sticks to create strands, add to four sides of the tortilla edge, and roll inward to make a square shape. Brush this crust with beaten egg, add your toppings to the middle, and bake. For a bite-size snack, use string cheese to make mini pizza rolls.
5. Turn cheese strings into crispy bites and sticks
In the land of snacks, stretchy, cheesy, crispy bites are where it's at. Beer-battered mozzarella sticks score a touchdown as a Super Bowl snack or a weekend-night go-to. You can create gooey bites like this with string cheese, too. Cut them in half, coat them with flour, dip in egg, and cover with seasoned breadcrumbs before crisping up and melting down in an air fryer. For a tasty coating, add garlic granules, parsley, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper to the breadcrumbs, along with salt and pepper. Serve with a dip. You could swap out the coating with crushed Flamin' Hot Cheetos for a spicy, colorful pop. Crumble habanero hot Takis Queso Volcano chips in the bag and use these to coat mozzarella string cheese. For a different flavor, smash Texas BBQ Pringles or any flavor you like, into smithereens. The possibilities are endless.
Another idea is to coat the string cheese in crushed Doritos before deep-frying. Brits might want to join in American-style tradition with Burger King Flame Grilled Whopper Doritos, which retail in the United Kingdom. Maybe they will taste like cheeseburgers!
6. Add to instant noodles
When you think of Asian cuisine, cheese probably doesn't come to mind, right? Let alone string cheese! But with TikTok leading the way in foodie mash-ups and putting flavor and innovation first it was only a matter of time. Drum roll for instant noodles with melted string cheese. Since cheese is a natural pairing with pasta, it's not a big jump to match it with noodles, even if they are spicy ramen in a cup.
Grab whatever cup of noodles you like and follow the instructions, adding hot water and any sachets of sauce and seasonings. Tear off strands from a string cheese stick and simply add these to the noodles. Pop in the microwave so that the cheese melts. Use chopsticks to mix in the melted topping with the noodles and soupy sauce so that you can have a cheesy experience with every bite. You can also add chunky pieces of string cheese with flavored dried noodles from a packet that you cook in a saucepan.
7. Pan fry for a grilled cheese style snack
Grilled cheese always tastes better at a restaurant, at least a lot of the time. But grilled cheese made in a skillet is quick to make at home, too, and just as mouthwatering. To make it even easier, TikTok foodies are being copied for using string cheese. Add them to a dry pan, use a fork to squash them a little, and let them brown. You can enjoy them just like this, as you might do with pan-fried halloumi. Flip them to brown on both sides to make each one more robust. Once they have cooled down enough, you can eat them with your hands. Dip them in tomato ketchup, or whatever dip you like.
For a more sophisticated taste, that gives the cheese a sweet side, drizzle honey over the fried morsel. As the string cheese melts, place a piece of browned toast on top of the melted goo. Flip the whole thing and you've got a potential grilled cheese sandwich. You could add two slices, for example, and fill each one with extra ingredients such as ham. You can also make an open grilled cheese sandwich with just one slice of bread to maximize the taste and texture of the topping. Elevate the flavor with hot sauce on top such as Sriracha, which has a little heat but isn't too overpowering.
8. Make cheesy garlic bread rolls
With short videos, TikTok is a virtual smorgasbord of foodie hacks that are simple to follow. Rather than obsess with debating how best to eat string cheese, which is also discussed on the platform, make a hot cheesy side or snack. That way, it doesn't matter whether you bite straight into them (which many people find strange), or delicately peel off layers. Keep the string cheese whole and cut the crusts off a stack of white bread slices.
Roll one stick up in a slice of bread to make a sausage shape. Brush on a thick layer of garlic and herb butter. Bake in the air fryer for a cheesy garlic bread roll that's going to become your go-to. Imagine serving these with an appetizing pasta or on a buffet table. They are easy to grab hold of and less messy than a lot of cheesy garlic bread recipes.
9. Serve a shredded string cheese board
You'll be forgiven if string cheese brings to mind school lunch box throw-ins for kids. It's hardly renowned as a gourmet food. However, TikTok foodies love to bend culinary ideas and create new ways of eating ingredients. You've heard of the butter board no doubt, which was a TikTok trend. And charcuterie boards that are visually stunning are still in vogue with social media lapping up fabulous foodie photos. But have you heard of the string cheese board? You have now.
Peel off layers from each stick and loosely arrange on a board. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and drizzle with honey. Serve with fresh slices of fig, whole grain crispbreads, and sundried tomatoes. Let the strands fall on your serving board. Sprinkle toasted pine nuts on top, citrusy za'atar, and caramelized raisins. Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice over the cheese and enjoy as it is. Let ingredients that pair well with cheese inspire you, from olives to walnuts, bacon bits, and robust seasonings.
10. Make air fryer tortilla wraps
A moreish alternative to grilled cheese and pizza is creating snacks with string cheese and flour tortillas. Perhaps the simplest is wrapping each cheese stick in a mini tortilla. Tuck the sides in first before rolling so that they don't fall apart. Bake in the air fryer after rolling them in a beaten egg. Cheesy wraps like this are amazing with a dip or served with piping-hot tomato soup. If you can't find small tortillas, cut a standard-size one in half, and wrap a cheesy stick up in each. Brush with oil and sprinkle herbs on top before air frying.
They are seriously tasty with a Thai sweet chili sauce, but there aren't any rules when it comes to how you wrap these bites up and what you serve them with. Just make sure the casing is brown and crisps up, and the cheesy filling is perfectly melted.
11. Wrap in bacon
If you've ever made a bacon lover's grilled cheese sandwich, then you'll know that the eponymous ingredients are outrageously amazing together. Instead of wrapping bacon around bread with cheese in the middle, you can also wrap the salty slices around string cheese sticks. If you leave gaps, you'll see the melting cheese. They will look good enough to eat on a buffet table or served as a canape at cocktail hour. And they'll no doubt appeal to keto fans who want to avoid the carbs.
Start by frying up bacon slices on a lowish heat so that they cook without becoming overly crispy and brittle. You're going to need to twist them later. Let them cool down enough to handle without burning your fingertip on kitchen towels to soak up excess grease. Loosely wrap each slice around a string cheese stick. Bake in the oven until the cheese melts, up to 10 minutes on a foil-lined baking tray to avoid mess and sticking. Next time you're camping or enjoying a cookout, wrap raw bacon around string cheese and cook on a grill on top of foil. Make sure to use thin slices so that they are cooked by the time the middle melts.
12. Fill a spring roll with string cheese
You probably don't need any convincing that melted string cheese is pretty good with a crunchy casing or wrapped up in bread. Thanks to TikTok foodies, you can take this culinary concept even further, or at least in a different direction. Love spring rolls and wontons? Forget the traditional fillings such as vegetables, beansprouts, and meat. Instead, go for an intense cheesy creation and serve with a marinara sauce. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and grated Parmesan.
You can get spring roll wrappers from the store, as well as lumpia ones which are a little thinner, and therefore crunchier. Traditional Filipino pork and vegetable lumpia are stuffed with shredded cabbage and minced carrots with garlic and ginger. However, you can also wrap up half of a string cheese stick, being sure to tuck the sides in to make a neat roll. Fry and drain before serving. If you're looking for an Asian-influenced dip, then combine Kewpie or another brand of Japanese mayo, with honey and hot sauce. Try Vietnamese Shin-Su sauce flavored with truffles to take this dip to another level that's sweet with on-fire umami notes.
13. Fry wrapped in deli meat
TikTok foodies are fans of tasty recipe hacks that anyone can try. When it comes to string cheese, you're likely not trying to create a gourmet dish. Instead, you'd possibly welcome an idea that takes you beyond eating the cheese straight out of the packet, not that there's anything wrong with that. To lift this snack from the school lunchbox to a more impressive serving, try wrapping the sticks in slices of cooked roast beef and frying.
Use thin slices of meat from the deli or grab a packet at the store. Wrap each string cheese stick in one slice of the meat. It's fine if the ends of the cheese are sticking out the end. Fry in a little butter or oil seam-side down so that the cheese melts and the meat sears. Roll them around so that they cook on all sides and the cheese starts to brown. Make a meal out of them by serving a few of these with a couple of fried eggs. You might enjoy this for breakfast at the weekend. Why not try different types of cooked meat wraparounds, such as sliced ham, turkey, or chicken? Change up what you serve them with, considering what dips will pair well.
14. Microwave string cheese for melted gooeyness
Wherever there's a focus for TikTok foodies, there's a microwave hack in the mix. And if you're a fan of the easiest cooking ideas ever, then microwaving string cheese is for you. It's a good one if you've got less than a minute to make a snack. Heat a string cheese stick on parchment paper for 20 seconds in the microwave so that it starts to melt and spread out. Add a line of tajin chamoy sauce down the middle of the cheese without lifting it from the paper. Sprinkle tajin seasoning over the top. Dig a crispbread into the cheese, or whatever else you like, and stretch it off the paper. The spicy, lime flavors of the Mexican cuisine ingredients make all the difference in the world taste-wise.
Even celebrated chef Andrew Zimmern has taken to TikTok to demonstrate a hack from basketball star LeBron James. First, grab a bag of Ruffles Flamin' Hot Cheddar & Sour Cream chips. This brand is the official chip of the NBA. There's no reason why you can't choose your personal favorite, however. Spread the chips out on a microwaveable plate. Peel layers of cheese from the sticks and top the chips with these. Microwave until the cheese melts into glorious gooeyness, checking after 30 seconds.