Homemade Copycat Bosco Sticks are some of the best breadsticks filled with gooey mozzarella cheese and fresh dough, making a delicious appetizer, lunch, or side dish.
If you loved the Bosco sticks they served in school growing up, then you will love these pizzeria quality homemade cheese sticks.
Whether you’re feeling nostalgic, need a little after school snack, or just want an easy recipe, these Bosco cheese sticks are sure to hit the spot.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
These homemade mozzarella cheese bosco sticks are a scrumptious combination of melty cheese wrapped in delicious breading that is baked to perfection in the oven. Serve them with a simple marinara mixture for added flavor.a
Recipe Ingredients:
- Flour: just some regular all-purpose flour will do
- Salt: use plain kosher salt or sea salt
- Sugar: to create the yeast dough, you will need to use white granulated sugar
- Yeast: for the best results, use a package of instant yeast found in the baking aisle
- Oil: using extra virgin olive oil in this is preferred, but whatever you have on hand will work
- Water: use lukewarm water to help grow the yeast, but not too hot or it will kill the yeast
- Butter: unsalted butter that has been melted to help brown up the breadsticks
- Cheese: for the best results, use grated parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese string sticks
- Sauce: you will need a combination of marinara sauce and red pesto sauce to get an amazing flavor in this dipping sauce
How To Make Homemade Bosco Sticks:
Make the dough:
- Make the dough: Combine all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast in a large mixing bowl.
- Make a well in the center and add extra-virgin olive oil and water.
- Stir the ingredients with a spatula until the dough comes together. Then, transfer the dough onto a floured kitchen surface and knead until smooth and elastic. You can also make the dough using a stand mixer with the dough hooks attached.
- Proof the dough: Place the dough in a clean and slightly oiled bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise at a warm spot until it doubles in size.
Prepare the Bosco sticks:
- Make the Bosco sticks: preheat oven to 375℉. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Punch down the dough to remove air from the dough. Roll the dough on a floured surface into a 16×8-inch rectangle.
- Cut the dough into 8 even strips.
- Place the mozzarella cheese strings into the center of each strip of dough. Fold the outer flaps of the dough over the cheese. Seal the edges all around the cheese. Roll the breadsticks into a log and place them seam side down on the baking sheet.
- Brush the dough with melted butter using a basting brush and sprinkle with parmesan.
Bake the Bosco sticks:
- Bake the sticks for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Prepare the dipping sauce:
- Combine marinara with red pesto in a bowl. Set aside until ready to serve.
Serve the Bosco sticks:
- Serve the Bosco sticks with marinara sauce on the side.
Expert Tips:
- You can cut mozzarella cheese into sticks if you do not have mozzarella string sticks.
- Add a little red pepper flakes to the sauce for a little extra heat.
- To make seasoned bread sticks, sprinkle with Italian seasonings and a little garlic powder after the melted butter is brushed on.
Frequently Asked Questions for Making Homemade Bosco Sticks:
These are fresh dough filled with cheese baked to delicious golden brown perfection. They are a tasty, fun handheld appetizer with a cheesy center and served with marinara sauce.
You can use store-bought pizza dough to make the process easier. So skip the dough-making step and go straight to preparing the bread sticks. You may not get that made-from-scratch taste, but it will save time and energy by using the store-bought dough.
Mozzarella cheese sticks are an easy way to fill these bosco sticks and get the best melty yet string cheese.
Be sure to seal the seam of the breadstick and place breadsticks with the seam down on the pan to add a little extra pressure.
Storage & Reheating Instructions:
Fridge: Store any remaining cheese sticks in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheat: To reheat, pop the breadsticks into an air fryer and reheat them at 350℉ for 4-5 minutes.
What pasta dishes to serve:
- Instant Pot Creamy Spaghetti Recipe (Easy Dinner)
- Instant Pot Ground Beef Lazy Lasagna Recipe
- Baked Spaghetti Casserole
- Easy Chicken Tetrazzini
Bosco Sticks Recipe
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour + 2 tablespoons
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons lukewarm water
- 1 Tablespoon melted butter
- 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
For the filling:
- 8 mozzarella cheese string sticks
To serve with:
- ⅓ cup marinara sauce
- 2 teaspoon red pesto sauce
Equipment
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Make the dough: Combine all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast in a large mixing bowl.
- Make a well in the center and add extra-virgin olive oil and water.
- Stir the ingredients with a spatula until the dough comes together. Then, transfer the dough onto a floured kitchen surface and knead until smooth and elastic. You can also make the dough using a stand mixer with the dough hooks attached.
- Proof the dough: Place the dough in a clean and slightly oiled bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise at a warm spot until it doubles in size.
Prepare the Bosco sticks:
- Make the Bosco sticks: preheat oven to 375℉. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Punch down the dough to remove air from the dough. Roll the dough on a floured surface into a 16×8-inch rectangle.
- Cut the dough into 8 even strips.
- Place the mozzarella cheese strings into the center of each strip of dough. Fold the outer flaps of the dough over the cheese. Seal the edges all around the cheese. Roll the breadsticks into a log and place them seam side down on the baking sheet.
- Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle with parmesan.
Bake the Bosco sticks:
- Bake the sticks for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- Prepare the dipping sauce:
- Combine marinara with red pesto in a bowl. Set aside until ready to serve.
Serve the Bosco sticks:
- Serve the Bosco sticks with marinara sauce on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
Can this be made keto friendly?
These were delicious – I’m fairly certain that I initially left out a significant amount of flour (I double the recipe and think maybe I didn’t double the flour), because it was way too hydrated at first. After I corrected my mistake the dough rose perfectly and was easy to work with. These were delicious and my children loved them!
These look delicious! Will the strip I am working with for each cheese stick be 16 inches be 16 inches long?
Thanks.
We haven’t tried making these keto friendly so we don’t have any advice in that area. We have only tested this with wheat flour.
In step 2 of the “Prepare the Bosco sticks” sections, it states to roll the dough on a floured surface into a 16×8-inch rectangle.
My husband said they were amazing. My daughter said good. I couldn’t try them because I’m gluten & dairy free. I had difficulty with the dough, it was not coming together so I added 1/2 tbsp. at a time of flour, about 2 tbsp. Total to get it to come together. It was still pretty sticky after using dough hook for 5+ minutes. The dough did rise but still sticky so I found it a bit difficult to work with.