Air Fryer Cheese Curds

5 from 5 votes

These Air Fryer Cheese Curds are a less greasy alternative to fried cheese curds! They have a crispy panko coating and a gooey cheese filling.

Prep Time15

Cook Time5

Total Time20

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 319kcal

Combine the flour, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and mix to combine.
Spray the air fryer basket lightly with oil.
Dip the cheese curds in flour, then egg, then roll in panko and place in the air fryer basket.
Repeat until all cheese curds are coated.
Cook at 350F for 4-6 minutes, until golden brown on outside. (Start checking them at 3 minutes to make sure they don't melt).

Cheese curds should be cold before you start breading them. This will help slow the melting process as they cook.
To ensure even cooking, arrange the cheese curds in a single layer in the air fryer basket and don’t overcrowd them. This may mean cooking them in multiple batches.
If they look like they are browning too much on one side, you can flip them over.
As cheese curds cook and melt quickly, start checking on them after 3 minutes. If you overcook them, cheese will ooze out into the air fryer.
Since melted cheese can be sticky, I suggest spraying your air fryer basket with oil, especially if you don’t have a non-stick basket.
Larger cheese curds will take longer to cook. I like to make sure the curds I’m using are all roughly the same size.
If your air fryer model requires preheating, you should preheat it before adding the cheese curds.
Different air fryer brands and models will vary slightly, so you may need to adjust the temperature and air frying time slightly.