Mozzarella in Carrozza (Fried Mozzarella Sandwiches)
Updated Sep 02, 2024, Published Sep 10, 2020
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Mozzarella in Carrozza – Italian fried mozzarella sandwiches made with a creamy and oozy mozzarella centre and a crispy and delicious fried bread outside. A totally indulgent and comforting treat you’ll be making again and again!
Mozzarella in Carrozza literally translates as ‘mozzarella in a carriage’. The carriage is made with white bread dipped in flour then an egg and milk mixture before being fried so it’s crispy and delicious. It’s a super-indulgent grilled cheese and it’s every bit as delicious as it sounds!
This is a popular snack eaten all over Italy and it’s both super easy to make and budget-friendly, all you need is a few simple pantry ingredients.
I like to serve this on a lazy weekend afternoon when I want something a little extra special but I also LOVE to make it for “dinner” with a glass of red wine. After a long day, it’s the perfect comfort food meal!
Ingredients – what you need
This recipe is made with basic ingredients; white bread (crusts removed), fresh mozzarella cheese, eggs, milk, flour, sunflower oil. See the photo below that shows all the ingredients you need!
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Pin ItHow to make Mozzarella in Carrozza – step by step
First, cut the crusts from the bread and discard (photo 1).
Cut the mozzarella into slices (medium thickness, not too thin) and add them to one slice of bread. Cover the top of the mozzarella with another slice of bread to make a sandwich and cut diagonally into triangles (photos 2 & 3).
Dust each triangle in flour making sure to cover the edges well (photo 4).
Whisk the milk and eggs together in a bowl then dip the triangles into the mixture quickly but making sure all edges are covered (photo 5).
Fry in sunflower oil for a couple seconds each side until browned and crispy, drain for a few seconds on kitchen paper then serve (photos 6-8).
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- Frying – make sure your oil is nice and hot before frying. To test it, drop a small piece of crust into the oil, if it sizzles and floats it’s ready.
- Draining – because these mozzarella sandwiches are fried it’s best to let them drain on kitchen paper for a few minutes before serving. It also lets them cool down, they’ll be super hot after frying.
- Variations – if you want to jazz up your Mozzarella in Carrozza, salted anchovies, prosciutto, grilled vegetables or sun-dried tomatoes are delicious variations but this is super versatile and you can add whatever you like!
You’ll get the best results from using oil. It’ll give you a super crispy outside and an extra creamy and melted cheesy middle. You can use butter but it’ll take much longer to fry and you won’t quite get the same texture.
More Italian snacks you might like
- La Piadina: Italian Flatbread
- Chicken Pesto Ciabatta
- Burrata and Anchovy Sandwich from Amalfi
- Grissini – Italian Breadsticks
- La Giardiniera sott’aceto – Italian Pickled Vegetables
- Italian Farinata Chickpea Flatbread (La Cecina Toscana)
If you’ve tried this Mozzarella in Carrozza or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
This post was first published on 19th September 2017 but has since been updated.
Step By Step Photos Above
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Mozzarella in Carrozza (fried mozzarella sandwiches)
Ingredients
- 4 slices white bread, , crusts removed
- 1 ball mozzarella, (4.2 oz/120g)
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup milk, (150ml)
- 5 tbsp flour
- sunflower oil, , for frying
- salt and pepper, , to season
Instructions
- Add the eggs and milk to a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper and whisk together. Add the flour on a separate plate and set them both aside.
- Cut the mozzarella into slices, medium thickness. Divide the mozzarella slices between two slices of crustless bread. Make sure no mozzarella is outside the edges of the bread.
- Cover each slice of bread topped with mozzarella with another slice of bread to create a sandwich. Cut each sandwich diagonally to make triangles.
- Add enough sunflower oil to a pan so it's 1/4 inch deep. Dip each triangle in flour making sure to cover all edges. One by one dip each triangle in egg quickly again making sure to cover all edges.
- Place each egg dipped triangle in the oil and fry the sandwiches in batches until browned and crispy on each side.
Video
Notes
- Frying – make sure your oil is nice and hot before frying. To test it, drop a small piece of crust into the oil, if it sizzles and floats it’s ready.
- Draining – because these mozzarella sandwiches are fried it’s best to let them drain on kitchen paper for a few minutes before serving. It also lets them cool down, they’ll be super hot after frying.
- Variations – if you want to jazz up your Mozzarella in Carrozza, salted anchovies, prosciutto, grilled vegetables or sun-dried tomatoes are delicious variations but this is super versatile and you can add whatever you like!
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These look amazing! I’ve never seen a recipe that didn’t have breadcrumbs. Personally, these look much better than the breaded version. Would you recommend putting salt in the flour? Also do you strain the mozzarella? Thanks.
Ciao Nancy, yes you could add a sprinkle of salt to the flour for a little seasoning. I always pat the mozzarella well with kitchen paper to remove excess moisture before assembling them. Hope you enjoy it!
Excellent recipe!
Two questions:
1. Do you think this might work with the sandwiches misted with oil and baked?
2. For tomato sauce, what do you think of using passata or crushed tomatoes instead of whole peeled?
Hi William, I’m not entirely sure they would bake well and still have a crispy texture but let me know if you try it! If you want to serve them with a tomato sauce I think passata would be your best bet 🙂
Simple comfort food. This is fabulous! Gives new meaning to grilled cheese sandwich. 🙂
It’s definitely extra indulgent but worth it, thanks Christine!
Your pictures are mouth watering! I love mozzarella in carrozza and yours looks really delicious. Thanks for sharing this 🙂
Thanks so much Linda!
give me a bowl of marinara sauce and I am all over this. wow yummy
Thanks Maria