Air Fryer Pizza Breadsticks (2024)

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Made with a golden, flaky crust and filled with gooey cheese, these easy Air Fryer Pizza Bread Sticks with pepperoni are the perfect pizza dippers.

Pizza Stick Snacks Recipe

Cheesy, pepperoni pizza-stuffed breadsticks from Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough? Yes, please.

These pizza dippers are fun to make in your air fryer (or oven) and super kid-friendly. Your family will do handstands for them.

These mouthwatering treats combine the classic pizza flavors into a convenient and portable finger food, and they are perfect pizza stick snacks for summertime parties or even school lunches.

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My family loves these mozzarella pizza sticks made in a flash in our air fryer.

All you need to make these cheesy treats is store-purchased pizza dough, pepperoni, cheese sticks, basic spices, and pizza or marinara sauce.

Our family also loves these Air Fryer Pizza Balls made with Pillsbury Grands biscuits.

Ingredients for making air fryer pizza dippers recipe

Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust dough or similar: You’ll find this in the refrigerated section close to where canned biscuits and pie crusts are located.
Pepperoni: I used regular pepperoni, but mini pepperoni would be fun to use or you could certain substitute turkey pepperoni also. You could substitute cooked sausage or ground beef, if preferred.
Mozzarella cheese sticks: These are also known as string cheese sticks. We opted for the traditional pizza combination of mozzarella and pepperoni, but you can vary the pizza ingredient combination you use.
Pizza or marinara sauce: This is what you’ll use for dipping. My family also likes to have Ranch dressing alongside these pizza bread sticks for dipping.
Optional ingredients: Melted butter, garlic powder, dried parsley for brushing over the breadsticks before and after baking, as preferred.

How to make air fryer pizza bread sticks

Lay the pizza dough out on a clean, dry work surface that is very lightly dusted with a bit of flour.

Unroll the dough, rolling it out a bit with your rolling pin into a rectangle.

Cut the dough in half lengthwise. Cut each dough half into 5 rectangles.

On each rectangle of dough, overlap 4 pepperoni slices in a row, then top the pepperoni with a mozzarella cheese stick.

Starting on the long side of each dough rectangle, roll the pepperoni and the cheese stick up inside the dough, folding the dough at each end to cover what’s inside.

Pinch all the dough seams together well so the cheese can’t escape as it bakes.

Will these pizza sticks work for school lunch?

These pizza dippers are perfect for school lunch. Make large batches, pop them into the air fryer in the morning following the directions below, and pack them for school lunch pizza sticks.

Can I make frozen pizza bread sticks in the air fryer?

After you assemble these breadsticks, pop them into the freezer on a sheet pan. Once they are frozen solid, place the breadsticks into a gallon freezer bag and store in the freezer. Doing it this way allows you to pulled out as many or as few breadsticks at a time to bake fresh.

Should I thaw the frozen breadsticks before baking them?

Bake the breadsticks while frozen; don’t thaw them first. To bake from frozen, place the breadsticks onto a greased baking sheet and bake them in a preheated 325 degree F. oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

How would I bake these pizza breadsticks in the oven instead of the air fryer?

To bake these pizza breadsticks in the oven instead of your air fryer, place them onto a greased baking sheet and into the oven on the center rack, uncovered; bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Can I use any cheese stick inside these cheese pizza sticks?

You can use any cheese stick to make these breadsticks. You could dip the breadstick in salsa instead of marinara if you use a cheddar cheese stick or a Colby Jack cheese stick.

What about using my own homemade pizza dough….is that okay?

Any refrigerated dough (homemade or store purchased) can make these pizza-stuffed breadsticks.

Are other dipping sauces would be good with these pizza bread sticks?

As for dipping sauces, we love warm pizza sauce for dipping, along with ranch dressing. Or sometimes, I combine a bit of bbq sauce with the ranch dressing for another type of dipping sauce to switch things up.

If I choose to bake pizza breadsticks in my oven, does it matter what type of baking sheet I use?

A heavy-duty (or commercial grade) sheet pan is key for promoting even browning when making sheet pans meals.

Good browning of all the ingredients is what really contributes to deeper, richer flavors in anything we cook. A heavy-duty sheet pan is worth the investment.

More Recipes to Enjoy

Pepperoni Biscuit Rolls
Pulled Pork Nachos in the Air Fryer
Roasted Broccoli Parmesan Made in the Air Fryer
Air Fryer French Bread Pizza

Air Fryer Pizza Breadsticks

Made with a golden, flaky crust and filled with gooey cheese, these easy Air Fryer Pizza Bread Sticks with pepperoni are the perfect pizza dippers.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 bread sticks

Calories: 151kcal

Ingredients

1 tube or roll refrigerated pizza crust dough (don't use thin-style pizza crust dough)
50 pepperoni slices
10 mozzarella cheese sticks
2 Tbs. butter
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. fresh minced or dried parsley
Pizza or marinara sauce, for dipping

Instructions

Lay the pizza dough out on a clean, dry work surface that is very lightly dusted with a bit of flour.
Unroll the dough, rolling it out a bit with your rolling pin into a rectangle; cut the dough in half lengthwise. Cut each dough half into 5 rectangles.
On each rectangle of dough, overlap 4 pepperoni slices in a row, then top the pepperoni with a mozzarella cheese stick.
Starting on the long side of each dough rectangle, roll the pepperoni and the cheese stick up inside the dough, folding the dough at each end to cover what's inside. Pinch all the dough seams together well so the cheese can't escape as it bakes.
Place the prepared air fryer bread sticks onto the greased rack of the air fryer, not touching.
Melt the butter, stirring in the garlic powder and dried parsley; gently brush this over the dough.
To Air Fry: Air fry the breadsticks for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown, working in batches if needed.
To Bake: Place the prepared air fryer bread sticks onto a greased baking sheet. Bake on the center oven rack at 400 degrees F., uncovered, for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Brush the warm breadsticks with more melted butter and serve with a side of warm marinara or pizza sauce for dipping!

Notes

Recipe Tips

You can use any type of cheese stick for making these breadsticks. If you use a cheddar cheese stick or a colby jack cheese stick, you could dip the bread stick in salsa instead of marinara.

Any type of refrigerated dough (homemade or store purchased) can be use for making these pizza-stuffed breadsticks.

After you assemble these breadsticks, you can pop them into the freezer on a sheet pan. Once they are frozen solid, place the breadsticks into a gallon freezer bag and store in the freezer. Doing it this way allows you to pulled out as many or as few breadsticks at a time to bake fresh.

Bake the breadsticks while they are still frozen, don’t thaw them first. To bake from frozen, place the breadsticks onto a greased baking sheet and bake them in a preheated 325 degree F. oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

To bake these pizza breadsticks in the oven instead of your air fryer, simply place them onto a greased baking sheet and into the oven on the center rack, uncovered; bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

A heavy-duty (or commercial grade) sheet pan is key for promoting even browning when making sheet pans meals. Good browning of all the ingredients is what really contributes to deeper, richer flavors in anything we cook. A heavy-duty sheet pan is worth the investment.