Fried Goat Cheese

When my sister lived in Greenville, SC, we went to The Lazy Goat every time I visited. I was in love with the place because it was all of our favorite Mediterranean/Middle Eastern foods that our Nana Jeanie introduced to us. I even wrote all about it on this blog. She recently went back to Greenville to visit friends, and it made me miss it. So this week I decided to recreate my absolute favorite appetizer from the restaurant; their fried goat cheese balls.

I whipped up the easy batter for the fried goat cheese first. That’s because it needs to be incredibly cold when it hits the oil to get that gorgeously light, crispy texture. Because I made it first, it could chill in the refrigerator while I did everything else.
Next, I took my lovely goat cheese and formed them into little balls that were about half an ounce each. With 8 ounces of goat cheese total, this recipe yielded 16 pieces of fried goat cheese. They needed to chill as well to firm up again. If they didn’t, they would have melted into oblivion the minute they hit the oil.
Because they only took a minute to fry, I fried up two pieces of goat cheese at a time. That way I could really babysit them in that short time. It was essential to drain them on paper towel when they finished frying so that they weren’t greasy.

Once all of the fried goat cheese balls were golden perfection, I topped them the same way as at the restaurant. They got a nice drizzle of honey and a big sprinkle of chopped pistachios. Oh my goodness, it was like being right back in Greenville! The slight change I added was ground mahlab. It’s a traditional Middle Eastern spice made of the black cherry pit. I loved the way that bit of spice came through the sweetness of the honey and tang of the goat cheese. Hope you all love these too! xoxo

Fried Goat Cheese
Fried Goat Cheese
Fried Goat Cheese
Fried Goat Cheese
4.67 from 3 votes
Fried Goat Cheese
Fried Goat Cheese
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
1 hr 40 mins
 

These little fried goat cheese balls are pure heaven with a big drizzle of honey and crunchy pistachios on top. So great as an elegant appetizer! 

Course: Appetizer
Keyword: Cheese, Fried Goat Cheese, Goat Cheese
Servings: 16 balls
Calories: 163 kcal
Author: Jeanie and Lulu's Kitchen
Ingredients
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour divided
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons honey divided
  • 2 1/4 cups soda water cold
  • 8 ounces goat cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground mahlab can be found in spice shops and online
  • 2 pinches freshly cracked black pepper
  • canola oil as needed for frying
  • 1 tablespoon shelled pistachios roughly chopped for topping
Instructions
  1. First, make the batter. Whisk 2 cups of the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl to aerate them. Then whisk in 2 tablespoons of the honey, followed by the cold soda water. Whisk it all together thoroughly until it is smooth, then refrigerate it until you are ready to fry. After that, take the goat cheese and form it into 16 little balls that are about 1/2 an ounce each. Set them in refrigerator for an hour to firm back up again.
  2. When the hour is almost up, whisk the remaining cup of flour, mahlab and cracked black pepper together in a shallow bowl. Get out a medium saucepan and fill it halfway with the canola oil. Use a deep fry thermometer to make sure the temperature reaches and stays around 375. Get out the goat cheese balls and batter. In batches of two, coat the goat cheese balls in the seasoned flour first, followed by the batter. Drop them in the oil and stir them around so that they don't stick.
  3. After a minute, they should be perfectly golden and crispy. Remove them with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat this with the remaining 14 goat cheese balls in batches of two until they are all fried to perfection. Pile them on a plate or in a bowl and drizzle the additional honey on top, followed by the chopped pistachios. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Fried Goat Cheese
Amount Per Serving (1 goat cheese bite)
Calories 163 Calories from Fat 49
% Daily Value*
Fat 5.4g8%
Saturated Fat 3.5g22%
Cholesterol 15mg5%
Sodium 202mg9%
Potassium 68mg2%
Carbohydrates 21.7g7%
Fiber 0.7g3%
Sugar 3.6g4%
Protein 6.8g14%
Calcium 110mg11%
Iron 1.4mg8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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10 thoughts on “Fried Goat Cheese”

  1. I absolutely love goat cheese. I feel like I’ve tried everything there is to try with goat cheese, including a spinach mushroom quiche- but I’ve never had fried goat cheese. It looks delicious. I’m certainly going to give these a try. Thanks for sharing.

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