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Home Collections Quick Dinner Recipes

Schnitzel

By:Nagi
Published:3 Mar '19Updated:26 Mar '21
151 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

This is how to make a Schnitzel that’s extra crunchy and beautifully golden!  Schnitzel can be made with pork, veal, chicken, beef or turkey. So use whatever meat you want.

If you’re after a traditional German schnitzel, use pork. Or for Austrian, use veal!

Overhead photo of crispy Schnitzel with lemon wedges

Schnitzel

I love all things fried and my bottom hates me for it.

And of all deep fried things, Schnitzel is very high up on the list. I certainly had more than my fair share during my travels in Austria!!

Despite my love of all things deep fried, doing it at home is rare, mainly because I have a thing about “wasting” oil. Usually if I deep fry something, I end up using the same oil to make something else just so I’m not “wasting” it.

Not so good for Da Diet.

But quite simply, there are some things in this world that are worth deep frying, and a seriously crunchy, perfectly golden schnitzel is one of them.

There is nothing quite like a freshly made schnitzel. Extra crunchy and golden, make this with pork, chicken, veal or turkey. www.recipetineats.com

What kind of meat is used for schnitzel?

Schnitzel is most commonly made with pork, chicken or veal. But it’s also made with beef and mutton. There are loads of different varieties, especially across Europe. But the two most well known ones are:

  • German  – made with pork

  • Austrian (Wiener Schnitzel)- veal

My favourites are pork and veal – for flavour, texture and fond memories of my travels!

How to make Schnitzel

There’s nothing tricky about making schnitzel.

  • Pound meat of choice (pork, veal, chicken, turkey, beef)

  • Sprinkle with salt and pepper;

  • Coat in flour, dredge in egg, coat in panko breadcrumbs (SUPER extra crunch!)

  • Fry until golden

I like to use a rolling pin to pound the meat because there’s less risk of tearing the meat, but you can use a meat mallet if you have one.

The meat shown in the step photos below is pork. The photo at the top of the page is chicken.

There is nothing quite like a freshly made schnitzel. Extra crunchy and golden, make this with pork, chicken, veal or turkey. www.recipetineats.com

Shallow Fry. Not Deep Fry!

Actually, you don’t need to deep DEEP fry schnitzel. I shallow fry  in about 1.5cm / 3/5″ oil. That’s enough to ensure the crumb cooks evenly.

Using more oil doesn’t really make any difference.

There is nothing quite like a freshly made schnitzel. Extra crunchy and golden, make this with pork, chicken, veal or turkey. www.recipetineats.com

How to re-use oil

The oil can be reused twice because the schnitzel flavour is pretty neutral in this recipe so it doesn’t infuse oil with flavour (as opposed to heavily seasoned food like Southern Fried Chicken which taints the oil with flavour).

To re-use the oil, cool in pot, line mesh colander with a single layer of paper towel, strain oil. Store until required – personally would stick to savoury rather than sweet.

Try Stay-Crispy Honey Chicken, Arancini Balls, Japanese Karaage, Mongolian Beef, Sweet and Sour Pork or Southern Fried Chicken!

How to serve Schnitzel

  • Straight up with just a squeeze of lemon. It’s certainly juicy enough such that you don’t need a sauce!

  • Schnitzel sauce – my favourite is mushroom gravy.

  • On the side – mashed potato, fries or crispy Potato Rosti are common options.

  • Fresh side – I also like to serve it with a side of something fresh, like this Everyday Cabbage Salad or Cabbage and Fennel Slaw

There is nothing quite like a freshly made schnitzel. Extra crunchy and golden, make this with pork, chicken, veal or turkey. www.recipetineats.com

This whole food blogging business – editing photos, making videos, and writing about all this deliciousness that is schnitzel – really can be painful. As in – torture. It’s Monday and I swore I was going to be good this week (yeah, yeah, I know you’ve heard it before). I have Healthy Spanish Veggie Soup waiting to be reheated.

Now all I can think about is schnitzel. 😩

Freshly made, golden brown, extra crunchy, super juicy inside. This is a must!!! – Nagi x


More crunchy crumbed chicken 

  • Golden Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

  • Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders – also the Parmesan version

  • Crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast – LOW CARB marvel!

  • Shortcut Healthy Crunchy Chicken Schnitzel

  • Oven Fried “KFC” Chicken Tenders (11 secret herbs & spices!)

And more things worth deep frying

There’s not many! I’m very selective about what I deep fry – I have to really love it!!

  • Churros

  • Arancini Balls

  • Falafel

  • Spring Rolls

  • Coconut Shrimp

Close up of Schnitzel on a plate with crispy potato rosti

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

Schnitzel recipe video! This is made with pork. I only cooked 1 in the skillet because I used a smallish skillet for safety reasons (I use a gas stove for videos, skillet is quite high off the work surface).

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There is nothing quite like a freshly made schnitzel. Extra crunchy and golden, make this with pork, chicken, veal or turkey. recipetineats.com

Schnitzel!

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 25 mins
Mains
Austrian, German, Western
4.94 from 43 votes
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 410
Recipe VIDEO above. Golden brown and extra crunchy schnitzel. No need to deep fry, just shallow fry it. Make schnitzel with pork, chicken, veal, beef or turkey! These are quite big - about 22 cm/ 9" long, but they are thin. 

Ingredients

Choose ONE of these:

  • 600g / 1.2 lb boneless pork (4 steaks / boneless chops, about 150 g/5 oz each)
  • 600g / 1.2 lb large chicken breasts (2 pieces,300g / 10 oz each)
  • 600g / 1.2 lb veal or beef steaks (4 pieces, 150g / 5 oz each)
  • 600g / 1.2 lb turkey breast cutlets (4 pre sliced pieces, 150g / 5 oz each)

Schnitzel:

  • Salt and pepper
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs (Note 1)
  • Oil for frying (canola, vegetable)

Instructions

  • Chicken breast prep: cut in half horizontally to create two steaks.
  • Place the protein of choice on a work surface and cover with a sheet of baking paper or cling wrap. Use a rolling pin to pound to even thickness about 0.8 cm / 1/3" thick (don't pound too thin, hard to handle / might tear).
  • Sprinkle both sides of meat with salt and pepper.
  • Place flour in one dish, panko in another (or use a large tray for both like I did, see photos), and whisk eggs in a bowl.
  • Coat meat in flour, shake off excess. Dip into egg, shake off excess. Press into breadcrumbs, and turn, pressing to adhere, then transfer to plate. Repeat.
  • Heat 1.5cm / 3/5" oil in a heavy based deep skillet over medium high heat.
  • Dip the end of a schnitzel in to check if the oil is hot enough - it should sizzle straight away (see video).
  • Carefully place 2 schnitzels in the oil and cook for 3 minutes until deep golden, turn then cook the other side for 3 minutes.
  • Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain excess oil. Repeat with remaining schnitzel. 
  • Serve with lemon wedges - I usually serve schnitzel plain like this. Or see note for Mushroom Gravy recipe. Also see note for potato rosti, pictured in post.

Recipe Notes:

1. Panko breadcrumbs are larger than normal breadcrumbs so they create a far better crunchy crumb. Readily available in large supermarkets or Asian grocery stores. 
2. MUSHROOM GRAVY - use the gravy in this Chicken with Mushroom Gravy recipe.
3. Nutrition per serving, schnitzel only assuming this is made with chicken breast.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 149gCalories: 374cal (19%)
Keywords: Schnitzel
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Originally published August 2017. Updated for housekeeping matters March 2019, no change to recipe.

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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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151 Comments

  1. Colleen Hotchkis says

    January 29, 2023 at 8:46 am

    5 stars
    I love all your recipes!
    Really like this one but I have now started blending 2 recipes of yours together. Chicken tenders (batter)with this one. Less mess ! And the chicken tender batter is tasty. I used pork and fast fried as per this recipe 😋😋😋

    Reply
  2. Edeltraud Seliger says

    March 29, 2022 at 11:04 pm

    4 stars
    “Schnitzel cut” meat, also called “scallopini” in Canada, is a tough piece of meat that is cut thin and pounded with a mallet to make it edible. Tried eating it just pan-fried in my student bed-sit. Inedible! Using high quality, milk-fed veal is our favourite. It’s expensive per kilo, but deliciously affordable at one Schnitzel per person.

    Reply
  3. Tobias says

    February 15, 2022 at 11:16 pm

    Please stop raping the Schnitzel with gravy. In Austria you will get the death penalty if you serve Schnitzel with gravy.

    Reply
    • Kartini Riedl says

      July 15, 2022 at 1:03 pm

      Well Tobias, we aren’t in Austria. We are in our country which is called Australia. Here we have freedom to chose to eat whatever we want WITH whatever we want without any threat of being shot!!

      Reply
  4. Susanne says

    January 10, 2022 at 5:10 am

    5 stars
    In Austria we do not put gravy on a Schnitzel. We think this is rather weird. But AS you wrote Schnitzel and gravy is done in Germany. We eat Schnitzel with lingonberry jam and potato salad or french fries. But very good recipes. 😋
    Greetings from Innsbruck/Austria

    Reply
  5. Taysia says

    September 17, 2021 at 4:35 pm

    5 stars
    Amazing! Even the ones I accidentally burnt still tasted good lol Schnitzel has always been my fave pub meal but I live in a city now where it’s almost impossible to get a simple schnitzel and gravy at a pub so I very much appreciated this recipe. I made with the mushroom gravy which was also really good. I did half with mushrooms for my boyfriend and half without for me cos I hate mushrooms so I can’t
    Fully vouch for the mushroom side of the recipe but my bf loves it.

    Reply
  6. Suzin says

    August 28, 2021 at 11:53 pm

    My Danish MIL would serve with a filet of anchovy on top with a wedge of lemon. Delicious

    Reply
  7. Kat says

    July 28, 2021 at 7:25 am

    Hey Nagi, try sprinkling vegeta on the schnitzel instead of salt (or put it in the egg mixture) for GREAT flavour!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 28, 2021 at 7:06 pm

      Yes you can definitely do that if you prefer!! N x

      Reply
      • Lucie says

        June 15, 2022 at 10:36 pm

        Will definitely have better flavour with vegeta – it contains MSG so will highlight the ‘meatiness’ nicely

        Reply
  8. Jacquie says

    July 26, 2021 at 2:04 pm

    I like your idea of using a sheet pan instead of two bowls to dredge the meat in. Thanks for that tip.

    Reply
  9. Possum says

    June 13, 2021 at 11:05 am

    Hey Nagi, I’m cooking this tonight but I have a large family so will have to cook in batches. Just wondering the best way to keep them warm in the oven without the crumbs going soft or falling off? Cheers!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 14, 2021 at 11:33 am

      Hi Possum (!!!) – The best thing to do is hold them in the oven. Preheat your oven to 75C, put done schnitzels on a rack over a tray so the air can circulate underneath. – Nxx

      Reply
      • Possum says

        June 16, 2021 at 1:36 pm

        This worked perfectly! Thanks so much! 😊

        Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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