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Home » Quick and Easy

Easy Pork Schnitzel

Published: Jan 6, 2021 · Last Modified: Aug 21, 2022 by Anecia

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You'll be surprised how fast this easy Pork Schnitzel comes together!

Tender boneless center-cut pork, lightly breaded and served with a lemon butter sauce!

In less than 15-minutes, you can have dinner on the table. 

What is a schnitzel?

"Schnitzel" refers to a thin, breaded and fried piece of meat...typically a boneless, center-cut pork.

You'll often find this on American restaurants that serve German food...usually with a side of warm German potato salad and Spätzle and gravy (noodles with brown gravy.)

Interestingly, pork schnitzel is an Austrian dish with a German name...go figure:)

Pork Schnitzel on white plate garnished with parsley and lemon.

You'll love this recipe!

  • Wicked fast - each pork chop takes about 4-minutes to cook
  • Light - pork, "the other white meat" is relatively lean and pairs well with lemon
  • Budget-friendly - center-cup pork chops are pretty inexpensive which is good if you're on a budget

Here's what you'll need

For the easy Pork Schnitzel, you'll need: Boneless, center-cut pork chops, eggs, panko bread crumbs, flour, onion and garlic powder, cayenne powder (optional), salt and pepper; oil for frying

Pork Schnitzel ingredients on counter.

For the lemon sauce, you'll need: butter, cornstarch, lemons and salt

How to make it

These easy pork schnitzels cook up really fast because the first thing you do is pat them dry then slice them in half lengthwise.

This makes them super-thin, fork-tender and fast-cooking!

Collage showing how to prep pork.

Set up a dredging station: one flat pan with lightly beaten eggs and another flat pan with panko, flour, and seasonings.

Heat a high-heat oil in a cast-iron skillet. Dredge pork cutlets in egg, then in panko mixture. Place in hot oil (about 300ºF); cook 2-3 minutes per side; remove and place on rack to drain.

A 10-inch skillet needs about 1½ cups of oil...

Pork Schnitzel frying in pan.
After about 2-minutes, lift a piece up to see if it's nice and brown on the bottom; if so, flip it; repeat for remaining pieces of pork

How to make the lemon sauce:

Make the quick and easy lemon sauce while the last batch is cooking! In a small saucepan, melt butter, whisk in cornstarch, remove from heat, add lemon juice and add salt to taste.

Tips

Slice the meat in half lengthwise; this ensures a nice, thin slice which will be fork-tender

These cook fast so if you're making side dishes, make them first, then fry the pork schnitzel last. 

Use a high-heat tolerant oil: canola, vegetable, peanut - do not use olive oil...it's not tolerant of high-heat.

Once you place the pork cutlet in the hot oil, don't move it for at least a minute or two; peek and see if the bottom is golden brown; if it is, turn it over 

Pork is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 145ºF; you can use a meat thermometer if you want, but these cook in about 4-minutes when the oil is about 300ºF

How to properly thaw pork

As with any other meat, you want to thaw it either in the fridge or in a bowl of tap water; change the water every 30-minutes until meat is thawed

Do not re-freeze thawed meat

What cut of pork to buy

Buy boneless, center-cut pork chops or slice a pork tenderloin into ¼"-inch slices. Do not buy "breakfast chops" or "bone-in" chops.

Reheating

Turn oven to 375-400ºF and place pork schnitzels on a baking pan uncovered for about 15 minutes or until they're warm throughout.

Serving suggestions

Serve crispy pork schnitzel with German or Southern Potato Salad and braised cabbage. Or, serve it over lemon infused noodles with a side of broccoli or asparagus! 

Pork Schnitzel with German potato salad and cabbage on white plate.

This easy pork schnitzel is perfect for a busy weeknight or a quick dinner. 

Related recipes

  • 5-Minute Lemon Sauce
  • Brussels Sprouts with Horseradish Cream
  • How to make the Perfect Beef Tenderloin

 

If you make this recipe, please scroll down and leave a rating and comment! I love to hear from you!

Pork Schnitzel on white plate garnished with parsley and lemon

Pork Schnitzel

Pork Schnitzel is a light German or Austrian dish consisting of a thin slice of center-cut pork, breaded in a crusty panko coating and served with a lemon butter sauce.
5 from 5 votes
Print Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: German
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Total Yield: 8 cutlets
Author: Anecia Hero
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Ingredients 

Pork Schnitzel Ingredients

  • 1 lb. boneless pork chops , (about 4 center-cut pork loins)
  • 1 cup oil ,canola or vegetable, not olive
  • 3 whole eggs ,slightly beaten
  • 2 cups panko crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons flour , all-purpose
  • ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt , kosher

Lemon Sauce Ingredients

  • 8 oz. butter
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 large lemons juiced
  • salt to taste

Instructions 

Pork Schnitzel Preparation

  • Set up dipping and dredging station: 1 flat pan with slightly beaten eggs and another flat pan for the panko crumbs, flour, onion and garlic powder, salt and cayenne; combine well
    3 whole eggs, 2 cups panko crumbs, 2 tablespoons flour, ⅛ teaspoon onion powder, ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder, ⅛ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Using a sharp knife, cut the pork cutlet in lengthwise; lightly season cutlets with salt and pepper on both sides
    Collage showing how to prep pork
  • Heat a heavy bottomed skillet with 1 cup oil on medium to medium-high
    1 cup oil
  • Dip each cutlet into eggs, then dredge it in the panko crumbs; make sure both sides are well coated; add panko coated cutlet to hot oil. Do not move the cutlet until it has browned on the bottom
    1 lb. boneless pork chops
    Pork Schnitzel in frying pan
  • Repeat process; work in batches; if the cutlets start to get too brown, pour the old grease into the trash, wipe out pan with paper towels, and add fresh oil; repeat until all cutlets are done. (Have a cooling rack nearby so as each cutlet can drain; cover cooked cutlets with foil).

Lemon Butter Sauce Preparation

  • In a skillet on medium heat, melt butter; whisk in cornstarch; remove from heat; allow to cool a few minutes; add lemon and stir well; season for salt
    8 oz. butter, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 large lemons, salt to taste
  • Drizzle lemon butter sauce over pork schnitzel and serve

Notes

  • This recipe is for four cutlets cut in half, eight total pieces of protein
  • Cook them in batches,  3-4 at a time, depending upon the size of your skillet and burner 
  • Pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145º F
A note about yield and servings:
  • I used four small cutlets (about 2" x 4") and sliced them lengthwise for a total of 8 small pieces.
  • I served two sides with the pork schnitzel and my husband had 3 pork pieces; keep this in mind if you're serving a larger group
  • There's not much shrinkage on pork cutlets due to the fact that they're so lean in fat

Nutrition Estimate

Serving: 1cutletsCalories: 606kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 16gFat: 54gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 14gMonounsaturated Fat: 30gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 443mgPotassium: 302mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 1035IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg
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Comments

  1. Celesta says

    January 20, 2021 at 7:07 pm

    5 stars
    This was really quick and easy! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

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Anecia Hero, Food Blogger

About SmartyPantsKitchen

I'm Anecia, a native Texan, author, cook and photographer for SmartyPantsKitchen where I'm sharing Traditional and Contemporary Southern recipes for cooks of all levels. There's nothing fancy or gourmet about my recipes-just easy, simple, delicious and memorable! Take a tour and check out delicious recipes! 

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