Pork Schnitzel An Easy German Dish

Pork Schnitzel is a traditional German dish made with thin slices of pork that are lightly fried in a flour, egg, and breadcrumb coating.

White platter of Easy German Pork Schnitzel made with thin slices of pork.

Pork Schnitzel Recipe

Today I get to share one of my favorite pork schnitzel recipes from Germany!

Out of the 28 years Alan served in the Navy, our family was lucky to experience a two year tour in Stuttgart, Germany.

That adventure was one of the best times of our lives! We lived on the economy renting a house in a little town called Möttlingen.

We shopped and ate locally, and quickly became known as “the American family!”

What does schnitzel mean in German?

Schnitzel originated in Austria, which is a thin small piece of meat or cutlet breaded and lightly fried.

Already sounds delicious right? 

Pork schnitzel is one of the meals that I ordered nine times out of ten when we went out to eat while in Germany. It’s so darn good!

I’m not sure if the simplicity of the dish that my palate likes or the fact that the schnitzel is fried, which is something I don’t normally order.  

My taste buds are happy for the change!

pork schnitzel with green salad on a white plate

What cut of meat to use for schnitzel

There are a variety of meats that can be used for schnitzel; pork, chicken, beef, veal, lamb, and turkey, but there is a common denominator.

All schnitzel is boneless and thinly sliced or tenderized by pounding to about 1/4 inch thickness.

In my opinion, the best cut of meat for schnitzel is Schweine (pork) -Schnitzel.

Use the following cuts:

  • Pork loin chops pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
  • Center cut pork, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
  • Thin cut pork chops

Prepare Pork Schnitzel For Cooking

To make, pound the meat to thin slices, season with salt and pepper, and then dipped into flour followed by beaten eggs and bread crumbs or panko.

That’s IT!

It only takes a couple of minutes to fry golden brown so this meal can be on your table in under 30 minutes!

Pork Schnitzel with salad on a white plate with a beer on the side

What to serve with a German Schnitzel meal

This is a recipe that both kids and adults love, and you don’t have to travel to get a taste of an authentic German meal!

Make this at home serving it with a crisp green salad, homemade German spätzle or this authentic German potato salad with bacon.

Of course, I wouldn’t forget the beer (bier)!

The Pilsner Urquell is my favorite German specialty beer, which is actually czech as a reader pointed out, but available though out Europe.

It’s light pale lager that is simply delicious!

Easy Pork Schnitzel recipe on a white plate with salad and glass of beer on the side

Can you freeze schnitzel?

Yes, you may freeze the schnitzel either before frying of after cooking and cooling the cutlets.

The following steps are for schnitzel that has been cooked:

  1. Cool the cooked cutlets, and then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or freezer paper in a single layer.
  2. Place baking sheet in the freezer and flash freeze for 20-60 minutes.
  3. Put the frozen cutlets in vacuum sealed bags.
  4. You may also layer two slices of schnitzel between freezer paper before vacuum sealing.

How To re-heat frozen schnitzel

  1. Place frozen schnitzel in the refrigerator and defrost.
  2. Heat it in the oven (300 degrees) on a cookie sheet, with a layer of foil loosely on top.
  3. TIP: Don’t wrap it tight, or the schnitzel crust will get soggy

The following steps are for schnitzel that has NOT been fried:

  1. After coating the meat with flour, egg and bread crumbs Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or freezer paper.
  2. Place in the freezer and let the meat harden completely – 2-3 hours.
  3. Follow the same step for freezing cooked schnitzel, item #3 and #4.
A white platter of pork schnitzel with lemon slices
Pork Schnitzel on a white dinner plate

Easy German Pork Schnitzel

Simple pork schnitzel lightly coated with a bread crumb and fried for a traditional German-style schnitzel. Enjoy with a simple salad.
4.85 from 44 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: German
Keyword: pork schnitzel recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 18 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 1231kcal
Author: Sandra Shaffer

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Add eggs, flour and bread crumbs to three separate shallow dishes and set aside.
  • Add oil to a large skillet and heat oil to 340-350 degrees (I used a candy thermometer to check temperature).
  • Pound pork with a flat side of the mallet until the meat is 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle both sides of pork with salt and pepper.
  • Lightly dip into flour, then egg and finally the bread crumbs.
  • When all pieces are coated fry without crowding the schnitzel. Fry until golden brown. A total of three minutes is all that is required.
  • Remove from skillet and place on a baking sheet with a cooling rack placed on top to let any excess oil drip off the schnitzel.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

The flour coating is very light dusting. Remove any clumps that might form. The egg dip is a quick coating. Don’t let the pork sit in the egg mix. Gently coat the meat with the bread crumbs. You should not need to pat the bread crumbs on the pork.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 1231kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 115g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 99g | Trans Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 224mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g

Disclaimer

Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.

Thank you National Pork Board for sponsoring this post. The opinions expressed are mine alone. 

Love this recipe? You also might like to try

Asian inspired Pork Rice Balls recipe, Albondigas Mexican Meatball Soup or my Chicken and Butternut Squash with Coconut Cream Sauce.

Schnitzel is thin slices of meat lightly coated with flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, then fried. Make this authentic German recipe at home! #schnitzel #pork #recipe #GermanFood #thefoodieaffair
Hugs Sandra Signature

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

52 Comments

  1. Hi,
    Having an Octoberfest party and don’t want to be cooking while the guests are having fun without me! Can I make the day before and reheat prior to the party? Suggestions? Thanks

    1. Absolutely! Just warm back up in the oven. I would put the pieces on a baking sheet that has a cooling rack right in the oven so the heat is distributed easily. 400°F for 10 minutes should do it! Have a wonderful party!

  2. Made this last night and my partner and son couldn´t stop raving about it, was easy to make, I prepped the pork an hour before cooking it and let it sit in the fridge, read somewhere that the breadcrumbs sit better after being cooled down for a bit, don´t know if that´s true or not but it gave me time to prep the side dishes in the meantime, will make this again for sure, thank you so much for sharing 🙂

  3. I have had pork schnitzel this evening , with leek and mayonnaise mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots. It was awesome.

  4. My family calls them “Wham Chops” only because when my 3 boys were little they couldn’t say Schnitzel and because the meat had to be pounded that is where the wham came into it. To this day they still call them this even though they are now 50 & 47.

  5. This was delicious. Hubs is a gravy man so I made a cream gravy for his pork & our mashies. Since we moved out of State we can no longer frequent our favorite German restaurant in TX. One of their best dishes was the pork schnitzel. Now I can finally make it at home. To save time & cleaning I breaded the chops in the afternoon & put them in the fridge for few hours. Dinner was on he table in 30 min.

  6. I have made these before except I buy a pork loin and cut it into 1 inch chops and then pound them until they are about 1/4 inch thick. I then do pretty much what this recipe calls for to finish them. If you really don’t want to do all this our local Aldi has a really good pork schnitzel about twice a year in the frozen section. You have to watch for them though because they go really fast.

  7. Yes, please! Pork Schnitzel is a favorite of mine (I fell in love with it while on a trip to Germany, too!). As much as I love it, I’ve never made it at home, but that’s about to change now that I have this recipe! 🙂

  8. It sounds like time spent in Germany was just wonderful and to come away with a meal like this? Simple, delicious and perfect this looks absolutely amazing!

    1. Hi Melissa! You can freeze the schnitzel, but be sure to put parchment or wax paper between each piece. Leave in in the refrigerator to thaw (best overnight), and then put on a baking sheet and reheat at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

  9. I love German food, being 1/2 German I have had some fantastic German recipes and your recipe looks wonderful!

  10. I guess you can tell by my name what my bloodline is,,, My grandparents re from the motherland as they still call it to this day….At age 13 my grandfather was taken from his home in Austria and forced into the military ( HITLER YOUTH CAMP ) is what he said they called it….
    Anyway I am going to make this for him this next week-end served with ICE COLD STINE OF BEER AND his favorite POTATOE DISH… I can’t wait to see thew LOOK in his eyes…. LOL

  11. My husband is German and schnitzel is a favorite of his – I will have to try this recipe for him!

  12. My sister and I had a great salad with pork schnitzel, artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes. It was served with a bright lemon vinaigrette. It was a nice meal. Thanks for reminding me.