Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Schnitzel (Schweineschnitzel)
The German pork schnitzel: a thin cutlet pounded flat, breaded in a loose golden crust, and fried until crisp, served with a wedge of lemon.
German · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 10 min
~290 cal · 18g protein · 33g carbs · 9g fat · 2g fiber · 2g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Schnitzel is one of Germany's favourite fried dishes, a cutlet pounded thin, breaded, and fried to a crisp golden shell. The Austrian original, Wiener Schnitzel, is a protected term that by law must be veal; the everyday German version, Schweineschnitzel, is made with pork and is what fills plates in restaurants and home kitchens across the country.
The technique is the whole dish: pound the cutlet to a quarter inch so it cooks in minutes, dredge it flour then egg then breadcrumbs, and, crucially, do not press the crumbs in. Fry it in enough hot fat that it swims, and the loose coating puffs and souffles away from the meat into the crisp, blistered crust that defines a proper schnitzel.
It comes to the table simply, with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over the crust and a side of Spatzle, fries, or German potato salad and a sharp green salad. Unfussy, crisp, and satisfying, schnitzel is weeknight cooking and Sunday treat alike.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally nut-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
4 (5 oz each) boneless pork cutlets (or veal for Wiener Art)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
to fry or butter, for frying
to serve lemon wedges, salt, and pepper
Instructions
1
Pound each cutlet between two sheets of plastic to about a quarter inch thick, then season both sides with salt and pepper.
✎ Chef’s note
Thin and even is what lets the meat cook through in the couple of minutes before the crust burns.
2
Set up three shallow dishes: flour, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs. Dredge each cutlet in flour, then egg, then crumbs, coating all over but not pressing the crumbs in.
✎ Chef’s note
A loose coating is the secret; pressed crumbs go dense, while a loose shell puffs and blisters.
3
Heat about a quarter inch of oil or clarified butter to around 330F, hot enough that a crumb sizzles briskly. Fry the cutlets so they swim, without crowding the pan.
4
Fry 2 to 3 minutes a side until deep golden, swirling the pan so fat washes over the top and the crust souffles.
5
Drain briefly, do not cover (steam softens the crust), and serve at once with lemon wedges to squeeze over the top.
German household classic.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Swabia. Both signature dishes hold protected EU names. Schwabische Spatzle and Schwabische Maultaschen were registered in 2012 and 2009, and the specification treats the hand-scraping of the batter from a wooden board as the quality marker rather than a picturesque detail. The tradition is documented back to at least 1725.
🗺️
Germany. Beyond beer halls, Germany is a land of serious regional home cooking, Swabian spätzle, Bavarian roasts, northern fish, and an unmatched bread and sausage culture. Hearty, seasonal, and built for cold winters, it prizes pork, potatoes, cabbage, and cured meats.
🌍
Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Germany
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German Breakfast (Brötchen)Fresh crusty rolls with butter, jam, cold cuts, cheese, and a soft-boiled egg, the German spread.
Browse all Germany recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Steamer.
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it a Germany meal
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Blaukraut (Bavarian Braised Red Cabbage)Lunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Schnitzel (Schweineschnitzel)?
The German pork schnitzel: a thin cutlet pounded flat, breaded in a loose golden crust, and fried until crisp, served with a wedge of lemon.
Where does Schnitzel (Schweineschnitzel) come from?
Schnitzel (Schweineschnitzel) is a German dish from Swabia, Germany.
Can Schnitzel (Schweineschnitzel) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Schnitzel (Schweineschnitzel) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Schnitzel (Schweineschnitzel) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Schnitzel (Schweineschnitzel) take to make?
About 25 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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