Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Kotlet Schabowy
A thin, golden breaded pork cutlet, Poland's Sunday-dinner and everyday-lunch staple, served with potatoes and cabbage.
Polish · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 15 min
~397 cal · 16g protein · 61g carbs · 9g fat · 3g fiber · 11g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Kotlet schabowy is the breaded pork cutlet of Poland, a cousin of the Wiener schnitzel that became a national institution. It is the classic Sunday obiad, the main midday meal, and the taste of Polish home cooking.
A slice of pork loin is pounded thin, dredged in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, and fried in plenty of fat until crisp and golden. It is served without ceremony alongside boiled potatoes and a mound of surówka, a fresh cabbage or sauerkraut salad.
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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 pork loin cutlets
1/2 cup flour, for dredging
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups breadcrumbs
2 cups milk, for the overnight soak
1 onion, thinly sliced, and 2 garlic cloves
3 each bay leaves and allspice berries
for frying lard, butter (masło klarowane), or , for frying
to taste salt and pepper
Instructions
1
Sit the cutlets overnight in the fridge in milk with the sliced onion, crushed garlic, bay, allspice, salt and pepper.
✎ Chef’s note
The milk and onion soak is the step that separates a Polish schabowy from a plain breaded chop. Overnight in milk tenderises the loin and seasons it right through, and the onion and allspice give it the flavour people recognise.
2
Drain and pat dry, then pound the cutlets to about a quarter inch between sheets of plastic and season again.
✎ Chef’s note
Pound the pork properly thin. A thin cutlet cooks through before the crumb burns and stays tender rather than tough.
3
Dredge each in flour, then beaten egg, letting the excess drip, then fine breadcrumbs, pressing to coat.
✎ Chef’s note
Fine plain breadcrumbs (bułka tarta), not panko. Polish breadcrumbs are finer and give the delicate, close-fitting crust that is the point; panko makes a thick craggy coat that belongs on a different dish.
4
Fry in plenty of hot lard or clarified butter over medium heat, 3 to 4 minutes a side, until deep golden.
✎ Chef’s note
Lard is traditional and clarified butter is the other authentic choice; both brown better than neutral oil and are most of the flavour.
5
Drain and serve at once with boiled potatoes strewn with dill, mizeria (cucumber in sour cream), or braised cabbage, and a glass of kompot.
Polish home-cooking tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Masovia (Warsaw). The defining trick is using two cabbages. Sauerkraut brings the acidity and fresh cabbage brings sweetness and body, and cooking them down together over several days is what turns the stew dark and thick. Nothing is thickened with flour; it simply reduces.
🗺️
Poland. Polish cooking is hearty comfort built for long winters, pierogi dumplings, hunter's bigos stew, sour rye soup, and cabbage in many forms. Pork, potatoes, mushrooms, and dill flavor a warming, generous home-cooking tradition.
🌍
Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Poland
Pierogi Ruskie (Potato & Cheese Dumplings)Tender dumplings stuffed with potato and farmer's cheese, finished in butter with golden onions.
Żurek (Sour Rye Soup)Poland’s tangy, smoky sour rye soup, built on a fermented rye starter, simmered with white sausage and marjoram, and crowned with a halved egg.
Bigos (Hunter’s Stew)Sauerkraut and fresh cabbage slow-cooked with assorted meats, mushrooms, and prunes, Poland’s national stew, better each day.
Browse all Poland recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Poland meal
KompotDrink
SernikDessert
Bigos (Hunter’s Stew)Dinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Kotlet Schabowy?
A thin, golden breaded pork cutlet, Poland's Sunday-dinner and everyday-lunch staple, served with potatoes and cabbage.
Where does Kotlet Schabowy come from?
Kotlet Schabowy is a Polish dish from Masovia (Warsaw), Poland.
Can Kotlet Schabowy be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Kotlet Schabowy 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 Kotlet Schabowy 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 Kotlet Schabowy take to make?
About 35 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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