Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Milanesa
A thin beef cutlet dredged in flour, seasoned egg and breadcrumbs, then fried crisp and golden and served with lemon.
Uruguayan · easy · serves 4
prep 25 min · cook 15 min
~760 cal · 53g protein · 60g carbs · 33g fat · 4g fiber · 4g sugars · 9g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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The milanesa is one of the most everyday dishes in Uruguay, a thin beef cutlet breaded and fried until crisp and golden. It arrived with Italian immigrants as a cousin of the Milanese and Viennese cutlet, and in a country with far more cattle than people it naturally settled on beef.
The method is simple: a thin slice of beef, usually top round or another lean cut, is dredged in flour, dipped in seasoned egg, and pressed into breadcrumbs before frying. Uruguayan cooks often work chopped parsley and garlic into the egg for extra flavour, and a rest in the fridge before frying helps the crust hold.
It is eaten every which way: with mashed potato or fries and a squeeze of lemon, under a fried egg, or cold the next day tucked into bread as a sandwich. Topped with ham, tomato sauce and melted cheese it becomes a milanesa napolitana.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, nut- and pork-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
1 1/4 lb (about 6 thin cutlets) thin beef top round or sirloin steaks, pounded thin
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups dried breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
to taste salt and black pepper
1 cup , for frying
1 lemon lemon wedges, to serve
Instructions
1
Pound the beef between two sheets of plastic to an even 1/4 inch, then season both sides with salt and pepper.
2
Set up three shallow dishes: flour in the first, the beaten egg mixed with the garlic and parsley in the second, and breadcrumbs in the third.
3
Dredge each cutlet in flour, dip fully in the seasoned egg, then press firmly into the breadcrumbs so the coating sticks.
4
Chill the breaded cutlets on a rack for at least 20 minutes so the crust sets and stays on during frying.
✎ Chef’s note
The fridge rest is the trick to a crust that does not slide off the meat in the pan.
5
Heat the oil in a wide pan to about 350F (175C) and fry the cutlets one or two at a time, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deep golden and crisp.
6
Drain on paper towels and serve hot with lemon wedges, alongside fries or mashed potato.
Uruguayan home and cafe cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Montevideo. The parrilla is a design rather than just a grill. Wood burns down in a side box, embers are raked underneath as they are needed, and the grate is cranked up or down to control the heat, which is why an asado runs for hours and the beef never sees an actual flame.
🗺️
Uruguay. Uruguay eats more beef per head than almost anywhere, roughly fifty kilos a person a year, and exports about three quarters of what it produces. The grill it goes on is a parrilla with an adjustable brasero at the side, where wood burns down to embers that are raked under the grate as needed, so the cook controls heat by moving coals rather than the meat.
🌍
South America. South America's cooking follows its dramatic geography, potatoes and quinoa in the high Andes, cassava and river fish in the Amazon basin, and grass-fed beef on the pampas. Indigenous ingredients like maize, ají peppers, and cacao meet Spanish, Portuguese, African, Italian, and Japanese influences brought by five centuries of migration. Ceviche, feijoada, arepas, and the smoke of the asado are its most beloved icons.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Uruguay
Chivito al PlatoUruguay’s glorious everything-plate: thin steak under ham, cheese, olives, and a fried egg with ensalada rusa.
Torta FritaGolden discs of fried dough with a slit in the middle, crisp-edged and pillowy, the treat Uruguayans make whenever it rains, dusted with sugar and dunked in mate.
Tarta PascualinaA flaky double-crust pie of chard and ricotta with whole eggs baked inside, an everyday River Plate lunch.
Browse all Uruguay recipes →
Good to know
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 Uruguay meal
Medio y MedioDrink
ChajáDessert
Chivito al PlatoDinner
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Milanesa?
A thin beef cutlet dredged in flour, seasoned egg and breadcrumbs, then fried crisp and golden and served with lemon.
Where does Milanesa come from?
Milanesa is a Uruguayan dish from Montevideo, Uruguay.
Can Milanesa be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Milanesa 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 Milanesa 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 Milanesa take to make?
About 40 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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