Oven baked pork schnitzel is lower in fat than the traditional fried schnitzel but they taste just as good. Made from tender pork loin coated in a crisp lightly spiced breadcrumb coating these make an ideal family mid-week meal.
Oven baked pork schnitzel make a great midweek meal served with my oven roasted chips. As they are both cooked in the oven rather than shallow fried they are much lower in fat than when made the traditional way so it makes them a healthier choice too.
Best of all they do not lack anything in flavour, herbs and spices in the crumb not only add flavour but help to give the schnitzels a lovely colour too.
- Cheap and Cheerful
- Lower Fat
- Family Favourite
Any dried breadcrumbs can be used but if you have some panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) add some of these as they have such a great texture. You can find them in most supermarkets. They are a little more expensive but I think worth it. Here I used half panko and half regular dried crumbs.
To complete the dinner I popped a couple of tomatoes on the baking tray for the last 5-10 minutes of the cooking time and served them with peas.
Hints And Tips
- I find pork to be an economical meat to use but you could use flattened chicken breasts instead.
- Use boneless pork loin steaks. If you cannot find them you could use loin chops but you will need to remove the bone first.
- Feel free to spice up the crumb mixture with some chilli flakes if you wish. I swear my boys would have me add chilli to everything if I could.
Step by Step - How to Make Pork Schnitzel
More Mid-week Meals Made Easy
If you like this recipe you may also like to try one these easy mid-week meals:
- Pan Seared Salmon with Spinach and Beans
- Marinated Chicken with Cauliflower Couscous
- Easy Lamb Kebabs
- Really Easy Beef and Tomato Pie
Oven Baked Pork Schnitzel
Ingredients
- 4 pork loin steaks
- 125 g dried breadcrumbs
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes optional
- 2 tablespoon plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 1 egg
- 1-2 tablespoon rapeseed oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ (180℃ fan)/400°F/gas mark 6.
- Cut off any visible fat from the pork then place each pork loin between two sheets of cling film and beat with the flat side of a meat mallet or a rolling pin to flatten to about 1cm (½ in) thick
- Combine the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, thyme, oregano, paprika and chilli flakes if using in a shallow dish.
- Place the flour in another dish and add the egg to another. Lightly beat the egg with a fork to break up.
- Coat the pork lightly with flour, dip into the beaten egg, then coat with the breadcrumbs. Place the pork on a lightly greased baking tray and drizzle with a little more oil.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp.
Michael coyle says
yes very good fast to make and cook had it in fine dining restaurant cost $29 ×4 $120 plus tip cost me to make $6 for 4 people who cares about inflation
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Pleased you enjoyed it Michael and a great saving from eating out especially considering how easy it is to make. I usually opt for more complex dishes when eating out because otherwise I think I can make that at home myself for much less.
Elaine says
Delicious but needed longer to cook.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Glad you found it delicious. That's what I aim for. I have made it many many times now and I find the timing to be just right. But there are many things that can affect timing not least the oven you are using. I have my oven checked regularly as well as using an oven thermometer and when necessary re-calibrated regularly to ensure it is working at the correct temperature. Oven can vary considerably!! Other things that n might affect timing are the thickness and the temperature of the pork when it first goes into the oven. Plus whether your oven is preheated or not. I hope you find more Recipes on the site delicious and enjoy using them.
Michael Coyle says
17 mins @400 degrees make sure you schnitzel is quarter inch thick or less any thicker 25mins
good luck
Michael coyle says
how thick was your schnitzel
Sharon M Fujs says
Great recipe, but how can I get the coating to puff up while they're baking?
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Im not quite sure what you mean. The coating will not be quite the same as it would be if fried but i think the end taste result is just as good with less calories
Parry Chizawsky says
Maybe add a little baking powder to the flour mixture?
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Baking powder has two ingredients (bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar) which when they become moist react together to produce Co2 which acts as a raising agent therefore I can see no reason why you would want to add it to the flour in this instance.
Janice says
First time making them in the oven. Do you have to turn them over at all? And, what is the best temperature to bake them at? Thanks!,
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
You can turn them over but it's not really necessary. Bake at200℃ (180℃ fan)/400°F/gas mark 6, as ststaed in the recipe.
Kate says
Thank you for this recipe! We all love Schnitzel (which is remarkable in our family!), but I was getting tired of the pan frying. Finding this recipe has been amazing! I'm still tweaking it to get the breading to crisp up. But we all love it! Danke!!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thank you for commenting and so pleased you are liking the recipe. It is easier than pan frying would love to hear more about your tweaks.
Dagmar says
If you brown the panko at 390 degrees for 3 to 4 minutes before coating the schnitzel you will get great looking schnitzel.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
That's interesting I must try that.
Christopher Williams says
This was always my favorite dish in Bavaria and I get home sick for it around Oktoberfest. It loses a little something when its baked and not fried but this was a fine recipe anyhow. Do you have a recipe for Jaegershcnitzel gravy?
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Yes I suppose it does lose a little not being fried in oil but it's a small compromise to make it more health and less fattening especially if like me you need to watch your weight. I have not heard of Jaegershcnitzel gravy before. I googled it and it looks like a rich mushroom gravy is that correct? I feel I could manage a recipe for that and add it too the blog soon.
Denise says
After trying this recipe I dont think I will ever cook schnitzel in a pan again. It was so easy, no mess and the pork was succulent with lovely crispy crumbs. Delicious denise
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Glad you liked it Denise, I agree why cook it in a pan when it is this easy to bake.
Ohio Cook says
The recipe has good foundation and flavor. However, 400° F is way too low for the baking. It makes the crust soggy in 15 minutes, not crispy. A bit higher temperature around 430-450 works better.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Im sorry you found you have found the crust be soggy. I have found that 400F is fine and doesnt over cook the meat or dry it out. It maybe that your oven is running a little cooler than the temperature it is set at (ovens can vary by as much as +/- 10%) in which case I would indeed increase it slightly. Glad you liked it over all though.
Pam says
Tried these tonight and really liked them! Crispy with plenty of unexpected flavor. Thanks for sharing.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Pam so glad you liked them.
Sue says
Can these be prepared in advance & frozen?
If so what temperature & cooking time?
Thanks
Jacqueline A Bellefontaine says
I have not actually tried but I can not see why you could not freeze them uncooked. I would be inclined to let them defrost before cooking (place on kitchen paper to absorb any excess moisture). I think you probably could cook them from frozen as they are not very thick in which case I would increase the cooking time to about 25-30 minutes, but do make sure the meat is piping hot (should be 75℃) before serving as I have not tested this.
Michael coyle says
yes you should thaw out overnight if you cook frozen they will be dry and Tough
Nickki says
This is my kind of dinner. I love schnitzel! Looks delicious as always
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thank you Nickki. I love simple but tasty dinners like this too and if you can make them a little bit healthier even better.