Oven Baked Pork Schnitzel

Baking pork schnitzel in the oven is one of my favorite ways to cook pork chops. And honestly, I’ve found that I can get a really crispy texture using my oven to bake lots of breaded foods–like this eggplant, for instance–without deep frying.

I’m a huge fan of crispy, fried…anything. Who isn’t. Fried is the king of all textures in my book. But, I’m not often up for deep frying at home. First, there’s the mess. Oil splatters everywhere! And then, the smell. Oil-fried is a smell that lingers in the house for hours if not days. 

And you need a whole lot of oil which I don’t always have on hand. And then you need to figure out what to do with a bunch of used oil! 

Finally, there’s my health to consider. While I don’t think occasional fried food is bad, I probably don’t need to be eating in my regular rotation. But that texture!

That texture is why I like to say hello to oven frying. After breading food in a standard breading procedure (that’s a thing! Culinary school, ftw!), simply turn your oven up high, place your breaded food on a lightly oiled rack, and let her rip.

After a relatively short stint in the oven, you’ll have texture for days. This is actually basically what those very popular air fryers are doing with the addition of some extra air circulation; but honestly, you don’t need it or an extra appliance on your counter top. 

♥ Related: Crispy Baked Eggplant

Is it an exact replacement for frying? No. But it’s pretty darn close and a lot easier and cleaner than the alternative. Plus, I like that it’s hands off once you get the food in the oven. There’s no babysitting a vat of oil while also trying to stay away from splattering hot oil. 

How to Bake Pork Schnitzel in the Oven

Pork schnitzel is one of my favorite foods to bread and bake in the oven. Here’s how to do it:

• Pound pork cutlets really thin–about 1/4-inch thick.
• Bread pork using the standard breading procedure: first a light dip in flour, then coat in egg, and finally bread them with panko or regular breadcrumbs seasoned any way you’d like.
• Bake your breaded pork cutlets on a greased wire rack over a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, flipping partway through the cooking process. The result: an ultra crispy baked pork schnitzel.
• Serve as a main meal component, with any sauce you’d like paired with your favorite side dishes (I like this cabbage dish); or pile onto a sandwich with your favorite toppings! Baked pork schnitzel is versatile and you can’t go wrong no matter how you serve it.

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Things You Might Need For This Recipe

• Cake Pans: I like these inexpensive 8-inch cake pans to set up my standard breading station. They are wide enough for most food and have high sides to help me keep my counter clean during the process. Plus they are multi-taskers because, well. Cake. I own three of these.
• Meat Mallet: You will need the right tool for pounding your meat thin. A meat mallet will do the trick. For this recipe, you’ll use the smooth side; but if you are hammering tougher cuts, the tenderizer side will be your pal.
• Sheet Pans: Most likely you have plenty of cookie sheets, but I swear by these basic aluminum sheet pans. They are inexpensive and lightweight. And I like that they have a fairly high lip so they are useful for baking cookies OR roasting juicier items (no dripping onto your oven floor!) These are very standard professional kitchen items, but also super helpful in the home kitchen.
• Sheet Pan Racks: A rack to place in your sheet pan during cooking time is a MUST for oven frying. Keeping the food off of the bottom of the sheet pan allows air to circulate all around the food so there isn’t a soggy bottom. These racks are also awesome for cooling baked goods, especially big batches of cookies! A couple of sheet pan racks are far cheaper than one air fryer and won’t take up all of your counter space.

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