If you can’t decide between beef or chicken, try my veal scallopini recipe! I changed my chicken piccata recipe to make this. It has the same lemony white wine and caper sauce on top, but this time there are thinly sliced veal cutlets on top. Think classic bright and buttery vibes like the chicken version, except more flavorful. This dish is great for a fancy event or a special weeknight, even though it only takes 20 minutes to make.
Veal cutlets are a quick, easy, and delicious meal that can be prepared in a variety of ways. Many traditional recipes call for breading the veal before pan-frying, but this isn’t necessary to achieve tender, flavorful results. Cooking veal cutlets without breading allows the delicate flavor to shine through, saves time and dishes, and avoids potential sogginess Read on to learn some simple tips for making perfect pan-seared veal every time.
Benefits of Skipping the Breading
While breading adds crunch and texture going breadless has some advantages
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Allows the subtle sweet taste of veal to come through. Heavy breading and frying can mask the flavor.
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Prevents the breading from falling off. No messy separating while cooking or serving.
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Saves carbs and calories. Typical breadcrumbs significantly increase the carb count.
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Avoids soggy texture issues. Breading can lose its crispiness, especially with pan sauces.
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Saves time and dishes. Breading requires multiple bowls, eggs, and extra steps.
Tips for Cooking Veal Cutlets Without Breading
Follow these simple tips for flavorful, tender results:
1. Select Thin Slices
Look for veal cutlets pounded thin, around 1⁄4 inch thick. Thinner cuts allow for quick, even cooking. If needed, use a meat mallet to gently pound thicker cuts thinner. Thin cutlets don’t require the insulation of breading.
2. Season with Herbs
Skip complicated rubs which are better for thicker cuts. For fast-cooking veal, keep the seasoning simple:
- Salt and pepper
- Minced garlic
- Italian herb blend or fresh parsley, basil, thyme
- Lemon zest
You can also drizzle some olive oil or lemon juice over the cutlets.
3. Get the Pan and Oil Very Hot
Use a heavy pan like cast iron or carbon steel. Heat the oil over medium-high until shimmering before adding the veal. The hot oil helps the seasoning and veal flavor shine through.
4. Sear Quickly
Add the veal to the hot pan and cook just 1-2 minutes per side. Let a nice brown crust form without moving the cutlets. The high heat prevents overcooking and keeps the interior juicy.
For 1⁄4-inch veal cutlets, cook:
- 1 minute per side for rare
- 1 1⁄2 minutes per side for medium rare
- 2 minutes per side for medium
An instant-read thermometer should register:
- 135°F for rare
- 145°F for medium rare
- 160°F for medium
5. Let the Veal Rest
After cooking, transfer the veal to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes so the juices redistribute before cutting.
6. Make a Quick Pan Sauce
Without breading, it’s easy to make a delicious pan sauce. Sauté garlic in the pan drippings, then deglaze with white wine or broth and lemon juice. Finish with butter or cream.
Step-by-Step Recipe
Now that you know the tips for great pan-seared veal, here is a complete recipe to try:
Ingredients
- 4 veal cutlets (1 lb total), pounded 1⁄4 inch thick
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 1⁄4 tsp pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 Tbsp butter or cream (optional, for sauce)
- 1⁄2 cup white wine or broth (optional, for sauce)
Instructions
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If needed, use a meat mallet to gently pound the veal cutlets to 1⁄4 inch thickness.
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Pat the veal dry and season both sides with salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, and lemon zest.
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Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
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Add the veal in a single layer without overcrowding. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side until nicely browned. Transfer to a plate.
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For an optional sauce, reduce heat to medium. Sauté garlic in the pan drippings for 1 minute.
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Deglaze with wine or broth, simmering until reduced by half.
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Stir in lemon juice and veal juices. Season to taste.
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Pour sauce over rested veal and serve. Enjoy your flavorful veal without the hassle of breading!
Serving Suggestions
Round out your easy veal cutlets meal with these tasty sides:
- Rice pilaf or risotto
- Pasta like linguine or pappardelle
- Sauteed vegetables such as zucchini, green beans, or asparagus
- A fresh green salad or spinach salad
- Roasted potatoes or garlic mashed potatoes
FAQs About Cooking Veal Without Breading
Is veal healthy?
Yes, when prepared without heavy sauces or frying. Veal is leaner than beef with fewer calories and less fat. It’s a good source of protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins.
What’s the difference between veal and chicken cutlets?
Veal comes from young cows and has a more tender texture and delicate flavor compared to chicken. Both meats work well with simple pan searing and herbs rather than heavy breading.
Can you still bread and fry veal cutlets?
Absolutely. A classic preparation is dredging in flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs before pan-frying. This adds crunch but can make the veal flavor less prominent.
What are good wine pairings with veal cutlets?
Young, bright wines work nicely. Consider a Pinot Grigio, unoaked Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, or light-bodied red like a Beaujolais or Chianti.
What oil is best for pan-searing veal?
Use a high smoke point neutral oil like avocado, grapeseed, or light olive oil. Clarified butter is also excellent for getting a nice sear on the veal.
The Takeaway
With thin cuts, hot oil, and simple herbs, you can ditch the breading and still achieve delicious pan-seared veal cutlets easily at home. Let the veal’s natural sweetness shine through. A quick pan sauce takes this simple dish to the next level. With the right techniques, you can enjoy tender, flavorful veal in under 30 minutes any night of the week.
Why You’ll Love My Veal Scallopini Recipe
- Veal that melts in your mouth—This is a simple way to start cooking veal if you’ve never done it before. It’s juicy and tender, and tastes better than chicken but not as strong as beef.
- Zesty lemon caper sauce—that balance of sour lemon and salty capers against the creamy butter…so rich!
- Simple pantry ingredients—I wanted great results without having to make a lot of trips to the store, so my recipe has a short list of ingredients. And you don’t need flour.
- This dish comes together quickly and looks great at the same time. It’s a great way to spend time with your date instead of cooking on a date night.
Here I explain the best ingredients for my veal scallopini recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Veal Cutlets: Veal is the meat from a baby cow. It is soft and has a mild flavor. Most of the time, I can find it at the butcher shop near me or in the meat section of the grocery store, next to the beef. See my chicken piccata recipe for how to make this dish with chicken breast that has been pounded very thin.
- Olive Oil – For searing. Even though I like the taste of olive oil better, avocado oil will do just fine.
- Sea Salt & Black Pepper
- Garlic: For the best taste, use fresh garlic. If you don’t have any, 2 teaspoons of minced garlic from a jar will work. You can also add diced onions, but they will take a little longer to cook.
- To make veal piccata taste even better, add white cooking wine. It also helps make the meat more tender. But you can use chicken broth and a little white wine vinegar instead. It’s not quite the same.
- Broth—I love the deep flavor of my homemade bone broth, but you can use store-bought in this dish and it will still taste great. You can use regular chicken broth instead of bone broth if you’d like, but I like the bone broth better.
- Lemon Juice – Adds a fresh, zippy kick. I recommend freshly squeezed if you can.
- Butter: This adds richness to the sauce and helps cook the garlic. I recommend unsalted, as several other ingredients are already salty. For a dairy-free option, this butter-flavored coconut oil has worked well in other recipes.
- Capers—for that classic salty, briny piccata taste! Make sure to drain them first.
- Fresh Parsley—You can add this at the end if you want to add some color. I used curly parsley, but you can use Italian parsley or thyme instead.
How To Cook Veal Scallopini
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Pound the cutlets. Pound the veal with a meat mallet until it is 1/8-inch thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Brown the veal. Warm the oil in a big pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Working in groups, cook the veal slices in a single layer until the juices run clear. (I can usually fit 2 in the pan at once. ) Put on a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Make the piccata sauce. Turn the heat down to medium, add the butter and garlic, and cook until the garlic smells good. Add the white wine, bone broth, and lemon juice. To deglaze the pan, scrape up any cooked food in it and add it to the sauce. (Use a wooden spoon, so you don’t scratch your pan. ).
- Simmer. Bring the sauce to a boil after adding the capers. Then reduce the heat and let it cook until it’s half gone. Add more butter and taste to see if you need to add more salt or pepper.
- Combine. Put the cooked veal scallopini back into the pan and turn it around so that all the pieces are covered in sauce. Don’t forget to add the fresh parsley and maybe some lemon slices too.
- Pound the veal cutlets very thin. Scallopini, which is also written as scaloppine in Italian, means “thinly sliced meat,” which is an important part of this recipe. I recommend 1/8 inch thick. It helps the meat get tender and take on the flavors of the sauce, and it lets the pieces cook quickly and evenly.
- Grab the largest skillet you have. When you pound veal cutlets thin, they take up a lot of room, so a bigger skillet is better. I love my cast iron skillets, but for my veal scallopini recipe, I like to use nonstick or stainless steel skillets instead because they are easier on the sauce.
- I don’t use white flour and I don’t like most thickeners. The sauce tastes great the way it is. It can be thicker if you don’t want to use white flour, though. Just lightly dust the veal cutlets with cornstarch or one of my other cornstarch alternatives before cooking.
- Creamy: When the sauce is done, add a splash of heavy cream and let it cook for a few minutes to thin out. Then, add the veal back to the pan.
- Marsala: I chose to make my veal scallopini taste like chicken piccata, but you can also make these thin veal slices that taste like chicken marsala. Just use veal cutlets instead of chicken in my chicken marsala recipe.
- Triple or double—My recipe only has enough sauce to cover the meat, but you can double it to add more on top. Also, make three or even four times as much sauce as you need if you want to serve your veal over noodles or rice.
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days. You can reheat them in a hot skillet again, or simply in the microwave. I don’t recommend freezing this dish.
Not sure what to eat with veal scallopini to make a full meal? Here are some sides that go well with this special dish:
My meat tenderizer makes it so easy to make quick cutlets! Use the flat side to pound thin slices of veal (or any meat), and the textured side for tenderizing tougher cuts. Recipe Card
This piccata-style veal scallopini recipe is coated in a light, buttery lemon caper sauce. It may look fancy, but it takes just 20 minutes!.
Tap underlined ingredients to see the ones I use.
Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
- Use the flat side of a meat tenderizer to pound the veal cutlets to an 1/8-inch thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- For 12 inches, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Adding the veal cutlets in a single layer one at a time Sear each side for 30 to 45 seconds, or until the juices run clear. Put on a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Do this again with all of the veal cutlets. If you need to, add more olive oil halfway through.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add a tablespoon of butter to the pan. Put in the minced garlic and cook for one minute, until the garlic smells good.
- Add the white wine, broth, and lemon juice. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan to get rid of any browned bits. This is called deglazing. Add the capers. Turn up the heat and bring it to a boil. Then, lower the heat and let it simmer for 7–10 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by half and become slightly thicker.
- Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, until melted. Simmer for three to four more minutes, or until half of the liquid is gone. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
- Return the veal to the pan and coat in sauce. Serve with fresh parsley, if desired.