Crispy Pork Milanese is a quick, budget-friendly dinner that the whole family will love. These golden pork cutlets are tender, flavorful, and just as great made with chicken!
I do my best to please my family of five at the dinner table, but it doesn’t always work. Adding the pressure of making it a cheap meal that won’t bust the budget and it seems impossible.
One of my favorite cuts of meat is the pork loin. I’m always looking for new ways to cook the pork loin. I have butterflied, stuffed and roasted it to make an Italian pork roast and a grilled rosemary stuffed pork roast. One favorite way to use up pork loin is to make cutlets.
I slice the pork and then use a meat cleaver to pound them so they are evenly thin. I have made lemony pork piccata using these tender pork cutlets. And now I have made pork Milanese.
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Recipe highlights
- Budget-Friendly: A large pork loin from Costco costs around $20 and yields three meals. Slice one third into medallions for cutlets—less than $1 per serving!
- Simple Ingredients, Big Flavor: This dish comes together with pantry staples, but tastes like something from your favorite restaurant.
- Family Favorite: Pork loin is tender and mild in flavor, and the crispy golden breading makes it a hit with both kids and adults.
- Versatile: Serve with a fresh salad, or go classic with marinara and pasta for an easy twist on pork parm.
Ingredients you need
- Pork loin: The pork loin is larger in size compared to the tenderloin. It is also less expensive, but still tender and delicious.
- Eggs: Here eggs are used as a binding agent. It helps the bread crumbs adhere to the pork cutlets.
- Pantry staples: All purpose flour, bread crumbs, salt and pepper
- Parmesan cheese: You want finely grate parmesan cheese, but you can also use grated pecrino romano or a combination of grated hard Italian cheeses.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Yes, you can pan fry using extra virgin olive oil. You can also use vegetable or canola oil.
- Lemon: My family love everything with lemons, so we serve these crispy cutlets with lemon wedges. You can also serve it with marinara and pasta.
Step-by-step directions
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- Cut the cutlets. Slice pork loin across the grain, into approximately 8 half-inch thick pieces. Places slice of pork, one at a time, between two sheets of plastic wrap. Evenly pound meat with a meat tenderizer mallet using gentle taps with the flat end of the mallet until ¼-inch thick.
- Season the cutlets. Season both sides of the pork cutlets with salt and pepper.
- Set up your breading. You will set up a plate with the flour, salt and pepper mixture, a shallow bowl with beaten eggs, and a third plate with bread crumbs and grated parmesan.
- Coat the cutlets. Press each pork cutlet into the flour mixture and shake off excess flour. Next, dip in whisked eggs until coated evenly. After the egg mixture, coat cutlets the breadcrumb mixture, again shaking off excess bread crumbs. Place prepared pork cutlet on a baking sheet and repeat with other pork cutlets.
- Fry the cutlets. Fry 2-3 cutlets in hot oil making sure you brown both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet to drain the oil. Fry remaining pork cutlets, adding more oil as needed.
Recipe tips and FAQs
This dish is one meal that my whole family can agree on and eat. I mean, what’s not to love? Tender pork pan fried with a crispy breadcrumb-parmesan cheese crust.
The kids like eat these pork cutlets with some pasta with marinara sauce. I enjoy it with a green salad – a little something light and healthy to go with the breaded and fried pork. You can also serve this with some steamed or roasted vegetables.
If you like these Italian pork cutlets and want to try something else, you should try some chicken cutlets. My chicken katsu is the Japanese version of a chicken cutlet and a big family favorite.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover pork in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
Pork Milanese is a classic Italian dish made with thin pork cutlets that are coated in a combination of bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese, then pan fried until golden. Serve with pasta or a salad for a great family meal.
A pork cutlet is a thin, boneless cut of meat that is pounded flat. It is typically from the loin section of a pig, which makes it very tender. It is then coated in flour or bread crumbs and pan fried.
A pork chop is a slice from the pork loin. It can be boneless or bone-in and varies in thickness. A pork cutlet is a boneless pork chop that has been pounded thin with a meat mallet. This pounding tenderizes the meat and cooks up more quickly than a pork chop.
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Pork Milanese
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb pork loin
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅜ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 3-4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 lemon cut in wedges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200ºF.
- Slice pork loin across the grain, into approximately 8 half-inch thick rounds.
- Place each pork piece between two sheets of plastic wrap. Evenly pound meat with a meat tenderizer mallet using gentle taps with the flat end of the mallet until ¼-inch thick.
- Season both sides of the pork cutlets with half the salt and pepper.
- In a small plate combine flour and remaining salt and pepper.
- In a shallow bowl whisk together the eggs until well combined.
- In another small plate combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.
- Take pork cutlet and press into flour mixture until thoroughly covered. Shake off excess flour.
- Next, dip the flour-coated pork cutlet into egg mixture until all sides are coated.
- Next, take egg-coated pork cutlet and press into bread crumb mixture until thoroughly covered. Shake off excess bread crumbs.
- Place the prepared cutlets on a baking sheet.
- In a large non-stick skillet, over medium-high heat 2 TBS of the olive oil.
- Add 2-3 cutlets to the hot oil and cook until golden brown and just cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then transfer them to a clean baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven.
- Continue frying the remaining pork cutlets, adding more oil as needed.
- Transfer the pork cutlets to plates and serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
