Veal Parmesan hits the sweet spot between crispy and saucy, with thin breaded cutlets fried to a golden crust and baked with tomato sauce and cheese until bubbly. It’s a dish that feels restaurant-worthy but uses pantry basics and a straightforward method.
Veal Parmesan Recipe
Veal Parmesan is one of those classic Italian-American dishes that feels special but is surprisingly easy to make at home. You’ll start with tender veal cutlets, coat them in seasoned breadcrumbs, pan-fry until golden, then bake with a simple homemade tomato sauce and melty mozzarella.
The result is crispy, cheesy, and full of rich, comforting flavor. It’s perfect for date night, Sunday dinner, or anytime you want to pull off something impressive without spending hours in the kitchen. If you’ve only ever ordered this in a restaurant, it’s time to bring that flavor home.
Why You'll Love This Dish
- Crispy And Cheesy – The cutlets stay crispy under the sauce and cheese.
- Classic Comfort Food – Familiar flavors that always hit the spot.
- Simple Ingredients – No complicated steps or hard-to-find ingredients.
- Make-Ahead Friendly – Bread and fry the veal in advance, then bake when ready.
- Better Than Takeout – Fresher, crispier, and more flavorful than restaurant versions.
Try our Chicken Parmesan, too!
Recipe Shopping List
Wondering if you have to hit the store? Here's the list of items you'll need to make this recipe. For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Veal Cutlets – Thin, tender cuts of veal. Pound to uniform thickness for even cooking.
- Eggs – Helps the breadcrumbs stick and forms a crispy coating.
- Flour – The first layer of the breading process. Helps everything stick.
- Bread Crumbs – Classic coating for that crispy golden finish. Panko works too for extra crunch.
- Granulated Garlic – Adds flavor to the breadcrumb mix without overpowering.
- Salt – Seasons the meat and the breading. Helps bring all the flavors together.
- Tomato Sauce – Forms the base of the simple homemade red sauce.
- Diced Tomatoes – Adds texture and brightness to the sauce.
- Garlic Cloves – Simmered whole for subtle garlic flavor.
- Olive Oil – Used in the sauce and for pan-frying the cutlets.
- Parmesan Cheese – Salty, sharp cheese that adds depth.
- Mozzarella Cheese – Melts beautifully on top for that gooey finish.
- Fresh Basil – Adds freshness and a pop of color before serving.
Try my Smash Chicken Parmesan Sandwich!
How To Make This Recipe
This is just the overview so you can see what you're actually getting into here. When you are cooking, you'll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.
- Simmer The Sauce – Combine tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, garlic, salt, and olive oil in a saucepan. Let it simmer on low while you prep the veal.
- Prep The Cutlets – Pound the veal to about ½ inch thickness. Set up your breading station with flour, beaten eggs, and seasoned breadcrumbs.
- Bread And Fry – Dredge cutlets in flour, dip in egg, then coat with breadcrumbs. Pan-fry in oil until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
- Assemble The Dish – Spread sauce in the bottom of a baking dish, layer in the cutlets, top with more sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan.
- Bake And Serve – Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve hot with pasta or salad.
Try our Chicken Parmesan Meatballs!
Recipe FAQ
If you've never had veal, that's probably a good thing and you probably grew up in the 80's. Back then, it had quite a bad rap. Veal wasn't always the most ethically sound choice when it came to meat, as the previous methods for raising veal were really cruel and involved trapping young male dairy calves in pens so small that they couldn't move, and fattening them up with milk until they were ready for slaughter.
Not the ideal life for an animal.
Nowadays, veal calves are mostly raised in group pens where they have free movement, and comparatively, live a life that is much better than that of your average beef cow. (They don't have their tails docked or horns removed, they aren't given antibiotics regularly or unless they need them, they are typically raised on family farms and not in major factory farms, etc.)
If buying your veal from an ethical source is important to you, do your research first. The American Veal Association has worked with their member farmers to ensure that they are all transitioned over to the group pen model of raising veal, which is better for the animals and definitely better for my conscience.
Veal tastes like beef, only it is moister and more tender, even when it is cooked beyond medium-rare. It has low fat and high protein, and one of the most popular uses for this versatile meat is in Veal Parmesan.
Regular bread crumbs work really well for this dish. If you don't have any laying around, you could also sub in panko but it does impact the texture a bit.
Veal parmesan is a tricky dish as you have something fried and crunch pre-mixed with a sauce. Sauce is a crunchy crust's worst enemy, as far as maintaining the texture is concerned, but the key here will really be to store the excess sauce separately from the meat if there is some leftover.
If you are making a LOT of this specifically for the purpose of leftovers, I'd hold off on the final bake and keep the sauce completely separate from the fried veal cutlets until you are ready to eat.
You can store this covered in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer well-wrapped for a few weeks to a month.
Reheat veal parmesan from the fridge in the oven on about 325°.
Reheat frozen veal parmesan by first allowing the veal to defrost in the fridge overnight for the best results. If you can't wait, throw it in the oven at 275 until it is thawed and then crank up the heat to 325 for the rest of the cook time.
Make our Homemade Marinara!
Serve This With
I recommend serving your veal parmesan with noodles. Cooked spaghetti or linguine is perfect.
For sides, serve up a crisp Caesar salad, garlic bread, and sauteed or grilled zucchini.
Featured Reviews
The Girl Can Cook recently made this veal parmesan and shared it on her Instagram!
Tag @orwhateveryoudo and hashtag #owydrecipe #owydcooks to be featured here on the site!
Veal Parmesan
Classic Veal Parmesan is an easy and impressive dish to make at home! Simple ingredients, big flavor.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 - 14 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 - 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 4 peeled garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Meat
- 1 pound veal cutlets
- 3 eggs
- 2/3 cup flour
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
Toppings
- 2 tablespoons shredded parmesan
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Place all of the sauce ingredients into a saucepan, and simmer over medium-low heat while your veal is being breaded and cooked.
- Pound the cutlets into a uniform thickness of about 1/2 inch thick.
- Place the eggs in a bowl and whisk until the whites and yolks are incorporated.
- Place the flour in another bowl and set aside.
- In a third bowl, place the bread crumbs, garlic, and salt.
- Turn your oven to 350°, and preheat about 1 inch of oil in a large non-stick high-sided skillet, and while it is heating bread your cutlets.
- Bread your cutlets by first dredging in flour, then dunking in the beaten eggs, and follow that up by a dip in the breadcrumbs.
- Once the oil is hot, place some of the cutlets inside and fry on both sides until they are golden brown.
- When they are done, drain on a plate covered with paper towels and finish cooking the rest of the cutlets.
- Place some sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan, and then put the fried veal cutlets on top. Top with the parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and bake at 350° for about 15 minutes.
- Remove and serve with hot pasta, if desired!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 478Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 170mgSodium: 1225mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 5gSugar: 7gProtein: 25g
Nutrition data provided here is only an estimate.
Foodgoggle
Monday 4th of May 2020
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