Whole30 Schnitzel

This incredibly tasty Whole30 schnitzel is perfect for your Oktoberfest celebration, but simple enough for your average weeknight!

To skip to the printable recipe, click here.

Y’all, I am so not a photographer. I had such great plans to get all my German-ish recipes posted by the first week of October, but as delicious as my schnitzel recipe is, the pitiful photos I had taken so far simply did not tell that story.

That’s okay. It’s still mid-month (or shortly thereafter), and I say it’s always better late than never for Oktoberfest. So, with pictures that I am willing to deem at least somewhat acceptable, I present to you my family’s favorite schnitzel.

Pictured above is chicken schnitzel, though we also deeply love to "schnitzel" venison, pork, or even beef. This is a fantastic preparation for cuts of meat that need a little help in the tenderness department, i.e. chicken breasts.

To give a piece of meat the schnitzel treatment, start by pounding it out until it is a uniform thickness of about ½-¼ inch. I will often butterfly the meat first, but Monster Daddy, with all his manly strength, gets great results without this step. We like to place the meat in a plastic bag before pounding to minimize splatter. I prefer to whack the meat with a mallet, but a cast-iron skillet can get the job done in a pinch--just watch out for your countertops!

Traditional schnitzel recipes often call for a 3-compartment breading station for the next step, but our paleo version is much less fussy. Simply mix together a dredge of almond flour, potato starch, salt and ground ginger; use a fork to turn the meat all around in the dredge, coating completely; and give a gentle shake to get rid of any excess before placing the coated meat in a pan of sizzling oil.

We shallow-fry our schnitzel in no more than about a ¼-inch depth of oil because paleo-friendly oils are expensive, and because we’ve found that’s all we really need. The schnitzel cooks about 4 minutes on each side, just till nice and golden all over.

Monster Daddy loves this schnitzel with a creamy, Whole30-compliant mushroom gravy, but the monsters and I prefer the way this super-simple (but non-Whole30-compliant) parsley-mustard sauce cuts through the richness of the fried breading.

However you sauce it, pair it with braised red cabbage, Whole30 Spaetzle, and Brussels sprouts, asparagus, or green beans for a paleo Oktoberfest feast, whatever part of the month (or year) you find yourself in!

Here's what you'll need:

• ⅔ cup almond flour

• ⅔ cup potato starch

• 1 tsp salt

• ¼ tsp ground ginger

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or about 4 lbs meat of choice

• Oil for the pan, such as avocado or olive

Here's what you'll do:

1. Whisk together dredge ingredients (almond flour-ginger) in a shallow bowl or dish and set aside.

2. Using a meat mallet, pound out the chicken breasts or meat of choice to a uniform thickness of about ½-¼ inch, butterflying first if desired. Once flattened, cut really large pieces in half to make more manageable if desired.

3. Heat a depth of about ¼-inch oil in a large, heavy bottomed saute pan or skillet over medium heat, just till shimmering.

4. Use a fork to dredge each piece of meat in the almond-flour mixture, coating completely.

5. Use the fork to transfer the coated meat to the hot oil, gently shaking over the dredge dish to remove any excess. Work in batches and do not crowd the pan. Depending on the size of your pan and pieces of meat, this may mean frying one piece at a time.

6. Fry the schnitzel about 4-5 minutes on each side, till nice and golden all around.

Special tools needed:

• meat mallet

• large saute pan (this 5-quart All Clad model is pricey but legit)

For the Printable recipe, click here.