Geschnetzeltes (prounounced geh-shnet-sel-tess), German for “sliced meat”, is a sauce with pork or veal, mushrooms and cream that is popular throughout Germany and Switzerland, some versions named Züricher Geschnetzeltes. Traditionally served with Spätzle, egg noodles, or even boiled potatoes, it is a thoroughly delicious comfort food dish. Ideal for the busy cook, it only takes about 30 minutes to make.
Let’s get started!
You’ll need about a pound of lean pork.
Cut the pork into thin strips.
Heat the oil in a stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is heated, add the pork, being careful not to overcrowd, and brown it on all sides.
Browning the pork will ensure a rich flavor in the finished sauce. Transfer the pork to a plate and set aside.
Dice the onion.
Add the onion to the skillet, adding more oil if necessary, and saute until translucent and beginning to brown, about 5-7 minutes.
Get the mushrooms.
Thinly slice the mushrooms.
Add the mushrooms to the skillet with the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion/mushroom mixture to the pork and set aside.
Melt the butter in the skillet.
Add the flour and whisk until smooth.
Continue to whisk constantly until the mixture is a rich caramel brown.
Add the milk and cream and whisk until smooth and thickened, then add the paprika.
Add the beef bouillon and whisk until combined.
Return the pork/onion/mushroom mixture to the sauce, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately with Homemade German Spätzle or with hot egg noodles cooked according to package instructions, and with a fresh green salad.
- 1 lb lean pork, cut into thin strips
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 8 oz fresh white button mushrooms, sliced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika powder
- 2 beef bouillon cubes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Spaetzle, homemade or purchased and cooked according to package directions.
- Or 1 (16 oz) package egg noodles cooked according to package directions.
- Heat the oil in a stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat and brown the pork on all sides. Transfer the pork to a plate and set aside.
- Add the onions to the skillet, adding more oil if necessary, and saute until translucent and beginning to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion mushroom mixture to pork and set aside.
- Melt the butter in the skillet and whisk in the flour, continuing to whisk until the mixture is a rich caramel brown. Add the milk and heavy cream, whisking continually, until the mixture is smooth and thickened.
- Add the paprika and crumble in the beef bouillon and whisk until smooth.
- Return the meat mixture to the sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more milk if the sauce is too thick, or add a flour slurry to thicken.
- Serve immediately with hot spaetzle or egg noodles and a fresh green salad.
LAurel says
Question, do you think this could be adapted for a slow cooker? I love this recipe but am trying to find ways to prep for the work week!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Laurel, most of the flavor of this dish comes from the process of sauteing, caramelizing and making the roux with the flour – all steps that will be missed in the slow cooker. If you’re going to employ a slow cooker for this I’d recommend waiting until Step 5 and transferring everything over at that point to slow cook on LOW for maybe 3-4 hours. But for this particular dish I recommend sticking with the stovetop.
Bob Smith says
Kimberly, we have a very close friend from Germany and over the years we’ve enjoyed many Swabian dishes. I made the pork schnitzel recipe of yours and this sauce. It was delicious!! She and her husband kept saying how much it reminded them of her Mom’s cooking. Also made buttered noodles with parsley and fresh steamed green beans with the bread crumbs browned in butter. Our friend is going through chemo so she has enough left over for tomorrow’s dinner when she gets home from the hospital. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Bob. I’m so glad you were able to enjoy a delicious German meal with your friends and family. God bless your friend in her journey towards recovery.
Mark says
Is the sauce similar to what would be used for Jagerschnitzel?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
It is, Mark, though the sauce for Jäegerschnitzel usually isn’t creamy, it’s a brown sauce.
Karen says
This recipe looks amazing!! I’m going to try it for sure! When you say heavy cream?…what percentage is the cream you use? I’m also going to make sweet and sour red cabbage salad (served hot) to eat along side … It will be a perfect match for your recipes.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks, Karen! Heavy cream typically has between 36-40% milk fat, but you can use a lighter cream too if you prefer.
Charles R Gardiner says
Looking for inspiration and came across this wonderful sounding recipe for Geschnetzeltes wow I am salivating already cant make it today but off the the Pork Butcher in the morning at first light Kimberly and Thanks
Charlie Gardiner
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Charles, happy cooking and let us know what you think!
Christine Kelly-Boyd says
Hi Kimberly! What a greaat idea! I am cooking for a very large group-a memorial. Many people lived in Bavaria for at least part of their lives. I wanted to to jaegerschnitzel since it is such a favorite but too difficult for a group. This is perfect!
Question: Do you think there would be any benefit in coating the pork pieces like for schnitzel?
Oh and for your bacon comment…I’m sauteing with some rendered bacon fat for the extra piggyness! :)
Thanks so much for your awesome site!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Christine, what a wonderful memorial! Yes, this is a great dish for a crowd because it can be made in advance and reheated. No, I wouldn’t recommend coating the pieces of pork for two reasons: One, frying/browning the pork is key to the flavor of the sauce and two, the breading would just get soggy and probably fall off in the sauce anyway. Happy cooking and I hope the memorial will be as special as it sounds.
Christine Kelly-Boyd says
Thank you Kimberly! :D
Doris Drewlow says
Hi Kimberly, I am German, I grew up in Landstuhl (Rheinland-Pfalz or in English the Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany, which is close to Ramstein Air Base and Kaiserslautern (1. FCK Soccer Club, which has been very disappointing in the past years). My mother was also from Swabia and to be exact, she grew up near Schwaebisch-Hall and my father in Landstuhl. I just want to give you a tip on your Schnitzel with Hunter-style grave and it is also great to use for your Geschnetzteltes recipe. I use the drippings from the meat, add small cubes of bacon and the rest is just about the same as you have in your recipe. I have to say, since I have grown up in a very large or lets say the largest American Military Community outside of the United States, the American bacon is much greasier than the German bacon is. You may want to brown it separately and pour out some of the grease before adding it to the pan of drippings. Let it brown some more and then add the rest of your ingredients. I think you and your admirers/followers will love this little but great change of taste.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Doris, thanks for the tip. Bacon pretty much makes everything taste better, doesn’t it? :)
Christine Kelly-Boyd says
Hi Doris…AFRC in Garmisch Partenkirchen by any chance? Thats where all my extended “framily” lived and worked. My Uncle was a helicopter pilot there in the ’50s shuttling the brass in for skiing etc. My husband and the rest were there from the late ’70s and some still live there. If that is where you were, “Hi” from our GAPer framily!
Celeste says
Thank you so much. Is there a national german dessert you could recommend to finish up this traditional meal?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Celeste! Oh, there are so many to choose from, it just depends on how filling versus light of a dessert you want after this meal. Here are just a few traditional German desserts and there are many more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_desserts
Celeste says
So is the sauce for jaeger schnitzel basically the same just omitting the pork strips? Im looking forward to making a jaeger schnitzel with spatzle for my friends 50rh birthday.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Celeste! Yes, it’s basically the same thing. You can make creamy or clear brown gravy mushroom sauces for Jägerschnitzel, both equally popular. I’m actually going to be posting my recipe for Jägerschnitzel in the near future but probably won’t be before your friend’s birthday. You’ll be good to go though making a mushroom gravy as described in this recipe.
Nate says
We made this tonight with some beef we had in the fridge that needed to be used up. It was excellent! We didn’t have any Spaetzle either so we put it over potato gnocchi which was surprisingly good.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s awesome, Nate, thanks for the feedback and gnocchi was a great choice!
Mary H. says
Fixed this tonight for my German-born father-in-law. Didn’t have equipment to make spätzle, so just served over wide egg noodles. It was fabulous, with everyone having seconds. Only change I made to the recipe: I had 1-1/2 lbs pork on hand so used that amount, instead of 1 lb pork as the recipe calls for. It was not too much meat for the quantity of sauce. A big hit for this German-born and German-heritage family!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, Mary, thanks so much for your feedback! This dish has always been a favorite of mine.
Steve says
A few weeks ago my fiancé bought some porkchops on sale at the store. When she unpackaged them she found that they had buried a very oddly shaped/cut pieces at the bottom. Discouraged, she was about to throw them out saying they wouldn’t cook up right. Then I remembered this recipe. With it, I turned the butchers scraps that were destined for the trash into a meal fit for a king. Thanks again, Daring Gourmet!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Good call, Steve! Exactly, traditionally scraps probably would have used for this kind of dish. So glad this dish was a hit, it’s always been a favorite of mine!
Sandra Teasley says
This was absolutely delicious! Made the spetzel, too. Served with spiced red cabbage. Thank you for the recipe, will make this often. We were married in Augsburg almost 45 years ago.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, Sandra, thank you! You’ve got me really in the mood to make this again, I think I’ll make it for my family today :)
Teri says
Oh my gosh… I love this… my husband loves this… my kids it’s hard to tell, but they are 4 so who really cares. I don’t like the texture of mushrooms, so I halved the amount and it was still fabulous. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. My heritage is Czech, so I like to find awesome eastern European recipes and pretend their Czech… lol!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so happy to hear that, Teri, thank you!! And nothing wrong with a little pretending in the name of bolstering pride in your heritage :) Thanks again!
Samantha says
If I wanted to use liquid stock instead of a bouillon cube, would I replace some of the cream and milk.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Samantha, the bouillon cube is very concentrated and eliminates the need to add a cup of stock. If you substitute a cup of stock for the cream or milk you won’t a very creamy sauce. That’s the downside.