Turkey Schnitzel
This turkey schnitzel is perfect for smaller holiday gatherings. It’s very easy and has a crispy almond crust that complements the mild flavor of the chicken breast.
This is an original recipe that everyone asks for instead of a roasted turkey for Thanksgiving. We make an orange sauce to accompany it with savory herbs like sage and rosemary.
Traditional German schnitzel is veal or pork and is usually served with lemon. I thought that the lemon might overpower the turkey, so I decided on orange for the citrus. Orange pairs perfectly with milder meats and seafood.
It is easy to make this recipe gluten-free and dairy-free. You only need to use almond milk and gluten-free flour.
Why should you make the turkey schnitzel?
- Perfect for the holidays.
- Great for small gatherings. Buy a single breast.
- Delicious and incredibly easy.
- Takes less time than roasting a turkey.
- Different twist on a traditional holiday meal.
What you need for the orange sauce
- Olive oil: To sauté the vegetables.
- Butter: If you’d like to make this dairy-free, substitute a vegan margarine or butter.
- Shallot: Adds a mild onion flavor to the sauce.
- Green onion: Adds a different mild onion flavor.
- Orange: Adds the citrus flavor to the sauce.
- Honey: Adds a bit of sweetness to the sauce.
- Dry sherry: Adds depth and balance.
- Chicken stock: If you don’t have chicken stock, use chicken bouillon or chicken base.
- Rosemary, Thyme, Sage: Savory herbs for warmth. Use fresh herbs rather than dried for the best flavor.
- Salt and pepper: Use kosher or sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch will thicken the sauce.
What you need for the breading
- Turkey breast or tenderloins: If you buy a whole turkey when they are on sale, you can save a lot of money. Use the dark meat for soup or pot pies.
- Almonds: Give the turkey a delicious, mildly flavored crunch.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour to make it gluten-free.
- Rosemary, thyme, sage: These savory herbs add warmth to the breading.
- Salt and pepper: Sea or kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Eggs: The binder that aids in adhering the breading to the turkey.
- Milk: Use cow’s milk or almond milk to make the recipe dairy-free.
How to Make the Orange Sauce
Chop shallot, green onion and herbs.
Add the butter or margarine and a splash of oil to a small saucepan. Sauté the white parts of the onion and shallot until the edges are golden. Add the herbs and green onion tops and sauté until fragrant.
Add sherry to the pot. Cook down until half of the volume remains.
Next, add the honey, chicken stock and orange juice. Add the orange zest. Cook down by half again.
The sauce can be made a day or two ahead, to this point. To finish, reheat the sauce. Add the cornstarch mixed with water. Cook along for a few minutes until thick and bubbly.
How to Breast the Turkey
Seasonally, you can find turkey tenderloins, but buying a whole turkey breast will save you money. To debone the turkey;
If using a whole turkey, separate the leg and thigh from both sides of the bird. Run a sharp knife along the thigh bone to separate the bottom edge of the breast.
Continue slowly working your way up the rib cage.
Keep pulling the breast away from the bone as you work to expose the bones that you need to follow.
Remove the entire breast from the carcass. Slice into cutlets. When slicing cutlets, work with the grain rather than against it.
Depending on the size of your turkey, you should end up with at least eight and up to twelve cutlets. Note: The thighs can be deboned and breaded if you need more meat to feed your crowd.
Breading the Turkey
Season the milk with salt and pepper.
Season eggs with salt and pepper. Whisk them well.
Mix the flour, almonds, herbs, salt and pepper breading ingredients in another bowl.
Pat the cutlets dry with paper towels.
Set up a dredging station. Dip the cutlet into the milk. Let the excess drip off. Then dip in the egg mixture. Then press the cutlet into the breading so that it sticks to the meat. Continue until all of the cutlets are breaded.
Fry schnitzel in a heavy-bottom pan in shallow neutral oil until golden brown on one side. Flip and brown the other side. Keep warm in a 250° F oven.
Check the meat’s internal temperature. It should measure 165°F. If it is not, bake at 350 until it reaches the proper internal temperature.
To keep the turkey schnitzel warm, place it in a 250°F oven until ready to serve. Serve with warm orange sauce.
Helpful Tips for Turkey Cutlets
- Sauce can be made ahead to step 5. Thicken just before serving.
- Pound cutlets to ensure even thickness for uniform cooking and tender turkey.
- If using a whole turkey, place the dark meat and carcass in the crockpot to make stock or soup.
- Turkey and sauce leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- If the leftover sauce becomes too thick, thin it with a bit of water.
- Freezing leftovers is not recommended. The turkey tends to dry out.
If you love this turkey schnitzel, you’re going to love this parmesan-crusted chicken. It’s cheesy and perfect for a quick weeknight meal.
Other Delicious Turkey Recipes
- Smoked Turkey
- Wild Turkey
- Turkey Enchiladas
- Mexican turkey soup
- Turkey pot pies
- Spaghetti casserole
- Famous turkey sandwich
Helpful Tools
These turkey cutlets are a great way to celebrate the holidays if you want something a little different than roasted turkey.
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
Almond Crusted Turkey Cutlets – Turkey Schnitzel
Ingredients
Orange Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp dairy free butter/ margarine (or similar Lactose Free Margaine)
- 1/2 medium shallot , finely minced
- 3 green onions , tops and whites, sliced
- 1 whole large orange , zested (about 2 Tbsp.)
- Juice from orange (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 cup dry sherry
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary
- 2 tsp fresh thyme, minced
- 2 tsp fresh sage, minced
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup cold water
For Turkey Breasts
- 1 whole turkey breast , de-boned
- 2 cups ground , whole, not blanched almonds (About 2 1/2 cups before grinding)
- 1 cup gluten free , all purpose flour
- 2-3 tsp Salt
- 2-3 tsp Pepper
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary
- 2 tsp fresh thyme, minced
- 2 tsp fresh sage, minced
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- about 6 eggs , whisked. May need more so have a few extras on hand
Instructions
Orange Sauce
- Heat Olive oil and Margarine in a medium saucepan.
- Saute’ shallot and white parts of the green onion until soft and beginning to brown.
- Add rosemary, thyme and sage. Continue to saute’ until spices are very fragrant.
- Add tops of the green onion and saute’ a few more minutes.
- Add Sherry. Cook at a fast simmer until sherry is reduced by half. About 5 minutes.
- Add the honey, orange zest, orange juice and chicken stock. Again, cook until reduced by at least half, about 10 minutes. Sauce can be made ahead to this point. Refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat to a simmer. Continue with directions.
- When reduced, whisk the cornstarch and water, to a slurry. Whisk into orange sauce. Reduce heat to medium low and cook along for about 5 minutes.
For Turkey
- Slice the turkey breasts by slicing horizontally into the thick, long side of each breast. Using a mallet, pound the turkey to about 1/4″ thick. Cut tenderloins out of each breast. Then cut the rest of the breasts into about 6 more pieces (depending on the size of the turkey)
- For breading; Mix together, ground almonds, gluten free flour, salt, pepper, and spices.
- Set up a dredging station. Almond milk in one bowl, eggs in a second bowl and prepared breading in the third.
- Dredge each piece of breast in the order above. Place on a plate. Heat oven to 300°F.
- When all the turkey breasts are breaded, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, heavy bottom frying pan, until very hot.
- Fry turkey breasts until nicely browned. Place on a baking sheet and move to the oven to keep warm.
- When all the turkey breasts are browned, Check internal temperature with a digital thermometer. Internal temperature should be 165°F. If they are not up to temperature increase oven temperature to 350°F and check internal temperature every few minutes until they are cooked through. Be careful not to overcook!
- For method or serving suggestions, see website link above.
- Note: I use as little salt in my recipes as I possibly can. If you like a lot of salt, increase amount of salt by approximately 1/3.
See all of my favorite tools and gift ideas on my New Amazon Store!Check out Binky’s Amazon Store!Notes
- Sauce can be made ahead to step 5. Thicken just before serving.
- Pound cutlets out to ensure tender turkey.
- If using whole turkey, place dark meat and carcass in crockpot to make stock or soup.
- Turkey and sauce leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- If leftover sauce becomes too thick, thin with a little water.
- Freezing leftovers is not recommended. The turkey has a tendency to dry out.
Nutrition
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Originally Published January 8, 2015. Updated November 11, 2025.
Recipe Name: Turkey Schnitzel with Orange Herb Sauce
Type: Main Course
Main Ingredients: Turkey breast, almonds, orange, herbs, eggs, gluten-free flour
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 8–12 cutlets
Special Equipment: Cast-iron frying pan, saucepan, meat mallet
Great For: Thanksgiving, holiday dinners, small gatherings
Yum! The kid that’s still in me just adores schnitzels 🙂
This schnitzel is really very healthy for you, Patty! None of that heavy cream based sauce on this baby! Thanks, my friend!
Turkey schnitzel is such a fantastic idea! That almond crust sounds to die for with that orange sauce too! I love that it’s made with sherry! So much flavour!! 😀
Thanks so much Joyce! It is very moist and super flavorful!!
Thank you so much, Adriana! I appreciate your comment so much!
I think it so cool that you healthified this recipe from your travels. I love being inspired by the food from traveling and then I just let my imagination go.
Thanks so much for your comment, Katie! It is fun to get inspiration from ones travels!
I love a good schnitzel — and that orange sauce sounds heavenly.
Thanks, Lisa! The sauce really compliments the schnitzel so well!
These flavors are making my mouthwater!
Thanks, Jacque! It has effect on people!! 🙂
Lovely Schnitzel, plus it’s turkey! I love the healthy element in that. 🙂
Thank you Ann! This is so delicious! I’m sure you would love it!
That looks so good! Love schnitzels especially Wiener Schnitzel! Gotta try this amazing recipe. Btw, congrats on winning the Recipe Showdown challenge! Can’t wait to see what ingredient you’ll pick out for March! 😀
You’ll love the March ingredient, Jas! It’s one of my favorites!!