Pork Cutlets with Lemon Butter Pasta
If your weeknight dinner routine feels a little uninspired, this crispy, tangy recipe is about to become your family’s new favorite comfort meal. These golden-brown Pork Cutlets with Lemon Butter Pasta deliver restaurant-quality flavor with minimal effort. It pairs ultra-tender, pan-fried pork cutlets with a bright, silky pasta that cuts through the richness beautifully, making it an absolute hit for a cozy family dinner or a quick date night at home.
The secret to this dish lies in the perfect contrast of textures and flavors. While the seasoned breadcrumb coating locks in the juices of the pork for a satisfying crunch, the velvety lemon butter sauce elevates simple pasta into something truly decadent yet incredibly refreshing. Best of all, this easy weeknight pork recipe comes together in less than 30 minutes, giving you a gourmet, home-cooked meal without spending the entire evening standing over a hot stove.
Substitutes and Variations:
You could swap out the pork cutlets for thinly sliced chicken breasts or turkey cutlets. For a seafood twist, jumbo shrimp or a flaky white fish like cod pan-fries beautifully with the same breading method. While long noodles like spaghetti or linguine are classic choices for holding onto a velvety sauce, shapes like penne or rigatoni work wonderfully too
Suggestions for Sides:
To round out this dinner, the best side dishes offer a vibrant contrast to the rich meat and bright pasta. Elevate your meal by serving a crisp arugula salad tossed in a light lemon vinaigrette and topped with shaved parmesan. If you want to add some color and nutrition to the table, quick roasted asparagus or tender garlic-butter green beans provide a satisfying crunch. For an extra touch of comfort, a basket of warm garlic knots would make this an unforgettable, restaurant-worthy weeknight dinner.
Tools that may make this recipe easier:
To make this seamless pork cutlets and lemon butter pasta recipe, you only need a few basic kitchen essentials. Having these tools ready before you start will help you get dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. A meat mallet to pound the cutlets nice and thin. A citrus zester to get all that good lemony flavor into the sauce. And a breading station – which can be three paper plates or a reusable metal tray system like I have.
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
Pork Cutlets with Lemon Butter Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 lb Bucatini or other long pasta
- 4 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 Medium Lemons zested & juiced
- 1 cups Water
- 2 tsp Granulated Garlic
- ½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Dried Parsley
- 2 tbsp Corn Starch
- 1 cup Milk
For the Pork Cutlets
- 6 Pork Chops pounded to ½-inch thick
- 2 cups Flour divided
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 3 Eggs beaten
- 2 cups Bread Crumbs
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- ¼ cup Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Parsley
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Set up dredging station – plate 1 – combined 1 cup flour, salt, pepper, and paprika, plate 2 – beaten eggs, plate 3 – combine remaining flour, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, cornstarch, garlic power, parsley and Italian seasoning.
- Put each pork piece through the dredging plates (1, 2, then 3) evenly coated at each plate. Set aside for at least 10 minutes before beginning to pan fry.
- Start water boiling for pasta.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together water, lemon juice, lemon zest, parmesan, corn starch and seasonings.
- Add pasta to boiling water and let cook as directed on the package. Drain water from pasta and return pasta to pot.
- In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add butter and oil. Once fully melted, begin whisking and then slowly pouring the lemon mixture into the pan while still whisking. Once incorporated, reduce heat to medium low.
- Add about half an inch of oil to a large wide frying pan over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot enough to sizzle a small bit of flour, start frying the breaded pork chops. About 4 minutes on each side. Remove to a paper towel covered wire rack. NOTE: DO NOT OVER CROWD THE PAN.
- Let sauce simmer until pasta is cooked. Whisk in milk and remove sauce from heat.
- Pour sauce over pasta and use tongs to coat the pasta evenly then serve right away with a pork cutlet (cut into slices if desired). Drizzle any extra sauce over top of pork and sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if desired.
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
Don’t miss new recipes from Homemade on a Weeknight – subscribe and get an email with every new post!
This sounds amazing. The lemon butter sounds like a great twist.
This looks delicious!