An easy and quick recipe for juicy, flavorful beef cutlets using ground beef, served with a creamy and aromatic mushroom gravy! You’ll fall in love with this Eastern European recipe from the very first bite! I love to serve these cutlets with wide egg noodles or creamy mashed potatoes. Either way, get ready to receive plenty of compliments! Looking for more Eastern European recipes? Check out my new cookbook, Beyond Borscht!
Watch My Beef Cutlets Video Tutorial
Watch my YouTube beef cutlets video tutorial for step-by-step instructions for this delicious dinner recipe! Want to stay up to date on my newest recipes? Subscribe to my website email list and my YouTube channelto get notifications.
Ingredients for Juicy Beef Cutlets
Here are my tips for the main ingredients you’ll need to make these delicious, juicy beef cutlets! Find the full list of ingredients in the printable recipe card below.
Ground Beef – I personally love to use 80/20% ground beef. The extra fat adds incredible flavor! If you prefer leaner cutlets, feel free to use a leaner ground beef.
Onion – my secret ingredient for making the juiciest cutlets! You can use a grater or a food processor to grate/puree the onion.
Oil or Butter – for frying the cutlets. You can also use a combination of both for extra flavor.
Breadcrumbs – you can use plain or panko breadcrumbs for this recipe. I love the texture the panko crumbs add!
Mushrooms – for making the optional gravy.
Supplies & Tools for the Recipe
Need some supplies to make this recipe? You can get them here (Amazon affiliate links):
This set of glass mixing bowls are great for prepping and mixing ingredients.
Prepare the beef cutlets first. Using a cheese grater, grate the onion into a large bowl. You can also use a food processor. To the bowl, add the ground beef, egg, and season with salt, pepper and fresh dill.
Soak the bread in a bowl of water and squeeze out a bit water if too much is absorbed; I like to use a 6-inch piece of baguette.
Break the baguette into small pieces and add to the bowl. Using your hands, mix all the ingredients together until a uniform mixture forms.
Use a measuring scoop (mine was 3 tablespoons) to portion the mixture into cutlet sized portions. Place the panko bread crumbs into a small bow. Press each cutlet into a flat oval shape, then drop into the bread crumbs, coating well all over.
Preheat a large frying pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the cutlets to the pan, spacing them out evenly. Avoid over-crowding the pan; cook the cutlets in batches.
Fry the cutlets 4 to 6 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Make sure cutlets cook all the way through; check with a meat thermometer if need – it needs to reach 160F.
Remove the cutlets onto a tray lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil; keep warm until ready to serve.
Making the Easy Mushroom Gravy
This mushroom gravy is optional, but a great addition if you’re enjoying the cutlets with pasta or mashed potatoes.
Melt the butter in a large saute pan, along with a bit of olive oil, over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for 4 to 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are nicely browned. Season the mushrooms with a bit of salt once they’re browned, then remove them from the pan into a large bowl.
Into the same pan, add the diced shallots and grated carrot. Saute the two for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the garlic, season with salt, pepper and smoked paprika; cook for another minute or two. Next, add the flour and toss with a spatula until the veggies are coated; cook the flour for about a minute.
Begin adding the beef broth, a little at a time and scrape the flour from the bottom of the pan. Wait for the sauce to thicken before adding more broth. Return the mushrooms to the pan and cook the sauce over medium heat for 4 to 8 minutes, until the sauce reaches desired consistency. Add the cream and fresh dill last and cook for a few minutes, until simmering.
Serve the gravy over cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes with a 2 to 3 cutlets on the side.
A Family Favorite Recipe!
This recipe has been in my family for generations, literally! It just one of those classic Eastern European recipes that sticks around forever because it’s delicious and quick to make.
My Ukrainian mom would make a variety cutlets for our family all the time, using beef such as in this recipe or pork, chicken and even fish. She would serve the cutlets plain or make with this incredible mushroom gravy. It’s made with loads of mushrooms, onion, carrots, garlic and of course, dill! You can’t have an Eastern European dish without dill!
More Recipes to Try!
Looking for more Eastern European recipes? Check out my new cookbook, Beyond Borscht and these delicious recipes:
6inchthin French baguette, or 3 slices bread; about 300 g
1 1/2tspsalt
freshly ground black pepper
1cupspanko breadcrumbs
3 to 4tbspolive oil, or avocado oil, butter; for frying
For Gravy:
10white mushrooms, sliced
1tbspbutter
2medium shallots, diced
1large carrot, grated
3minced garlic cloves
1 1/2tbspflour
salt and pepper
1/2tspsmoked paprika
2cupsbeef broth
1cupcream or half-and-half
1 to 2tbspfresh dill
For Serving:
1poundegg noodles, or mashed potatoes
Instructions
Making Beef Cutlets:
Prepare the beef cutlets first. Using a cheese grater, grate the onion into a large bowl. You can also use a food processor. To the bowl, add the ground beef, egg, and season with salt, pepper and fresh dill.
Soak the bread in a bowl of water and squeeze out a bit water if too much is absorbed; I like to use a 6-inch piece of baguette. Break the baguette into small pieces and add to the bowl.
Using your hands, mix all the ingredients together until a uniform mixture forms. Use a measuring scoop (mine was 3 tablespoons) to portion the mixture into cutlet sized portions.
Place the panko bread crumbs into a small bow. Press each cutlet into a flat oval shape, then drop into the bread crumbs, coating well all over.
Cooking Instructions:
Preheat a large frying pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the cutlets to the pan, spacing them out evenly. Avoid over-crowding the pan; cook the cutlets in batches. Fry the cutlets 4 to 6 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
Make sure cutlets cook all the way through; check with a meat thermometer if need – it needs to reach 160F. Remove the cutlets onto a tray lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil; keep warm until ready to serve.
Making Mushroom Gravy:
Next, prepare the mushroom gravy. Melt the butter in a large saute pan, along with a bit of olive oil, over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for 4 to 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are nicely browned. Season the mushrooms with a bit of salt once they’re browned, then remove them from the pan into a large bowl.
Into the same pan, add the diced shallots and grated carrot. Saute the two for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the garlic, season with salt, pepper and smoked paprika; cook for another minute or two. Next, add the flour and toss with a spatula until the veggies are coated; cook the flour for about a minute.
Begin adding the beef broth, a little at a time and scrape the flour from the bottom of the pan. Wait for the sauce to thicken before adding more broth. Return the mushrooms to the pan and cook the sauce over medium heat for 4 to 8 minutes, until the sauce reaches desired consistency. Add the cream and fresh dill last and cook for a few minutes, until simmering.
Serve the gravy over cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes with a 2 to 3 cutlets on the side.
Yummy recipe ! Definitely will make this a family rotation
Hi Anna! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! I make this one quite often, too! My husband loves the cutlets with egg noodles.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
I’m going to try this tonight and I’m sure it’s going to be so yummy. I’m originally from Estonia and my mom put some mayo in the cutlets too, also very yummy.
Thank you for sharing this 😊👍
Hi! I hope you loved the dish! I’m a huge fan of cutlets, too and make them with different types of ground meats.
Do you suggest using the full 6 inch baguette, or just 1 3inch slice? I have your cookbook as well but I wasn’t clear on bread measurements. Thank you!
Hi Natalie! I’m so sorry for the confusion! I recommend using a 6-inch piece of thin baguette. If you don’t have baguette, you can also use some sliced bread, approximately 300 g of bread. Hope this helps!
Can I bake these instead of frying them? If so, for how long? Thank you
Hi Sarah! Yes, I bake these all the time. Preheat the oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once the oven is preheated, turn on the oven broiler. Broil the cutlets first for about 7 to 8 minutes, until the tops are golden brown, then switch back to baking until the internal temperature reaches 165F, about 8 to 10 minutes. Hope you enjoy these!