Healthy Veal Scallopini Piccata Recipe | Wholesome Yum (2024)

When you can’t decide between a chicken dinner or beef dinner, this healthy veal scallopini recipe is a great one to try! While veal is definitely beef, this dish has elements of both. Veal piccata is made with thinly sliced veal cutlets that are coated with a creamy caper and wine sauce. It’s as delicious as it sounds. The flavors are bright from the white wine and lemon, yet creamy from the butter.

Serve the veal scallopini with zucchini noodles, mashed cauliflower, roasted vegetables such as roasted broccolini, or just about any salad.

What Is Veal Scallopini?

Scallopini refers to thinly sliced meat, usually beef, veal, or chicken. (Including in chicken piccata!) So, veal scallopini is a dish made with thinly sliced veal cutlets and usually a reduced sauce.

In this healthy veal scallopini recipe, we’re using an Italian piccata sauce which is a creamy, white-wine-based sauce with capers.

Veal Scallopini Recipe Ingredients

This healthy recipe for veal scallopini requires just 8 ingredients:

• Veal cutlets
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• Olive oil
• Butter
• Garlic
• White cooking wine
• Chicken bone broth
• Lemon juice
• Capers
• Fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)

How To Make Veal Scallopini

Making this veal piccata dish only takes a few simple steps:

• Prep cutlets. Use the flat side of a meat tenderizer to pound cutlets to 1/8-inch thickness and season with salt and pepperon each side.

• Brown veal. Heat oil in a skillet until shimmering. Cook the veal cutlets in one layer, working in batches, for about 30-45 seconds per side. Transfer to a plate and top with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil and veal.

• Make veal piccata sauce. Reduce heat, add butter and garlic, and saute until fragrant. Add white wine, bone broth, and lemon juice. Deglaze the pan by scraping up any cooked bits from the pan up into the sauce.

• Finish the sauce. Add capers and bring sauce to a boil, then simmer until thickened. Stir more butter, and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

• Finish veal. Add the cooked veal back into the pan and coat in sauce.

Italian Veal Scallopini FAQs

Is veal scallopini healthy?

Yes, this is a healthy meal. Each serving has 25 grams of protein and less than 3 grams of carbs.

How many veal piccata calories per serving?

There are about 260 calories per serving in this veal piccata recipe.

Can I make it dairy-free?

You can swap out the butter with your favorite dairy-free butter alternative. I’ve had good results using this butter-flavored coconut oil in other recipes, but haven’t tried it with this one.

Can I make this with chicken?

Yes, you could also make this recipe with thinly sliced chicken or pork. The cooking time may change a bit, but the flavors will be delicious with chicken and pork as well.

Veal Piccata Storage Instructions

Can you make it ahead?

This recipe takes less than 30 minutes, so I would recommend just making it right before serving for the best veal scallopini.

How to store veal piccata:

Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Can you freeze veal piccata?

You can freeze leftover veal, but know that the texture of the sauce may not be as silky smooth when you reheat it.

How to reheat healthy veal scallopini:

Reheat veal gently in a hot skillet or in the microwave, just until hot.

What To Serve With Veal Scallopini

• Salads – Salads such as kale and brussels sprout salad, Italian artichoke salad, or baby kale salad pair well with healthy veal cutlet recipes like this one.
• Vegetable Sides – Vegetable sides such as roasted zucchini, roasted vegetables, as well as rice or riced cauliflower, are all great options.
• Bread – You don’t want to waste any of the easy veal piccata sauce, so sop up any extra with 90-second bread, almond flour bread, or my keto dinner rolls.
• Healthy Pasta Alternatives – Most traditional Italian meals are served with pasta, but I prefer pasta alternatives like zucchini noodles.

• Meat Tenderizer – Use the flat side to pound veal and chicken for cutlets, or the textured side for tenderizing.
• 12-Inch Skillet – This nonstick skillet has an extra large surface area, which is great for veal cutlets since they take up a lot of space.
• Wooden Spoon – The flat edge on this spoon makes it easy to deglaze the pan and scrape up all of those flavorful bits.