24 Veal Recipes to Try at Home (2024)

Grilled, braised, pan-fried, stewed, or roasted, veal is a tender, velvety protein that's easy to make at home. Because the beef is leaner than other meats, care must be taken to ensure it doesn't dry out. Generally, veal is cooked at a relatively low temperature or using a moist-heat method; it's often breaded (as in Panko-Crusted Veal Chops with Sorrel Cream) or prepared in a sauce (like Pappardelle with Veal Ragù) to keep it juicy and delicious. When selecting veal, look for meat that's light pink rather than red for the most mild, delicate flavor — then choose one of these terrific veal recipes to make the most of it.

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Oven-Braised Veal Stew with Black Pepper and Cherries

A rich, wintry stew with a tart, slightly sweet bite from sour cherries gets its deep flavor from tender veal. Choose pork shoulder for a fattier, slightly juicier dish.

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Orecchiette with Veal, Capers, and White Wine

"The sauce fits the pasta," says chef Marc Vetri in praise of this tender veal ragù flavored with white wine, capers, thyme, and rosemary, then tossed with the little ear-shaped orecchiette. "The meat, the capers — they hang onto the pasta when you lift up your fork."

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Osso Buco

Chef Ludo Lefevbre uses the classic braising technique in his version of osso buco: first, browning the veal shank to develop flavor, then sautéing the aromatics, deglazing with wine, and pouring in plenty of deeply flavored veal stock before finishing in the oven.

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Roasted Veal Chops with Mushrooms and Madeira

Chef Galen Zamarra thinks that tender, rose-colored veal is inherently romantic. For the most luscious chop, buy meat that is light pink rather than red.

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Tuscan-Style Veal Chops

Barbecue teacher Steven Raichlen says grill experts "all over the world have noticed that when you grill a piece of meat and then anoint it with some kind of fat, it mixes with the meat juices and creates instant sauce." In Tuscany, olive oil is the fat of choice for finishing herbed veal chops like these.

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Blanquette de Veau

Chef Daniel Boulud prepares this classic, creamy veal stew with veal stock, sometimes adding sweetbreads and finishing the dish with shavings of black truffle. To make things easier at home, omit the sweetbreads and truffle and opt for store-bought vegetable broth — or even salted water — over veal stock.

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Rigatoni with Veal Bolognese and Butternut Squash

Chef Andrew Zimmern makes his velvety pasta sauce — a classic Italian combination of sweet squash and veal — even more luscious with a touch of cream.

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Panko-Crusted Veal Chops with Sorrel Cream

"I don't eat veal very often, but when I do indulge, I enjoy it," says chef Amanda Hallowell, who buys her veal from a local butcher shop that raises its cows on grass, the old-fashioned way. Here, she pan-fries veal chops in a panko crust and serves them with a tangy sauce made with crème fraîche and lemony fresh sorrel.

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Pan-Fried Veal Chops with Lemon and Rosemary

Delicately flavored veal is rubbed with olive oil, fresh rosemary, and black pepper, then pan-fried in butter until golden. Lemon juice combines with the fond to create a bright pan sauce that gets poured onto the finished chops.

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Veal Meatballs with Mustard Greens

Chef Hugh Acheson flavors his tender veal meatballs with fennel and smoked chile and serves them with sautéed mustard greens instead of pasta.

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Stuffed Veal Breast with Gigante Beans

This succulent veal breast from chef Cormac Mahoney is a show-stopper at any gathering. The cool climate in Austria tends to produce red wines with less ripe, opulent fruit notes than reds from warmer regions, making them excellent with lighter meats like veal. Look for a peppery Zweigelt or an earthy Blaufränkisch to pair with this dish.

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Barolo-Braised Veal

The veal marinates overnight in Barolo, so plan accordingly. If you can't find an affordable Barolo, try a Nebbiolo d'Alba; it's made from the same grape. Serve the dish with creamy polenta.

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Pan-Roasted Veal Chops with Cabernet Sauce

At Brabo in Alexandria, Virginia, chef Robert Wiedmaier serves elegant dishes like these veal chops. To make the wine sauce even more complex, use demi-glace (concentrated veal stock) instead of beef stock and flour.

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Roasted Rack of Veal with Root Vegetables

Frasca Food and Wine restaurant in Boulder, Colorado, is inspired by the Friuli region of Italy; co-owner and wine director Bobby Stuckey serves a number of edgy Friulian wines. This veal dish is particularly good with slightly tannic "orange" wines like Gravner's Ribolla Gialla.

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Braised Veal Shoulder with Spring Vegetables

At the former Edi & The Wolf, chefs Eduard Frauneder and Wolfgang Ban served goat cheese-stuffed veal in individual-size portions. Prepared as a whole roast, as in the recipe here, it's a great way to feed a group. To give the braising liquid an even richer flavor, substitute a cup of veal demi-glace for a cup of the beef stock.

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Roasted Veal Loin with Pickled Golden Raisins

Chef Suzanne Goin covers this veal roast with herbs and butter before cooking to get extra-rich pan juices. They're delicious spooned over the exceptionally tender meat and served with the sweet roasted garlic cloves.

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Pan-Fried Veal Chops with Mushrooms and Cilantro

Pan-fry your veal chops and serve them alongside a quick mushroom and cilantro dish for the perfect midweek dinner.

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Veal Goulash with Paprika, Caraway, and Fried Capers

At Seäsonal Restaurant and Weinbar, chef Wolfgang Ban made his goulash with succulent veal cheeks; here he adapts the recipe for easier-to-find veal shoulder.

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Smoky Tomato-Braised Veal Shoulder with Potatoes

Humanely raised veal is becoming more widely available at top butcher shops. Butcher-chef Tia Harrison recommends choosing veal shoulder or rump roast, which are more economical than other cuts of veal but still delicious. Harrison likes to braise them; here, canned fire-roasted tomatoes give the dish a smoky flavor.

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Roast Veal with Marjoram

If chef Daniel Humm were cooking in the northern, more Germanic part of Switzerland, he'd probably serve this spectacular roasted veal with spaetzle, but because he's in the southern, Italian region, he makes a luscious risotto with porcini mushrooms.

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Ham and Cheese-Stuffed Veal Chops

These plump veal chops are stuffed with truffled pecorino cheese and thin slivers of ham, then topped by a tangy-sweet Madeira sauce. The four chops in this recipe sear best if you split them between two pans, but if you have only one good, thick-bottomed sauté pan, brown them two at a time; if you crowd in all four chops at once, they won't brown properly.

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Veal Stew with Rosemary and Lemon and Baked Polenta with Parmesan

This luscious veal stew is simmered with white wine and rosemary until the meat is incredibly tender; lemon zest and parsley give it a bright finish. To serve, spoon it over a rich, creamy baked polenta.

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Crispy Wiener Schnitzel with Lingonberry Preserves

"Schnitzel and Grüner Veltliner isn't a very creative pairing, but I think it's a beautiful one," says chef Wolfgang Ban. He loves how rich styles of the Austrian white wine still have bright acidity, which is delicious with crispy veal cutlets.

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Pappardelle with Veal Ragù

This slow-cooked sauce goes well with a cherry-rich, medium-bodied Chianti Classico.

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