Crispy pork cutlet simmered in runny egg with a dashi broth, and served over hot steamed rice, this Baked Katsudon recipe is the rice bowl of your dream! Learn how to make the best crunchy cutlet without deep frying. It’s going to be your new favorite weeknight meal.
Are you a big fan of Japanese deep-fried pork cutlet Tonkatsu? Then don’t miss out on this simple and delicious donburi –Katsudon (カツ丼). True soul food of Japan, Katsudon is said to have the ability to warm the coldest of hearts. Case in point: Irresistibly juicy cutlet, creamy eggs, and steamed rice soaked in a savory sauce, Katsuson is nothing but pure comfort.
The cutlets typically get its crunchy texture from deep frying, but today we’re going to take the mess-free route and make Baked Katsudon (揚げないカツ丼). Follow my simple tips, you’ll be able to achieve the same golden katsu for your rice bowl. I promise the baked version is just as good as deep-fried.
Watch How To Make Baked Katsudon
3 Secrets to Make Delicious Baked Katsudon
1. Pre-Toast The Panko Breadcrumbs
Before breading the pork cutlets, pre-toast the panko in a frying pan until nicely brown. Since we’re not deep frying the cutlets, this step is the golden trick in achieving beautiful crust and crunchy texture for the baked tonkatsu.
I use the same technique for my Baked Tonkatsu or Baked Chicken Katsu recipes.
2. Make One Serving At a Time
When making Donburi dishes like Katsudon and Oyakodon, we make one serving at a time using a special Oyakodon Pan (親子丼鍋). This way, you can keep the balance of ingredients and distribute them evenly. It also makes it easier to transfer the cooked food over to the rice as the size of the cooking pan is similar to a donburi bowl.
In this recipe/ video, I used my mom’s Oyakodon pan that I found in her kitchen last summer. I brought it home with me and I’m happy that I could use it in this recipe.
However, my mom’s pan is smaller and shallower than what we can get these days. So I got a brand new Oyakodon pan with a lid (picture above). Alternatively, you can use a 5-6 inch pan instead.
3. Use Good Dashi
When you make Katsudon sauce, it’s important to use good dashi. I highly recommend making your own dashi, but if you’re too busy, you can use a dashi packet. It still tastes better than dashi made with dashi powder.
Donburi – The Ultimate Comfort Food
If rice bowl is your type of dinner, you will enjoy this Baked Katsudon as much as I do. The contrast of juicy panko-crusted pork, sautéed onion, soft eggs, fluffy steamed rice, and a flavorful sauce, all come together to deliver a bowl of deliciousness.
For more mouthwatering Japanese fried foods in baked versions, try out my Baked Croquettes and Baked Chicken Katsu recipes!
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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Baked Katsudon (Japanese Crispy Baked Cutlet Rice Bowl)
Video
Ingredients
For Baked Katsu:
- 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- 1 Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, rice bran, canola, etc)
- 2 pieces boneless pork loin chops (½ inch thick) (4 oz, 113 g each)
- 1 tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 large egg (50 g w/o shell)
For Katsudon:
- ½ onion (divided; ¼ onion per serving)
- 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (divided; 1 egg per serving)
- 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice
For Katsudon Sauce (divided for each serving):
- 1 cup dashi (Japanese soup stock; click to learn more)
- 2 Tbsp sake
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
To Serve:
- mitsuba (Japanese parsley) (optional; can use chopped green onion/scallion)
- shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) (optional)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC).
To Make Tonkatsu
- Combine the panko and oil in a frying pan and toast over medium heat until golden brown. Transfer panko into a shallow dish and allow to cool.
- Cut the onions into thin slices and the mitsuba into small pieces.
- Remove the extra fat and make a couple of slits on the connective tissue between the meat and fat. The red meat and fat have different elasticity, and when they are cooked they will shrink and expand at different rates. This will allow Tonkatsu to stay nice and flat and prevent it from curling up.
- Pound the meat with a meat pounder, or if you don’t have one then just use the back of a knife to pound. Mold the extended meat back into the original shape with your hands.
- Sprinkle salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Dredge each pork piece in the flour to coat completely. Pat off the excess flour.
- Beat one egg in a bowl and coat the pork with the beaten egg. Finally, coat with the toasted panko. Press on the panko flakes to make sure they adhere to the pork.
- Place the pork on the prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper or even better if you have an oven-safe wire rack (as air goes through on the bottom so panko won't get crushed). Bake at 400ºF (200ºC) until the pork is no longer pink inside, about 20 minutes.
- Remove the tonkatsu from the oven and cut into 1-inch pieces (so you can eat with chopsticks).
To Prepare Sauce and Egg
- Combine Seasonings in a liquid measuring cup or bowl. This amount could be more than you need, depending on the frying pan size you decide to use. You can store the extra in a mason jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. Beat one egg in a bowl.
Why Do We Use Oyakodon Pan?
- In this step-by-step, I will show you how traditionally Katsudon is made in a 1-serving Oyakodon Pan Why? The size of the oyakodon pan is similar to donburi bowl size; therefore, it's easy to slide the cooked food over steamed rice in the bowl. You can make 2 servings at once in one large frying pan and carefully divide it, but each portion won't be a round shape to fit over the round rice bowl.
To Make Katsudon
- Put half of the onion slices into the pan and pour ½ to ¾ cup of the sauce to cover them. Adjust the amount of sauce based on your frying pan size. Bring the sauce and onions to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and cook onion slices until translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
- Put one Baked Tonkatsu in it and turn the heat to medium high. Pour and distribute beaten egg evenly and cover with the lid.
- When the egg is half cooked, about 30 seconds, turn off the heat.
To Serve
- Serve rice in a donburi bowl and slide Tonkatsu and egg mixture on top. Continue with the second serving. Serve with shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) on the side.
More Delicious Donburi Rice Bowl Recipes You’ll Love:
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on July 26, 2017. It’s been edited and republished in May 2020.
What type of dashi would you use in this recipe?
I use awase dashi for my recipes unless I said otherwise (like Kombu dashi etc).
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how_to/how-to-make-dashi-jiru/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-make-dashi-3-ways/
Where do you get that whisk?
Hi Lauren! The whisk I use is here: http://amzn.to/23Xyfq1
I have a list of tools I use in this page as well, in case you’re interested: https://www.justonecookbook.com/shop/
I made this today and it was delicious!!! Thank you so much for all of these wonderful recipes! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!!
Hi Sunny! Thank you for trying my recipe! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed my recipe! Thanks for your kind feedback. Hope you enjoy other recipes too. 🙂
Great natsukashii recipes. Many dishes I never learned to cook, or knew pieces, like this tonkatsu recipe, but had only eaten at restaurant, so it’s great to know how to finish it up edge serve. I appreciate the healthy gluten free and less fat versions offered too. Great to be able to make the taste from my childhood now that my mother is gone..
Hi C. Shintaku! Thank you for your kind feedback. I hope you get to try this recipe at home! I’m sure you will remember your mother’s taste once you try and adjust to your liking, truly personal than a restaurant version!. 🙂
Jennifer M. from Black Fox offered $5.00 off shipping on their rice. I jumped on this offer and I ordered two bags of their sushi rice. Not familiar with the Black Fox brand, is cooking their sushi rice follows the same procedure as other sushi rice? Should the ratio of water to rice is about 1 to 1? Arigato.
Hi Steve! Wonderful! I’m glad you got some discount on shipping! Usually Japanese short grain rice to water ratio is 1 : 1.2. 🙂
I wish it were that easy to choose what rice to buy here in Japan. On Amazon if I select Koshihikari I get 4000 entries. I haven’t got a clue so I usually go on price or customer review and I buy 10kg at a time. Wish there was some course I could go to and learn a bit more. For sake and shouchu as well, there are so many it makes my head spin !!!
Hi Angelo! I’m jealous that you get to enjoy so many kinds of rice in Japan. I truly look forward to eating rice for 2 months every year when I go back home…. I can hardly wait! The thing is… it’s really up to someone’s preference too. So what I think it’s good may not be your favorite rice. My mom usually try different rice to try out until she finds the one she likes…and eat that for a while and move on to next. But not just the brand, but freshly milled rice is truly amazing. If you can get the rice that is just milled, sometimes it tastes better than better “brand” rice, for example. Think of it as a way to explore… I am stuck with just a handful choice of rice/sake/shochu here in the Bay Area. 🙂
Mine ended up pretty salty (though I use low sodium soy sauce) do you know what may have caused this?
Hi Leah! Thank you for trying this recipe! Hmm let me think… ok I’ll make the list.
1) The amount of salt you sprinkle at Step 6 was a little more than mine
2) The kind of salt (at Step 6). If you use table salt, it should be half of kosher salt.
3) Type of dashi. Did you use powdered dashi? It has salt in it but mine is homemade, so it doesn’t.
4) Type of sake. If you use cooking sake, instead of drinking sake, it has salt and other seasoning in it.
5) Same goes to mirin. If it’s not Hon-Mirin, it has some salt and other seasoning in it.
6) A brand of soy sauce – saltiness is different.
7) Longer you cook the sauce, the flavor is more concentrated (water evaporate) and it gets salty.
Do you think it can be one of the reasons? Maybe two combined?
That’s the only reasons that I can think of… Hope this helps?
MY MOTHER in law is from Japan. My 1 year old son loves husband grandmas Japanese cooking. I’m going to try this recipe tonight! IM excited to see if My husband and son like it
Hi Lacey! Hope they will enjoy! 🙂 Good luck!
I’ve tried this recipe today and everybody loved it.
Thanks for sharing delicious recipes 😉
Hi Eri! I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. 🙂
Can I replace sake in this recipe with mirin?
Hi Winnie! Hmmm if you replace sake with mirin, you have to cut down on sugar. Mirin is sake + sweetener so you’re adding more sugar content. You can use Chinese rice wine instead of sake. 🙂
Hi Nami, I’m wondering if I could take this with me to work and microwave it there. Do Japanese people do that? or would it get too soggy? What do adults take to work for lunch?
Hi Nora! Japanese are used to eating room temperature bento so we don’t reheat the bento (bento is always served and enjoyed at room temperature). Microwave makes the panko soggy, so the best way to reheat is to use an oven or toaster oven (for me). The Japanese usually bring whatever leftover from the lunch or make a new food just for bento (as entire family needs lunch then it makes sense)…
Hi~!
Can I use tonkatsu sauce for this?
Hi Diana! Sure! If you still want to make it as a rice bowl dish, but want to use tonkatsu sauce, you can serve like this:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/crispy-tonkatsu-donburi/
It’s faster than going through “Katsudon” style. Katsudon usually don’t get tonkatsu sauce (different flavors). 🙂
Thank you so much for your help! I look forward to making it 🙂
Hi Nami, I love your recipes.
I made this, but I was a bit confused by the amounts.
1. The amount of panko seems way too high – I had 300g pork chops. But panko is cheap.
2. The Katsudon ingredients say 2 eggs, but only one is used in step 11.
3. The Katsudon sauce ingredients add up to nearly 300ml, but you only require 1/2 to 3/4 cup in step 12? This seems like a waste.
4. Similarly we slice 1/2 onion but it seems like half of the sliced onion is used in step 12?
I ended up throwing a lot away!
Hi Lionel! Thank you for writing, and here are my answers.
1) For my BAKED katsu recipes (anything that you pre-toast panko), I list 3/4 to 1 cup of panko to be safe. The reason is… If some people use the meat that’s slightly bigger piece or more (because meat is not always perfect amount), it’s highly possible that you may not have enough toasted panko to coat at Step 8.
You don’t want to toast more panko AGAIN at Step 8. So I include roughly 1/4 cup extra so that when you’re dredging, you have some panko in the tray, not exact amount of panko goes to meat.
2) This recipe is for 2 serving. One for coating the pork (Step 8), and one for Katsudon serving 1, last one for Katsudon serving 2. Each katsudon gets one egg.
3) Same reason, you are making 2 Katsudon, each one gets 1/2 to 3/4 cup. It’s a big range because not everyone has exact same pan size as I do… and I need to make sure you get enough sauce even though you have a bigger pan to cook.
4) Same reason, you’re making each Katsudon separately.
I think the confusing part is that Katsudon and Oyakodon is traditionally make individually using Oyakodon pan I mentioned in the post. Read “Secret 3: Make Katsudon for One Serving”.
I hope that cleared your question… 🙂
Thank you so much for this! I always thought making katsudon (one of my favourite Japanese dishes) looked way too complicated to attempt, but this recipe made it look easy so I gave it a try, and it was not only easy but also delicious 🙂 このレシピを作ってくれてありがとうございます????
Greetings from Canada!
Hi Marianne! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m really happy to hear you made your favorite recipe at your own home! I’m glad to hear you liked it too. 温かいコメントありがとう！
Made this tonight and it was wonderful! The pork was tender and flavorful! This is a great recipe and I can’t wait to make it again. Super easy and perfect for weeknights. Made the dashi the day before, which was really convenient.
Hi Jessica! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback! xo
Nami,
This was another hit at home. The baked katsu came out perfectly. I made the broth in my instant pot on the saute setting. Everything came out wonderfully and my son is always impressed with the Just One Cookbook recipes. I’m so glad that I was searching to the takoyaki recipe and found your site!
Hi Gail! I’m so happy to hear you and your son enjoy my recipes. Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. 🙂
This was delicious and well written! I love the pictures that went with it. I ended up frying the katsu as I am used to frying instead of baking, but will try baking it next time. I ran out of sake and used 1 Tbspn of apple cider vinegar; also instead of dashi, i used 1 tspn hondashi with 1 cup of hot water. and it still turned out really good! Thank you so much for this recipe, I will forever use this.
Hi Jaf! Thank you so much for your kind comment. I don’t mind deep frying either and I still like that deep frying taste/texture. But please give the baked version try. It’s pretty close to the deep fried version in terms of crunch (Highly recommend using the wire rack so the hot air goes through the bottom of katsu). Thank you again!!
I loved this recipe! So I have tried several of your recipes, all delicious and easy to follow, but what stood out most about this recipe was its smell. My husband and I took a trip to Japan, and this recipe smells like our trip. The moment we started the last step of cooking the sauce, cutlet, and egg it was like we stepped right back into Japan. I love this recipe, and will probably make it more than a couple times a year.
Hi Michelle! Thank you so much for trying my recipes! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy my recipes and thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂 I think the dashi and soy sauce smell is very comforting to me too. I’m glad you two enjoyed this dish. Thank you for the kind words! xo
Hello Nami!
What can I use instead if I don’t have sake? And for the dashi, would dashi granules be okay to use?
Hi May! The best sub for sake is Chinese rice wine or dry sherry. Japanese cooking use sake for various cooking effect as well as for flavoring. Yes, you can use dashi granule, although I highly recommend to make own dashi or use dashi packet as the result makes a significant difference. 🙂
Yum! We had made oyakodon and gyudon several times before, but only just got around to making our own tonkatsu in order to try this katsudon. The other two are good as well, but this is my favorite of the three. Something about the pork’s flavor and breaded texture really comes together with the dashi sauce. As with the other donburi, when cooking for the family I simmer all the onion in all the dashi in a larger pot and then finish each serving off in my small cast-iron skillet. Then it only takes a minute to dish up each serving and I can make those with minimal sauce to let each person add liquid to taste (I like mine drier than the kids do).
I see baked tonkatsu becoming a monthly Sunday night meal for us. Make a double batch and then make katsudon in the next day or two. If the tonkatsu is made ahead, this recipe is even faster and easier than oyakodon or gyudon. Perfect weeknight meal.
Hi Todd! I like your method for gyudon/oyakodon, where each one can control the amount of broth (and onions are tender and sweet!). I also agree, Katsudon is probably my favorite of among 3. The oil and panko add a nice depth to the broth. And some parts crispy some parts soft… it’s an amazing and complex food that comes relatively fast.
Yes, please make extra, so the following day or another time (if you freeze) you can make katsudon really fast. 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback!
Your oven-baked technique is genius! I might try the same technique with chicken as well. Can’t wait!
Hi J! Thank you! You will see baked korokke, shrimp, salmon… so many versions with different ingredients on my blog. 😀
Does the breading get mushy or wet after simmering with egg in the sauce for a few minutes?
Hi Jerico! It should be for this specific menu. If you like crispy katsu, then you may not order this dish and order just regular Tonkatsu or Chicken Katsu. 🙂 This katsu should soak up delicious broth… 🙂
I feel bad for the breading being soaked, by working hard to get that pork crispy, there should be some way to maintain that crispiness in this recipe. Is making the dashi mixture omelette and then serving the crispy tonkatsu later on in the bowl fine?
Hi Jerico! Haha, I know what you mean. But you can only achieve good Katsudon when the katsu is properly deep-fried (to crispy and juicy inside). If you don’t deep fry well, it won’t taste as good. This is your dish, so you can totally place the crispy katsu on top of the sauce instead of simmering together. 🙂
I always hesitate to make katsudon because of the frying. What a great recipe! We all loved it. Thank you so much for your recipes. The perfect comfort dish in times of confinement. Stay safe
Hi Yumi! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for your kind feedback. 🙂 I hope you and your family stay safe and healthy. xoxo
Looks so good! I was wondering if you had a rough estimate of how long it takes to half-cook the egg? Thanks!
Hi Jeanine! It all depends on your heat, but estimate 30 seconds. 🙂
Thanks! I probably would have put it on and come back five minutes later to find an omelette, lol.
Hi Jeanine! Oh yeah… with this much egg, in general, it don’t need that long to cook, especially if you want to keep it half-cooked, and keep it covered with a lid. Hope you will try it again! 🙂
Just made this for dinner! It was a great hit with my brother and parents! Thank you so much for posted such good and beginner friendly Japanese recipes! <3
Hi Isabela! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m glad your family enjoyed this dish. Thanks for your kind feedback. 🙂
I have made this a few times and both my husband and I live the contrast of textures.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Hi Tresna! Wow I’m so glad you two enjoy this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Love your recipes.
For this one, is it okay to prepare the pork ahead of time and bake at another time? Will the breadcrumbs get soggy if I prep it ahead of time and leave it in the fridge?
Hi Lauria! Yes, it will get soggy as you leave the raw pork as the meat will release moisture by leaving it out in the fridge. You should finish cooking and reheat in the oven again. 🙂
Has anyone tried air frying the pork?
Hi Lee! I’ve heard from some of my readers that they have used air fryer and it worked. I wish I can tell you more detailed tips, but I don’t own one…
Made this last night. I had two going at once and blew the timing a bit on when to take it off. I look forward to trying it again though and no complaints at all even with my blowing that part. Was still delicious and easy.
Hi K, We are glad to hear it turned out still delicious and easy! Thank you very much for trying this recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us.😊