{"id":32890,"title":"Panko Breadcrumbs: What Are They?","modified":"2026-06-12T14:53:29+02:00","plain":"Despite its distinctive name, panko is simply a type of breadcrumb. The word panko is Japanese – \u201cpan\u201d means bread and \u201cko\u201d means flour or powder. Authentic panko is always made from a special crustless white bread, rather than whole wheat bread, that is baked using an electric current. \n\n\n\nThe bread is ground into fine shards or flakes, then dried. It is used as a light, crisp breading in Japanese cuisine; panko breadcrumbs are also known as Japanese breadcrumbs.\n\n\n\nA typical panko ingredient list includes wheat flour, yeast, oil, and salt. Panko is not gluten-free, but it is almost always vegan.\n\n\n\nPanko vs. regular breadcrumbs\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMost store-bought breadcrumbs are very similar to homemade ones: toasted bread that has been crumbled, sometimes with added seasonings. \n\n\n\nPanko is a little different and can\u2019t truly be made in a home kitchen. It comes from a very specific type of bread that produces flakes rather than crumbs, making it lighter, crispier, and airier than regular breadcrumbs. This gives panko its distinctive texture and helps it resist absorbing oil, making it a lighter coating for fried foods.\n\n\n\nUses for panko breadcrumbs\n\n\n\nBecause panko is lighter and flakier than regular breadcrumbs, it is perfect for coating fried foods. It absorbs less oil and fat, so the final result feels lighter than with a traditional breading. \n\n\n\nPanko is also used as a crunchy topping for baked pasta gratins. It can be mixed into meatballs and veggie burgers as a binder, and it can also thicken soups and sauces (stir in one or two tablespoons at a time). \n\n\n\nBeautiful fried shrimp coated in panko breadcrumbs\n\n\n\nIn short, panko breadcrumbs can be used in place of regular breadcrumbs in most recipes, including as a topping; for the best texture, toast them lightly first.\n\n\n\nHow to cook with panko\n\n\n\nIn most recipes, panko is used as a coating before frying or baking, as a crispy topping for baked dishes, or mixed with other ingredients as a binder. \n\n\n\nSince panko originated in Japan, plenty of Japanese recipes feature this ingredient. Tonkatsu (Japanese fried pork cutlet) is a pork cutlet coated in panko and fried, while kaki fry (oysters), ebi fry (shrimp), and korokke (mashed potato croquettes) are all Japanese dishes breaded with panko and fried.\n\n\n\nMy pork tonkatsu recipe\n\n\n\nWhat do panko breadcrumbs taste like?\n\n\n\nPanko has little to no flavor of its own; its appeal is all in the texture. Because panko comes in flakes rather than fine crumbs, it doesn\u2019t clump like regular breadcrumbs, and it offers more surface area to crisp up during cooking. Panko will absorb the flavors of the other ingredients around it.\n\n\n\nWhere to buy panko breadcrumbs\n\n\n\nYou can find panko in many supermarkets these days, but the surest bet is an Asian grocery store. You can also find it here on Amazon.\n\n\n\nHow to store panko breadcrumbs\n\n\n\nStore panko in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark place, such as the pantry. Properly sealed, a package will keep for about two years.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129982,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32890\/revisions\/129982"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}