Cuisine

Dutch cuisine is simple and nutritious. Familiar dishes include stamppot, pea soup, pancakes, cheese and herring. 

About Dutch cuisine 

Traditional Dutch dishes are simple and filling. Many people eat bread for breakfast and lunch. In the evening they eat a hot meal, often at 6 p.m. Typical dishes include stamppot, pea soup and pancakes. Dutch cheese is also very well known.  

Hot meal 

In Dutch cuisine, the hot meal often consists of potatoes, vegetables and meat. Stamppot is made of potatoes mashed with vegetables, such as kale or sauerkraut. Pea soup is a thick soup made of peas. Pancakes are also very popular. Fish often comes served with carrots, peas and potatoes. These days the Dutch also eat many dishes from other countries. 

Breakfast and lunch 

Dutch people usually eat bread for breakfast and lunch. Bread is eaten with butter and toppings, such as cheese, sliced meats or sweet toppings (for example, jam or sprinkles). Peanut butter is also popular. People sometimes eat porridge, muesli or cereal with milk or yoghurt.   

Snacks and sweet treats 

Well-known savoury snacks in Dutch cuisine include chips, croquettes, frikadellen (minced-meat rolls) and bitterballen (little round croquettes). There are street vendors that sell fried fish and herring. Sweet treats include tompouces (made of layers of cream and pastry), apple pie and Limburg-style flan. On 31 December, people eat oliebollen (sweet fritters) and appelbeignets or appelflappen (apple fritters). Many markets have stalls selling syrup waffles and poffertjes (small pancakes served with butter and powdered sugar). Liquorice is a popular form of confectionery.