Traditional Dutch food: 10 foods you must try!

If you have been to the Netherlands before, you might already know different kinds of traditional Dutch food. But we are sure there is more then you know. In this blog we made a summary of 10 different types of food you will find in the Netherlands. From great winter meals to typical Dutch snacks.

Where else do they eat raw herring? Or what about traditional Dutch foods such as cheese or black liquorish. Curious what else the Dutch eat? You will read it in this blog ' What is traditional Dutch food? 10 foods you must try'.

Table of content

» Erwtensoep
» Hutspot
» Poffertjes
» Kaas
» Haring
» Stroopwafel
» Drop
» Frikandel
» Kroket
» Oliebollen

Erwtensoep

Pea soup, or as the Dutch call it, erwtsensoup, is a traditional Dutch food mainly eaten during the Dutch winter times and is made from splitpeas. This soup is really firm. They say that if you have good erwtensoep your spoon has to be able to stand up straight in your bowl of soup! Besides split peas this soup contains other ingredients such as potatoes, winter carrot, celeriac, pork and of course a nice piece of smoked sausage (rookworst). 

Hutspot

Many of the typical Dutch winter meals are different types of mashed potato dishes. And hutspot can be seen as one of these, but hutspot is not a 'mash'. This fact is a something that is unknown even to a lot of Dutch people. Unlike a stamppot, which roughly translates to 'mashed pot' or a dish mashed in a pot. Hutspot is a dish that is hustled in a pot. Makes sense, right? This typical Dutch food consists of potato and winter carrot, and is served with sausage and gravy. 

Poffertjes

If you're a fan of pancakes you will love poffertjes! Poffertjes are almost like tiny pancakes. The only difference is that poffertjes dough has more yeast, because of this the poffertjes are very fluffy! This Dutch treat will usually be served with a piece of butter and powdered sugar.

Cheese

If you think of the Netherlands, cheese will be one of the first things to eat that come to mind. Cheese the result of adding rennet and different bacteria to milk, this way the solids are separated from the fluids. The solid part is the base for cheese. The longer the cheese rests the stronger the taste, this can take from only a few weeks to multiple years! The Dutch love their cheese and eat an average of 15 kilograms a year per person. 

Herring

If you ever visit a Dutch market, you will most likely walk past a market stand selling fish. This is the place to be if you want to try out a Dutch traditional food, raw herring or haring as the Dutch would say it. If you really want to go all the way Dutch you should really try out the proper way to eat herring, haring happen (biting for herring). This is done by holding the tail of the herring into the air letting it hang down, lowering it in your mouth to take a bite. Dutch herring is usually served with raw chipped onions. 

Stroopwafel

A stroopwafel consists of thin two round waffles with syrup between them. The syrup waffle, or stroopwafel has been around from as early as the 1800's and because of that it really cant be missed in the list of Traditional Dutch food.

Drop

Drop, or known as black liquorish is a very specific tasting type of Dutch candy. You either hate it or love it. This traditional Dutch food is made from the root of a plant called Glycyrrhiza glabra. Black liquorish comes in all different kinds of shapes and tastes.

Frikandel

The frikandel is the most sold snack in the Netherlands. If you visit a Dutch snack bar, you are bound to find frikandellen on the menu! This snack was invented in the year 1954 and was an instant hit and has stayed so ever since. A frikandel consists out of fine grounded chicken, pork and sometimes horse meat. 

Kroket

A kroket is a roll of thick ragout, wrapped in a tasty crunchy outer layer that has been deep-fried. The original kroket has a beef ragout filling, and you will find this type at most Dutch snackbars. But these days you will find other fillings as well such as cheese, goulash, shrimp or potato. 

Oliebollen

This typical Dutch food is unthinkable around New Year's Eve. Oliebollen are being sold way before the end of the year though. The first oliebollen stands pop up as early as four weeks before the end of the year! An oliebol is a ball of deep-fried dough the size of a baseball, originally either with or without raisins added. Before eating the oliebollen usually get a coat of powdered sugar. 

This of course is only a small grasp of all the different kinds of traditional Dutch food you will find during a visit to the Netherlands. Curious to find out about more tradition Dutch foods? Read more about the Dutch food traditions in our blog about 37 types of typical Dutch food.