Want to eat like the Dutch for a day? The Dutch diet is varied due the influences of many different cultures. That’s why you can find a lot of different dishes in The Netherlands, the Dutch like to eat all different kind of kitchens like the French, Asian and Spanish kitchen. In our blog we would like to share what a Dutch person typically eats in the morning, afternoon and evening.
Dutch breakfast and lunch
There isn’t a big difference between what the Dutch eat for breakfast or lunch. As a basis we mostly eat bread, crackers or biscuits (beschuit). Popular toppings on bread and crackers are cheese, chocolate sprinkles, peanut butter, meat, jam and chocolate spread. Milk, coffee, juice and water are popular drinks to go with your food. For breakfast the Dutch also like to eat yogurt or milk with muesli or oatmeal or Brinta. Oatmeal or Brinta combined with milk is a more traditional Dutch breakfast, which for a long time was unpopular as a breakfast, but gained popularity due to the health benefits. It’s combined with fruits and/or nuts.
A lunch dish which also gained popularity, in contrast to the breakfast, is the tosti. The tosti is a sandwich which is made of two bread slices with ham and cheese and made warm with a roaster. The tosti became popular again as a countermovement to the super foods. Ontbijtkoek or gingerbread is a typical Dutch product, gingerbread is made of rye flour, added sugar, corn syrup, fructose syrup, candy and baking powder. A typical Dutch lunch is a broodje kaas or bread with cheese, also popular is to add apple syrup on top of that. Breakfast is eaten between 6 and 8 a.m. and lunch between 12 and 2 p.m.. Watch how American kids try a typical Dutch breakfast at 3:02.
Dutch dinner
The Dutch eat relatively early starting from 5 to 7 p.m., families mostly eat together around the dinner table. A typical Dutch dinner meal consists of potatoes, meat and vegetables, served with gravy. Dinner is often followed by a dessert in the form of yogurt or coffee. Typical Dutch dishes are stamppot boerenkool (mashed kale), Hutspot (stew of potatoes and carrots), erwtensoep (split pea soup) and bruine bonensoep (brown bean soup). Food which isn’t typically Dutch, but which is ‘seen’ as Dutch are dishes like nasi (Indonesian dish) and bami (Chinese dish).
The three P’s
What do the Dutch eat in the weekend? The weekend is a time for the Dutch to unwind and to take it easier with dinner. In the weekend dinner can be eaten while watching television on the coach. The Saturday is known as the three P’s day: pannenkoeken (pancakes), pizza or patat (fries). The dishes we mostly eat in the weekend.
FAQs
A Dutch lunch in general is really basic. It consists of a boterham (bread and butter) met hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles), a boterham met pindakaas (peanut butter), a dubbele boterham met ham, and the list goes on. And of course, the Netherlands is known for its great cheeses.
What is typical breakfast in Amsterdam? ›
Dutch breakfast and lunch
As a basis we mostly eat bread, crackers or biscuits (beschuit). Popular toppings on bread and crackers are cheese, chocolate sprinkles, peanut butter, meat, jam and chocolate spread. Milk, coffee, juice and water are popular drinks to go with your food.
What does a Dutch breakfast look like? ›
A typical Dutch breakfast consists of bread, whether or not toasted, with cheesemeat butter and sweet toppingslike chocolate spread, sprinkles and flakes. In addition to a sandwich, Dutch people also often eat rusks, gingerbread, currant bread or a plate of porridge.
What does a typical Dutch person eat in a day? ›
Dutch food culture is heavily based on meat, bread and potatoes. It is not unusual for the Dutch to eat bread in the morning and afternoon, and end the day with potatoes, vegetables and meat.
What are 3 popular foods in the Netherlands? ›
Don't go home without trying at least one of these traditional Dutch foods.
- Bitterballen. Image from Creative bros. ...
- Stroopwafels. Image from Marie-Charlotte Pezé ...
- Frietjes. Image from Koen Smilde. ...
- Pannenkoeken. ...
- Jenever. ...
- Appletaart. ...
- Haring. ...
- Kibbeling.
What is Dutch main dish? ›
Dutch Main Dishes
Stampot is a stew made from mashed potatoes and a variety of vegetables such as carrot, kale, spinach, onion or endive and commonly served with bacon or sausage.
What time do Dutch eat dinner? ›
The elderly Dutch will eat their dinner at noon - historically the time when most people had their largest meal of the day. Nowadays with most people in the office or at some other place where a midday dinner is not an option, dinner is often eaten at 6PM by the indigenous Dutch.
What is Amsterdam signature food? ›
Top 10 Dutch Food Specialities to Try in Amsterdam
- 1 - Stroopwafel. Have you ever sat and pondered what it would be like to create a cookie out of a waffle?
- 2 - Bitterballen. ...
- 3 - Poffertjes. ...
- 4 - Kroket. ...
- 5 - Pannenkoeken. ...
- 6 - Drop. ...
- 7 - Snert. ...
- 8 - Stamppot. ...
How do the Dutch eat eggs? ›
Uitmsijter spek en kaas denotes a typical way of preparing eggs in the Netherlands. The bacon is first placed in a buttered pan, then come the sunny-side-up fried eggs, topped with Gouda cheese until it melts. The dish is seasoned with salt and pepper, and the whole thing is placed on slices of bread.
What is Dutch style lunch? ›
It's called “12 o'clock” and it always consists of a small cup of soup, two slices of bread, a croquet with mustard and cream butter, a little bit of salad garnish and a filling for the second slice of bread, usually a omelet, ham and cheese.
It is polite to keep one's hands above the table until all have finished eating. It is recommended to take a small portion as your first helping, so you're able to accept a second helping. The Dutch tend to avoid wasting food. Thus, many appreciate it when their guests finish everything on their plate.
What time is dinner served in Amsterdam? ›
Dutch dinnertime is known for its earliness – beginning at anywhere from 17:00-19:00 – meaning most kitchens close around 21:00.
What do Dutch people drink the most? ›
Beer remains the everyday light alcoholic drink of the Dutch. Famous breweries include Heineken, Amstel, Grolsch, Bavaria, Hertog-Jan and Oranjeboom. Jenever is the favorite Dutch spirit and similar to gin.
What bread do Dutch people eat? ›
Rye bread is one of the few dense breads of the Netherlands. White bread used to be the luxury bread, often made with milk as well as water. A typical Dutch white bread is tiger bread. Ontbijtkoek may be eaten as a substitute for a full breakfast, or simply as a snack.
Do the Dutch eat cheese? ›
Cheese fact
Did you know that most cheese is still eaten on bread in the Netherlands? This is the origin of the expression “de kaas niet van je brood laten eten”, which means “don't let anyone else take what's rightfully yours”.
What is a Dutch treat luncheon? ›
: something (such as a dinner or movie) for which each person pays his or her own share of the cost. It was Dutch treat—we each bought our own ticket. a Dutch treat luncheon.
What is meant by Dutch lunch? ›
: an individual serving of assorted sliced cold meats and cheeses compare cold cuts.
What is the Dutch famous sandwich? ›
Broodje kroket is a popular Dutch sandwich consisting of a deep-fried kroket stuffed inside a soft bread roll or a bun. The sandwich is usually drizzled over with spicy mustard and consumed as a flavorful, comforting midnight snack.