The traditional food of the Netherlands centres on hearty, no-nonsense comfort cooking — think stamppot, raw herring, pea soup, and stroopwafels — alongside the country's famous Gouda and Edam cheeses and an Indonesian-influenced rijsttafel inherited from its trading past. Dutch cuisine grew out of a flat, water-rich land of dairy farmers, fishermen, and seafaring merchants, producing dishes built for cold winters and long working days. Below are 15 must-try foods and drinks that capture the flavour of the country.
The Big Three: Stamppot, Herring and Stroopwafel
If you eat only three Dutch foods, make them these. Stamppot is the national winter dish — potatoes mashed together with vegetables such as kale (boerenkool), sauerkraut (zuurkool), or carrots and onions, then crowned with a smoked sausage called rookworst. Raw herring, or Hollandse Nieuwe, is the great Dutch street ritual: lightly cured young herring served with chopped raw onion and pickles, traditionally lifted by the tail, tilted back, and lowered straight into the mouth. The new season opens each June, when the first barrel is auctioned for charity. The stroopwafel rounds out the trio — two wafer-thin waffle discs glued together with warm caramel syrup. Rest one on top of a hot cup of coffee and the steam softens the filling beautifully.
Snackbar and Street Food Favourites
Dutch snack culture revolves around the snackbar and the wall-mounted FEBO automat, where hot snacks wait behind little coin-operated windows. The essentials:
- Bitterballen — crispy deep-fried balls of creamy beef ragout, the country's favourite bar snack, served with mustard alongside a beer.
- Kroket — the larger, log-shaped cousin of the bitterbal, often eaten tucked into a soft bread roll (broodje kroket).
- Kibbeling — battered, deep-fried chunks of white fish such as cod, served with garlicky remoulade from fish stalls everywhere.
- Frikandel — a skinless deep-fried minced-meat sausage, ordered speciaal with mayonnaise, curry ketchup and raw onion.
- Patat — thick-cut fries served in a paper cone, classically with mayonnaise rather than ketchup.
Soups, Stews and the Indonesian Connection
The Netherlands' love of warming one-pot meals shows in its soups and stews. Erwtensoep (also called snert) is a dense split-pea soup loaded with smoked sausage and pork; tradition insists it must be thick enough for a spoon to stand upright. Hutspot, a mash of potato, carrot and onion, is eaten every 3 October to commemorate the relief of the Siege of Leiden in 1574.
Centuries of trade with the East Indies left a deep mark, too. The rijsttafel — literally "rice table" — is a colonial-era feast of a dozen or more small Indonesian dishes served around a mound of rice, from satay to spicy sambal. It remains one of the most popular ways to eat out in Dutch cities, and dishes like nasi goreng and saté are now everyday comfort food.
Cheese: Gouda, Edam and the Cheese Markets
No survey of Dutch food is complete without cheese. The Netherlands produces hundreds of millions of kilograms of cheese each year and exports more of it than almost any nation on earth. Gouda and Edam — both named after the towns where they were historically traded — dominate, ranging from soft and mild when young to crumbly, sharp and caramel-flavoured when aged for years. Traditional cheese markets in Alkmaar and Gouda still stage costumed weighing-and-bartering displays for visitors. The dairy that underpins all this cheese is sometimes credited, half-seriously, with helping make the Dutch the tallest people in the world.
Sweets and Drinks to Finish
The sweet and liquid end of Dutch tradition is just as distinctive:
- Poffertjes — tiny, fluffy pancakes cooked in a dimpled cast-iron pan and dusted with icing sugar and butter.
- Oliebollen — deep-fried dough balls eaten by the hundreds of millions on New Year's Eve.
- Drop — salty liquorice the Dutch devour more of per head than any other nation, often surprising first-time tasters with its intensity.
- Jenever — the malty Dutch ancestor of English gin, sipped from a small tulip-shaped glass filled to the brim.
- Chocomel — the beloved bottled chocolate milk found in nearly every café and shop, served hot or cold.
For more on the country behind these dishes — its geography, language and culture — see our netherlands country guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the national dish of the Netherlands?
Stamppot is widely regarded as the national dish — mashed potato blended with kale, sauerkraut or carrots and topped with smoked rookworst sausage. Its kale version, boerenkool stamppot, is the most traditional and a staple of Dutch winters.
What is the most famous Dutch street food?
The stroopwafel and raw herring are the most iconic street foods, while bitterballen and kibbeling dominate the snackbar scene. Fresh herring stands and stroopwafel stalls are fixtures of almost every Dutch market.
Is Dutch food spicy?
Traditional Dutch cooking is mild and savoury rather than spicy. The heat in Dutch cuisine usually comes from its Indonesian heritage — dishes such as rijsttafel and sambal-based sauces bring genuine chilli warmth to the table.
What cheese is the Netherlands known for?
Gouda and Edam are the two most famous Dutch cheeses, both named after trading towns. Gouda accounts for the majority of national production and ranges from young and creamy to aged and intensely sharp.