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
Traditional Dutch food is meat and potato or fish based for dinner and bread and cheese based for everything else. Beef stew and stamppot are two of the more common, hearty Dutch meals.
What is a typical Dutch lunch menu? ›
Most Dutch people still take a packed lunch to work, typically consisting of a sandwich with brown bread and cheese (known as a bruine boterham met kaas) and half a pint of buttermilk, with a piece of fruit. Dutch office workers often eat a similar meal in their office canteens.
What is the typical breakfast in Amsterdam? ›
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 is a proper Dutch breakfast? ›
Traditional Dutch breakfast and brunch meals are pretty low-key in the Netherlands. You'll typically find plenty of bread, dairy, and fruit, along with breakfast favorites such as ontbijtkoek and beschuit (rusk-like rounds).
What is Dutch style lunch? ›
A typical Dutch lunch consists of an individual portion of cold meals, such as sandwiches filled with slices of meat and Dutch cheese or sweet assortments, accompanied by milk or juice.
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 are 3 popular foods in the Netherlands? ›
12 Dishes to Try in the Netherlands
- Poffertjes. Start the day off right with a healthy helping of poffertjes, or fluffy little pancakes. ...
- Hagelslag. ...
- Pannenkoeken. ...
- Oliebollen. ...
- Drop. ...
- Stroopwafel. ...
- Herring 'Hollandse Nieuwe' ...
- Erwtensoep or Snert.
What is the dining etiquette in the Netherlands? ›
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 is the traditional food in Amsterdam? ›
10 Best Local Dishes from Amsterdam
- Stroopwafel. Taste Netherlands' popular sweet treat. ...
- Bitterballen. Try deep-fried meatballs. ...
- See also. 10 Best Parks in Amsterdam. ...
- Dutch pancakes. Enjoy specialty pancakes. ...
- Raw herring. Try Amsterdam's Infamous Fish. ...
- Cheese. Enjoy classic Dutch delicacies. ...
- Poffertjes. ...
- Snert.
What is the most popular breakfast in the Netherlands? ›
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.
Dutch dinnertime is known for its earliness – beginning at anywhere from 17:00-19:00 – meaning most kitchens close around 21:00.
What time do Dutch eat dinner? ›
Also, there are a lot of breakfast bars and cafés that are opened all day. The Dutch usually eat lunch between 12:00 and 14:00 and have dinner between 19:00 and 21:00. In most restaurants the kitchen closes around 22:00, however there are also places for midnight snacking."
How do you greet Dutch? ›
“Hello” in Dutch: Basic Greetings
- Hallo. For anyone starting to learn Dutch, I recommend choosing this as your first greeting. ...
- Goedendag. Where a little more formality is in order, “goedendag” is another excellent way to say “hello” in Dutch. ...
- Goedemorgen. ...
- Goedemiddag. ...
- Goedenavond. ...
- Dag. ...
- Hoi. ...
- Hé
Do the Dutch eat pancakes for dinner? ›
They can be eaten as a snack or as a main course during lunch or dinner. A Dutch pancake is good at any time of the day.
What food is on the Dutch diet? ›
Eat less meat and more plant-based foods, and vary with fish, pulses, nuts, eggs and vegetarian products. Consume daily sufficient dairy products such as milk, yoghurt and cheese. Eat a handful of unsalted nuts daily. Consume soft and liquid spreadable fats and cooking fats.
How many meals do people in the Netherlands eat a day? ›
Can be breakfast, lunch or dinner. Sometimes all of the three. The average Dutch man eats ham and cheese sandwiches for his work lunch every day.
What is breakfast in Dutch? ›
noun
From | To | Via |
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• breakfast | → ontbijt | ↔ petit déjeuner |