Typical Dutch breakfast, lunch and dinner - Amsterdam Canal Cruises (2024)

FAQs

What do Dutch people eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? ›

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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 time is dinner in Amsterdam? ›

Dutch dinnertime is known for its earliness – beginning at anywhere from 17:00-19:00 – meaning most kitchens close around 21:00.

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."

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.

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.

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.