I have been home from visiting the Netherlands for about a month now and I would love to share a few of my favorite Dutch foods and snacks that I have enjoyed during my stay. I feel that traveling abroad has expanded my food horizon greatly. In my family, I am considered to be the picky eater. Since visiting a new country, I have realized that I am much more open to trying new things and I have already discovered so many new favorites. I wanted to share these favorites for anyone interested in traveling to the Netherlands or wanting to try Dutch foods. Eet smakelijk!! (Enjoy!!) 

Savory: 

• Frikandelbroodje 

  • A sausage made of beef surrounded by a light, flakey bread. There is also a little bit of BBQ sauce hidden in-between the bread and sausage layer. 

  • Purchase at the bread/bakery section of most grocery stores in the Netherlands. We got ours from the supermarket called Albert Heijn.  

• Kibbeling 

  • I first tried kibbeling from a little fish-stand in Marken. It reminds me of fried cod but in little nuggets. A side of garlic dipping sauce is served alongside, which tasted amazing with the kibbeling.  

• Bitterballen 

  • Bitterballen are like little balls of goodness. A bitterbal is a breadcrumb ball filled with ragout. The best way I can describe the tasty filling is it reminds me of mashed potatoes, but then with shredded beef added. Very delish! 

Sweet:  

• Poffertjes 

• These are little pancake puffs! We went to Poffertjeskraam in Bussum and they were amazing. I ordered poffertjes with Nutella and my boyfriend ordered them with stroop (syrup); both were so delicious. 

• Pannenkoeken  

• These are the pancakes of the Netherlands. They remind me of what crepes would be in America. They are a very thin pancake and are served with a variety of different toppings. My boyfriend, Ole, is Dutch and knows how to make them home-made which was so much fun learning how to cook and flip in the pan. So far, my favorite is topping the pannenkoeken with cinnamon and sugar. Another favorite of mine, that Ole introduced to me to, is putting a little lemon juice on with white sugar on top. We also went to the Pannenkoekenhuis which serves them all day! 

• Stroopwafels 

• These are a delicious waffle that is split and has syrup in-between. You can buy them at the grocery store or you can buy them fresh and hot at a local market. Pictured below is Ole and I with superstroopwafels that we got from a local market.

• Stroopkoeken 

• Stroopkoeken is the same as a stroopwafel but instead of syrup in-between a waffle it is between a cookie or “koekje”. These are very delicious to snack on anytime of the day, but they are really nice to eat while drinking a cup of coffee.  

• Roze Koeken 

• These cookies were one of the first snacks I tried here, and they are so addicting! It is a yellow cookie with pink icing on top. The cookie is moist, and it has a cake or cake-donut like texture which combined with the thin layer of icing is so tasty! You can purchase a pack of these cookies at the grocery stores and they are really cheap too!

• Appelflap 

• Appelflap is a flakey dough filled with apple-pie filling and raisins; it is a great sweet treat! These can also be purchased at any Dutch supermarket. While in Delft, we biked a little bit and enjoyed our appelflapen while sitting on a cute little bench near a canal. 

• IJsje 

• So far, the best ice cream in the Netherlands is at IJssalon de Hoop. I ordered a cone with one scoop of Straciatella and one scoop of Cookies. It was the creamiest and most delicious ice cream! My boyfriend also took me to another really good ice cream shop in Bussum called Ijssalon Dolomiti. If you are visiting the Netherlands, I definitely recommend you check out these shops!

                                                                                                (Ice cream from IJssalon Dolomiti)

Snack Bar Favorites: 

Snack Bars are little restaurants that you can walk into and buy delicious and fried snacks. They remind me of fast-food restaurants back home. As to how these snacks are sold, McDonald’s Dollar Menu is a familiar comparison. You purchase each food on its own, there is no “meal”. Snack Bars are great to grab a bite at if you just want a little something while touring a city or a nice little break during a long bicycle ride. 

• Kroket

  • Kroket is basically a giant bitterball! 

• Kipcorn

  • This reminded me of a giant chicken nugget. While in Amsterdam we went to FEBO, which is a place where you can get snack-bar-foods out of a wall! You just put your coins in and take your snack! It was really interesting and the kipcorn was a great snack to have while walking around. 

• Frikandel 

  • This is the sausage that is in frikandelbroodje. At snack bars, it is sold as just the sausage, no bun or bread around it. Sort of like a hot dog without a bun. 

• Frietjes

• Frietjes is Dutch for French fries! The fries served here in the Netherlands are thick and flat and are served with your choice of sauce! Mayonnaise is the most popular sauce to have alongside fries, but ketchup, curry ketchup, and peanut sauce are the others offered. 

• There are also combinations of sauces that are served! Patatje Special is the combination of curry (or ketchup) with mayonnaise and has diced onions on top. Patatje Oorlog (War Fries) is a combination of peanut sauce and mayonnaise with diced onions on top.