Kibbeling is a popular Dutch street food item consisting of pieces of fish that are dipped in batter, deep-fried in hot oil, and served with a dipping sauce such as garlic sauce, remoulade, ravigote, or whiskey sauce. In the Netherlands, kibbeling is mostly consumed as a snack, but it can also be prepared for dinner, when it is recommended to pair it with French fries, a fresh salad, and a sauce of choice.
MOST ICONIC Kibbeling
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MAIN INGREDIENTS
Kalfsvleeskroket is a Dutch kroket variety that is typically consumed as a snack. It can be bought at numerous streets from vending machines that serve food, or at snack bars. This elongated kroket is made from veal ragù that is thickened with flour, then breaded and deep-fried.
Veal ragù kroket is usually consumed as it is or with mayonnaise, and its popularity lies in the fact that it is simple and convenient.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Rundvleeskroket is a Dutch kroket variety that is typically consumed as a snack, oftentimes bought at numerous street vending machines that serve food. It has an elongated shape and consists of a flour-thickened beef ragù that is breaded and deep-fried.
Rundvleeskroket is most commonly paired with mustard and consumed as it is, although it can also be placed in a bun.
Kroket is a modern Dutch counterpart to the classic French croquettes, consisting of ingredients such as meat, seafood, cheese, and gravy that are refrigerated, rolled into logs, breaded and deep-fried until they develop a golden-brown color.
The most typical Dutch kroket is made with meat ragout covered in breadcrumbs. The oldest recipe for the Dutch kroket is believed to date back to 1830, and since then, it has appeared in numerous Dutch cookbooks. Originally, kroket was served as a side dish, but after World War II, it quickly became a popular snack item.
VARIATIONS OF Kroket
MOST ICONIC Kroket
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Bitterballen are Dutch deep-fried, breadcrumbed, meat-filled balls. The filling usually consists of beef, flour, beef broth, and various seasonings. The dish is usually served as a snack at bruin cafes, a popular type of bar in the Netherlands.
Bitterballen are traditionally paired with mustard, french fries, and bittertjes, or Dutch bitters. It is believed that the dish was invented in the 17th century, when the Spaniards occupied the country, and the wife of an Amsterdam pub owner refined and adapted the Spanish version of the dish and served it with beer and jenever.
MOST ICONIC Bitterballen
View moreThe popular Dutch snack known as kaassoufflé was invented in a Dutch Snackbar in the 1960s. Prepared in the shape of a large rectangle or a half-moon, it consists of thin, breaded and deep-fried dough that is filled with cheese, which melts in the process.
This snack can be bought frozen, made at home, or bought at numerous Dutch street vending machines that serve food (especially popular after a night out). Gouda is not the only option regarding the filling, which can be enriched by the addition of ham, spinach, different cheeses, and spices.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
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. Dutch krokets, the key items in this sandwich, are traditional food items consisting of meat ragù that is shaped into a cylinder and covered in breadcrumbs.
MOST ICONIC Broodje kroket
Popular throughout the eastern and northern parts of the Netherlands, although it is a Groningen specialty, eierbal is a popular Dutch snack that is quite similar to the popular Scotch eggs. It consists of a hard-boiled egg that is surrounded by meat ragù (often with the addition of curry powder).
The combination is then breaded and deep-fried until it develops a golden-brown color of the exterior. It can be bought at numerous snack bars throughout the province. Interestingly, the largest eierbal in the world with a diameter of 44 cm was made in 2015 in a snack bar called Friet van Piet.
Bamischijf is a popular Dutch snack with Indonesian influences, consisting of a slice of bami goreng (stir-fried noodles) that is coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried in hot oil. The snack is usually produced in factories, where it is frozen and then shipped to snack bars.
There are also several varieties of bamischijf such as bamiblok and bamibal, but the main difference is in the shape of the snack.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
This unique, skinless, deep-fried sausage is a popular snack that is mostly consumed in Belgium and the Netherlands. There has been a long dispute whether frikandel is originally Belgian or Dutch, and although the exact origin of frikandel is unknown, it is certain that the dish first appeared in the 1950s.
The original frikandel sausage consisted of a variety of meat, most commonly pork, chicken, and horse meat. However, since eating horse meat is sometimes regarded as taboo these days, most producers eliminated it from their recipes. Traditionally, it is served plain, with a dollop of mayonnaise on the side.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 12 Dutch Deep-fried Dishes” list until February 14, 2025, 1,029 ratings were recorded, of which 921 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.