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What to eat in the Netherlands? Top 7 Dutch Side Dishes

Last update: Thu Feb 13 2025
Top 7 Dutch Side Dishes
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01
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Andijviestamppot is a traditional, old-fashioned Dutch side dish consisting of mashed potatoes combined with mashed, raw endive and flavorful bits of bacon. The dish is additionally flavored with onions, vinegar, salt, and pepper, while milk is sometimes added for extra creaminess.


Andijviestamppot is especially popular during the colder winter months when it is consumed as a comfort meal.

MOST ICONIC Andijviestamppot

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02
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Boerenkool stamppot is a traditional wintertime dish consisting of mashed potatoes and kale. It is usually enriched by the addition of bacon, onions, and freshly ground black pepper. The dish is typically served piping hot, with rookworst sausages on top of the stamppot to make it more hearty and filling than it already is.

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MOST ICONIC Boerenkool stamppot

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Stoofpeertjes is a traditional dessert originating from the Netherlands. It consists of stewed pears. The list of ingredients usually calls for stewing pears (often the Gieser Wildeman, Brederode, or St. Remy variety), cinnamon, sugar, red wine, lemon zest, cloves, and black currant liqueur such as Crème de cassis.


However, the ingredients vary from one cook to another and can be changed depending on personal preference. The pears are slowly cooked with the other ingredients, and when done, they will turn a deep red color. Stoofpeertjes are typically served in winter as a dessert following a dish called hazenpeper or game such as hare, rabbit, or pheasant. 
04

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Huzarensalade is a Dutch take on the Olivier salad. What belongs in this salad and what doesn't is a controversial issue, but it's usually prepared with a combination of potatoes, tart apples, gherkins, gherkin juice, carrots, shallots, ham or cooked veal or beef, mayonnaise, peas, and seasonings.


The vegetables are cooked and combined with the rest of the ingredients, and the salad is then typically chilled before it's garnished and served. It is named after the salad the Hussars (Hungarian cavalry) used to prepare. They usually went behind enemy lines and weren't noticed by the enemy, so they used pre-cooked food and mixed it on the spot in order to make this salad. 
05
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Rodekool met appeltjes is a healthy and flavorful Dutch side dish consisting of red cabbage braised with apples. Typically prepared in winter, the dish is usually flavored with bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, and sugar. It is believed that rodekool met appeltjes tastes even better if reheated the next day, when the contrasting flavors of sweet apples and tangy cabbage have combined thoroughly.


For the best results, it should be paired with boiled potatoes, hachee (a typical Dutch beef stew) and game such as rabbit, venison, elk, and hare.

06
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Traditionally served for dinner on cold winter nights in the Netherlands, zuurkoolstamppot is a hearty dish consisting of a combination of mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. The dish is often enriched by the addition of butter and bits of bacon. It is customarily served piping hot and paired with rookworst sausages that are placed on top of the stamppot.

07
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Hete bliksem is a traditional meal consisting of mashed potatoes, apples, and bacon. The name of the dish means hot lightning, referring to the fact that mashed apples keep mashed potatoes hot for a longer period of time, so the higher temperature can cause the burning of one's palate.


Recipes vary from one cook to another, but hete bliksem remains a favorite side dish of numerous Dutch families.

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Dutch Side Dishes