The Netherlands is manageable for vegetarian families: pancakes, poffertjes, cheese, fries and the Indonesian rijsttafel carry you, but the national snacks (kroket, bitterballen, erwtensoep) are meat-based and must be ordered in their vegetarian versions. Jain takes effort - onion and garlic sit inside Indonesian and Dutch sauces, and fries may be fried in beef fat. Amsterdam has plenty of Indian restaurants as a fallback.
Local dishes
Pannenkoeken Pannenkoeken
Plate-sized Dutch pancakes, eaten as lunch or dinner; order plain (naturel), with apple, or with cheese - the bacon versions are just as common on the menu
Watch out for: Batter contains egg and milk; bacon and ham toppings share the menu, so order naturel, appel or kaas explicitly
Poffertjes Poffertjes
Small fluffy buckwheat pancakes served hot with butter and icing sugar; every fair and market has a poffertjes stand
Watch out for: Batter contains egg and milk; nothing else hides inside, which makes them a reliable sweet stop
Stroopwafel Stroopwafel
Two thin waffles glued with warm caramel syrup; a fresh one from a market stall is a different food from the packet version
Watch out for: Packet ones from Albert Heijn are fine too; no onion, garlic or egg concerns
Appeltaart Appeltaart
Deep Dutch apple pie with cinnamon and a lattice top, usually served with slagroom (whipped cream); every brown cafe serves one
Watch out for: Contains egg and butter; some bakeries soak the raisins in rum
Gouda and Edam cheese Kaas (jong en oud)
The national cheeses; a cheese shop (kaaswinkel) lets you taste young (jong) and aged (oud) before you buy, and vacuum packs travel well to India
Watch out for: Traditional Gouda uses animal rennet; look for the label 'vegetarische kaas' or ask - the taste is identical
Patat (Dutch fries) Patat met mayo
Thick fries in a paper cone with mayonnaise - the default street snack, sold at dedicated friet shops everywhere
Watch out for: Some shops fry in beef fat (rundervet); ask 'plantaardig gebakken?' - fried in vegetable oil? Satay peanut sauce is a veg-friendly topping
Vegetarische kroket Vegetarische kroket
The vegetarian version of the national deep-fried snack: a thick vegetable ragout in a crispy crust, sold at snackbars and FEBO vending walls; order it on a broodje (roll)
Watch out for: The default kroket is beef or veal - say 'vegetarische kroket' explicitly; the ragout is built on onion
Rijsttafel (Indonesian rice table) Vegetarische rijsttafel
The spread of small Indonesian dishes with rice; every Indonesian restaurant offers a vegetarian rijsttafel, and it is the most generous vegetarian dinner in the country
Watch out for: Ask for 'zonder trassi' (without shrimp paste) since some sambals and gado-gado contain it; onion and garlic run through Indonesian cooking, so Jain families should skip this one
Hagelslag Hagelslag
Chocolate sprinkles on buttered bread - the standard Dutch breakfast, and oddly good
Watch out for: Pure chocolate hagelslag is the real thing; no hidden ingredients to worry about
Erwtensoep (pea soup) Erwtensoep / snert
Thick green split-pea soup, the winter staple; a vegetarian version exists, marked 'vega snert', and canned versions list their ingredients
Watch out for: The classic version is made with smoked sausage (rookworst) and bacon, often sliced in at the end, so confirm before ordering; built on onion and leek
Stamppot boerenkool Stamppot boerenkool
Winter mash of potato and curly kale with gravy; the version without sausage is a proper cold-evening meal and appears on winter menus as 'vega stamppot'
Watch out for: It arrives with rookworst (smoked sausage) by default - ask for 'zonder rookworst'; the mash itself is plain potato and kale
Broodje kaas (cheese roll) Broodje kaas / kaasbroodje
The everyday lunch: a roll with cheese, or a warm cheese roll from a bakery; simple, cheap and everywhere
Watch out for: Same rennet question as cheese; add lettuce and cucumber and skip the ham variants sharing the counter
How to order vegetarian
Show these lines to the staff. Say them aloud if you like.
I am vegetarian, without meat and fish, please.
Without onion and without garlic, please - the Jain sentence.
Does this contain egg, meat or fish? Ask about soups, fries and sauces.
The bill, please.
Jain takes effort in the Netherlands. The workable foods are stroopwafels, hagelslag, plain bread and cheese (check for vegetarian rennet), and fries confirmed fried in vegetable oil. Indonesian food, soups and sauces are built on onion and garlic, and stamppot and pancakes rest on potato, egg and milk. Amsterdam's Indian restaurants, many of which cook Jain on request, are the safest dinner plan. State every restriction when booking a table.
Backup plans
- Hotel breakfast with hagelslag, cheese and fruit
- Bakeries (broodje kaas, appeltaart) on every street
- Supermarket Albert Heijn for salads, yogurt, bread and fruit
- Pancake houses for a simple sit-down meal
- Indian restaurants in Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam
For parents and seniors
For parents: Dutch eating is gentle - pancakes are soft and mild, soup and stamppot are comfort food, and cafes serve hot food through the day rather than in fixed lunch hours. Remember that erwtensoep comes with sausage by default and order the vega version. Cheese shops, bakeries and pancake houses (pannenkoekenhuis) are relaxed places to sit with children and grandparents together.
Trips to Netherlands
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