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Bitterballen (Dutch Beef Ragout Croquettes)
Bite-sized balls of thick, savoury beef ragout, chilled until firm, breaded twice and deep-fried until crisp outside and molten inside, served with mustard and a cold beer.
Dutch · advanced · serves 8
prep 45 min · cook 180 min · plus 5 h hands-off time
~473 cal · 20g protein · 31g carbs · 29g fat · 2g fiber · 2g sugars · 9g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Bitterballen are the classic Dutch bar snack, served with drinks in cafés all over the Netherlands with toothpicks and a little dish of mustard. They are a round, bite-sized cousin of the kroket: a thick beef ragout, set firm, rolled into balls, breaded and deep-fried so the crust shatters and the inside runs hot and creamy.
The name has nothing to do with their taste. They were part of the bittergarnituur, the plate of savoury snacks served with bitters, the herb-flavoured spirits once drunk in Dutch bars, and today they are most often eaten with a glass of beer.
Making them at home takes time rather than skill. Beef is simmered slowly into a broth, the broth is thickened with a butter and flour , the shredded meat, parsley and nutmeg go in, and the ragout is chilled for hours until it can be rolled. A double coat of egg and breadcrumbs keeps them from bursting in the oil. Be careful with the first bite: the filling is molten.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 8
- 400 g braising beef (chuck or shin)
- 1 l water
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- 60 g butter
- 70 g plain flour (for the ragout)
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- a good pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
- 50 g plain flour (for coating)
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 200 g fine dry breadcrumbs
- 1.5 l sunflower oil, for deep-frying
- a small dish Dutch or Dijon mustard, to serve
Instructions
- 1Put the beef, water, onion, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt in a pot, bring to a boil, skim, then cover and simmer gently for about 2 1/2 hours, until the meat falls apart.
- 2Lift out the beef and strain the broth; you need 500 ml. When the meat is cool enough, pull it into fine shreds and chop it small.
- 3Melt the butter in a saucepan without letting it brown, stir in the 70 g flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring. Add the hot broth a little at a time, stirring hard after each addition, until you have a very thick, smooth sauce. Cook it for 5 minutes more.✎ Chef’s noteThe ragout must be much thicker than a normal sauce, almost like a paste. If it is too loose it will never set firm enough to roll.
- 4Stir in the beef, parsley and nutmeg and season well. Spread it in a shallow dish, press cling film onto the surface and chill for at least 4 hours, until completely firm.
- 5With wet hands, roll the cold ragout into balls about 3 cm across. Roll each in flour, then in beaten egg, then in breadcrumbs; then dip again in egg and breadcrumbs for a second coat. Chill the coated balls for 1 hour.✎ Chef’s noteThe double coat of crumbs is what keeps the soft ragout from bursting through into the oil.
- 6Heat the oil in a deep pan to 180C (350F). Fry the bitterballen a few at a time for 3 to 4 minutes, until deep golden. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with mustard and toothpicks.
Dutch café and borrel tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Gelderland. The Dutch province of Gelderland cooks hearty country food, stamppot, smoked sausage, and rich winter stews. Farmland and forest shape its comforting table.
🗺️
Netherlands. Rijsttafel is a Dutch invention rather than an Indonesian one: a colonial-era banquet that put a dozen or more Indonesian dishes on one table at once so that a European household could survey the whole of a cuisine in a single sitting. Naming it accurately is more interesting than calling it Indonesian, because the staging is the point.
🌍
Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Netherlands
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WentelteefjesStale bread turned in cinnamon-sugar custard and fried in butter until golden, the classic Dutch way to use up an old loaf.
UitsmijterFried eggs over ham and cheese on buttered bread, the Dutch open-faced lunch plate served any time of day.
Browse all Netherlands recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it a Netherlands meal
Advocaat (Dutch Egg Liqueur)Drink
PoffertjesDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Bitterballen (Dutch Beef Ragout Croquettes)?
Bite-sized balls of thick, savoury beef ragout, chilled until firm, breaded twice and deep-fried until crisp outside and molten inside, served with mustard and a cold beer.
Where does Bitterballen (Dutch Beef Ragout Croquettes) come from?
Bitterballen (Dutch Beef Ragout Croquettes) is a Dutch dish from Gelderland, Netherlands.
Can Bitterballen (Dutch Beef Ragout Croquettes) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Bitterballen (Dutch Beef Ragout Croquettes) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Bitterballen (Dutch Beef Ragout Croquettes) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Bitterballen (Dutch Beef Ragout Croquettes) take to make?
About 8 h 45 min in all: 45 minutes prep and 180 minutes cooking, plus 5 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 8.
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