Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Uitsmijter
Fried eggs over ham and cheese on buttered bread, the Dutch open-faced lunch plate served any time of day.
Dutch · easy · serves 2
prep 5 min · cook 10 min
~675 cal · 44g protein · 30g carbs · 42g fat · 2g fiber · 5g sugars · 21g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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The uitsmijter is a Dutch lunch institution, an open sandwich of fried eggs laid over ham and cheese on slices of buttered bread. Its name loosely means bouncer or the one thrown out, and it was traditionally the last thing eaten before heading home, or the first the morning after.
It is unfussy café and home food, assembled in minutes: bread, a slice of ham, a slice of Gouda, and two or three sunny-side-up eggs draped over the top so the runny yolk soaks into everything. Eaten with a knife and fork, it is the Netherlands' idea of a satisfying midday plate.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally nut-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 2
4 slices bread
4 slices sliced ham
4 slices sliced Gouda
4 eggs
2 tbsp butter
to taste salt and pepper
Instructions
1
Butter the bread and lay a slice of ham and cheese on each.
2
Fry the eggs sunny-side up so the yolks stay runny.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep the yolks soft. The whole point is the runny yolk flooding down into the ham, cheese, and bread.
3
Drape the fried eggs over the ham and cheese.
4
Season well and serve open-faced with a knife and fork.
Dutch café 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. Dutch food is hearty and unpretentious, stamppot mash, split-pea snert, herring eaten by hand, and an epic love of cheese. A colonial past brings Indonesian rijsttafel and sweet treats like stroopwafels and hagelslag.
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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
Stamppot BoerenkoolKale mashed straight into potatoes with a well of gravy and smoked sausage, the Netherlands’ winter engine.
WentelteefjesStale bread turned in cinnamon-sugar custard and fried in butter until golden, the classic Dutch way to use up an old loaf.
StroopwafelTwo thin waffle wafers pressed around a layer of warm caramel syrup, the Dutch treat meant to rest on your coffee cup.
Browse all Netherlands recipes →
Good to know
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
PoffertjesDessert
Erwtensoep (Snert)Dinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Uitsmijter?
Fried eggs over ham and cheese on buttered bread, the Dutch open-faced lunch plate served any time of day.
Where does Uitsmijter come from?
Uitsmijter is a Dutch dish from Gelderland, Netherlands.
Can Uitsmijter be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Uitsmijter recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Uitsmijter 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 count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), 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 Uitsmijter take to make?
About 15 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 10 minutes cooking), serving 2.
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