Food of Belgium
Belgian food balances hearty farmhouse cooking with fine pastry and chocolate. Potatoes are fried twice into crisp frites, mussels and river fish feature in the north and west, and stews are slow-cooked in rich sauces. Waffles, pralines and speculoos are everyday treats, and bakeries are central to daily life.
- Main dishes (8)
- Breakfast (2)
- Street food (3)
- Soups (1)
- Salads (1)
- Breads (2)
- Desserts and sweets (6)
- Drinks (3)
- Fruits and produce (5)
Staples
- potatoes
- mussels
- beef
- leeks
- endives
- butter
- chocolate
Signature flavors
- nutmeg
- bay leaf
- mustard
- parsley
- cloves
- brown sugar
Main dishes
Steamed mussels with a mountain of crisp fries.
Key ingredients: mussels, celery, onion, friesFull guide →
A creamy Ghent stew of chicken or fish and vegetables.
Key ingredients: chicken, leeks, carrots, potatoes, cream
Mashed potato and vegetable puree served with sausage.
Key ingredients: potatoes, carrots, leeks, sausage
Puff pastry cases filled with creamy chicken and mushrooms.
Key ingredients: puff pastry, chicken, mushrooms, cream
Slow-braised beef and onion stew, sweet-sour from vinegar and brown sugar.
Key ingredients: beef, onions, brown sugar, vinegar, mustardEndives wrapped in ham and baked in cheese sauce.
Key ingredients: endives, ham, bechamel, GruyereLarge meatballs in a sweet-sour sauce.
Key ingredients: ground meat, onions, syrup, gravy
Seasoned raw beef spread on bread.
Key ingredients: ground beef, capers, egg yolk, onionBreakfast
Spiced cookie spread on sandwich bread.
Key ingredients: speculoos paste, butter, breadA sweet bread with sugar or raisins.
Key ingredients: yeast dough, sugar, raisinsStreet food
Twice-fried potatoes in a paper cone with mayonnaise.
Key ingredients: potatoes, oil, mayonnaise
A fluffy waffle with powdered sugar or toppings.
Key ingredients: flour, eggs, milk, yeastFull guide →
A sandwich stuffed with meat, fries and sauce.
Key ingredients: baguette, fries, meat, sauceSoups
Tomato soup with little meatballs.
Key ingredients: tomato, meatballs, creamSalads
Tomatoes stuffed with North Sea grey shrimp.
Key ingredients: tomatoes, grey shrimp, mayonnaiseBreads
A crusty round roll.
Key ingredients: wheat flour, yeastA Brussels sugar-crusted pastry bar.
Key ingredients: dough, sugar, butterDesserts and sweets
Pralines and truffles, a national specialty.
Key ingredients: chocolate, cream, hazelnut
Crisp spiced shortcrust biscuits.
Key ingredients: flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter
Chewy, caramelized yeast waffle with pearl sugar.
Key ingredients: yeast dough, pearl sugar, butterRice pudding tart from Limburg.
Key ingredients: rice, milk, pastryVanilla ice cream with warm chocolate sauce and cream.
Key ingredients: vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, cream
A sweet pie topped with caramelized sugar.
Key ingredients: yeast dough, brown sugar, butterDrinks
Melted chocolate stirred into milk.
Key ingredients: dark chocolate, milk
Strong coffee served with a small biscuit.
Key ingredients: coffee, milk
Pressed from local orchard fruit.
Key ingredients: applesFruits and produce
Sweet berries from Sint-Truiden and Wépion.
Key ingredients: cream, waffles, tarts
Conference pears from the Limburg orchards.
Key ingredients: compote, tarts
Sour cherries from the Haspengouw region.
Key ingredients: pastries, jam, compote
The pale, bitter leaf grown in darkness, called witloof.
Key ingredients: salads, gratins, braised
Little cabbages named for Brussels.
Key ingredients: steamed, roasted, sauteedDish guides from Belgium
Explore Belgium on Geographical EffectMaps, capital and cities, population, climate, landscapes and landmarks.More cuisines of Western Europe
Descriptions written by Intercontinental Chef. Dishes are listed as commonly eaten today; many are shared across neighbouring countries.
- Moules-frites at Chez Leon in Brussels: Edward, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- (waterzooi) (79743868): ayustety from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Cod and stoemp: Simon Aughton, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Vol-au-vent 20 cm: Hautbois, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Jielbeaumadier carbonade flamande 2010: Jiel Beaumadier, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Classic steak tartare: insatiablemunch, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- French Fries: StockSnap, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Waffle with strawberries and confectioner's sugar: Ralph Daily, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Mitraillette (fast food): Renatus, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Tomato soup, plant-based (44040252791): Ella Olsson from Stockholm, Sweden, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Belgian chocolates: frank wouters from antwerpen, belgium, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Saint Nicholas Speculaas (6465422349): Turku Gingerbread from Finland, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Liège waffles on a plate: Valereee, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Tarte au sucre: Popo le Chien, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Chocolate cup Chantilly porcelain 18th century: World Imaging, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Latte and dark coffee: Bex Walton, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Apfelsaft im Glas: Verband der deutschen Fruchtsaftindustrie e.V., CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Garden strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) single2: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Pears: Keith Weller, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- Cherry season (48216568227): spurekar, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Illustration Cichorium intybus0 clean: Original book source: Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- Brussels sprout closeup: Eric Hunt, CC BY 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)
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