Bitterballen, or Dutch Fried Meatballs, are a popular Dutch bar snack similar to croquettes and served with mustard for dipping. Serve them with ice cold beer and you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to Amsterdam!
In general terms, croquettes are deep-fried snacks made with a thick roux-based mixture which is shaped and then breaded before frying. They are usually shaped into cylinders, and are popular through many cuisines. Though croquettes are originally French, there are variations throughout the world.
In Holland, you’ll not only find kroketten, which are Dutch oblong croquettes, but you’ll also find these über-popular bitterballen, which are spherical/ball-shaped croquettes made with a thick meat-based stew as its core.
Bitterballen get their name from a generic word for certain types of herb-flavored alcoholic beverages, called bitter in Dutch. Thus, they happen to be served as part of a bittergarnituur, which is a selection of savory snacks to go with drinks, at pubs or gatherings in the Netherlands.
They’re not only a great snack or appetizer to enjoy before a night on the town, but they reheat beautifully in an air-fryer in particular, resulting in a great make-ahead option for parties as well.
Ingredient notes
- Beef: Bitterballen can be made with either ground beef or braised and shredded beef. I used 1 pound of raw, ground beef here but you can substitute with about 12 ounces of cooked, shredded beef instead. This would be a great way to use up leftover pot roast or other slow-cooked beef.
- Butter: Butter is half of the magical combination to make roux, which is used to thicken these Dutch fried meatballs. It's also what you would use to make béchamel, cheese sauce for mac and cheese, gravy, and so many other things.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the other half of the combination to make roux. If you want to make these gluten-free, you could substitute gluten-free flour and gluten-free breadcrumbs, but the thickness of the roux may not be quite the same (I haven’t tested it myself this way).
- Beef Broth: Beef broth or beef stock will give you the best flavor here.
- Breadcrumbs: You could use plain dry breadcrumbs, or use panko which you have pulsed several times in a food processor to make slightly finer/smaller pieces. I recommend the panko if you have it.
How to make it
In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. To make the roux, whisk in the flour, a little at a time, until you have a smooth, thick paste.
Slowly whisk in the beef broth until the mixture is smooth and still quite thick. Simmer for a couple minutes, add seasonings and taste. Adjust seasoning as needed. Note that beef broth will vary in saltiness so the amount of seasoning needed will vary.
Stir in ground beef, onion, and parsley.
Cook the mixture until the beef is mostly cooked through.
Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a shallow container. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight if possible to allow the mixture to fully solidify.
Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Prepare your breading station by placing the flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs into 3 wide bowls or other shallow containers.
Use a medium cookie scoop to portion out the meat evenly. Shape into small balls with your hands and arrange the balls on one of the sheet pans.
After shaping all the balls, bread them one by one by rolling each first through the flour, then through the egg, and then through the breadcrumbs.
Arrange the breaded balls on the other sheet pan. Repeat with all the meatballs. At this point you can refrigerate the pan until you’re ready to fry them.
Heat 1 to 2 inches of oil in a Dutch oven or deep-fryer to a temperature of 375°F/190°C. Fry the meatballs in small batches for about 2 ½ minutes until crisp and golden.
Remove the fried bitterballen to a paper towel-lined tray to soak up excess oil. Repeat with the remaining Dutch meatballs in batches.
Serve hot with your favorite mustard (or a variety of mustards!) for dipping.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
When scooping and shaping the balls of chilled beef mixture, it’s helpful if you have another person who can roll the balls while you scoop/portion them. Otherwise, I recommend scooping out all the portions onto your sheet pan, then going through and rolling them all one-by-one. Otherwise your hands will be dirty and slippery when using the scooper if you roll after each scoop.
Allowing the filling mixture to chill overnight would be ideal to ensure it firms up as much as possible before shaping.
To make vegetarian bitterballen, try replacing the ground beef with finely chopped mushrooms, and use vegetable broth in place of the beef broth. I would suggest cooking the mushrooms first in the butter and then proceeding with the recipe as directed.
Breading Tips
- Set up your dredging station with shallow bowls of flour, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs from left to right.
- Don’t add all the breadcrumbs at once because the bowl might overflow. Have extra on hand to replenish as needed.
- You may not use all the flour or breadcrumbs but you want extra in the bowl so you can evenly coat the Dutch meatballs.
- Use one hand for the dry ingredients and one for the wet. For example use your left hand to roll each ball in the flour, then your right for the egg, and your left again for the breadcrumbs.
- Make sure to gently shake off excess breading after each step. I usually rest the ball over my slightly separated fingers and then give my hand a gentle shake to let any loose flour/egg/breadcrumbs fall or drip off.
Frying Tips
You may fry using a deep fry thermometer to track the oil's temperature. The downside to this is you may have to fiddle with your stovetop controls to adjust the heat in order to maintain the right temperature if it drops or rises significantly.
Instead, I recommend using an electric deep-fryer (I have an old version of this one passed down from my grandmother!). It does a great job of maintaining the oil temperature without any stress.
Storage Tips
Refrigerate leftover Dutch fried meatballs for about 3 to 4 days. Reheat in the oven or air-fryer (preferable) to re-crisp before serving.
To freeze breaded but uncooked Dutch meatballs: Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then transfer frozen balls to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. No need to thaw before frying, but just add another minute or 2 as needed to the cook time.
To freeze already cooked Dutch meatballs: Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat in the oven or air fryer to heat and re-crisp them before serving.
Other recipes you may like
- Kibbeling (Dutch Fried Fish Bites)
- Gehaktballen (Dutch Meatballs)
- Saucijzenbroodjes (Dutch Sausage Rolls)
- Köttbullar (Swedish Meatballs)
- Frikadellen / Buletten (German Hamburgers)
- Steamed Pearl Balls (Zhēnzhū Wánzi)
- Hutspot (Dutch Mashed Potatoes, Onions, and Carrots)
- Uitsmijter (Dutch Ham, Gouda and Egg Sandwich)
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Bitterballen (Dutch Fried Meatballs)
Ingredients
Bitterballen:
- 113 grams (1 stick / 4 ounces) unsalted butter
- 125 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour
- 3 cups beef broth or stock
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal, use ½ teaspoon if using Morton’s) plus more as needed
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 455 grams (1 pound) ground beef
- 40 grams (¼ cup) finely chopped onion (about ½ small onion)
- 4 grams (1 tablespoon) finely chopped parsley
Breading and Serving:
- 65 grams (½ cup) all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 150 grams (1 ½ cups) breadcrumbs (preferably panko pulsed several times in the food processor to make it more fine or plain dry breadcrumbs)
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Mustard for serving
Instructions
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. To make the roux, whisk in the flour, a little at a time, until you have a smooth, thick paste.
- Slowly whisk in the beef broth about ½ cup at a time until the mixture is smooth and still quite thick. Simmer for a couple minutes, add the seasonings and give it a quick taste. Adjust seasoning as needed (note that beef broth will vary in saltiness and you may or may not need to add more salt to compensate).
- Stir in the ground beef (breaking it up with a wooden spoon), onion, and parsley. Cook the mixture for about 4 to 5 minutes or until the beef is mostly cooked through. It will continue to cook when you fry the bitterballen. Give the mixture another taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a shallow container. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight if possible to allow the mixture to fully solidify. The mixture should be thick enough that you could cut it into pieces.
- Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and prepare your breading station by placing the flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs into 3 wide bowls or other shallow containers.
- Use a medium cookie scoop (about 1 ½ inch diameter works well) to portion out the meat evenly and shape into small balls with your hands. Arrange the balls on one of the sheet pans.
- After shaping all the balls, bread them one by one by rolling each first through the flour, then through the egg, and then through the breadcrumbs. Arrange the breaded balls on the other sheet pan. Repeat with all the meatballs.
- At this point you can refrigerate the pan until you’re ready to fry them.
- Heat 1 to 2 inches of oil in a Dutch oven or deep-fryer to a temperature of 375°F/190°C. Fry the meatballs in small batches (about 8 to 10 depending on the size of your pot) for about 2 ½ minutes until crisp and golden. Use a spider skimmer or the deep fryer basket to remove the fried bitterballen to a paper towel-lined tray to soak up excess oil. Repeat with the remaining balls in batches.
- Serve hot with your favorite mustard (or a variety of mustards!) for dipping.
Notes
- Refrigerate leftover Dutch fried meatballs for about 3 to 4 days. Reheat in the oven or air-fryer (preferable) to re-crisp before serving.
- To freeze breaded but uncooked Dutch meatballs: Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then transfer frozen balls to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. No need to thaw before frying, but just add another minute or 2 as needed to the cook time.
- To freeze already cooked Dutch meatballs: Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat in the oven or air fryer to heat and re-crisp them before serving.
- When scooping and shaping the balls of chilled beef mixture, it’s helpful if you have another person who can roll the balls while you scoop/portion them. Otherwise, I recommend scooping out all the portions onto your sheet pan, then going through and rolling them all one-by-one. Otherwise your hands will be dirty and slippery when using the scooper if you roll after each scoop.
- To make vegetarian bitterballen, try replacing the ground beef with finely chopped mushrooms, and use vegetable broth in place of the beef broth.
- You may fry using a deep fry thermometer to track the oil's temperature. The downside to this is you may have to fiddle with your stovetop controls to adjust the heat in order to maintain the right temperature if it drops or rises significantly.
- Instead, I recommend using an electric deep-fryer (I have an old version of this one passed down from my grandmother!). It does a great job of maintaining the oil temperature without any stress.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Ann says
I love these
Geoff Cornford says
I lived in The Netherlands for a few years more than 35 years ago and always remember this dish from bars I frequented. I've tried a few times to replicate and failed every time but this recipe is the most authentic I've ever done and I thank you. I was skimpy with the pepper and spices but now I know it works I can be a bit more adventurous next time. Prost!
Victoria says
Hi Geoff,
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and it brought you back some wonderful memories of living in The Netherlands! I have several other Dutch recipes on the site you might also want to check out 🙂