Name: Hutspot (Dutch Mashed Potatoes, Onions, and Carrots)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds (900 grams) floury potatoes (such as russets, peeled and cut into 1 ½-inch pieces); 1 pound (450 grams) carrots (peeled and diced); 1 pound (450 grams) onions (peeled and sliced); ½ cup milk; 4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter; ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Hutspot is a beloved Dutch dish consisting of mashed potatoes, onions, and carrots. It’s cozy, simple, and rustic. Serve it with braised or stewed beef, sausages, Dutch meatballs, or on its own for a comforting vegetarian option.

A large serving dish of hutspot with a metal spoon on the side.

Hutspot is the Dutch word for hodge-podge, which basically means a jumbled mixture. In the context of this popular Dutch side dish, it’s a mashed combination of boiled potatoes, carrots, and onions.

Hutspot was originally prepared after the end of the Siege of Leiden in 1574 during the Eighty Years' War. When the Spaniards retreated, leaving behind their food, a vegetable porridge which was mashed together and served to the hungry townsfolk, creating the very first “hutspot.”

At that time it was made with parsnips, but was later adapted to use potatoes instead. Nowadays, it’s prepared not only during the colder months of the year, but specifically on October 3rd for Leids Ontzet, a feast celebrating this momentous day in Dutch history.

Although some stick to the basics, with just the mashed vegetables and seasoning, others add milk and butter to enrich the mixture and give it some creaminess. I prefer the latter, but you can certainly skip the dairy and just mash up the seasoned veggies on their own for a lighter preparation.

Ingredient notes

Ingredients for hutspot on a beige background.

Potatoes: Use floury potatoes such as russets. Peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces roughly the same size for even cooking. The potato pieces will oxidize and turn brown if they sit out too long, so immediately add them to your pot and cover with water to avoid this.
Carrots: This dish typically uses the Dutch winterpenen carrot variety which contains a lot of natural sugar. It’s ideal if your carrots are on the sweeter side to mimic this, but any carrots will work.
Onions: Use basic yellow or brown onions for this recipe.

A giant meatball with brown jus served with mashed potatoes with carrots and onions.

How to make it

Add peeled and cubed potatoes, diced carrots, and sliced onions to a large pot and cover with water. Season generously with salt.

A mixture of potatoes, carrots, onions, and water in a metal pot before cooking.

Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to medium, partially cover (be careful so it doesn’t boil over) and simmer until potatoes and carrots are tender, about 15 minutes.

Drain the mixture then return it to the pot, off the heat.

Boiled potatoes, onions, and carrots drained into a metal pot before mashing.

Add the milk and butter, then use a potato masher to mash the mixture to your desired consistency. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper, and combine. Serve immediately.

Mashed potatoes, carrots, and onions in a metal pot.

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

Hutspot is often served with gehaktballen (Dutch meatballs), kielbasa, or stewed or braised beef. However, you could serve it on its own or with any other proteins you like. It’s a delicious mixture of starch and vegetables which would complement many proteins.

The most labor-intensive part of this recipe is peeling and chopping the vegetables. If you want to get a head start, you can peel and chop all of the vegetables and leave them in the covered pot with water for several hours before cooking them (this will prevent the potatoes from oxidizing and browning).

Dutch hutspot served in a white shallow bowl with a spoon stuck in the side.

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