The Netherlands is a true paradise for vegans! You can get vegan food on every step, in both shops and restaurants, and there are also a lot of 100 % vegan restaurants and bakeries with a wide selection of dishes! In this article I share with you my favorite vegan dishes that I have tried during my time in Netherlands and where they can be found. If you are also interested in what to do and see in Netherlands, you can find some ideas at the end of the post.
I spent most of the time in Utrecht and Amsterdam and tried quite some vegan dishes in both. In both places, the vegan offer is excellent! The app Happy Cow was of a great use to help me find vegan restaurants, it is always very useful when traveling. I also found a lot of food on the fly, because vegan dishes are available in a lot of places and they are always very well labeled so they’re easy to find. There are quite a few 100% vegan restaurants, and vegan dishes can also be easily found in non-vegan restaurants.
1. SAINT-JEAN (Amsterdam)
Saint-Jean is a vegan artisan bakery in Amsterdam with beautiful and delicious croissants, pastries and other baked goods that look and taste out of this world! The most famous one is certainly the crafin – a croissant in the shape of a muffin. It is dipped in sugar and filled with a generous portion of pistachio cream which is truly delicious. The bakery is a bit away from the main attractions and the line outside the bakery was quite long, so it took about 15 minutes to wait, but it’s definitely so worth a visit!
2. VEGAN JUNK FOOD BAR (Amsterdam)
Vegan junk food bar restaurant is located in the center of Amsterdam, close to the main attractions. As the name suggests, their range mainly includes various junk food dishes, mostly vegan burgers and fries. The burgers are made from buns of different colours and different vegan patties and are very tasty and well stuffed with veggies and tasty onion crisps!
3. YB BY YOGHURT BARN (Amsterdam and Utrecht)
Yoghurt barn is a chain of nice brunch stile restaurants and is located in several locations in the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, Utrecht and other major cities. I visited the one in Utrecht, which is located on a beautiful street in the centre and is very nicely and pleasantly decorated, so the whole place feels really cozy. They mainly offer delicious and varied breakfasts. There are a variety of breakfast jars with soy yoghurt, cereal and chia puddings, and they also have banana bread, croissants, smoothies, desserts, and of course coffee with a variety of plant-based beverages. They also offer a “combo” breakfast, which includes any jar (yogurt, chia…), banana bread or croissant and coffee.
4. THE SOUP BROS (Utrecht)
There is also an interesting “to-go” soup restaurant in Utrecht, where the soup is served in paper cups with lids, so you can drink it on the go! The selection of soups is huge, and all soups are also very tasty. They offer both cream soups and soups with pieces of vegetables, and they also serve sandwiches.
5. VEGAN DONUTS AND OTHER FRIED DESSERTS
In Utrecht there was a van with fried desserts among which they also have some vegan ones. I tried their vegan donut with apple filling and it was extremely light, fluffy and richly filled with a juicy apple-cinnamon filling.
6. OFFER IN STORES
The range of vegan products in stores is huge! They have many different plant-based drinks, yogurts, cheeses, vegan meat substitutes and other products. Many train station shops also have vegan brunch options such as salads, vegan Violife cheese pastry, sandwiches, wraps and smoothies.
What to see and do in the Netherlands
If you’re interested in what to see in the Netherlands besides the food, I’m sharing some of my favorite places from the trip below. I visited the Netherlands during a three-week trip around Europe by train and spent 4 days there, seeing the main sights and exploring Amsterdam and Utrecht, where I was staying.
Zaanse Schans
One of the most beautiful places is definitely the small village of Zaanse Schans, which is located just 20 minute train drive from Amsterdam. When you arrive in the city, you feel as if you have entered a fairy tale, because there are a lot of charming houses, bridges over streams and windmills. In addition, everything smells like chocolate, because they sell hot chocolate at every turn! The place is best known for its windmills, which you can enter and see how they work.
Utrecht
Utrecht is an extremely beautiful city, which I personally liked even more than Amsterdam. The city is very pretty, has many bridges and canals, beautiful streets with a lot of bars, restaurants, parks and shops. It is great for cycling or just strolling around. The city also has some attractions that can be seen in one day. The most famous is the Gothic tower Domtoren, which is the tallest town of its kind in the Netherlands and has 14 bells. Next to the tower there is the Saint Martin’s Cathedral. Another extremely famous attraction is Castle De Haar, which is the largest castle in the Netherlands and is located a little outside the city.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is also a beautiful city, full of charming canals and bridges that connect the whole city. Amsterdam is certainly best known for a huge amount of bicycles, which are everywhere! One of the most famous neighbourhoods is the Jordaan, where the Anne Frank House is located, but I unfortunately didn’t get to visit it, because the tickets have to be booked several weeks in advance, as it is such a popular attraction! However, there are many other attractions in the city that can be visited without any entrance fees. It is definitely worth visiting the Bloemenmarkt which is the only floating market in the world, and consists of mostly flower shops with tulip seeds and seedlings, as well as other products and souvenirs. Amsterdam is also home to the famous red light district and many museums, the most famous being the Rijksmuseum, and the city also has a science museum, the Van Gogh Museum and others.
