Bitterballen (Dutch meatballs)

Name: Bitterballen (Dutch meatballs)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 28 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Netherlands
Ingredients: 100g Butter; 150g Flour; 700ml Beef Stock; 30g Onion; 1 tbs Parsley; 400g Beef; Pinch Salt; Pinch Pepper; Pinch Nutmeg; 50g Flour; 2 Beaten Eggs; 50g Breadcrumbs

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Beef recipe with Netherlands flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 45 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 28 min total

100g Butter
150g Flour
700ml Beef Stock
30g Onion
1 tbs Parsley
400g Beef
Pinch Salt
Pinch Pepper
Pinch Nutmeg
50g Flour
2 Beaten Eggs
50g Breadcrumbs

Step-by-step instructions

Melt the butter in a skillet or pan. When melted, add the flour little by little and stir into a thick paste. Slowly stir in the stock, making sure the roux absorbs the liquid. Simmer for a couple of minutes on a low heat while you stir in the onion, parsley and the shredded meat. The mixture should thicken and turn into a heavy, thick sauce.
Pour the mixture into a shallow container, cover and refrigerate for several hours, or until the sauce has solidified.
Take a heaping tablespoon of the cold, thick sauce and quickly roll it into a small ball. Roll lightly through the flour, then the egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Make sure that the egg covers the whole surface of the bitterbal. When done, refrigerate the snacks while the oil in your fryer heats up to 190C (375F). Fry four bitterballen at a time, until golden.
Serve on a plate with a nice grainy or spicy mustard.

Why this works on a weeknight

Bitterballen (Dutch meatballs) genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Bitterballen (Dutch meatballs) actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Beef Netherlands ⚡ 30-Min Dinner DinnerParty HangoverFood Alcoholic