Stamppot: Potatoes and Kale Mashed Together in One Pot
Floury potatoes, mashed with warm milk and butter, carrying tender ribbons of kale all the way through, with slices of warmed smoked sausage on top. Nothing more is needed on the plate.
On a cold evening, a pot of drained potatoes still steaming is mashed together with kale softened beside it in a skillet, and the whole thing goes to the table in one dish. Dutch tourism and heritage organizations describe stamppot as a comforting one-pot winter dish, and the Netherlands government information service WorkinNL introduces it as potatoes mashed together with vegetables such as kale or sauerkraut.
Stamppot is not one fixed recipe but a family of dishes: the vegetable changes with the season, the region and the household. This article does not try to cover them all. It follows one version, boerenkoolstamppot, made with curly kale and floury potatoes and served with Dutch smoked sausage (rookworst), using a single published recipe for 4 people from the Dutch contributor Kuno Jacobs in the DLG Markets cookbook, with its amounts kept unscaled.
This recipe has not been kitchen-tested by Sekai Gohan. The amounts and step times follow the published recipe; the notes on texture and choosing ingredients are practical guidance, not measured results.
What Is Stamppot? Boerenkoolstamppot and Its Relatives
Stamppot means potatoes mashed together with a vegetable. Potato is the common thread; the vegetable is what gives each version its name and character. WorkinNL presents stamppot as a familiar Dutch dish while noting that the Netherlands has no single true national dish, so it is better seen as one typical home dish among several than as "the" Dutch dish. The same source describes the Dutch evening hot meal as commonly built around potatoes, vegetables and meat, which is exactly the shape of this plate.
Boerenkool is the Dutch name for curly kale, so boerenkoolstamppot is the kale version, and boerenkoolstamppot met rookworst is the kale version served with smoked sausage. It should not be confused with hutspot, a separate stamppot made with carrots and onions. The Dutch Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage associates hutspot with the memory of Leiden's relief on 3 October 1574. That history belongs to hutspot; it is not the origin story of the kale version.
A Winter Dish That Changes from Region to Region
The Dutch Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage treats boerenkoolstamppot, with or without bacon, as a typical winter dish, and describes stamppot traditions that vary by season and by dish, alongside contemporary recipes that people still make today. Holland.com likewise places stamppot among the comforting winter dishes of a Dutch cuisine that has regional specialties and modern reinterpretations.
A Zeeland heritage story from Zeeuwse Ankers adds a useful distinction. According to that page, older one-pot dishes kept their ingredients recognizable, while stamppot in the mashed form appeared in the twentieth century. It describes potatoes paired with kale, sauerkraut, carrots, apples or pears, and records that in Zeeland the dish is also called prol. This is one region's account, not proof that stamppot developed the same way everywhere in the Netherlands.
The DLG cookbook's short introduction links mashed potatoes and kale to potatoes being inexpensive. That is the contributor's own explanation and is not backed by historical sources there, so it is best read as a kitchen story rather than settled history.
For more dishes from the same table, see our recipes from the Netherlands.
Ingredients: Serves 4
Milk and butter make this a dairy-containing dish. Ingredients and allergens in smoked sausage differ by product, so check the label. Check also whether your sausage is already cooked and warm it according to the package directions; do not treat raw sausage as safe just by warming it the same way.
Choosing Potatoes, Kale and Sausage
Potatoes. Use floury (starchy) potatoes, the kind that fall apart when mashed. Wetter potatoes can leave the mash loose after the milk is added.
Kale. Curly kale is the vegetable of boerenkoolstamppot. Kale sold outside the Netherlands can differ in leaf thickness and curl; adjust how thinly you cut it and how tender you cook it, but keep the full 750 g. Swapping in a different vegetable makes a different stamppot rather than a substitute (see the variations below).
Shallots. If you cannot find shallots, an onion is an optional stand-in; its flavor differs.
Rookworst. If you cannot find Dutch rookworst, another smoked sausage will work on the plate, but it is not the same thing: the meat, spicing, smokiness and saltiness will change the result. Whatever you buy, follow its package directions for heating.
Equipment
- Large pot for boiling the potatoes
- Colander
- Small saucepan for warming the milk
- Skillet for the shallots and kale
- Potato masher (a fork works, but a masher makes 1.5 kg of potatoes much less work)
- Wooden spoon
- Knife and cutting board
- Pan or other means of warming the sausage, as the package directs
How to Make Boerenkoolstamppot
The times below belong to individual steps. The kale and shallots can cook while the potatoes boil, and sausage warming depends on the product, so we do not give a single total time.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The mash is loose or watery | Potatoes not drained and shaken dry, or a wetter potato variety | Drain thoroughly and shake the pot dry before adding milk |
| The kale is still tough or coarse | Strips cut too wide | Cut the kale into thin strips; keep cooking until it is tender before mixing it in |
| The shallots taste bitter or burnt | Heat too high | Sauté gently for about 2 minutes, only until translucent and lightly golden |
| The green is patchy | Kale not folded through evenly | Keep folding until the kale is spread through the whole pot |
| A bay leaf turns up on the plate | Leaves not removed after draining | Remove both bay leaves in step 2 and check before mashing |
| Unsure whether the sausage is safe | Product differences | Check whether it is pre-cooked and follow the package's heating directions |
Seasoning comes from several places: the salted boiling water, the mash, the kale and the sausage. Season in stages and taste near the end rather than salting heavily at any one point.
Variations and Other Stamppot
These are ways the dish can shift. None of them are part of the recipe above.
- Cut the kale very fine. Thin strips are already the method; cutting even finer may give a softer mouthfeel, while large pieces can stay tough in a short cook.
- Choose your mash texture. Leave some lumps with the masher or mash more thoroughly. We don't suggest a blender, which may make potatoes gluey.
- Use a different smoked sausage. Easier to find, but meat, smokiness and salt change. It is a different plate, not rookworst.
- Add bacon. The Dutch Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage describes boerenkoolstamppot with or without bacon, so bacon is a recorded household variation. It adds salt and fat; adjust seasoning if you add it.
- Change the vegetable, change the dish. Sauerkraut, carrots and onions (as in hutspot), apples or pears appear in Dutch heritage sources as other stamppot types. Treat them as separate dishes, not kale substitutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between stamppot and hutspot?
Stamppot is the broad name for potatoes mashed with a vegetable. Hutspot is one type, made with carrots and onions, and in the Netherlands it is tied to the memory of Leiden's relief on 3 October 1574. Boerenkoolstamppot is the kale type; the Leiden story does not apply to it.
Can I use a vegetable other than kale?
Yes, but you are then making a different stamppot. Sauerkraut, carrots, apples and pears all appear in other stamppot types. For boerenkoolstamppot, use curly kale.
Do I have to use rookworst?
The recipe serves boerenkoolstamppot with 2 rookworst links on top. Another smoked sausage can take its place, but the flavor will not be the same. Whichever you use, heat it as its package directs.
How should I store and reheat leftovers?
The recipe gives no storage or reheating guidance, so we don't give storage times or temperatures here. Follow the food safety guidance of your local authority.
Is it dairy-free?
No. Milk and butter go into the mash and the shallots, and sausages vary in ingredients and allergens, so check labels if you are cooking for someone with allergies.
Sources
- WorkinNL, "Cuisine." Stamppot as potatoes mashed with vegetables such as kale or sauerkraut; the Netherlands having no single true national dish; Dutch evening hot meals of potatoes, vegetables and meat. https://www.workinnl.nl/en/living-in-nl/culture/cuisine/default.aspx
- NBTC Holland Marketing / Holland.com, "The hidden gems of Dutch cuisine." Stamppot as a comforting one-pot winter dish; regional specialties and contemporary reinterpretations in Dutch food. https://www.holland.com/global/tourism/getting-around/interests/dutch-food-and-cuisine
- Kenniscentrum Immaterieel Erfgoed Nederland (Dutch Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage), "Cooking stew (Stamppotkoken)." Boerenkoolstamppot with or without bacon as a typical winter dish; variation by season and dish; hutspot and Leiden's relief on 3 October 1574; contemporary recipes. https://www.immaterieelerfgoed.nl/en/stamppotkoken
- DLG Benelux B.V., "DLG Markets Kochbuch," Boerenkoolstamppot recipe credited to Kuno Jacobs, Netherlands (pp. 22–23). Ingredients, amounts and method for 4 servings; the contributor's short note linking the dish to inexpensive potatoes. https://www.dlg-markets.com/fileadmin/downloads/DLG-Markets/DLG_Markets_Kochbuch.pdf
- Zeeuwse Ankers, "Winter fare." Older one-pot dishes versus twentieth-century mashed stamppot; potatoes with kale, sauerkraut, carrots, apples or pears; the Zeeland name prol; regional context for hutspot. https://www.zeeuwseankers.nl/en/stories/winter-fare
