Fries, chocolate, famous gourmet waffle (Gauffre), rabbit in beer (lapin a la biere), Tartiflette and mulled wine – heaven in my mouth!
As you can guess, my culinary journey in Brussels and Bruges, Belgium last November turned out to be an unforgettable experience. As a food lover, I tried every single dish I saw in the street (yes, I never dined out in restaurants) and my mouth was constantly busy with consuming new local treats. Based on my experience, I can say Belgian food is great and nutritious, well spiced with ginger, cinnamon, saffron, nutmeg and fiends that give it an incredible flavour and aroma. In addition, Belgians love eating meat, cheese and mustard, and mushrooms of course. Certainly, nobody pays as much attention to the decoration as taste, because appearance is the most important.
What I loved the most about the Belgian street food were its cheap prices and huge portions I could share with my host! All the food I ate came from local food stands located all over the place, mainly city centres, and they never costed more than 7.5 euros ($10) per portion. Here is the list of 11 most delicious Belgian treats I couldn’t resist of:
#1 Waffles (1 euro/$1.30 per one)
They can be found everywhere in the street with different prices (from 1 euro to even 10 euros per one). You can get them either hot or cold with some fruits, nuts, honey or whipped cream (some chocolate freaks, like me, ask for extra Nutella on top).
I must admit I enjoyed the plain waffles too. It was very sweet and soft.
#2 Belgian chocolate (5-13 euros per kg)
Belgian chocolate was incredibly delicious. I actually discovered its new flavour, very creamy and thick. It is mental how many different chocolates you can find all over Brussels. My favourite one was nougat ginger chocolate. You can read more about it in my Chocolate Paradise in Brussels: Where to Go and Where to Eat note.
#3 Chips – 3 euros ($3.90) small size, 5 euros ($7) large size
Fresh potatoes, double fried, seasoned and served with ketchup and mayo sauce – yummy!
#4 Chocolate Bread (free tasting)
I was lucky enough to taste some Belgian chocolate bread for free. It tastes amazing like a whole wheat bread with some chocolate chips in it. It was not sweet at all but you could taste the chocolate flavour. Perfect combination! A loaf of bread costed 6 euros ($8).
#5 Sausage with cabbage and potatoes served with baguette (4 euros – $5 per portion)
It is a Belgian mishmash with small pieces of sausage, bacon, chopped onions, cabbage and potatoes. It tastes so much like Polish bigos and it’s stodgy.
#6 Tartiflette (7 euro – $9 per portion)
It is actually a French dish (it comes from the Savoie region of the Alps ) made with cheese, potatoes, bacon, onions, garlic and cream. It tastes very creamy and rich.
#7 Baked potatoes (plain 4 euros – $5, beef and chicken 5 euros – $6.50, honey/shrimps/goat 6 euros – $8)
Freshly baked potatoes stuffed with veggies, olives and meat of your choice topped with creamy cheese is a great choice for freezing days. I was amazed by the huge size of them and variety of toppings.
#8 Churros (small 5 euro – $6.50, big 7 euro – $9, extra nutella 1 euro)
Los churros are Spanish doughnuts best tasted when dipped in hot chocolate or milky coffee. They are very sweet and oily. I loved their crunchy and fresh taste! You definitely must give it a try if you are not on a diet :).
#9 Noodles with veggies (Chinese style, 5 euros – $6.50 per plate)
The dish was not an authentic Chinese meal as it was made by a Belgian lady. It tastes great though, very mild and creamy.
#10 Sausage and onion baguette (4,50 euros – $6)
It was a very simple, but very yummy treat I found at Bruges market. The baguette was soft and crispy, the sausage was well done and my onions were just melting inside. Of course I added some splash of ketchup on top!
#11 Chocolate Kisses (0.70 euro – $1 each)
I found them in Bruges and I was like “Chocolate? Again?” but then my host asked me to try them and they were incredibly delicious. They are filled with super creamy foam covered by quite sweet white, dark or white and dark chocolate and sprinkled with nuts.
As you can see, there is a huge variety of street food available in Belgium. The food is typical Christmas warm up. I bet there is even more dishes served in the summer but one thing I am sure of- everyone can find something nice, fresh and tasty. Sitting on the bench in the park feels better than staying in busy posh restaurants (I won’t even mention the price difference)!
Which of those dishes would be on your must try list when visiting Belgium?
54 thoughts on “11 Budget Belgian Street Foods (for Less than $10)”
I would try ALL of them!!! They look so so good! Going to Belgium in the summer, will definitely do a food tour :D
Heeey! I’m going to Brussels this summer too! It’s gonna be August 2nd. Are you gonna be around? Would be awesome to do a food tour together!
Thanks for the post – all the food looks delicious, however waffles and churros would definitely be on the top of my list!
I don’t know how I could have missed churros in Spain. I had to catch up with them in Brussels instead. Soooo nice!
All I’ve gotta say is mmmmmmmmm…yum!
Jason, looks like I’ve beaten your beer experience!
Oooooooh, they all look delicious… but I have heard so much about Belgian waffles and fries so I think I’d go for those first :)
LOL, my girl! Chocolate first though!
Yummm….I’m salivating. I don’t normally like chips but I love but I love Belgian chips served with homemade mayo. and of course, their chocolates are to die for! Didn’t realize that so many more kinds of street eats! Thanks for another delicious post. (At least this, time I didn’t fall off my chair!)
Hehehe, thanks a lot. Belgian chips rule, seriously. Topped with mayo and ketchup, it’s just heaven in your mouth!
I used to go to Antwerp a lot and I would never miss out on one of those delicious waffles! So nice when they’re still warm!
They taste amazing when they are served hot as the nutella melts and fruits are so soft!
What a delicious looking post with all these mouth-watering pictures! I didn’t realize there were all these other street food we missed while we were in Brussels. We ate a lot of chocolates and waffles :) I would have loved to try that Belgian chocolate bread.
Yeah, chocolate and waffles always go first :P
P.S. The chocolate bread was just … AMAZING!
Whoa this is too Good and so mouth watering. I always wondered what can i get in $10 and there you are, jotted down everything here.. Thanks a ton for this :)
It is indeed and you can eat a lot for $10 :P
Everything looks so delicious on your pics!!!
A culinary journey – that’s what I need!
Ive never been in Belgium. Maybe next year?… Already keeping your post in mind ;)
You should definitely go to Belgium and try some local food. They look delicious not only in these photos!
Oh yes! I do remember how glorious the food in Belgium. I had a great time sampling a lot of the street food. Waffle, french fries even escargot in broth and butter. They were all yummy. I’d love to have that baked potato now *drool*
That’s true, Belgian food is just amazing!
Every one of those things looked delicious! They definitely cost more than the Chinese food, but not near as freaky! YUM!
True, true, true!!
Everything on your photos looks delicious to me, my favorites chocolate, waffles with chocolate and especially fries (chips). I eat fries at least once a week. When I’m traveling I’m always disappointed with the taste of the fries (especially when I cannot get mayo with those), I’m definitely a big fan of Belgian fries.
Nice to hear that. Unfortunately, I don’t have fries very often. Here in China you can get them from fast food restaurants only and I’m not the biggest fan of McDonald’s fried which look always the same (even after a year :):))
Damm Agness! You make me want to go to Belgium right now!!!!! :S How come I never tried the tartiflette? (I am drooling!)
What!?? You never tried the tartiflette? No way!!
All this food looks amazing! I love that it is so cheap and even mostly vegetarian too! Can’t wait to eat my way through Belgium someday soon!
It looks and it tastes amazing :)))x
That chocolate bread may be under US$10 but I wouldn’t say it’s a budget item. You’re in Belgium, bread shouldn’t be expensive!
The only somewhat-healthy item on this list is the baked potato. What kind of feast could you get from a fruit seller? I’d eat everything you wrote about, but…
Yeah, but you don’t need to buy it. You can try the free sample which is a budget item :). I agree, the food is not the healthiest one, but you can get a plenty of veggie salads and fresh fruits from local markets :) and there are organic stores around as well.
How do you not weigh a million pounds! All of that food looks amazing and oh so delicious…but not exactly the most fat-free foods! I love eating street foods also and trying all of the local delights. The waffles and chocolates would probably be my faves :)
Thanks for a mouth-watering post!
I’ve actually put on a lot of weight, but it’s not my fault – the food was way too good :P.
Waffles all the way!
There are two types, a Brussels and a Liege waffle. We are in Brussels for a week in May and I want to do some tasty research on these both.
Thanks for your comment. I too want to try them all, although I will go later than you. If you get any recommendations, don’t hesitate to pass them to me :) Have chocolaty fun :)
Thanks for following us on Twitter! I’m quite partial to tartiflette myself, though not everyone I know is in agreement…
Our pleasure. I’d like to try tartiflette, never been to Belgium yet, maybe this summer.
YUM!! This is making me remember eating in Belgium — especially the waffles and the mulled wine! I, unfortunately, cannot eat potatoes (have an intolerance), so that coupled with my vegetarianism means a lot of the stuff on this list are out… but that just means more room for chocolates!!! :)))
Exactly, more room for the chocolate :)))))!
Oh man, Belgian pommes frites are the best thing ever. When I was in Brussels I had them every day! I’m also a huge waffle lover, so I was a big fan of those as well (I like man covered in Nutella). As far as I’m concerned, the food was the best part of visiting Brussels! I think I put on a little weight while I was there though ;)
Tell me! My weight (for some reason :P) went drastically up :)