Belgians remain loyal to their country's cuisine, as this recent study shows.
Edenred, the meal voucher company, recently conducted a survey of 2,500 Belgians to better understand their eating habits.
Belgian classics still reign supreme
Nearly half of Belgians (44%) say they have a soft spot for traditional dishes.
Their top five favourites? Steak and chips, roast chicken with chips and applesauce, carbonnades, stoemp, and vol-au-vent.
The common thread among them all is clear: chips. According to the study, four in ten Belgians eat fries at least once a week, and one in ten indulge even more often.
Stoofvlees or carbonnade, a classic Belgian dish
While 43% prepare them at home using a deep fryer, 22% opt for an air-fryer or oven, and 35% prefer to buy them straight from the chip shop.
When healthy eating meets real-life budgets
Still, nearly half of Belgians (49%) say they pay attention to what they eat — for health, sustainability, or financial reasons.
One in four makes room for at least one vegetarian meal a week, even without identifying as vegetarian. Yet cost remains the main barrier to healthier eating: 18% admit they rarely eat fish simply because it’s too expensive.
Home delivery on the rise
The survey found that 16% shop every day, often with the aim of keeping control of their budget, even if these daily purchases sometimes cost them more.
Vol-au-vent, another Belgian classic.
Furthermore, one in four Belgians orders takeaway or home delivery every week, most often on Friday and Saturday evenings. Meal vouchers can now be used not only at fritkots but also for online orders from many restaurants.
"With the maximum value of meal vouchers set to rise to €10 from 1 January 2026, employers will have an extra way to offer practical daily support to their staff," explains Patrick Langlois, Managing Director at Edenred BeLux in So Soir.
