Dinner Ideas • Recipes from 193 Countries

Dinner Ideas from 193 Countries — What to Cook Tonight

Stuck on what to cook for dinner? Dinner Ideas brings easy dinner recipes from 193 countries — signature dishes with ingredients, steps, nutrition and pairings.

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Breakfast to Snack

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What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 1213–1224 of 2321 dinner recipes

A bauru sandwich in a crusty French roll filled with roast beef, melted mozzarella, tomato and pickle on a red plate

Brazil 20m

Lunch •Sao Paulo Heritage

Bauru Sandwich

This bauru sandwich recipe is the Sao Paulo original: a crusty pao frances with some of the soft crumb scooped out, filled with slices of roast beef, mozzarella melted until it runs, tomato and pickled cucumber. The defining combination is roast beef plus melted mozzarella plus tomato in French bread — no ham, no lettuce, no fried egg — which is what separates a bauru from the city's other sandwiches. One serving is about 275 g.

Quick Lunch & Comfort

Roast beef, melted mozzarella and tomato in a crusty French roll — Sao Paulo's most famous sandwich.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot with a cold guarana or beer and a small pile of potato crisps.

Quick Prep (<30m)

A wrapped carne asada burrito with Mexican rice, refried beans and tortilla chips on a tray

Mexico 50m

Lunch •Sonoran Street Food

Burrito de Carne Asada

This carne asada burrito recipe wraps smoky grilled steak, warm rice, creamy pinto beans, cheese and avocado in a big soft flour tortilla, the way taquerias in Sonora serve it. One serving is about 535 g.

Bold & Satisfying

A full, hearty wrap built around grilled marinated steak, rice and beans.

Pairs Well With
Serve with a cold Mexican lager, lime wedges and a simple tomato salsa.

Shrimp scampi with campanelle pasta, topped with grated parmesan

Italy 35m

Dinner •Italian-American Classic

Shrimp Scampi

This shrimp scampi recipe tosses plump shrimp in a garlic-butter and white-wine sauce with lemon, then folds it through linguine for a dinner that is on the table in 35 minutes. One serving is about 335 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A fast, buttery garlic shrimp pasta that feels like a restaurant dinner at home.

Pairs Well With
Serve with crusty bread to mop up the sauce and a crisp green salad.

Pasta & Noodles • Quick Prep (<30m)

Lapin à la moutarde — rabbit pieces in a creamy wholegrain mustard sauce with carrots and onions

France 1h 40m

Dinner •French Country Cooking

Lapin à la Moutarde

This lapin à la moutarde recipe braises jointed rabbit with Dijon and wholegrain mustard, white wine and cream until the meat falls from the bone in a silky, tangy sauce. One serving is about 340 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A slow-braised French classic: tender rabbit in a creamy two-mustard sauce.

Pairs Well With
Serve with boiled potatoes or buttered noodles to catch the mustard sauce.

High Protein

Espinacas con garbanzos — a bowl of spinach and chickpeas in a paprika sauce

Spain 40m

Lunch •Seville Tapa Classic

Espinacas con Garbanzos

This espinacas con garbanzos recipe simmers fresh spinach and chickpeas in olive oil with garlic, sweet paprika and cumin, thickened the old Seville way with a little bread — no egg, no dairy. One serving is about 225 g.

Light & Fresh

A plant-based Seville classic: spinach and chickpeas in a garlicky paprika sofrito.

Pairs Well With
Serve with crusty bread and a glass of dry sherry or a simple green salad.

A bowl of bright green edamame pods sprinkled with flaky sea salt

Japan 10m

Snack & Tea •Izakaya Classic

Edamame with Sea Salt

Edamame with sea salt is Japan's simplest bar snack: young soybeans still in their pods, boiled briefly in salted water until bright green and tender-crisp, then tossed while hot with flaky sea salt. You squeeze the beans straight from the pod into your mouth — salty, sweet and impossible to stop eating. One serving is about 150 g.

Light & Fresh

Young soybeans boiled in salted water and tossed with flaky sea salt — a light, protein-rich Japanese snack.

Pairs Well With
Cold beer, green tea or sake, with a small dish for the empty pods

Quick Prep (<30m)

A plate of golden Thai corn fritters with a small bowl of sweet chilli sauce

Thailand 35m

Snack & Tea •Thai Street-Food Classic

Thai Corn Fritters

Thai corn fritters, or tod mun khao pod, are golden, crisp-edged patties of sweetcorn bound with rice flour and egg, scented with red curry paste and finely shredded makrut lime leaves. Half the corn is blended smooth and half stays whole, so each fritter is fluffy inside and pops with whole kernels. One serving is about 175 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Golden sweetcorn fritters scented with red curry paste and makrut lime, fried crisp and served with sweet chilli sauce.

Pairs Well With
Sweet chilli sauce for dipping, with cucumber relish and iced tea

A bowl of steamed clams in broth with a lemon wedge

Vietnam 45m

Dinner •Coastal Vietnam Classic

Ngheu Hap Xa

Ngheu hap xa is Vietnam's beloved steamed-clam dish: fresh clams steamed just until they open in a fragrant broth of bruised lemongrass, ginger, garlic and chilli, finished with fish sauce and lime. The clams release their own briny juices into the broth, and the dish is served with a sharp chilli-lime dipping sauce. One serving is about 320 g.

Light & Fresh

Fresh clams steamed in a fragrant lemongrass, ginger and fish-sauce broth — a light, high-protein Vietnamese seafood dinner.

Pairs Well With
Chilli-lime fish sauce dip, fresh herbs, steamed rice or cold beer

A bowl of colourful Sichuan pickles with carrot, radish, celery and cabbage

China 30m

Snack & Tea •Sichuan Everyday Pickle

Sichuan Pickles

Sichuan pickles, or pao cai, are crisp vegetables — cabbage, daikon, carrot and celery — submerged in a salty brine scented with Sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies, ginger and a splash of baijiu, then left to sour for five to seven days. The result is crunchy, tangy and faintly numbing, and it keeps for weeks in the fridge. One serving is about 100 g.

Gut Health & Crunch

Crisp vegetables soured in a salty Sichuan brine with peppercorns and chillies — a tangy, crunchy Sichuan side.

Pairs Well With
Congee, noodle soups, dumplings or any rich Sichuan main

Fermented / Gut Health

Grilled mackerel fillets with crisp charred skin and lemon wedges on a dark plate

South Korea 27m

Dinner •Busan Coastal Tables

Godeungeo Gui

This godeungeo gui recipe grills mackerel fillets until the skin is crisp and the flesh flakes cleanly, with a light soy, sesame and lemon seasoning. One serving is about 205 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Crisp-skinned grilled mackerel with rice, kimchi and a hot soup on the side.

Pairs Well With
Steamed rice, kimchi and a bowl of doenjang soup

A golden Brazilian chicken pie, torta de frango, in a baking dish

Brazil 1h 5m

Dinner •Brazilian Bakery Counters

Torta de Frango

This torta de frango recipe layers a creamy shredded-chicken filling under a soft blender batter, then bakes it until golden and set. One serving is about 275 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A golden, savoury chicken pie with a soft blender batter crust — the bakery classic Brazilians make at home.

Pairs Well With
A green salad and a glass of fresh orange juice

Kumpir — a Turkish loaded baked potato in a foil tray, split open and topped with shredded chicken, bright yellow sweetcorn, ketchup and mayonnaise

Turkey 1h 30m

Lunch •Istanbul Heritage

Kumpir

Kumpir is Istanbul's famous loaded baked potato: a giant potato baked until fluffy, split open and mashed in its own skin with butter and melting kaşar cheese, then heaped with shredded chicken, sweetcorn, ketchup and mayonnaise. It is not a plain jacket potato and it is nothing like patatas bravas — there are no fried potato cubes and no brava sauce here, just one whole potato turned into a meal by the toppings piled on top. One serving is about 511 g.

Istanbul's Loaded Baked Potato

A whole baking potato, baked until the skin is crisp and the flesh is fluffy, then mashed inside its skin with butter and kaşar cheese and piled high with shredded chicken, sweetcorn, ketchup and mayonnaise.

Pairs Well With
Ayran, pickled cucumbers and a crisp green salad

Find Dinner Ideas by Country

Every one of the world's 193 countries has a signature dish — browse the full directory to find tonight's dinner, or jump straight to a cuisine with recipes.

Afghanistan

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Andorra

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Bahrain

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Botswana

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Central African Republic

Chad

Chile

China

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Democratic Republic of the Congo

Republic of the Congo

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Gambia

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Niger

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North Korea

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Oman

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Panama

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Portugal

Qatar

Romania

Russia

Rwanda

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

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Trinidad and Tobago

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Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

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Venezuela

Vietnam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe Browse all 193 countries →

Dinner Ideas by Category

Soups & Broths Pasta & Noodles High Protein Fermented / Gut Health Quick Prep (<30m)

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The Dinner GazetteFresh Dinner Ideas from the Journal

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A bowl of tagliatelle with rich ragù sauce

Ingredient Guides

The Pantry Staples Every World Kitchen Shares

From a market in Bangkok to a farmhouse in Tuscany, cooks reach for the same handful of staples: rice, dried beans, good oil, salt, garlic, chillies and something sour. Stock these, and dinner in any cuisine is suddenly within reach.

November 5, 2026 • 725 words

A hearty autumn stew served in a rustic bowl

Seasonal Cooking

Autumn’s Best: Cooking with Squash and Root Vegetables

When the air turns cool, the garden answers with squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips and beets. Roasted low and slow, these autumn vegetables turn sweet, caramelised and deeply satisfying — here is how to cook them well.

November 5, 2026 • 597 words

Fresh herbs rolled into Vietnamese spring rolls

Kitchen Techniques

How to Store Fresh Herbs So They Last Two Weeks

Fresh herbs wilt in days when they are tossed loose into the fridge. The jar method — a little water, a loose bag, and the right shelf — keeps parsley, cilantro, mint and dill bright and fragrant for up to two weeks.

November 5, 2026 • 658 words

Food Pairing Guide

What to Eat With What

Some foods taste better — and do you more good — together. Here is what to serve with each dish, and what to skip, with the science in plain words.

Tested in the Dinner Ideas kitchen

Phở Bò (Vietnamese Beef Broth)

Iron & Collagen Dynamics

EAT TOGETHER: Fresh Lime & Sawtooth Coriander

The ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) in freshly squeezed lime converts the non-heme and heme iron from thinly shaved beef into its bioavailable ferrous form (Fe²⁺), escalating iron assimilation by up to 300%. Fresh culantro supplies carotenes that ignite digestive bile acids.

AVOID IMMEDIATELY AFTER: Condensed Milk Iced Coffee

Drinking condensed milk coffee (Cà Phê Sữa Đá) directly following Phở binds active polyphenolic chlorogenic acids and milk casein directly to the beef iron molecules, forming unabsorbable insoluble complexes that severely stunt nutrient uptake. Wait at least 90 minutes.

Metabolic window: Breakfast (07:00 – 09:30) • Optimal Gut Transition: 3.5 Hours

Tomatoes & Wild Summer Greens

Carotenoid Unlocking

EAT TOGETHER: Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Aged Feta

Lycopene is an intrinsically lipophilic (fat-soluble) antioxidant compound bound tight inside tomato skin cells. Pairing ripe heirloom tomatoes with the monounsaturated fats of raw cold-pressed olive oil boosts vascular lycopene absorption by nearly 4.4-fold.

AVOID TOGETHER: Fat-Free Industrial Dressings

Consuming vine tomatoes with zero-fat or high-sugar artificial vinaigrettes prevents the body from emulsifying fat-soluble Vitamins A, E, and K, passing essential restorative nutrients unabsorbed through the gastrointestinal tract.

Metabolic window: Lunch or Aperitivo • Lycopene Uptake: +440%

Turmeric + Black Pepper

Piperine in coarse crushed pepper amplifies active curcumin bioavailability by 2000%.

Green Tea + Lemon Twist

Citric acid preserves delicate EGCG catechins through acidic stomach transit intact.

Calcium Rich + Iron Stews

Heavy dairy cheese interferes with non-heme iron absorption channels if consumed simultaneously.

Dinner Ideas from 193 Countries — What to Cook Tonight

What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Find Dinner Ideas by Country

Dinner Ideas by Category

Dinner Ideas by Meal

Dinner Ideas by Region

The Dinner GazetteFresh Dinner Ideas from the Journal

What to Eat With What

Iron & Collagen Dynamics

Carotenoid Unlocking

Never wonder what’s for dinner again