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 1297–1308 of 2321 dinner recipes

Currywurst — sliced pork sausage in glossy curry ketchup dusted with curry powder, served in a paper tray with a wooden pick

Germany 30m

Lunch •Berlin Street-Food Icon

Currywurst

This currywurst recipe fries pork sausages until crisp at the edges, slices them into bite-size pieces, and drowns them in a warm curry ketchup sauce made from ketchup, tomato paste, curry powder and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. It is the Berlin street-food classic: sweet, tangy, gently spiced and eaten standing up with a little wooden fork. One serving is about 230 g.

Berlin Street Food

Sliced grilled pork sausage smothered in a warm curry ketchup sauce, dusted with curry powder.

Pairs Well With
Crisp fries and a cold German lager

Quick Prep (<30m)

Carved Leitão da Bairrada with crisp golden skin on a metal tray, served with an orange slice and potato chips

Portugal 3h 50m

Dinner •Bairrada Heritage

Leitão da Bairrada

This leitao da bairrada recipe brings Portugal's most famous roast home: a small suckling pig rubbed with coarse salt, black pepper, garlic and lard, then roasted until the meat is creamy and the skin shatters like glass. It is carved at the table and served with orange slices and crisp potato chips, the way it arrives in the dining rooms of Mealhada. One serving is about 300 g.

Feast & Celebration

A whole suckling pig rubbed with garlic, salt and lard and roasted until the skin shatters — the centrepiece of a Portuguese feast.

Pairs Well With
Potato chips, orange slices and Bairrada sparkling wine

High Protein

Moroccan seafood pastilla — a round golden flaky pie topped with lemon slices and grated cheese, on a silver tray

Morocco 1h 15m

Dinner •Coastal Moroccan Classic

Moroccan Seafood Pastilla

This Moroccan seafood pastilla recipe layers white fish, prawns and squid with rice vermicelli, mushrooms and a warm chermoula of paprika, cumin, ginger and preserved lemon, then wraps it all in crisp, buttery warqa pastry and bakes it until golden. Unlike the famous chicken pastilla, the seafood version is savoury and spicy rather than sweet, and it is finished with grated cheese and lemon slices instead of sugar and cinnamon. One serving is about 292 g.

Festive Seafood Pie

Crisp warqa pastry wrapped around spiced fish, prawns and squid with vermicelli and chermoula.

Pairs Well With
A sharp green salad and mint tea

Egyptian stuffed cabbage rolls — glossy golden cabbage rolls in a pot with a serving spoon

Egypt 1h 45m

Dinner •Egyptian Family Classic

Egyptian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

This Egyptian stuffed cabbage rolls recipe — mahshi kromb — softens whole cabbage leaves, rolls them into slim cigars around a filling of short-grain rice, minced beef, tomato and a generous handful of parsley, dill and coriander, then simmers the rolls slowly in a tomato and lemon broth until they are silky and tender. It is the dish Egyptian families roll together for Friday lunch: patient work, a big pot, and a platter that disappears fast. One serving is about 475 g.

Comforting & Hearty

Tender cabbage leaves rolled around herbed rice and beef, simmered in tomato broth with lemon.

Pairs Well With
A squeeze of lemon and a cucumber and tomato salad

Grilled shish tawook chicken skewers with peppers and onion on rice, with flatbread, lemon wedges and tomato on a plate

Lebanon 40m

Dinner •Beirut Grill Classic

Shish Tawook

This shish tawook recipe soaks cubes of chicken breast in yogurt, lemon, garlic and tomato paste with warm spices, then grills them on skewers until charred at the edges and juicy inside. It comes to the table with steamed rice and warm pita, the way Beirut grill houses serve it. One serving is about 435 g.

High-Protein & Satisfying

Char-grilled chicken cubes in a garlicky yogurt marinade, served with rice and warm flatbread — a filling, protein-rich Lebanese grill plate.

Pairs Well With
Warm pita, toum garlic sauce & chopped salad

High Protein

Two choripanes on a white plate — grilled chorizo sausages in crusty rolls on a red tablecloth

Argentina 35m

Lunch •Buenos Aires Street-Food Classic

Choripan

This choripan recipe grills fresh chorizo until the skin snaps, splits it butterfly-style and tucks it into a crusty roll with chimichurri and a crunchy salsa criolla. It is the sandwich Argentina eats while the asado is still on the grill — fast, smoky and impossible to eat tidily. One serving is about 281 g.

Hearty & Satisfying

A grilled chorizo in a crusty roll with bright chimichurri and salsa criolla — the quick, smoky sandwich that opens every Argentine asado.

Pairs Well With
Chimichurri, salsa criolla & a cold beer

Quick Prep (<30m)

Peruvian arroz con pollo with a chicken leg on green cilantro rice, served with papa a la huancaina potatoes in yellow sauce

Peru 1h 20m

Dinner •Chiclayo Heritage

Peruvian Arroz con Pollo

This peruvian arroz con pollo recipe braises chicken thighs in a green sauce of blended cilantro, spinach and aji amarillo, then cooks long-grain rice in the same pot until every grain is loose, fragrant and mossy green. It is the Peruvian version of a dish found all over Latin America — and in Peru, the rice is always green. One serving is about 363 g.

Comfort & Energy

Chicken braised over vivid green cilantro rice with aji amarillo, peas and carrots — the one-pot family dinner Peru is proudest of.

Pairs Well With
Salsa criolla, papa a la huancaina & lime

A plate of nasi kandar with white rice, red curry chicken, papadom and cucumber-carrot salad on a yellow table

Malaysia 1h 20m

Lunch •Penang Hawker Classic

Nasi Kandar

This nasi kandar recipe builds the Penang mamak plate at home: steamed jasmine rice, a rich chicken curry simmered in coconut milk, turmeric cabbage, okra and a fried egg, finished with a crisp papadom and a ladle of mixed gravy — kuah campur — poured over everything. It is a loud, generous lunch, and the gravy is the point. One serving is about 645 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Steamed rice flooded with mixed curries — chicken curry, turmeric cabbage, okra and a fried egg — the mamak plate Penang is famous for.

Pairs Well With
Mixed curry gravy, papadom & teh tarik

A bowl of bakso — Indonesian beef meatballs in clear broth with noodles, bean sprouts and greens

Indonesia 1h

Lunch •Indonesian Heritage

Bakso

This bakso recipe makes springy Indonesian beef meatballs from finely ground beef and tapioca flour, poached in a clear beef broth and served with yellow noodles, rice vermicelli, tofu, bean sprouts and Chinese broccoli. One serving is about 700 g, a full bowl with noodles and broth.

Comfort & Warmth

Springy beef meatballs in a clear, savoury broth with noodles, tofu and bean sprouts — Indonesia's most popular street soup.

Pairs Well With
A bowl of bakso with kecap manis, sambal and a squeeze of lime on the side, plus crisp fried wontons.

Soups & Broths

A pile of golden oliebollen with raisins on a glass plate

Netherlands 1h 45m

Snack & Tea •Dutch Heritage

Oliebollen

This oliebollen recipe makes the Dutch New Year's doughnut: a yeasted batter with raisins, currants and lemon zest, scooped into hot oil and fried until deep golden, then dusted with icing sugar. One serving is 2 balls, about 165 g.

Sweet & Festive

Golden Dutch New Year's doughnuts with raisins and currants, fried crisp and dusted with icing sugar.

Pairs Well With
A plate of warm oliebollen with icing sugar, hot chocolate, and a glass of champagne at midnight.

Two golden vol-au-vent pastry cases filled with creamy chicken and mushroom ragout, with parsley

Belgium 1h 15m

Lunch •Belgian Heritage

Vol-au-Vent

This vol au vent recipe fills crisp Belgian puff pastry cases with a creamy ragout of poached chicken, small chicken meatballs and mushrooms, finished with cream and a little lemon. One serving is one filled case, about 390 g.

Rich & Elegant

Crisp puff pastry cases filled with a creamy chicken, mushroom and meatball ragout — a Belgian brasserie classic.

Pairs Well With
One warm vol-au-vent with Belgian fries, a green salad and a glass of white wine.

Chicken cordon bleu sliced open showing ham and melted cheese, with Brussels sprouts

Switzerland 45m

Dinner •Swiss Heritage

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This chicken cordon bleu recipe stuffs butterflied chicken breasts with ham and Emmental cheese, rolls them tight, coats them in flour, egg and panko, and fries them until golden and crisp. One serving is one stuffed breast, about 265 g.

High-Protein & Satisfying

Golden crumbed chicken stuffed with ham and melted Emmental — the Swiss classic, fried crisp.

Pairs Well With
One sliced cordon bleu with buttered green beans, mashed potatoes and a little Dijon on the side.

High Protein

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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Antigua and Barbuda

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Democratic Republic of the Congo

Republic of the Congo

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Portugal

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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

All news →

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