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 1417–1428 of 2321 dinner recipes

Three golden crisp kartoffelpuffer potato pancakes with a spoonful of apple sauce on a white plate

Germany 45m

Lunch •Rhineland Home Cooking

Kartoffelpuffer

This kartoffelpuffer recipe makes 12 crisp, golden potato pancakes from grated potato, onion, egg and a little flour, fried until the edges turn lacy and crisp. Serve them hot with cool apple sauce, the classic Rhineland way, or with sour cream and chives. One serving is about 320 g.

Crisp Potato Pancakes with Apple Sauce

Grated potato and onion, bound with egg and a little flour, fried until crisp and golden, and served with cool apple sauce.

Pairs Well With
Cool apple sauce and a simple green salad

Quick Prep (<30m)

A bifana sandwich cut in half on a white plate, golden pork steak spilling from a crusty papo seco roll

Portugal 1h 5m

Lunch •Alentejo Street Food

Bifana

This bifana recipe makes 4 garlicky Portuguese pork sandwiches: thin pork steaks marinated in white wine, garlic, paprika and bay, fried quickly in lard until golden, then piled into crusty papo seco rolls with mustard and a dash of piri-piri. It is Lisbon's beloved cheap lunch, ready in about an hour. One serving is about 220 g.

Garlic-and-Wine Pork Sandwich

Thin pork steaks marinated in white wine, garlic and paprika, fried in lard and piled into a crusty papo seco roll with mustard.

Pairs Well With
Mustard, piri-piri sauce and a cold beer or sparkling water

Quick Prep (<30m)

A close-up of a golden baghrir pancake covered in tiny holes, the thousand-hole surface that soaks up honey

Morocco 1h 5m

Breakfast •Moroccan Breakfast Classic

Baghrir

This baghrir recipe makes 8 spongy Moroccan thousand-hole pancakes from a yeasted semolina batter, cooked on one side only until the tops are covered in tiny holes. Serve them hot with melted honey butter, the classic Moroccan breakfast way, or with jam. One serving is about 220 g.

Spongy Thousand-Hole Pancakes

A yeasted semolina batter, blended smooth and cooked on one side only, so the top fills with tiny holes that soak up honey butter.

Pairs Well With
Melted honey butter and Moroccan mint tea

A golden slice of feteer meshaltet on a white plate, showing the many flaky layers of dough and ghee

Egypt 1h 45m

Snack & Tea •Nile Delta Bakery Classic

Egyptian Feteer Meshaltet

This egyptian feteer meshaltet recipe makes one large, round, flaky layered pastry from a soft dough stretched paper-thin, brushed with ghee and folded into dozens of layers, then baked in a very hot oven until golden. Pull it apart with your hands and eat it with honey, cheese or olives. One serving is about 155 g.

Flaky Layered Pastry with Ghee

A soft dough stretched paper-thin, brushed with ghee, folded into dozens of layers and baked in a very hot oven until golden and flaky.

Pairs Well With
Honey, soft cheese and black tea

A white bowl of smooth golden Lebanese lentil soup with a pinch of red spice on top, on a plate with a spoon on a marble table

Lebanon 50m

Lunch •Lebanese Home Kitchen Classic

Lebanese Lentil Soup

This lebanese lentil soup recipe turns red lentils, cumin, lemon and olive oil into a smooth, golden bowl, finished with fresh parsley and crunchy gluten-free pita croutons. One serving is about 325 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A silky, lemon-bright red lentil soup, light yet filling, with no meat, dairy or wheat.

Pairs Well With
Crisp pita croutons, a cucumber and tomato salad, and mint tea to finish.

Soups & Broths

A slice of rogel cake on a plate, showing crisp pastry layers and dulce de leche under a thick white Italian meringue topping

Argentina 1h 40m

Snack & Tea •Argentine Classic

Rogel

Rogel is Argentina's celebration cake: eight paper-thin discs of crisp, unsweetened yolk pastry stacked with thick dulce de leche and finished with a cloud of Italian meringue. It is the cake Buenos Aires bakeries are judged by, and it appears at birthdays, weddings and Christmas tables across the country. One serving is about 172 g.

Sweet Celebration

A tall stack of crisp yolk-pastry discs layered with dulce de leche and crowned with glossy Italian meringue.

Pairs Well With
Serve a slice with black coffee or mate, and a few fresh berries on the side.

A golden tacu tacu rice-and-bean cake topped with a fried egg, served with fried plantain and sausage on the side

Peru 40m

Lunch •Peruvian Classic

Tacu Tacu

Tacu tacu is Peru's beloved leftover dish: day-old rice and creamy canary beans mashed together with a sofrito of onion, garlic and aji amarillo, then shaped into an oval cake and fried until the outside is golden and crisp while the inside stays soft. It is served with a fried egg on top, as in the photo. One serving is about 338 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A crisp golden cake of rice and canary beans, fried in a pan and crowned with a fried egg.

Pairs Well With
Serve with salsa criolla, fried plantain and a fried egg on top.

A whole grilled red snapper covered in red sambal on a white plate, with sambal eggplant on the side

Malaysia 55m

Dinner •Malaysian Classic

Ikan Bakar

Ikan bakar is Malaysia's classic barbecue fish: a whole red snapper scored and rubbed with a fiery paste of chillies, shallots, garlic, turmeric, ginger, lemongrass, tamarind and belacan, then grilled over charcoal on a banana leaf until the skin is charred at the edges and the flesh is juicy. It is served with lime and sweet kecap manis. One serving is about 250 g.

Bold & Savory

A whole red snapper in a fiery chilli-tamarind paste, charcoal-grilled on a banana leaf and served with lime and sweet soy.

Pairs Well With
Serve with steamed rice, sambal belacan and lime wedges.

A plate of nasi campur with ayam betutu spiced chicken, steamed rice, lawar, peanuts and green beans

Indonesia 2h 40m

Dinner •Balinese Heritage

Ayam Betutu

This ayam betutu recipe is the Balinese classic: a whole chicken stuffed with fragrant base genep spice paste and cassava leaves, wrapped in banana leaf, steamed and then roasted until deeply golden and fall-apart tender. The spice paste — shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, turmeric, candlenuts, chillies and shrimp paste — perfumes every bite, and the banana leaf keeps the bird juicy. One serving is about 250 g.

Comfort & Celebration

A whole chicken rubbed inside and out with Balinese base genep spice paste, stuffed with cassava leaves, wrapped in banana leaf and slow-cooked until the meat falls off the bone.

Pairs Well With
Steamed rice, sambal matah & lawar

High Protein

A slice of Dutch apple pie with a golden lattice crust and spiced apple filling on a white plate

Netherlands 1h 45m

Snack & Tea •Dutch Classic

Dutch Apple Pie

This dutch apple pie recipe is the real appeltaart: a tall, deep pie baked in a springform tin, with a buttery, cookie-like crust, a filling of cinnamon apples and plump raisins, and a lattice top brushed with apricot jam. It is nothing like the crumb-topped pie Americans call Dutch — the crust is thick and tender, the filling is piled high, and it is always served with a cloud of whipped cream. One serving is about 230 g.

Comfort & Celebration

A tall Dutch appeltaart with a buttery, cookie-like crust, cinnamon apples and raisins under a lattice top, baked in a springform tin.

Pairs Well With
Unsweetened whipped cream & black coffee

Four golden Belgian pistolets in a basket, one torn open to show the soft white crumb

Belgium 2h 55m

Lunch •Brussels Bakery Classic

Belgian Pistolets

Belgian pistolets are crusty oval bread rolls from Brussels, with a deep split down the middle and a soft, fluffy crumb inside. This Belgian pistolets recipe makes 8 rolls from a simple yeasted dough, with two rises and a tray of steam in the oven for a crackling crust. One serving is one roll, about 105 g.

Fresh Bakery Rolls for Lunch

Crusty oval rolls with a soft, airy crumb, made for splitting and filling.

Pairs Well With
Split warm and spread with salted butter, or fill with ham and cheese.

A grilled cervelat with its ends cut open in the traditional Swiss manner on a white plate

Switzerland 20m

Lunch •Swiss Heritage

Cervelat

This cervelat recipe is the classic Swiss way to cook the national sausage: score the ends in a deep cross, grill over medium-high heat until the skin crisps and the cut ends bloom open like butterfly wings, then serve in a buttered roll with mustard, gherkins and onion. Cervelat is sold already smoked and cooked, so grilling is about heat, colour and that crackling skin — ten minutes over the fire is all it takes. One serving is about 201 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Switzerland's national sausage, scored at the ends and grilled until the skin crisps and the ends bloom open, served in a buttered roll with mustard.

Pairs Well With
Buttered roll, mustard & pickles

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

Argentina

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Nigeria

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Zambia

Zimbabwe Browse all 193 countries →

Dinner Ideas by Category

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

Dinner Ideas by Meal

Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snack & Tea

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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