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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193

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Breakfast to Snack

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What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 133–144 of 2290 dinner recipes

A bowl of Seychelles breadfruit curry, breadfruit chunks in a golden-brown coconut curry sauce

Seychelles 55m

Dinner •Mahé Creole Cooking

Seychelles Breadfruit Curry

This seychelles breadfruit curry recipe turns the islands' favourite starchy fruit into a rich Creole main: chunks of mature breadfruit simmered gently in coconut milk with onion, tomato, garlic, ginger and curry spices until tender, then finished with lime and fresh coriander. One serving is about 525 g, with rice.

Comfort & Warmth

Breadfruit simmered in coconut milk with curry spices, a filling Creole main served with rice.

Pairs Well With
Steamed white rice, a tomato and onion salad, and lime wedges

A Seychelles coconut tart topped with whipped cream, toasted coconut flakes and icing sugar

Seychelles 1h 35m

Snack & Tea •Seychelles Creole Baking

Seychelles Coconut Tart

This seychelles coconut tart recipe fills a crisp, buttery shortcrust shell with a creamy coconut custard, then crowns it with whipped cream and golden toasted coconut flakes. One serving is about 180 g.

Sweet & Comforting

A crisp shortcrust shell filled with creamy coconut custard, topped with whipped cream and toasted coconut.

Pairs Well With
Lemongrass tea, sliced mango and banana, and a spoonful of whipped cream

A plate of golden fried rice with spring onions and flecks of egg, with a serving spoon

Sierra Leone 45m

Dinner •Sierra Leonean Party Classic

Sierra Leone Fried Rice

This sierra leone fried rice recipe wok-fries day-old rice with marinated beef, sweet bell peppers, onion and scotch bonnet, finished with soy and Worcestershire sauce for colour and savoury depth. One serving is about 375 g. It takes about 45 minutes, serves 4, and the egg is left out — the Sierra Leonean way — with beef taking its place.

Hearty & Satisfying

Day-old rice wok-fried with seasoned beef, sweet peppers and scotch bonnet — a filling, protein-rich party plate that uses up leftover rice.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot straight from the wok, with fried plantain or a simple green salad on the side.

High Protein

Sierra Leone beans and plantain — stewed black-eyed beans topped with golden fried ripe plantain slices on a plate

Sierra Leone 1h 45m

Dinner •Sierra Leonean Everyday Classic

Sierra Leone Beans and Plantain

This sierra leone beans and plantain recipe is the everyday classic of Sierra Leone: black-eyed beans simmered in red palm oil with onion, tomato and scotch bonnet until tender, served with ripe plantain fried deep golden. One serving is about 390 g.

Hearty & Satisfying

Black-eyed beans simmered in red palm oil with onion, tomato and scotch bonnet, served with golden fried ripe plantain.

Pairs Well With
Steamed white rice, a cabbage and carrot salad, and cold ginger beer

High Protein

A clay bowl of Sierra Leone fish pepper soup, pieces of fish in a reddish spicy broth

Sierra Leone 40m

Dinner •Sierra Leonean Fiery Fish Soup

Sierra Leone Fish Pepper Soup

This sierra leone pepper soup recipe simmers catfish steaks in a thin, fiery broth with scotch bonnet, calabash nutmeg and grains of selim, finished with scent leaves and a squeeze of lemon. One serving is about 400 g. It takes about 40 minutes, serves 4, and has no peanut at all — just fish, spice and steam.

Comfort & Warmth

Catfish simmered in a thin, fiery broth with scotch bonnet, native pepper soup spices, scent leaves and lemon — light, hot and aromatic.

Pairs Well With
Serve steaming hot in deep bowls on its own, or with boiled yam or white rice to soak up the broth.

Soups & Broths • High Protein

A platter of bariis iskukaris — golden spiced basmati rice topped with a whole roasted chicken, carrots, peppers and tomatoes

Somalia 1h 15m

Dinner •Somali Heritage

Bariis Iskukaris

This bariis iskukaris recipe is Somalia's fragrant celebration rice: long-grain basmati cooked in one pot with tender lamb, carrots and raisins, perfumed with xawaash — cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg — and finished golden with saffron. The rice steams in the lamb braising liquid until every grain is separate and aromatic, then it is mounded on a platter with a ripe banana on the side, the traditional Somali way. One serving is about 568 g.

Celebration Rice

Basmati rice cooked with lamb and xawaash spices, raisins and saffron — Somalia's celebration dish.

Pairs Well With
Banana, basbaas & hot shaah

High Protein

A plate of baasto — spaghetti in spiced beef and tomato suugo with salad, lime, green basbaas and a ripe banana

Somalia 1h

Dinner •Somali Heritage

Baasto

This baasto recipe is Somalia's beloved spaghetti: al dente pasta tossed in suugo, a rich tomato sauce simmered with finely chopped beef, onion, green pepper and xawaash — cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper — then finished with fresh coriander, a squeeze of lime and a spoonful of fiery basbaas. It is always served with a ripe banana on the side, the sweet counterpoint Somalis reach for between forkfuls. One serving is about 597 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Spaghetti tossed in a xawaash-spiced beef and tomato suugo, served Somali-style with a ripe banana.

Pairs Well With
Banana, basbaas & lime

Pasta & Noodles • High Protein

A platter of hilib geel — boiled camel meat on the bone with cooked cabbage, served at a restaurant in Hargeisa

Somalia 2h

Dinner •Somali Heritage

Hilib Geel

This hilib geel recipe is Somalia's camel meat cooked the traditional way: bone-in pieces browned, then simmered low and slow with onion, garlic, ginger, tomato and xawaash — cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper — until the meat turns tender and the broth is rich. Cabbage goes in at the end to wilt in the spiced liquid, and the meat is piled on a platter with the cabbage, fresh coriander, lime and a ripe banana on the side. One serving is about 452 g of edible meat, cabbage and banana (bones not counted).

Celebration Meat

Bone-in camel meat simmered with cabbage and xawaash until tender, served on a platter with banana.

Pairs Well With
Banana, lime & shaah

High Protein

Bobotie with its golden egg custard topping in a square baking dish, served with salad, chutney and rice

South Africa 1h 5m

Dinner •Cape Malay Heritage

Bobotie

This bobotie recipe is the Cape Malay classic: gently curried beef mince mixed with milk-soaked bread, apricot jam and raisins, then baked under a golden egg-and-milk custard with bay leaves on top. The sweet dried fruit and warm curry spice balance each other, and the custard sets into a soft golden lid that slices cleanly. One serving is about 305 g, without the rice.

Comfort & Warmth

Spiced beef mince baked under a golden egg custard, sweetened with apricot and raisins — the Cape Malay classic, served with yellow rice.

Pairs Well With
Yellow rice, mango chutney & sambal

High Protein

A chicken curry bunny chow: a hollowed white loaf filled with red-orange curry, with the scooped-out bread beside it

South Africa 1h 15m

Lunch •Durban Heritage

Bunny Chow

This bunny chow recipe is Durban's famous street food: a quarter loaf of soft white bread hollowed out and filled to the brim with a hot, rich chicken curry, then capped with the scooped-out bread. The gravy soaks into the walls of the loaf as you eat, so the bread itself becomes part of the meal, and a sharp carrot sambal on the side cuts the heat. One serving is about 475 g, one quarter bunny with sambal.

Hearty & Filling

A hollowed white loaf filled with hot Durban chicken curry, eaten by hand with the scooped-out bread and a fresh carrot sambal.

Pairs Well With
Carrot sambal, tomato-onion salad & cold beer

Malva pudding in its baking pan, golden and glossy, pricked with holes where the cream sauce has soaked in

South Africa 55m

Snack & Tea •Cape Dutch Heritage

Malva Pudding

This malva pudding recipe is South Africa's best-loved dessert: a soft, spongy apricot sponge baked until golden, pricked full of holes, and soaked while still hot in a warm sauce of butter, sugar and cream. The sauce sinks right through the sponge, so every spoonful is sticky, caramel-sweet and meltingly moist. One serving is about 145 g, served warm with custard or ice cream.

Sweet & Comforting

A spongy apricot sponge baked golden, then soaked while hot in a warm butter, sugar and cream sauce — South Africa's best-loved pudding.

Pairs Well With
Cold custard, vanilla ice cream & rooibos tea

A white aseeda sorghum porridge dome in a dark bowl, surrounded by reddish-brown stew

South Sudan 30m

Dinner •South Sudan Heritage

South Sudanese Aseeda

This aseeda recipe makes a smooth, stiff sorghum porridge from just flour, water and salt, shaped into a dome and served with a rich mullah stew spooned around it. It takes 30 minutes and one pot, and the soft white mound is torn into pieces and used to scoop up the sauce. One serving is about 250 g.

Everyday Energy

Smooth, stiff sorghum porridge — the filling, gluten-free dome that carries every South Sudanese stew.

Pairs Well With
Mullah stew, such as tagalia (tomato and meat stew), or honey and melted butter

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

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

Brunei

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cabo Verde

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Central African Republic

Chad

Chile

China

Colombia

Comoros

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Republic of the Congo

Costa Rica

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czechia

Côte d'Ivoire

Denmark

Djibouti

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Estonia

Eswatini

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Grenada

Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kiribati

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives

Mali

Malta

Marshall Islands

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Micronesia

Moldova

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Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Mozambique

Myanmar

Namibia

Nauru

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

North Korea

North Macedonia

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Palau

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Romania

Russia

Rwanda

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Samoa

San Marino

São Tomé and Príncipe

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

Solomon Islands

Somalia

South Africa

South Korea

South Sudan

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Syria

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Togo

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United States

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Vanuatu

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