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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Recipes with Nutrition

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What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 1489–1500 of 2311 dinner recipes

A Fischbrotchen roll filled with a whole pickled herring fillet, onion rings and a dill pickle slice

Germany 20m

Lunch •North German Harbour Snack

Fischbrötchen

This fischbrotchen recipe stacks glossy pickled herring, sweet onion rings and dill pickles in a crusty white roll with butter, lettuce and lemon. It is the quick harbour lunch of Germany's North Sea and Baltic coasts, eaten out of hand with no cooking at all. One serving is about 205 g.

Quick Harbour Lunch

A cold fish roll that is ready in minutes and keeps well for a packed lunch by the water.

Pairs Well With
Cold beer or sparkling water, and a handful of crisps

Quick Prep (<30m)

Fresh clams cooked in garlic and white wine sauce, scattered with chopped coriander and lemon wedges

Portugal 1h 15m

Lunch •Lisbon Petisco Classic

Ameijoas à Bulhão Pato

This ameijoas a bulhao pato recipe steams fresh clams in olive oil, garlic and dry white wine until they open, then showers them with chopped coriander and lemon. It is Lisbon's most famous petisco, made for mopping up the golden sauce with crusty bread. One serving is about 150 g.

Light Seafood Starter

Fresh clams steamed open in garlic, white wine and coriander — a light, bright starter that is ready in minutes.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread for the sauce and a glass of dry white wine

Quick Prep (<30m)

A round of pressed sellou decorated with whole almonds in flower shapes, with one diamond slice cut

Morocco 45m

Snack & Tea •Moroccan Ramadan Sweet

Sellou

This sellou recipe toasts flour, almonds and sesame until nutty, then binds them with warm butter and honey into a rich, crumbly sweet scented with cinnamon and anise. It is the energy food of Moroccan Ramadan tables and new mothers, pressed into a round and cut into diamonds. One serving is about 97 g.

Energy & Comfort

A no-bake sweet of roasted flour, almonds, sesame and honey that keeps for weeks and restores energy fast.

Pairs Well With
Mint tea, or a small glass of spiced herbal tea

Grilled minced-meat kofta cylinders on flatbread with tomato wedges and grilled green peppers

Egypt 50m

Dinner •Cairo Heritage

Egyptian Grilled Kofta

This egyptian grilled kofta recipe is Egypt's kofta mashwiyya: minced beef kneaded with grated onion squeezed dry, fresh parsley, cumin and coriander, pressed onto wide flat skewers and grilled over charcoal until browned at the edges and juicy inside. It is served on warm baladi bread with tahini sauce, grilled tomato and peppers, and a crisp cucumber and red onion salad. One serving is about 406 g.

Egypt's Charcoal-Grilled Classic

Minced beef with grated onion, parsley, cumin and coriander, pressed onto flat skewers and grilled over charcoal until charred at the edges — Egypt's mild, onion-and-parsley kofta.

Pairs Well With
Baladi bread, tahini sauce & cucumber salad

High Protein

Two torpedo-shaped portions of raw Lebanese kibbeh nayeh with fresh mint and sliced onion in olive oil

Lebanon 30m

Lunch •Lebanon's Raw Mezze Classic

Lebanese Kibbeh Nayeh

Lebanese kibbeh nayeh is the raw form of Lebanon's national dish: very lean beef and lamb kneaded with fine bulgur, grated onion, mint and warm spices into a smooth, deep-red paste, shaped into torpedoes and served ice-cold with olive oil, sliced onion and mint. It is never cooked — the meat must be impeccably fresh, ground the same day, and kept cold from butcher to table. One serving is about 225 g.

Rich Protein Mezze

Very lean beef and lamb kneaded with fine bulgur, mint and onion into a smooth raw paste, served cold with olive oil.

Pairs Well With
Sliced white onion, fresh mint and warm pita bread

High Protein

Sliced red tomatoes and white onion wedges glistening with olive oil on a white plate

Argentina 15m

Lunch •Argentina's Asado Table Salad

Ensalada Criolla

Ensalada criolla is the salad on every Argentine asado table: thick wedges of ripe tomato and white onion, salted, then dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar and left to sit for a few minutes so the juices run and the onion softens. There is nothing else to it — the dish is only as good as the tomatoes, so make it in tomato season and serve it the same day. One serving is about 189 g.

Fresh & Light Side

Ripe tomatoes and white onion in olive oil and red wine vinegar — the cool, sharp counterpoint to grilled meat.

Pairs Well With
Grilled beef, chorizo and crusty bread

A whole golden caramel flan on a striped plate, glossy with caramel sauce and one slice cut

Peru 1h 20m

Snack & Tea •Peru's Caramel Custard

Crema Volteada

Crema volteada is Peru's caramel custard — 'the cream that is turned over'. Eggs, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk are whisked smooth, poured over dark amber caramel and baked gently in a water bath until just set. Turned out of its mould, it arrives glossy and trembling, with the caramel pooling around it like sauce. It is denser and richer than the Mexican flan napolitano, which adds cream cheese — crema volteada has no cream cheese at all. One serving is about 155 g.

Sweet Comfort Dessert

Eggs, condensed milk and evaporated milk baked slowly in a water bath over dark caramel, then turned out glossy.

Pairs Well With
Black coffee and fresh fruit

Rose and white layered kuih lapis squares stacked on a plate, showing clear stripes

Malaysia 1h 15m

Snack & Tea •Malaysia's Layered Tea-Time Cake

Kuih Lapis

Kuih lapis is Malaysia's striped steamed cake: a batter of rice flour, a little tapioca starch, sugar and coconut milk, poured into a tin one thin layer at a time and steamed until each layer sets before the next is added. The result is a soft, chewy, glossy cake that peels apart layer by layer — rose and white in the classic version — eaten with the fingers at tea time. It is made with rice flour, which sets it apart from Singapore's lapis sagu, which is made with sago. One piece is about 90 g.

Sweet Tea-Time Treat

Rice flour and coconut milk steamed layer by layer into a soft, chewy, striped cake, rose and white.

Pairs Well With
Hot teh tarik and fresh fruit

A pile of bright green dadar gulung rolls on a green plate, one roll cut open showing the brown coconut and palm sugar filling

Indonesia 1h 5m

Snack & Tea •Javanese Market Snack

Dadar Gulung

A thin batter of flour, rice flour, coconut milk, egg and fresh pandan juice is cooked into bright green crepes, then each one is filled with unti kelapa — grated coconut simmered with palm sugar until dark, sticky and caramel-sweet — and rolled up. This dadar gulung recipe makes 12 rolls with a soft, slightly chewy wrapper and a warmly spiced coconut centre. One serving (two rolls) is about 165 g.

Sweet & Comforting

A thin green pandan crepe rolled around sweet coconut and palm sugar — Indonesia's classic market snack, soft, fragrant and gently sweet.

Pairs Well With
Hot jasmine tea, kopi tubruk & fresh fruit

Golden-brown smoked eel pieces arranged on a white oval platter.

Netherlands 6h 20m

Lunch •Dutch Fishmonger Classic

Dutch Smoked Eel

Gerookte paling is the Netherlands' most prized fishmonger treat: fat eel brined, dried and hot-smoked until the skin turns deep gold and the flesh is silky and rich. This version smokes the eel at home, then serves it the classic way — thin slices on buttered dark rye with lemon and chives. One serving is about 187 g, including the bread.

Rich & Smoky

Home hot-smoked eel, brined and smoked until golden, sliced thin and served on rye bread with butter and lemon.

Pairs Well With
Serve the sliced eel on buttered dark rye bread with lemon wedges and snipped chives.

Golden slices of pain à la grecque stacked in a pile, crusted with white pearl sugar.

Belgium 2h 25m

Snack & Tea •Brussels Bakery Classic

Pain à la Grecque

Pain à la grecque is Brussels in a bite: a flat rectangle of soft milk bread, sweetened with brown sugar, warmed with cinnamon and finished with a thick crust of crunchy pearl sugar. It is baked flat so every slice has the same sugary crunch, and it is at its best still faintly warm from the oven. One serving is about 97 g.

Sweet & Cinnamon-Spiced

A flat, golden milk-bread loaf from Brussels, spiced with cinnamon and crusted with crunchy pearl sugar.

Pairs Well With
Serve warm or at room temperature with black coffee or hot chocolate.

A golden puff-pastry shell filled with veal and mushrooms in cream sauce, served with colourful vegetables on a white plate.

Switzerland 1h 30m

Dinner •Lucerne Carnival Classic

Luzerner Chügelipastete

The Chügelipastete is Lucerne's festive pie: a crisp puff-pastry shell filled to the brim with diced veal and mushrooms simmered in a creamy white-wine sauce. The shells are baked separately so they stay flaky, the filling is spooned in at the last moment, and the plate is finished with buttered vegetables. One serving is about 530 g, including the vegetables.

Rich & Comforting

Tender veal and mushrooms in a creamy white-wine sauce, spooned into golden puff-pastry shells.

Pairs Well With
Serve one filled shell per person with buttered carrots and peas and a glass of dry white wine.

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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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.