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.

Countries

193

Cuisines Covered

Meal Times

4 Slots

Breakfast to Snack

Nutrition

100%

Recipes with Nutrition

Category:

Meal Time

Choose the meal you are cooking for

Region

2311 dinner ideas matching filters

Reset Filters ×

What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 1585–1596 of 2311 dinner recipes

Hamburg-style Labskaus on a white plate: brownish-pink corned-beef and potato hash topped with a fried egg, with sliced pickled beetroot, two gherkins, a rollmops and parsley on the side. The beetroot sits alongside the hash, not mashed into it.

Germany 45m

Lunch •Hamburg Heritage

Labskaus

This labskaus recipe is the Hamburg way: corned beef, potatoes and onion mashed into a savoury hash, pan-fried until the edges crisp, then crowned with a fried egg and served with sliced pickled beetroot, gherkins and a rollmops on the side. One serving is about 520 g. It is salty, sour and rich all at once, and it tastes exactly like a cold day in a Hamburg harbour restaurant.

Hearty Sailor's Lunch

A filling one-plate lunch of corned beef, potatoes and egg that keeps you full for hours.

Pairs Well With
Serve with a cold German lager or sparkling water and a slice of dark rye bread.

High Protein

A black pot of pale tomato-tinted rice with flaked white cod, red pepper pieces and chopped parsley (photograph by Mgclape; the few artichoke pieces visible are a Catalan variation and are not in this Portuguese recipe)

Portugal 7h

Dinner •Portuguese Everyday Classic

Arroz de Bacalhau

Arroz de bacalhau is Portugal's creamy salt-cod rice: short-grain Carolino rice cooked slowly on the stove in the cod's own cooking water, with ripe tomato, onion, sweet red pepper, white wine and olive oil, until the grains turn tender and the pot turns into a soft, spoonable rice. This arroz de bacalhau recipe serves four and is built for sharing straight from the pot. One serving is about 500 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Creamy stovetop rice with flaked salt cod, tomato and sweet peppers, finished with olive oil and parsley.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread, a green salad and a glass of Vinho Verde

High Protein

A plate of golden twice-baked fekkas slices arranged in a fan, showing their crisp crumb

Morocco 1h 20m

Snack & Tea •Moroccan Tea-Time Classic

Fekkas

This fekkas recipe bakes a soft almond, sesame and raisin dough into logs, slices them thin and bakes them a second time until dry, golden and crisp all the way through. Fekkas are Morocco's coffee-time biscuit: fragrant with anise and orange blossom, studded with whole almonds, and built to keep for weeks in a tin. One serving is about 70 g.

Tea-Time Treat

A crisp, twice-baked almond biscuit scented with anise and orange blossom, made to dunk in mint tea.

Pairs Well With
Hot Moroccan mint tea, or a small cup of strong coffee.

Whole butterflied fish on a plate covered in a cooked red tomato and herb topping, with flaked white flesh showing

Egypt 50m

Dinner •Alexandria Heritage

Egyptian Samak Singari

This egyptian samak singari recipe opens a whole sea bass from the backbone, marinates it in garlic, lemon, cumin and coriander, then covers it with a chopped tomato, onion, carrot and green chilli topping and grills it until the topping cooks on the fish. One serving is about 380 g. This egyptian samak singari recipe serves 4, takes 50 minutes, and tastes of Alexandria: bright lemon, warm cumin and sweet cooked vegetables over clean, flaky fish.

Fresh & Fiery

Whole sea bass butterflied from the backbone, marinated in garlic, lemon, cumin and coriander, and grilled under a chopped tomato, onion and carrot topping.

Pairs Well With
Serve with sayadeya rice or warm baladi bread to catch the lemony juices, a crisp cucumber and tomato salad, and a cold mint drink.

High Protein

A pistachio-crusted log of set Layali Lubnan semolina pudding with two cut slices showing the pale, fine-grained crumb, on a white plate

Lebanon 50m

Snack & Tea •Lebanese Family Dessert

Layali Lubnan

This layali lubnan recipe turns fine semolina, milk and sugar into a chilled, sliceable pudding — Lebanon's Lebanese Nights — layered with homemade ashta cream, a blanket of crushed pistachios and orange-blossom syrup. The semolina base is cooked on the stove until thick and velvety, poured into a tray, then crowned with cool clotted cream and left to set in the fridge until it cuts into clean squares. One serving is one square, about 275 g.

Cool, Creamy & Floral

Fine semolina cooked in milk until thick and velvety, set in a tray, topped with homemade ashta cream, crushed pistachios and orange-blossom syrup, and chilled until sliceable.

Pairs Well With
Arabic coffee, mint tea, or a small plate of fresh fruit

A white plate of Argentine revuelto gramajo: golden matchstick potatoes tossed with scrambled eggs, pink ham strips, parsley and a roasted red pepper.

Argentina 35m

Breakfast •Buenos Aires Bodegón Classic

Argentine Revuelto Gramajo

Revuelto gramajo is Argentina's beloved breakfast scramble: golden matchstick potatoes fried until crisp, folded with ribbons of cooked ham and soft, creamy scrambled eggs, finished with parsley and strips of roasted red pepper. One serving is about 346 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Crisp potatoes, soft eggs and salty ham — a hearty, satisfying start to the day.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot straight from the pan with crusty bread and a glass of fresh orange juice.

High Protein

A plate of Peruvian carapulcra: thick brown dried-potato and pork stew beside a mound of white rice, with a fork and knife at the sides.

Peru 1h 50m

Dinner •Chincha Coastal Classic

Carapulcra

Carapulcra is one of Peru's oldest stews: sun-dried potatoes rehydrated and simmered with pork, smoky aji panca, ground peanuts and a little dark chocolate until thick and deeply savoury. One serving is about 386 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Earthy dried potatoes, tender pork and a peanut-chocolate sauce — a deep, warming stew.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot over white rice with a crisp salad and a glass of chicha morada.

A pile of ketupat: diamond-shaped pouches woven from young green palm leaves, resting on a woven basket.

Malaysia 3h 30m

Lunch •Hari Raya Festive Classic

Ketupat

Ketupat is Malaysia's festive rice: plain white rice boiled inside diamond-shaped pouches woven from young coconut palm leaves until it sets into a firm, sliceable cake. One serving is about 175 g (one ketupat).

Celebration & Togetherness

Firm, fragrant rice cakes woven in palm leaves — the rice at the heart of every Hari Raya table.

Pairs Well With
Serve sliced with beef rendang, chicken satay and peanut sauce, with cucumber on the side.

Pandan-green bubur sumsum rice porridge served in a banana leaf in a rattan basket (the green pandan serving; the classic Javanese version is white, with dark palm-sugar syrup)

Indonesia 35m

Snack & Tea •Javanese Heritage

Bubur Sumsum

This bubur sumsum recipe makes the classic Javanese dessert: a smooth, snow-white rice-flour porridge cooked in coconut milk, served warm with a dark palm-sugar syrup and a drizzle of coconut milk. It is soft, gently sweet and scented with pandan. One serving is about 300 g.

Sweet & Comforting

A silky rice-flour porridge in warm palm-sugar syrup — the Javanese dessert that tastes like a hug in a bowl.

Pairs Well With
Hot jasmine tea, iced tea & fried banana fritters

Four golden worstenbroodje sausage bread rolls baking on a tray in the oven

Netherlands 2h 15m

Lunch •Brabant Heritage

Worstenbroodje

This worstenbroodje recipe makes 10 Brabant sausage rolls: a soft yeasted bread dough wrapped around a pork sausage seasoned with nutmeg, pepper and mustard, baked until golden. Unlike its cousin the saucijzenbroodje, which is made with flaky puff pastry, a worstenbroodje is a bread roll — soft, bready and filling. One serving is one roll, about 133 g.

Savoury & Hearty

A soft, golden bread roll wrapped around a juicy, nutmeg-scented pork sausage — the Brabant bakery classic.

Pairs Well With
Sharp mustard, a cold beer & a green salad

Slices of potjevleesch white-meat terrine topped with pickles, served with frites, salad and mayonnaise

Belgium 3h 40m

Dinner •Flemish Heritage

Potjevleesch

This potjevleesch recipe makes the Flemish white-meat terrine: chicken, pork and veal simmered slowly with onion, carrot, leek and white wine, then packed into a mould and set in a clear, savoury jelly. It is served cold, in thick slices, with frites and sharp mustard. It is a different dish from the smooth foie gras terrine already on this site — here the meat stays in tender chunks, held together by jelly, not by liver. One serving is about 225 g.

Rich & Savoury

Three white meats, gently simmered and set in their own savoury jelly — the Flemish terrine that slices like a dream.

Pairs Well With
Crisp frites, sharp mustard & a Belgian blonde beer

A tin full of pale golden star and tree shaped Mailanderli butter cookies

Switzerland 2h 52m

Snack & Tea •Swiss Heritage

Mailänderli

This mailanderli recipe bakes about 36 Swiss lemon butter cookies: a rich shortbread-style dough, scented with lemon zest, rolled out and cut into stars and trees, then brushed with egg yolk for the sunny golden shine that makes a Mailänderli a Mailänderli. They are a different cookie from the chocolate chip cookies already on this site — no chocolate, no brown sugar, just butter, lemon and egg yolk. One serving is 3 cookies, about 88 g.

Sweet & Buttery

Pale, lemon-scented butter cookies with a shiny egg-yolk glaze — the Swiss Christmas cookie that never leaves the tin half full.

Pairs Well With
Hot coffee, black tea & hot chocolate

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

Monaco

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)

Dinner Ideas by Meal

Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snack & Tea

Dinner Ideas by Region

Mediterranean & Italy East & South Asia Latin America & Caribbean Middle Eastern Nordic & European African Heritage North America Oceania & Pacific

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