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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4 Slots

Breakfast to Snack

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100%

Recipes with Nutrition

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What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 1681–1692 of 2301 dinner recipes

Two pale white asparagus spears on a white plate under a glossy pool of golden hollandaise sauce

Germany 45m

Dinner •German Spargelzeit Classic

German White Asparagus with Hollandaise

German white asparagus with hollandaise is the dish Germany waits all winter for: pale, delicately sweet spears, peeled and gently steamed, drowned in a warm, lemony hollandaise and served with buttery new potatoes. It is the centrepiece of Spargelzeit, the short spring asparagus season. One serving is about 450 g.

Spring & Delicate

Tender steamed white asparagus under a silky butter-and-egg hollandaise, served with new potatoes.

Pairs Well With
Serve with boiled new potatoes, a little chopped parsley and, if you like, slices of cooked ham on the side.

Golden-red smashed baby potatoes roasted with rosemary on a baking tray

Portugal 55m

Lunch •Portuguese Rustic Classic

Batatas a Murro

Batatas a murro means "punched potatoes", and the name tells you the whole technique: small potatoes are boiled in their skins, given one gentle punch to split them open, then roasted in olive oil until the skins turn golden and crisp and the insides stay creamy. Garlic and rosemary do the seasoning. One serving is about 200 g.

Rustic & Crispy

Small potatoes boiled in their skins, gently smashed, then roasted crisp with garlic, rosemary and olive oil.

Pairs Well With
Serve with grilled fish, roast cod or octopus, or as part of a Portuguese table with salad and bread.

A metal bowl of Moroccan chickpea salad with tomato, red onion, yellow pepper and fresh herbs

Morocco 25m

Lunch •Moroccan Mezze Salad

Moroccan Chickpea Salad

Moroccan chickpea salad is the bright, herby salad of the Moroccan mezze table: nutty chickpeas tossed with tomato, cucumber, red onion and sweet pepper, a double handful of parsley and coriander, and the salty, silky rind of a preserved lemon, all warmed with toasted cumin and sharpened with lemon juice. No cooking, just chopping and tossing. One serving is about 285 g.

Fresh & Zesty

Chickpeas tossed with tomato, cucumber, herbs and preserved lemon, warmed with toasted cumin.

Pairs Well With
Serve with warm flatbread, hummus and olives as part of a mezze spread, or with grilled fish.

Golden fried potato wedges tossed with garlic in a cream bowl with a dark rim

Egypt 35m

Lunch •Egyptian Home Cooking Classic

Egyptian Garlic Potatoes

Egyptian garlic potatoes are the home-cooking answer to plain fried potatoes: waxy potato wedges are parboiled, fried until deep golden and crisp, then tossed while still hot with a warm dressing of garlic, cumin, ground coriander and lemon juice, and scattered with fresh coriander. The dressing soaks into the crisp edges and turns every wedge bright and punchy. One serving is about 220 g.

Bold & Garlicky

Crisp fried potato wedges tossed hot with garlic, cumin, coriander and lemon juice.

Pairs Well With
Serve with grilled chicken or fish, rice and a green salad as part of an Egyptian home spread.

Small golden-brown grilled kibbeh discs with char spots piled on a round metal tray

Lebanon 1h

Snack & Tea •Traditional Lebanese Mezze

Lebanese Kibbeh Mishwiyeh

Lebanese kibbeh mishwiyeh is grilled kibbeh: a fine-bulgur and lean-beef shell wrapped around a spiced beef and pine-nut filling, shaped into small flat discs and grilled until browned with char spots. It is not the baked tray kibbeh cut into diamonds, and it is not raw kibbeh nayeh — these are individual grilled discs, made for sharing as mezze with yogurt, salad and warm pita. One serving is about 240 g.

Smoky Grilled Mezze

Small bulgur-and-beef discs stuffed with spiced beef and pine nuts, grilled until browned with char spots.

Pairs Well With
Cool yogurt, fattoush salad and warm pita bread

High Protein

A slice of golden-topped ricotta cake with a pale, creamy filling and a thin pastry base, on white paper.

Argentina 1h 25m

Snack & Tea •Argentine Bakery Classic

Argentine Torta de Ricota

This argentine torta de ricota recipe is Argentina's beloved bakery ricotta cake: a golden, crumbly shortcrust shell filled with smooth, lemon-scented ricotta, baked until set and dusted with icing sugar. One serving is about 145 g.

Bakery Classic & Comfort

A golden shortcrust shell filled with smooth lemon ricotta, baked until just set and dusted with icing sugar — the Argentine confiteria classic served with coffee or mate.

Pairs Well With
A pot of coffee or a round of mate, a spoonful of dulce de leche, and fresh berries or sliced peaches.

A white bowl of Andean quinoa soup with visible quinoa grains and chopped fresh herbs on top.

Peru 1h

Lunch •Andean Highlands Classic

Chupe de Quinua

This chupe de quinua recipe is the Andean highlands' creamy quinoa soup: quinoa simmered with potato, carrot and peas in a milky broth, finished with fresh cheese, beaten egg and herbs. One serving is about 500 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Quinoa simmered with potato, carrot and peas in a creamy milk broth, finished with fresh cheese and egg — the warming soup of the Peruvian Andes.

Pairs Well With
Warm bread rolls, a tomato and onion salad, and a pot of herbal tea.

Soups & Broths

A coiled nest of deep-fried mee siput noodles topped with dark-red sambal on a white plate.

Malaysia 55m

Snack & Tea •Muar Street-Snack Classic

Mee Siput

Mee siput is Muar's famous crispy noodle snack: fresh yellow egg noodles coiled into a snail-shell shape, deep-fried until golden and shattering, then served with a spoonful of dark-red sambal tumis on top. Despite the name, which means "snail noodles" in Malay, the dish contains no snail at all — the name comes only from the coiled shape. One serving is about 160 g.

Crunchy & Spicy

A crisp, golden noodle nest with a spoonful of hot, sweet-sour sambal tumis on top.

Pairs Well With
Serve warm with teh tarik, the frothy pulled milk tea of Malaysian kopitiams.

Three bowls of coto makassar, a rich brown peanut broth with beef and offal, spring onions and fried shallots, with woven ketupat rice cakes on a plate

Indonesia 3h

Dinner •Makassar Heritage

Coto Makassar

This coto makassar recipe makes the Makassar classic the way it is ladled out in South Sulawesi: beef, liver, tripe and heart simmered until tender in a dark, nutty broth thickened with ground peanuts and roasted rice, scented with galangal, lemongrass and coriander. It is rich, deeply savoury and warming, with lime and fried shallots to lift it. One serving is about 649 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Slow-simmered beef and offal in a thick, spiced peanut broth, served steaming hot with rice cakes.

Pairs Well With
Ketupat or burasa rice cakes, lime wedges and sambal tauco on the side

Soups & Broths

A golden suikerbrood loaf with a slice cut, showing a soft crumb with melted pearl-sugar pockets, on a white plate

Netherlands 3h 5m

Breakfast •Friesland Heritage

Suikerbrood

This suikerbrood recipe makes the Frisian sugar bread of the northern Netherlands: a soft white loaf folded with pearl sugar, cinnamon and a little ginger, baked until the sugar melts into sticky pockets inside the crumb. It is sweet, warmly spiced and best sliced thick with butter. One serving is about 83 g, one slice.

Sweet Breakfast

A soft yeasted loaf studded with lumps of pearl sugar that melt into sticky, cinnamon-scented pockets.

Pairs Well With
Salted butter and a cup of coffee or tea

Slow-braised pork cheeks in glossy brown beer sauce on a white plate, served with sauerkraut and dumplings

Belgium 3h 20m

Dinner •Flemish Heritage

Varkenswangetjes in Bruin Bier

This varkenswangetjes in bruin bier recipe braises Flemish pork cheeks in Belgian brown beer — not red wine — with onion, bay, thyme and a spoonful of mustard, until the meat yields to a spoon. Unlike Spain's carrilleras, which are braised in red wine with carrot and tomato, this Belgian version gets its dark, malty sauce from beer alone. One serving is about 327 g, cheeks and sauce together.

Rich & Slow-Braised

Pork cheeks braised in Belgian brown beer with onion, bay, thyme and mustard until spoon-tender.

Pairs Well With
Golden frites or creamy stoemp to soak up the malty beer sauce, with a glass of the same brown beer.

Golden brätzeli wafer rolls with a pressed pattern, stacked on a white plate against a dark background

Switzerland 1h

Snack & Tea •Swiss Heritage

Brätzeli

This bratzeli recipe makes the Swiss wafer rolls pressed in a patterned iron: a thin batter of flour, sugar, butter, egg and cream, flavoured with vanilla and lemon zest, cooked golden and rolled into crisp tubes while still hot. They are delicate, buttery and lightly citrusy, and they shatter when you bite them. One serving is about 71 g, three rolls.

Sweet Snack

Paper-thin vanilla and lemon wafers pressed in a patterned iron and rolled while hot into crisp tubes.

Pairs Well With
Coffee, hot chocolate, or vanilla ice cream

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

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Belize

Benin

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Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

Brunei

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Burkina Faso

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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)

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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.