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 1717–1728 of 2301 dinner recipes

A bowl of smooth, creamy chestnut soup garnished with chopped chives

Portugal 55m

Lunch •Trás-os-Montes Heritage

Sopa de Castanhas

Sopa de castanhas is Portugal's velvety chestnut soup, a Trás-os-Montes autumn classic of roasted chestnuts simmered with potato, carrot, celery and onion, then blended silky smooth with olive oil and vegetable stock. One serving is about 500 g. It tastes nutty, gently sweet and deeply comforting, and it comes together in one pot.

Comfort & Warmth

A warm, filling bowl built on chestnuts and potato, with fibre and slow-release carbohydrates that keep you full for hours.

Pairs Well With
Serve with crusty bread for dunking and a crisp green salad on the side.

Soups & Broths

A bowl of smooth orange Moroccan pumpkin soup with chopped parsley and a slice of garlic bread

Morocco 50m

Lunch •Moroccan Market Soup

Moroccan Pumpkin Soup

This moroccan pumpkin soup recipe blends roasted-sweet pumpkin with cumin, coriander, cinnamon, fresh ginger and a spoonful of harissa into a smooth, golden soup, finished with lemon, parsley and toasted pumpkin seeds. One serving is about 582 g and carries 215 calories. It is the kind of soup Moroccan home cooks make when pumpkins pile up in the market — warming, fragrant, and ready in under an hour.

Comfort & Warmth

A silky, spice-warmed pumpkin soup with cumin, ginger and a touch of harissa — plant-based, light, and made in one pot.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread or warm khobz, and a pot of mint tea.

Soups & Broths

Egyptian roz maammar baked in a clay pot with a golden brown milk crust on top

Egypt 1h 20m

Dinner •Egyptian Delta Heritage

Egyptian Roz Maammar

This egyptian roz maammar recipe bakes short-grain rice in a clay pot with whole milk, cream, butter and ghee, seasoned with salt, pepper and a whisper of cardamom, until the rice is tender and the top forms a golden, lightly crisp crust. One serving is about 286 g and carries 684 calories. It is the rich, comforting rice of the Egyptian Delta, made for Ramadan tables, weddings and family feasts.

Comfort & Warmth

Short-grain rice baked slowly in a clay pot with milk, cream, butter and ghee until the top turns golden and crisp.

Pairs Well With
Grilled chicken or lamb, and a crisp salad with lemon.

Sautéed spinach with onion, tomato and pine nuts glistening with olive oil on a white plate

Lebanon 35m

Lunch •Lebanese Mezze Heritage

Lebanese Spinach in Olive Oil

Lebanese spinach in olive oil is a bright green mezze of fresh spinach wilted in extra-virgin olive oil with onion, garlic, tomato and sumac, finished with lemon juice and toasted pine nuts. It is served at room temperature, so the flavours have time to settle, and it works as a light lunch with warm pita or as one small plate among many. One serving is about 180 g.

Light & Fresh

Wilted spinach in olive oil with garlic, onion, lemon and pine nuts — a light, plant-based Lebanese mezze.

Pairs Well With
Warm pita bread, vermicelli rice and hummus

Grilled eggplant, red peppers, mushrooms and onions with char marks on a metal platter

Argentina 45m

Lunch •Argentine Asado Heritage

Argentine Grilled Vegetables

Argentine grilled vegetables are the quiet heroes of the asado: eggplant, red peppers, zucchini, sweet potato, onion and mushrooms brushed with olive oil and cooked over the same fire as the meat, until they are smoky, charred at the edges and tender inside. They come off the grill with a garlic, parsley and lemon dressing in the style of chimichurri, and they are just as good warm or at room temperature. One serving is about 350 g.

Light & Fresh

Smoky vegetables from the parrilla grill with a garlic, parsley and lemon chimichurri-style dressing.

Pairs Well With
Chimichurri, crusty bread and grilled corn

Peruvian chicken stew with potatoes, carrots and raisins served with white rice

Peru 1h 15m

Dinner •Peruvian Home Cooking Heritage

Estofado de Pollo

Estofado de pollo is Peru's everyday chicken stew: chicken pieces browned and then braised in a brick-red sauce built on ají panca — a mild, smoky dried Peruvian chilli — with onion, garlic, tomato and red wine, while potatoes, carrots, peas and raisins cook right in the pot. It is mild rather than hot, deeply savoury with a faint sweetness from the raisins, and it is always served with white rice. One serving is about 525 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Chicken braised in a brick-red ají panca sauce with potatoes, carrots, peas and raisins.

Pairs Well With
White rice, salad criolla and chicha morada

Catfish in golden tempoyak sauce with green chillies in a white bowl

Malaysia 45m

Dinner •Pahang Heritage

Ikan Patin Tempoyak

Ikan patin tempoyak is the defining dish of Pahang, Malaysia: silver catfish simmered gently in a golden sauce of tempoyak — durian pulp fermented with salt until tangy and deeply savoury — with chillies, shallots, garlic, turmeric and lemongrass. The sauce is spicy, sour and fragrant all at once, and the fish stays meltingly tender because it is never boiled hard. It is always served with steamed rice. One serving is about 300 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Silver catfish simmered in a spicy, sour fermented-durian sauce — the defining dish of Pahang.

Pairs Well With
Steamed white rice, ulam and iced tea

A golden fried pempek kapal selam cut open in dark cuko sauce with diced cucumber on a white plate

Indonesia 1h 15m

Lunch •Palembang Heritage

Pempek

This pempek recipe turns fresh mackerel and tapioca starch into springy, chewy fish cakes that are boiled, then fried until golden and crisp at the edges. They are served cut into pieces with diced cucumber and a dark, sweet-sour cuko sauce made from palm sugar, tamarind, garlic and chilli. One serving is about 425 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Springy mackerel and sago fish cakes, fried golden and served in a sweet, sour and spicy cuko sauce — Palembang's most famous dish.

Pairs Well With
Cuko sauce, diced cucumber & yellow noodles

Golden Dutch meatballs on a floral plate with boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, spinach and slices of bread

Netherlands 1h 5m

Dinner •Dutch Home Cooking

Dutch Meatballs

This dutch meatballs recipe mixes ground beef and pork with milk-soaked breadcrumbs, onion and nutmeg, then rolls large, tender gehaktballen and fries them golden. The meatballs finish in a simple brown gravy made from the pan drippings, beef stock and a splash of soy sauce for colour. One serving is about 313 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Big, juicy beef-and-pork gehaktballen with nutmeg, fried golden and finished in a savoury brown gravy — the Dutch family dinner.

Pairs Well With
Brown gravy, mashed potatoes & red cabbage

High Protein

A grey bowl of dark mushroom soup with a cream swirl and fresh parsley on a steel table

Belgium 45m

Lunch •Belgian Brasserie Classic

Champignonsoep

This champignonsoep recipe browns fresh button mushrooms with onion and garlic in butter, simmers them in vegetable stock with thyme, then blends the soup silky smooth and finishes it with cream, milk and a splash of Madeira. A swirl of cream and fresh parsley go on top. One serving is about 458 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Silky mushroom soup with cream and a splash of Madeira — a warm, gentle Belgian first course.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread, butter & a green salad

Soups & Broths

Two carac tarts with bright green glaze and a chocolate dot on a wooden table, one cut open to show dark chocolate

Switzerland 1h 15m

Snack & Tea •Geneva Patisserie

Carac

This carac recipe bakes crisp, buttery pastry shells, fills them with a rich dark chocolate ganache, and finishes each tart with a smooth green fondant glaze and a single chocolate dot. The green top is the signature — a carac is recognised across a Geneva bakery counter at a glance. One serving is about 113 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Crisp pastry shells filled with dark chocolate ganache under a bright green glaze — Geneva's most recognisable little tart.

Pairs Well With
Black coffee, tea & fresh berries

Marzipan potatoes dusted with cocoa on a white plate, one cut open to show the pale almond paste

Germany 30m

Snack & Tea •Lübeck Heritage Confection

Lubeck Marzipan

This lubeck marzipan recipe makes the almond sweet Lübeck is famous for: blanched almonds ground fine and kneaded with icing sugar, rose water and a light syrup into a smooth, sliceable paste. One serving is about 34 g and carries 161 calories. Shape it into the little cocoa-dusted potatoes the town's confectioners sell, or roll it into a loaf and slice it for coffee.

Sweet Treat & Sharing

A firm, fragrant almond paste: about two-thirds almonds, just enough sugar to hold it, shaped by hand and dusted with cocoa.

Pairs Well With
Strong black coffee or a glass of dessert 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

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

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Belize

Benin

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Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

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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

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Cyprus

Czechia

Côte d'Ivoire

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Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

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El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

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Eswatini

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Fiji

Finland

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Gabon

Gambia

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Guinea-Bissau

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Iceland

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Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Ireland

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Italy

Jamaica

Japan

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Kiribati

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Laos

Latvia

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Maldives

Mali

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Niger

Nigeria

North Korea

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Oman

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Panama

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Portugal

Qatar

Romania

Russia

Rwanda

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Samoa

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Saudi Arabia

Senegal

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Trinidad and Tobago

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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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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