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 1741–1752 of 2301 dinner recipes

Slices of golden Portuguese sponge cake showing the moist, pale crumb

Portugal 1h

Snack & Tea •Portuguese Heritage

Pao de Lo

Pao de Lo is Portugal's classic sponge cake: just eggs, sugar and flour, beaten until pale and tripled in volume, then baked into a golden, airy loaf. No butter, no baking powder, no yeast — the lift comes entirely from the eggs. One serving is about 86 g.

Light Tea-Time Classic

A feather-light sponge of eggs, sugar and flour, risen by beating alone with no leavening at all.

Pairs Well With
A pot of Portuguese tea and a bowl of fresh berries.

Two whole Moroccan roast chickens with herb sauce, almonds and French fries on a blue patterned platter

Morocco 2h

Dinner •Moroccan Heritage

Moroccan Roast Chicken

Moroccan roast chicken, or djaj mhammer, is the celebration roast of Morocco: a whole chicken rubbed with ginger, saffron, turmeric and preserved lemon, roasted until the skin is crisp and golden, then served in its own thick onion sauce, dghmira, with olives and almonds. One serving is about 360 g.

Celebration Roast

A whole chicken rubbed with ginger, saffron and preserved lemon, roasted golden and served with the rich onion sauce called dghmira.

Pairs Well With
Fluffy couscous, khobz bread and sweet mint tea.

High Protein

A block of pistachio-studded sesame halva on a wooden board

Egypt 30m

Snack & Tea •Egyptian Heritage

Egyptian Halawa

Egyptian halawa is a dense sesame sweet made by pouring hot sugar syrup into tahini and letting it set into a firm, crumbly block. It is nutty, sweet and endlessly sliceable, and in Egypt it is most often eaten in sandwiches of baladi bread. One serving is about 46 g.

Sweet Sesame Classic

Tahini and hot sugar syrup set into a firm, crumbly block — Egypt's everyday sesame sweet.

Pairs Well With
Baladi bread, mint tea and a pot of strong coffee.

A bowl of Lebanese cabbage salad (malfouf) — finely shredded red cabbage glistening with lemon and olive oil dressing

Lebanon 25m

Lunch •Lebanese Mezze Classic

Lebanese Cabbage Salad

This lebanese cabbage salad recipe is salatet malfouf, the everyday Lebanese slaw: finely shredded red cabbage tossed with red onion, mint and parsley in a sharp lemon, olive oil and garlic dressing, finished with a pinch of sumac. It is crunchy, tangy and light, and it sits happily next to grilled meats, mujadara or a full mezze spread. One serving is about 175 g.

Fresh & Light

Crisp shredded red cabbage with lemon, olive oil, garlic and fresh herbs — a bright, crunchy mezze salad with no mayonnaise and no cooking.

Pairs Well With
Grilled kafta or chicken shawarma, with warm pita on the side

Golden roasted pumpkin crescents with roasted onion and garlic on a baking tray

Argentina 55m

Lunch •Argentine Asado Side

Argentine Roast Pumpkin

This argentine roast pumpkin recipe cuts zapallo into thick wedges, coats them in olive oil with onion, garlic, oregano and sweet paprika, and roasts them at 200°C (400°F) until the edges caramelise and the flesh turns soft and sweet. It is the classic asado side: simple, golden and made to be eaten with grilled meat and chimichurri. One serving is about 306 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Golden wedges of zapallo pumpkin roasted with onion, garlic, oregano and paprika until caramelised at the edges — the sweet, soft side that belongs next to an asado.

Pairs Well With
Grilled beef or chorizo from the asado, with chimichurri on the side

A plate of tallarines verdes — spaghetti in bright green spinach-basil sauce topped with potatoes in golden huancaína sauce

Peru 45m

Dinner •Lima Classic

Tallarines Verdes

This tallarines verdes recipe is Peru’s green pasta: spaghetti tossed in a creamy sauce blended from wilted spinach, fresh basil, evaporated milk, queso fresco and walnuts — a Peruvian take on Genoese pesto, softer and creamier than the Italian original. It is served the classic Lima way, with boiled potatoes under a golden huancaína sauce. One serving is about 619 g.

Comfort & Energy

Spaghetti coated in a creamy green sauce of spinach, basil, evaporated milk, queso fresco and walnuts, served the Lima way with boiled potatoes in golden huancaína sauce.

Pairs Well With
A cold glass of chicha morada or an Inca Kola, with the potatoes on the side

Pasta & Noodles

Golden bakpia pastries piled on a white plate, one cut open to show the pale yellow mung bean filling

Indonesia 1h 10m

Snack & Tea •Yogyakarta Pathok Classic

Bakpia

This bakpia recipe bakes Yogyakarta's famous mung bean pastry at home: two simple doughs folded into flaky layers around a soft, sweet filling of steamed mung beans, sugar and coconut milk. One serving is about 100 g (2 pieces) and carries 323 calories. Eat them warm from the oven, when the crust shatters and the filling is still soft.

Comfort & Warmth

A small, flaky Yogyakarta pastry with a soft, sweet mung bean centre — the souvenir sweet travellers bring home from Pathok.

Pairs Well With
Hot jasmine tea or black coffee, with no other sweet needed.

A golden lattice-topped cherry pie on a wooden table, ruby cherry filling showing through the crust, with a pastry wheel beside it

Belgium 1h 30m

Snack & Tea •Flemish Bakery Classic

Kriekentaart

This kriekentaart recipe bakes the Belgian cherry pie the Flemish bakeries are known for: tart sour cherries cooked with sugar and a little lemon into a ruby filling, tucked under a woven lattice of buttery shortcrust. One serving is about 175 g and carries 446 calories. Serve it barely warm, with a spoonful of cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Comfort & Warmth

A golden lattice pie of tart sour cherries in a buttery shortcrust — the Belgian bakery classic, sharp, sweet and best served barely warm.

Pairs Well With
Lightly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, with black coffee.

A black fondue pot of hot oil with long forks cooking beef, seen from above on a wooden table

Switzerland 50m

Dinner •Swiss Table-Cooking Classic

Fondue Bourguignonne

This fondue bourguignonne recipe is the Swiss meat fondue: cubes of beef tenderloin cooked in hot oil at the table on long forks, then dipped in garlic aioli, pink cocktail sauce and mustard sauce, with crusty baguette and a green salad alongside. One serving is about 400 g and carries 1,045 calories. It is a dinner to linger over — nobody hurries a fondue.

Comfort & Warmth

Cubes of beef tenderloin cooked by each diner in a pot of hot oil at the table, then dipped in three sauces — a slow, sociable Swiss dinner.

Pairs Well With
A dry red wine or a cold lager, with crusty baguette and green salad.

High Protein

A white plate of zuurvlees — glossy dark-brown shredded sweet-sour beef stew — served with golden fries.

Netherlands 3h 35m

Dinner •Limburg Sweet-Sour Classic

Zuurvlees

This zuurvlees recipe is Limburg's famous sweet-sour beef stew: beef chuck marinated overnight in vinegar with bay, cloves and juniper, then slow-braised in its own marinade until it falls to shreds, and finished with dark apple syrup and crumbled gingerbread. One serving is about 375 g of stew, before the pile of golden fries it is always served with.

Sweet-Sour Comfort

Limburg beef stew marinated overnight in vinegar, then braised with apple syrup and gingerbread until it falls to shreds.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot over a pile of thick golden fries, with a little mayonnaise on the side.

High Protein

Three golden cucur badak sweet-potato fritters on a steel plate, one broken open to show the spicy coconut and dried-shrimp filling

Malaysia 1h 5m

Snack & Tea •Malay Teatime Kuih

Cucur Badak

This cucur badak recipe makes Malaysia's golden sweet-potato fritters, each one wrapped around a spicy filling of dried shrimp, grated coconut, chillies and lemongrass. One serving is about 238 g — three fritters — with a crisp outside, a soft sweet-potato middle and a fiery, fragrant centre. It is a classic Malay teatime kuih, best eaten hot from the fryer.

Golden & Spicy

Sweet-potato fritters with a spicy dried-shrimp and coconut filling, deep-fried until golden and served hot at teatime.

Pairs Well With
Hot teh tarik and a squeeze of lime

A plate of German rollmops, pickled herring rolls filled with gherkin and onion

Germany 35m

Lunch •German Beer-Hall Classic

German Rollmops

This german rollmops recipe rolls pickled herring fillets around gherkin and onion, then marinates them in a spiced vinegar brine with mustard seed, bay and juniper. One serving is about 190 g and carries 349 calories. Serve two rolls per person with dark rye bread and a cold lager or sparkling water.

Light & Tangy

Pickled herring rolls with gherkin and onion in a spiced vinegar marinade — sharp, savoury and light.

Pairs Well With
Dark rye bread and boiled new potatoes with dill.

Quick Prep (<30m)

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

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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