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

2290 dinner ideas matching filters

Reset Filters ×

What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 169–180 of 2290 dinner recipes

Tavë kosi in a clay baking dish — lamb pieces over a golden baked yoghurt crust

Albania 1h 55m

Dinner •Elbasan Heritage

Tavë Kosi

Tavë kosi is Albania's national dish: tender lamb and rice baked under a thick layer of yoghurt, eggs and butter that sets into a golden, gently tangy crust. It comes from Elbasan, an hour east of Tirana, and it is the dish Albanian families cook when guests come to the table. One serving is about 465 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Slow-baked lamb and rice under a golden yoghurt-egg crust, served hot from the clay dish.

Pairs Well With
Crusty white bread & a simple tomato-cucumber salad

Albanian byrek — a round golden spinach and cheese filo pie, cut into wedges

Albania 1h 15m

Lunch •Albanian Bakery Classic

Byrek

Byrek is the pie Albania runs on: paper-thin filo brushed with oil and butter, layered over a filling of spinach, salty feta-style cheese and egg, baked until the top shatters and the inside stays soft and savoury. Sold warm from every byrektore in the country, it is breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack in one. One serving is about 250 g.

Everyday Energy

Crisp golden filo layered with spinach, feta and egg — the pie Albania eats at any hour.

Pairs Well With
Ayran (yoghurt drink) & pickled peppers

Fërgesë in a clay baking dish — baked red peppers, tomatoes and cheese, with bread

Albania 1h

Dinner •Tirana Heritage

Fërgesë

Fërgesë is Tirana's home-cooking classic: sweet peppers and tomatoes cooked down with onion and garlic, then baked in a clay dish with crumbled feta, gjizë curd cheese and a little egg until the top turns golden and the edges bubble. It is scooped up with bread, straight from the dish, and it tastes like a long Albanian summer evening. One serving is about 410 g.

Slow Comfort

Sweet peppers and tomatoes baked with feta and gjizë until soft, bubbling and golden.

Pairs Well With
Crusty village bread & a glass of red wine

Skewers of marinated meat grilling over charcoal on a mangal, with smoke rising

Armenia 4h 55m

Dinner •Armenian Barbecue Heritage

Khorovats

This Armenian khorovats recipe is Armenia's national barbecue: chunks of pork, lamb and beef marinated in onion, lemon and herbs, then grilled on long flat skewers called shampoor over a charcoal mangal until smoky outside and juicy inside. The meat is pulled off the skewers onto warm lavash with grilled peppers and tomatoes, and eaten with the hands. One serving is about 342 g.

Charcoal-Grilled Meat Feast

Marinated pork, lamb and beef grilled over charcoal on flat skewers, served on lavash with grilled vegetables — a smoky, high-protein dinner from Armenia.

Pairs Well With
Warm lavash, grilled vegetables & fresh herbs

High Protein

A pan of Armenian dolma, glossy grape-leaf rolls arranged in circles with a grape leaf on top

Armenia 1h 45m

Dinner •Armenian Home-Cooking Heritage

Dolma

This Armenian dolma recipe is the classic grape-leaf dolma: brined grape leaves wrapped around a filling of ground beef, short-grain rice, onion and a generous handful of basil, mint, tarragon and parsley. The little rolls are packed tightly in a pot, weighted down, and steamed in their own juices until the leaves are tender and the rice inside is cooked through. They are served warm, with plain yoghurt — matsun — for spooning over the top. One serving is about 275 g.

Grape Leaves Stuffed with Beef & Rice

Brined grape leaves rolled around seasoned ground beef, rice and fresh herbs, steamed until tender and served warm with yoghurt.

Pairs Well With
Plain yoghurt (matsun), fresh herbs & lavash

A plate of Armenian harissa, a creamy wheat and chicken porridge topped with melted butter, served with tomato salad and green beans

Armenia 4h 20m

Dinner •Armenian Festive Heritage

Harissa

This Armenian harissa recipe is not the North African chilli paste of the same name — it is a thick, creamy porridge from the Armenian highlands. Hulled wheat berries (korkot) and a whole chicken are cooked together in one pot for hours, until the chicken falls off the bone and the wheat breaks down. The meat is shredded back into the pot and the whole thing is beaten until smooth, so the chicken is part of the porridge itself, not served on top of it. It is finished with a spoonful of browned butter melting into each bowl. One serving is about 350 g.

Slow-Cooked Wheat & Chicken Porridge

Hulled wheat berries and a whole chicken cooked together for hours, then beaten into a thick, creamy porridge and finished with browned butter.

Pairs Well With
Browned butter, pickled vegetables & fresh herbs

High Protein

Two golden breaded Wiener schnitzel cutlets on a white plate with parsley potatoes, a lemon half and fresh parsley

Austria 35m

Dinner •Vienna Heritage

Wiener Schnitzel

Wiener schnitzel is Austria's most famous plate: a veal cutlet pounded paper-thin, coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, and fried in butter until it puffs up golden and crisp. This wiener schnitzel recipe follows the Viennese rules — real veal, a loose crumb that billows away from the meat, and a wedge of lemon on the side. One serving is about 175 g.

Classic Comfort

A golden, crisp veal cutlet with lemon and parsley potatoes — a satisfying, protein-rich Viennese dinner.

Pairs Well With
Serve with parsley potatoes or Viennese potato salad and a crisp green salad; a squeeze of lemon over the top just before eating.

High Protein

Slices of boiled beef in horseradish sauce with chives, served with carrots, cauliflower and broccoli on a dark plate

Austria 3h

Dinner •Vienna Heritage

Tafelspitz

Tafelspitz is Vienna's quiet masterpiece: a whole piece of beef simmered gently in broth with root vegetables until it is tender enough to slice with a spoon, then served with apple-horseradish sauce and chive sauce. This tafelspitz recipe is not a stew — the beef is boiled, sliced, and served with its sauces, the way Vienna has done it for generations. One serving is about 370 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Tender simmered beef with root vegetables, apple-horseradish and chive sauce — a gentle, warming Viennese dinner.

Pairs Well With
Serve with roasted potato slices, the simmered root vegetables, and both sauces — apple-horseradish and chive sour cream — with a cup of the clear broth to start.

High Protein

Golden shredded Kaiserschmarrn pieces dusted with icing sugar on a white plate, with a small bowl of plum compote

Austria 35m

Snack & Tea •Vienna Heritage

Kaiserschmarrn

Kaiserschmarrn is Austria's most charming dessert: a thick, fluffy pancake fried in butter, torn into golden shreds in the pan, dusted with icing sugar and served with warm plum compote. This kaiserschmarrn recipe keeps the classic raisins, the whipped egg whites that make it so light, and the plum compote that every Viennese coffee house serves beside it. One serving is about 290 g.

Sweet Comfort

Fluffy torn pancake with raisins and warm plum compote — a light, sweet Austrian treat.

Pairs Well With
Serve with warm plum compote and a pot of coffee or a glass of milk; a dollop of whipped cream is the traditional coffee-house extra.

Azerbaijani plov — a mound of golden saffron rice topped with crisp qazmaq crust on a patterned plate

Azerbaijan 2h 15m

Dinner •Baku Heritage

Azerbaijani Plov

This azerbaijani plov recipe is Azerbaijan's national dish: saffron-scented basmati rice steamed in layers over a rich lamb, dried apricot, raisin, sour plum and chestnut topping called gara, with a golden, crisp qazmaq crust at the bottom of the pot. The rice is parboiled, drained and steamed — never boiled to mush — so every grain stays separate and fragrant, and the sweet-tart fruit and buttery chestnuts make it taste like a celebration. One serving is about 400 g.

Celebration Rice

Saffron basmati steamed in layers with lamb, dried apricots, raisins, sour plums and chestnuts — Azerbaijan's national dish, served for weddings and Nowruz.

Pairs Well With
Fresh herbs, pickled vegetables & hot black tea

Azerbaijani badimcan dolma — stuffed aubergines, a stuffed green pepper and a stuffed tomato on a plate

Azerbaijan 1h 30m

Dinner •Baku Heritage

Azerbaijani Badimcan Dolma

This azerbaijani dolma recipe is Badimcan Dolmasi, the 'three sisters': small aubergines, firm tomatoes and green sweet peppers, hollowed out and stuffed with seasoned lamb mince, rice, split chickpeas and a big handful of fresh herbs, then packed into one wide pot and braised gently in their own juices with butter and tomato. The vegetables themselves are the wrappers, and they turn meltingly tender while the filling stays juicy and fragrant. One serving is about 450 g.

Summer Garden Cooking

Aubergine, tomato and sweet pepper — the 'three sisters' — hollowed and stuffed with lamb mince, rice and fresh herbs, then braised together in one pot.

Pairs Well With
Garlic yogurt, fresh herbs & warm lavash

Piti soup — small clay pots of lamb and chickpea soup topped with herbs, served on a tray

Azerbaijan 2h 50m

Lunch •Sheki Heritage

Piti Soup

This piti soup recipe is Sheki Piti, the slow-cooked lamb and chickpea soup of Sheki in the foothills of the Caucasus: lamb, soaked chickpeas, potato, chestnuts, sour plums and a whole onion layered into individual clay pots called dopu, sealed with a cap of tail fat and cooked low and slow until the meat falls apart and the broth turns golden with saffron. It is eaten in two steps — first the broth poured over crumbled bread, then the meat and vegetables mashed together — which makes one pot feel like two courses. One serving is about 670 g.

Slow Sunday Lunch

Lamb, chickpeas, chestnuts and sour plums slow-cooked in individual clay pots — Sheki's signature soup, eaten in two steps with crumbled bread.

Pairs Well With
Crumbled lavash, sumac onions & fresh herbs

Soups & Broths • High Protein

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