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 1909–1920 of 2290 dinner recipes

Two Salvadoran chicken tamales on a plate, one unwrapped from its banana leaf showing soft golden masa

El Salvador 3h 30m

Dinner •Salvadoran Heritage

Tamales de Gallina

This tamales de gallina recipe makes soft Salvadoran chicken tamales the traditional way: a pre-cooked corn masa spread on banana leaves, wrapped around shredded chicken, potato, chickpeas, olives and capers, then steamed until tender. One serving (two tamales) is about 458 g. The banana leaf gives the masa a gentle, grassy scent that corn husks never quite match.

Hearty & Festive

A filling, protein-rich festive main built around corn masa, chicken and vegetables.

Pairs Well With
Serve warm with curtido, the Salvadoran pickled cabbage slaw, and a mild tomato salsa.

A white bowl of orange-red locrio de pollo with browned chicken pieces and a green olive on a white tablecloth

Dominican Republic 1h 20m

Dinner •Dominican One-Pot Classic

Locrio de Pollo

This locrio de pollo recipe starts with bone-in chicken thighs browned in a dark caramel — the quemado that gives the dish its deep colour — then simmers long-grain rice in the same pot with sofrito, tomato paste, pumpkin and green olives until every grain is orange-red and fragrant. It is a true one-pot dinner, and the crispy toasted rice at the bottom, the concón, is the prize everyone fights over. One serving is about 400 g.

Family Comfort

Bone-in chicken browned in caramelised sugar, then simmered with rice, sofrito, tomato, pumpkin and olives in one pot — the Dominican family dinner.

Pairs Well With
Fried plantains, avocado & green salad

High Protein

A white bowl of Haitian tchaka with corn kernels, red beans and smoked pork chunks in a light broth, garnished with parsley

Haiti 3h 20m

Lunch •Haitian Heritage Stew

Tchaka

This tchaka recipe soaks dried corn and red kidney beans overnight, then simmers them for hours with smoked pork, pumpkin and a fragrant epis of garlic, scallion, parsley and thyme until the pot turns thick and hearty. The smoked pork is what gives tchaka its deep, salty flavour, and the Scotch bonnet — left whole so it perfumes the stew without burning — is the quiet heat underneath it all. One serving is about 400 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Dried corn and red beans simmered for hours with smoked pork, pumpkin and epis until thick — Haiti's slow, hearty celebration stew.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread, pikliz & avocado

Soups & Broths

A plate of golden breaded shrimp with refried beans, red rice and avocado salad

Honduras 40m

Dinner •Honduran Coastal Favourite

Camarones Empanizados Hondureños

This camarones empanizados recipe starts with large shrimp tossed in lime, garlic and paprika, then runs each one through flour, beaten egg and panko breadcrumbs before a quick fry in hot oil. The crumb turns deep golden and shatteringly crisp while the shrimp inside stays sweet and juicy. It is the coastal favourite of Honduras, served with rice, beans and avocado. One serving is about 185 g.

Coastal Comfort

Large shrimp dredged in flour, dipped in beaten egg and rolled in panko, fried golden and crisp — the Honduran coast's favourite way to eat shrimp.

Pairs Well With
Red rice, refried beans & avocado

A black clay bowl of curanto with mussels, clams, sausage and potato beside a glass of white wine on a colourful woven cloth

Chile 2h 15m

Dinner •Chiloe Pit-Feast Classic

Curanto

This curanto recipe brings Chiloe's famous pit feast to the home kitchen as a pot-steamed pulmay: mussels, clams and shrimp layered with chicken, longaniza sausage, potatoes, milcao and chapalele under cabbage leaves. One serving is about 460 g and carries 565 calories. Serve it straight from the pot, piled into bowls, with the broth spooned over.

Comfort & Warmth

A steaming pot of shellfish, chicken, sausage, potatoes and potato breads, all cooked together the way Chiloe has done it for centuries.

Pairs Well With
A glass of Chilean white wine or chicha, with pebre salsa on the side.

High Protein

Two golden Colombian empanadas on a black slate with a small bowl of aji sauce and a spoon

Colombia 1h 15m

Lunch •Andean Street-Food Classic

Colombian Empanadas

This colombian empanadas recipe fries crisp cornmeal empanadas stuffed with seasoned ground beef and potato, and serves them with a fresh aji sauce. One serving is about 250 g — two empanadas with aji — and carries 459 calories. They are best eaten hot, straight from the oil, with the aji spooned over.

Comfort & Warmth

Crisp golden cornmeal pockets filled with seasoned beef and potato, with a fresh, tangy aji for dipping.

Pairs Well With
Aji sauce and a cold aguapanela or lemonade.

A bowl of golden fried tequenos, one bitten open to show the melted white cheese inside

Venezuela 1h 10m

Snack & Tea •Venezuelan Party Classic

Tequenos

This tequenos recipe wraps sticks of queso llanero in a soft wheat dough and fries them until golden and crisp, with the cheese melting inside. One serving is about 120 g — two tequenos — and carries 412 calories. Serve them hot, with the cheese still pulling.

Comfort & Warmth

Golden fried sticks of wheat dough wrapped around melting white cheese — the snack no Venezuelan party is without.

Pairs Well With
Guasacaca sauce or garlic sauce, with a cold papelon con limon.

Two golden bolon de verde balls with a fried egg on a white plate

Ecuador 40m

Breakfast •Ecuadorian Coast Breakfast

Bolon de Verde

This bolon de verde recipe mashes boiled green plantains with queso fresco and butter, shapes the mix into balls and fries them until golden. One serving is about 275 g — two bolones — and carries 518 calories. Serve them hot for breakfast with a fried egg and black coffee.

Comfort & Warmth

Golden fried balls of mashed green plantain and melted cheese — the hearty breakfast of the Ecuadorian coast.

Pairs Well With
A fried egg and a cup of black Ecuadorian coffee.

Fricase paceno — pork in golden aji broth with mote, served in a clay bowl

Bolivia 2h 20m

Dinner •La Paz Weekend Classic

Fricase Paceno

This fricase paceno recipe browns pork shoulder, then simmers it low and slow in a golden aji amarillo broth with mote and chuno until the meat falls apart and the broth turns thick and fragrant. One serving is about 445 g. It is the famous weekend stew of La Paz, served steaming hot in a clay bowl with crusty bread.

Comfort & Hearty

Tender pork simmered in a golden aji amarillo broth with mote and chuno — the warming bowl La Paz reaches for on cold mornings.

Pairs Well With
Crusty marraqueta bread and a cold lager, with llajwa on the side

High Protein

Bori bori — Paraguayan chicken soup with round cornmeal-and-cheese dumplings

Paraguay 1h 15m

Dinner •Paraguayan Comfort Classic

Bori Bori

This bori bori recipe simmers chicken with onion, tomato, carrot and celery into a rich broth, then drops in small hand-rolled dumplings of cornmeal and cheese that puff up as they cook. One serving is about 483 g. It is Paraguay's beloved comfort soup, also spelled vori vori, named for the little balls at its heart.

Comfort & Warmth

Tender chicken in a rich broth with little cornmeal-and-cheese dumplings — the soup Paraguayans call a hug in a bowl.

Pairs Well With
Boiled yuca and chipa cheese bread, with tereré to drink

Soups & Broths

Cuban picadillo — ground beef with tomato and pimiento-stuffed green olives

Cuba 1h

Dinner •Havana Weeknight Classic

Cuban Picadillo

This cuban picadillo recipe browns ground beef with a sofrito of onion, green pepper and garlic, then simmers it in tomato sauce with pimiento-stuffed olives, raisins and capers until thick and glossy. One serving is about 540 g. It is Cuba's beloved weeknight hash, served over white rice with fried sweet plantains.

Comfort & Savory

Ground beef simmered in tomato sauce with briny olives, sweet raisins and capers — Cuba's weeknight dinner, spooned over white rice.

Pairs Well With
White rice, black beans and fried plantains, with a cold beer

A baking pan of Dominican pastelon, a golden cheese-topped casserole of mashed ripe plantains and seasoned ground beef

Dominican Republic 1h 5m

Dinner •Dominican Sunday Table

Pastelon

Ripe plantains are boiled and mashed with butter and milk, then layered with a savory beef picadillo of onion, green pepper, garlic, tomato sauce and olives, and baked under a thick blanket of melted mozzarella. One serving is about 315 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Sweet mashed plantains, savory beef picadillo and melted cheese baked into one comforting casserole.

Pairs Well With
White rice & a crisp green salad with avocado

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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Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia

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Chad

Chile

China

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Republic of the Congo

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Ireland

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Nigeria

North Korea

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Portugal

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Rwanda

Saint Kitts and Nevis

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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.

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