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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What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 1933–1944 of 2290 dinner recipes

Two golden baked empanadas de pino on a blue-patterned plate, with a small bowl of pebre sauce behind them

Chile 1h 35m

Lunch •Chile Heritage

Empanada de Pino

This empanada de pino recipe bakes Chile's most loved empanada: a flaky lard pastry folded around pino, a juicy filling of ground beef and slow-cooked onions seasoned with paprika and cumin, finished inside with a wedge of hard-boiled egg, a black olive and a few raisins. One serving is about 246 g — one big, golden empanada.

Hearty & Satisfying

Chile's national baked empanada: a golden lard pastry around pino, the slow-cooked beef and onion filling with egg, olive and raisins.

Pairs Well With
Pebre sauce, Chilean salad & a glass of red wine

An opened tamal tolimense in its banana leaf, showing seasoned rice, pork, chicken and carrot

Colombia 4h

Lunch •Colombia Heritage

Tamal Tolimense

This tamal tolimense recipe makes six big Tolima tamales: a golden corn masa mixed with cooked rice and yellow split peas, spread on banana leaves and layered with marinated pork shoulder and belly, a piece of chicken, potato, carrot and half a hard-boiled egg, then tied up and steamed for hours. One serving is about 492 g — one whole tamal.

Festive & Hearty

Tolima's great banana-leaf parcel: corn masa mixed with cooked rice and yellow peas, layered with marinated pork, chicken, potato, carrot and egg, then steamed.

Pairs Well With
Hogao sauce, hot chocolate & arepas

A bowl of golden hen broth with a hen drumstick and a chunk of potato, scattered with fresh herbs

Venezuela 2h 30m

Lunch •Venezuela Heritage

Hervido de Gallina

This hervido de gallina recipe simmers a whole stewing hen slowly with yuca, ñame, ocumo, pumpkin, celery root, corn on the cob and green plantain in a clear, golden broth scented with ají dulce and cilantro. It is Venezuela's great restorative soup — the pot for Sundays, celebrations and the morning after. One serving is about 762 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Venezuela's restorative hen soup: a whole hen simmered with yuca, ñame, ocumo, pumpkin, celery root, corn and plantain in a clear, golden broth.

Pairs Well With
Arepas, casabe & ají picante

Soups & Broths

A plate of Ecuadorian hornado with shredded roast pork, crispy skin, mote and tomato-onion salad

Ecuador 4h 40m

Dinner •Ecuador Heritage

Hornado

This hornado recipe slow-roasts a pork leg marinated overnight in beer, garlic, cumin and achiote until the meat is tender enough to pull apart and the skin turns to golden crackling. It is the great market roast of the Ecuadorian highlands, served with mote, llapingachos, curtido and agrio. One serving is about 204 g of roast pork.

Rich & Celebratory

Ecuador's highland market roast: pork leg marinated in beer, garlic, cumin and achiote, slow-roasted until tender with shattering crispy skin.

Pairs Well With
Mote, llapingachos, curtido & agrio

High Protein

A clay bowl of golden majadito rice topped with a fried egg, fried plantain and boiled yuca

Bolivia 1h 5m

Lunch •Santa Cruz Classic

Majadito

This majadito recipe cooks long-grain rice in golden annatto oil with shredded charque, onion, tomato and sweet pepper until every grain is orange and fragrant, then serves it the Santa Cruz way — topped with a fried egg, with fried ripe plantain and boiled yuca on the side. One serving is about 520 g.

Hearty & Comforting

Golden annatto rice with shredded dried beef, a fried egg and sweet fried plantain — the filling lunch of Santa Cruz.

Pairs Well With
Fried plantain, boiled yuca and a fried egg

A pile of golden twice-fried tostones on a white plate with a green rim

Cuba 30m

Snack & Tea •Cuban Classic

Tostones

This tostones recipe fries green plantain twice — first until soft, then smashed flat and fried again until golden and crisp — for the salty, crunchy snack that sits on almost every Cuban table. One serving is about 185 g (6–8 tostones).

Crisp & Golden

Green plantain fried twice — soft inside, shatteringly crisp outside — salted and eaten hot.

Pairs Well With
Mojo garlic sauce, black beans and roast pork

Bone-in goat stewed in a rich reddish-brown tomato and pepper sauce, served in a white dish

Dominican Republic 2h 40m

Dinner •Northwest Dominican Heritage

Chivo Guisado

This chivo guisado recipe braises bone-in goat in rum, bitter orange, tomato and wild oregano until the meat falls from the bone, with cubanelle peppers and a scotch bonnet warming the sauce. It is the proud stew of the Dominican northwest, served with rice or cracked-corn chenchén. One serving is about 410 g.

Hearty Celebration Stew

A slow-braised goat stew rich in protein and bold seasoning, made for unhurried family meals.

Pairs Well With
Serve with white rice or chenchén and avocado slices, and an ice-cold beer or lime soda.

High Protein

A bowl of Salvadoran mariscada seafood soup with shrimp, mussels, crab and a lobster tail in broth, with lime wedges

El Salvador 1h

Dinner •El Salvador Coastal Heritage

Mariscada

This mariscada recipe simmers shrimp, white fish, squid, mussels and clams in a tomato and coconut milk broth coloured golden with annatto, the seafood soup of El Salvador's Pacific coast. It arrives at the table steaming, with lime wedges to squeeze over the top. One serving is about 650 g.

Coastal Comfort & Warmth

A generous bowl of mixed seafood in a tomato and coconut milk broth, rich in protein and made for sharing.

Pairs Well With
Serve with white rice and lime wedges, and an ice-cold beer or a light white wine.

Soups & Broths

A Chilean churrasco sandwich on a white plate — thin grilled beef slices and mashed avocado spilling from a crusty roll

Chile 30m

Lunch •Chilean Street-Food Classic

Churrasco Chileno

This churrasco chileno recipe is the Chilean steak sandwich: paper-thin slices of grilled sirloin, ripe tomato, mashed avocado and mayonnaise tucked into a warm, crusty marraqueta roll. It is fast, messy in the best way, and built to be eaten with both hands. One serving is about 314 g.

Hearty & Satisfying

Thin grilled steak, tomato, avocado and mayonnaise piled into a crusty roll — the sandwich Chile eats by the million.

Pairs Well With
French fries, a cold lager or a glass of mote con huesillo

A close-up of golden-brown Colombian arroz con coco in a pot, glossy coconut rice studded with dark raisins

Colombia 50m

Lunch •Colombian Caribbean Coast

Arroz con Coco

This arroz con coco recipe is Colombia's Caribbean coconut rice: the coconut milk is first reduced with panela until it turns into a dark, fragrant caramel called titote, then the rice simmers in it with raisins until every grain is glossy, golden and sweet-savoury. One serving is about 212 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Long-grain rice simmered in coconut milk with caramelised panela and raisins — sweet, savoury and golden from Colombia's Caribbean coast.

Pairs Well With
Fried fish, patacones and a fresh salad

A bowl of milky pisca andina soup with fresh herbs, served with a golden arepa and a glass of orange juice

Venezuela 45m

Breakfast •Merida Andean Breakfast

Pisca Andina

This pisca andina recipe is Venezuela's Andean breakfast soup: tender potatoes simmered in water, finished with milk and cubes of queso fresco, and crowned with a poached egg that melts its yolk into the broth. It is gentle, warming and made for cold highland mornings, with arepas on the side. One serving is about 500 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A milky Andean potato soup with cubes of white cheese and a poached egg in every bowl — the breakfast that warms cold mountain mornings.

Pairs Well With
Warm arepas and a cup of hot chocolate or coffee

Soups & Broths

A dish of Ecuadorian tigrillo — golden mashed green plantain mixed with egg and melted cheese, served with a creamy sauce

Ecuador 40m

Breakfast •Ecuadorian Coastal Breakfast

Tigrillo

This tigrillo recipe is Ecuador's coastal breakfast: green plantains boiled until tender, mashed with butter and milk, then scrambled in the pan with egg and cubes of cheese until everything is soft, golden and steaming. It is hearty, cheap and eaten with coffee and a fried egg on the side. One serving is about 267 g.

Hearty & Satisfying

Green plantains boiled, mashed and scrambled with egg and melted cheese — the filling breakfast of Ecuador's Pacific coast.

Pairs Well With
Strong coffee, a fried egg and a slice of fresh cheese

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