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 1945–1956 of 2290 dinner recipes

A white bowl of creamy Bolivian sopa de mani peanut soup topped with crisp potato sticks and chopped herbs

Bolivia 1h 20m

Dinner •Cochabamba Classic

Sopa de Mani

This sopa de mani recipe simmers beef, ground peanuts, potatoes and peas in a lightly spiced broth until it turns thick and creamy, then finishes it with pasta and fresh parsley. One serving is about 630 g. It is the peanut soup Bolivians reach for on cold evenings, ladled into deep bowls with crusty bread on the side.

Comfort & Warmth

A creamy peanut soup with beef, potatoes and peas, served hot with pasta and fresh herbs.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread and a simple tomato and onion salad

Soups & Broths

A grilled Uruguayan bife de chorizo sirloin steak with char marks on a round wooden board

Uruguay 50m

Dinner •Uruguayan Parrilla Classic

Uruguayan Bife de Chorizo

This Uruguayan bife de chorizo recipe grills thick-cut sirloin steaks over high heat with just coarse salt and black pepper, then rests them so the juices settle. One serving is about 230 g. The cut — the strip loin with its fat cap — is the star of the Uruguayan parrilla, and it needs no sauce at all.

Comfort & Warmth

A thick-cut sirloin steak grilled over high heat with nothing but salt, the way Uruguayan parrillas serve it.

Pairs Well With
Roasted potatoes, mixed green salad and chimichurri on the side

High Protein

A plate of beef and rice stew with tomato, peppers and herbs

Paraguay 1h 30m

Dinner •Paraguayan Home Classic

Guiso de Arroz

This guiso de arroz recipe browns diced beef, softens onion, garlic and sweet pepper into a tomato sofrito, then simmers everything with rice in one pot until the grains are tender and soaked with beefy tomato flavour. It is the kind of plain, filling dinner Paraguayan families cook on ordinary weeknights, finished with parsley and oregano. One serving is about 400 g.

Everyday Paraguayan Comfort

Beef and rice simmered together in a tomato, onion and sweet-pepper sofrito — a filling one-pot dinner from Paraguayan home cooking.

Pairs Well With
Boiled mandioca, green salad & tereré

High Protein

A plate of Cuban vaca frita, dark crispy shredded beef with fried onions, beside a mound of white rice

Cuba 2h 20m

Dinner •Cuban Classic

Vaca Frita

This vaca frita recipe boils flank steak until it falls into shreds, marinates it in lime juice, garlic and oregano, then pan-fries it in hot oil until the edges turn crisp and dark golden. One serving is about 205 g. It is Cuba's answer to shredded beef — dry, crunchy and sour-bright, not stewed in sauce.

Comfort & Warmth

Shredded beef marinated in lime and garlic, then pan-fried until crisp and golden with onions.

Pairs Well With
White rice, black beans and fried plantains

High Protein

Golden crispy chicharron de pollo chicken chunks with a small cabbage slaw and cherry tomatoes on a speckled plate

Dominican Republic 1h

Dinner •Dominican Republic Heritage

Chicharron de Pollo

This chicharron de pollo recipe turns boneless chicken thighs into golden, crackling-crisp chunks: a bright marinade of lime juice, garlic, oregano and onion powder, then a quick deep-fry with no batter at all. Serve it hot with lime wedges, tostones and a little hot sauce. One serving is about 186 g.

Crispy & Bold

Lime, garlic and oregano-marinated chicken chunks fried until deeply crisp — the Dominican beach-side favourite.

Pairs Well With
Tostones and lime wedges, with an ice-cold lager or lime agua fresca on the side.

High Protein

A glass jar of pikliz, shredded cabbage, carrot and red peppers pickled in vinegar

Haiti 25m

Snack & Tea •Haiti Heritage

Pikliz

This pikliz recipe packs shredded cabbage, carrot, onion, bell pepper and fiery Scotch bonnet into a jar with white vinegar, lime juice and a pinch of cloves. After two days in the fridge it turns into Haiti's essential condiment — crunchy, sour and hot — spooned over griot, tassot and rice and beans. One serving is about 110 g.

Fiery & Crunchy

Shredded cabbage, carrot and Scotch bonnet pickled in vinegar and lime — Haiti's fiery table condiment.

Pairs Well With
Griot and fried plantains, with a cold limeade on the side.

Fermented / Gut Health

A carne asada plate with sliced grilled steak, rice and refried beans, with salad and avocado

Honduras 1h 5m

Dinner •Honduras Heritage

Carne Asada Hondurena

This carne asada hondurena recipe starts with top sirloin marinated in orange and lime juice, garlic, cumin and oregano, grilled hot until charred at the edges, then sliced thin and served as a full Honduran plate: chimol, red beans, white rice, fried green plantain and warm corn tortillas. One serving is about 590 g.

Bold & Satisfying

Citrus-marinated sirloin grilled over high heat and served as a full plate with chimol, beans, rice and fried plantain.

Pairs Well With
Avocado slices and a cold horchata, with lime wedges on the side.

High Protein

Chicken sandwiches in crusty French rolls with tomato slices on a white plate

El Salvador 2h

Lunch •El Salvador Heritage

Panes con Gallina

This panes con gallina recipe stews a whole hen slowly until the meat falls off the bone, simmers it in a tomato sauce with olives, capers and raisins, then piles it into crusty pan francés rolls with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and radish. It is El Salvador's holiday sandwich, rich, saucy and made for sharing. One serving is about 420 g.

Festive & Comforting

A stewing hen simmered in a tomato, olive and raisin sauce, shredded and piled into crusty rolls — El Salvador's holiday sandwich.

Pairs Well With
Curtido and a cold horchata de morro, with fried plantains on the side.

A plate piled high with golden fried milcao potato patties, crisp and round, on a striped plate over a checked cloth

Chile 1h

Lunch •Chiloe Potato Classic

Milcao

This milcao recipe mixes grated raw potato with mashed potato and potato starch — no egg, no flour — then stuffs each patty with crunchy chicharrones and fries it in lard until deep golden and crisp. It is the standalone potato cake of Chiloe, served hot as a lunch plate on its own, not as part of a feast. One serving is about 270 g, two patties.

Crisp & Hearty

Grated raw potato and mashed potato bound with potato starch, stuffed with crisp chicharrones and fried in lard until golden outside and soft inside.

Pairs Well With
Pebre salsa, pickled onions & a green salad

Golden twice-fried patacones topped with red tomato-onion hogao sauce on a white plate

Colombia 40m

Lunch •Antioquian Market Classic

Patacones con Hogao

Patacones con hogao are golden discs of green plantain, fried, flattened and fried again until crisp, then topped with hogao, the slow-cooked tomato and onion sauce that is the base of Antioquian cooking. The contrast is the whole point: crunchy plantain against soft, sweet-savoury sauce, best eaten hot with your hands. One serving is about 298 g.

Comfort & Sharing

Twice-fried green plantain discs, crisp outside and soft inside, piled with warm tomato-onion hogao — the Colombian table snack that turns a simple plantain into a dish worth gathering around.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot with arepas, grilled chicken or a cold lemonade; the hogao also loves a fried egg on the side.

A golden pineapple upside-down cake with caramelised pineapple rings and red cherries on a white doily

Venezuela 1h 15m

Snack & Tea •Venezuelan Birthday Cake Classic

Torta de Piña

This torta de pina recipe is Venezuela's classic birthday cake: a light vanilla sponge baked over golden caramel, canned pineapple rings and bright red cherries, then flipped so the glossy fruit becomes the top. It is the cake Venezuelan families bake for birthdays and Christmas — sweet, buttery and unmistakably festive. One serving is about 175 g.

Celebration & Comfort

A buttery vanilla sponge topped with caramelised pineapple and cherries — the cake Venezuelan families serve at birthdays and Christmas.

Pairs Well With
Black coffee, vanilla ice cream & whipped cream

Two golden corviche fritters cut open to show the tuna filling, topped with red onion curtido on a wooden plate

Ecuador 1h

Lunch •Manabí Street-Food Heritage

Corviche

This corviche recipe makes the Manabí street food of coastal Ecuador: grated green plantain kneaded with peanut butter into a golden dough, wrapped around a savoury tuna filling and deep-fried into crisp, torpedo-shaped fritters. They are served hot with curtido, a sharp red onion and tomato salad with lime, which cuts through the richness of the peanut dough. One serving is about 312 g.

Golden, Crisp & Coastal

A corviche is a fried torpedo of green plantain and peanut dough stuffed with tuna, served with sharp red onion curtido.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot with curtido, the sharp red onion and tomato salad, and a cold drink.

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

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El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

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Eswatini

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

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Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary

Iceland

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Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kiribati

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liberia

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Lithuania

Luxembourg

Madagascar

Malawi

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Maldives

Mali

Malta

Marshall Islands

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

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Mongolia

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Myanmar

Namibia

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Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

North Korea

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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

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Slovakia

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Solomon Islands

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South Africa

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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