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 1957–1968 of 2290 dinner recipes

A plate of plato paceño — broad beans in their pods, golden fried cheese, a boiled potato and white choclo corn, served on a white plate

Bolivia 1h

Lunch •La Paz Altiplano Classic

Plato Paceño

This plato paceno recipe is the classic La Paz plate: big-kernel white choclo corn, tender broad beans and boiled potatoes served with slices of fresh cheese fried until golden, plus a spoonful of fiery llajua sauce on the side. It is the everyday lunch of the Bolivian Altiplano — simple, starchy, satisfying food that has fed high-altitude families for generations. One serving is about 606 g.

Comfort & Energy

Boiled choclo corn, broad beans and potatoes with golden fried cheese and spicy llajua sauce — a filling, meat-free plate from the high Altiplano around La Paz.

Pairs Well With
Llajua sauce, a glass of api (purple corn drink) or coca-leaf tea

A whole round thick-crust pizza with melted muzzarella, green olives and oregano, cut into slices on a wooden board

Uruguay 1h 40m

Dinner •Montevideo Pizzeria Classic

Uruguayan Pizza

This uruguayan pizza recipe is the Montevideo pizzeria classic: a thick, soft, bread-like crust (pizza a la piedra, baked on stone or in a tray) covered in tomato sauce and a generous blanket of muzzarella, finished with oregano and green olives. Unlike thin Neapolitan pizza, the Uruguayan version is tall, cheesy and filling, and it is traditionally served with a slice of fainá — chickpea flatbread — on top. One serving is about 338 g.

Comfort & Sharing

A thick, soft-crusted pizza loaded with melting muzzarella, tomato sauce, oregano and green olives — the Montevideo pizzeria style, made for sharing.

Pairs Well With
Fainá (chickpea flatbread), a simple green salad and a cold lager or red wine

Four golden-brown fried payagua mascada patties on a white plate, crisp and speckled with herbs

Paraguay 45m

Lunch •Paraguayan Street-Food Classic

Payagua Mascada

This payagua mascada recipe is the Paraguayan street-food favourite: soft mashed mandioca (cassava) mixed with seasoned ground beef, onion, spring onion and egg, shaped into patties and fried until crisp and golden. The name means "chewed payagua", after the Payagua people of the Paraguay River, and the patties are sold from market stalls and roadside stands across the country. One serving is about 310 g.

Comfort & Energy

Golden fried patties of mashed cassava and seasoned ground beef — crisp outside, soft inside — a beloved Paraguayan snack and lunch.

Pairs Well With
Fresh tomato salad, pickled onions and a cold tereré or limeade

A golden dome of mofongo made from mashed fried green plantain with pork cracklings, with tomato and shredded lettuce on a white plate

Dominican Republic 50m

Dinner •Dominican Plantain Classic

Mofongo Dominicano

Green plantains are fried golden, then pounded hot in a pilon with raw garlic, salt and crackling pork chicharron, and pressed into a firm dome that holds its shape on the plate. A small bowl of hot chicken broth arrives alongside, to spoon over each bite, with tomato and shredded lettuce for freshness. One serving is about 407 g.

Hearty Dinner Comfort

Fried green plantains mashed with garlic and crisp pork chicharron into a dense dome, served with hot chicken broth for a filling Dominican dinner.

Pairs Well With
Hot chicken broth, tomato and lettuce salad, avocado slices

Chupe de jaiba: a golden cheese-topped crab gratin with a shrimp on top, baked in a black clay bowl

Chile 1h

Dinner •Chilean Coastal Classic

Chupe de Jaiba

This chupe de jaiba recipe is Chile's coastal crab gratin: sweet crab meat folded with milk-soaked bread, a soft onion sofrito and cream, then baked in a clay bowl under a blanket of melted cheese. The top turns golden and crisp at the edges while the inside stays creamy and rich, and a single shrimp on top is the traditional finishing touch. One serving is about 340 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A baked crab and bread gratin with a golden cheese crust, served bubbling in its own clay bowl.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread, a simple green salad, and a cold glass of white wine or sparkling water with lemon.

Pan de jamon: a golden sliced ham bread showing the spiral of ham and green olives, with Christmas candles behind it

Venezuela 2h 40m

Snack & Tea •Venezuelan Christmas Classic

Pan de Jamon

This pan de jamon recipe is Venezuela's Christmas ham bread: a soft, lightly sweet enriched dough rolled around sliced ham, green olives and raisins, then baked until deeply golden. Every slice shows the same spiral — salty ham, briny olive, sweet raisin — and the loaf fills the house with the smell of a bakery at Christmas. One serving is about 160 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A soft, golden festive loaf with a spiral of ham, green olives and raisins in every slice.

Pairs Well With
A fresh green salad, Venezuelan hallacas, and a cup of hot chocolate or strong coffee.

Fanesca: a bowl of thick golden Ecuadorian Easter soup topped with a halved boiled egg, crumbled cheese, fried dough balls, an empanada and beans

Ecuador 2h 10m

Lunch •Ecuadorian Holy Week Classic

Fanesca

This fanesca recipe is Ecuador's Easter soup: a thick, golden pot of squash and milk, filled with twelve beans and grains, salt cod, ground peanuts and fresh cheese, and served with hard-boiled egg and fried plantain on top. It is cooked only in Holy Week, and every family counts its own twelve grains for the twelve apostles, with the salt cod standing for the fish. One serving is about 560 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A thick Holy Week soup of squash, milk, salt cod and twelve beans and grains, crowned with egg and fried plantain.

Pairs Well With
Small cheese empanadas, fried plantain, and a glass of fresh juice or a light beer.

Soups & Broths

Mondongo chuquisaqueno: pork in deep-red aji sauce with golden mote corn, boiled potatoes and chopped parsley on a white plate

Bolivia 2h 30m

Dinner •Chuquisaca Heritage

Mondongo Chuquisaqueno

This mondongo chuquisaqueno recipe is the festive plate of Sucre, capital of Chuquisaca in southern Bolivia: pork simmered until tender, browned in its own fat and coated in a deep-red aji colorado sauce, served with golden mote corn and boiled potatoes. The pork skin turns meltingly soft in the long simmer, the mote is coloured gold with palillo (turmeric), and a shower of parsley finishes the plate. One serving is about 530 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Slow-simmered pork and pork skin in a red chilli sauce, served with golden mote corn and boiled potatoes.

Pairs Well With
A cold lager, chicha, or a glass of Singani with soda; pickled red onion on the side.

Bistec de palomilla: thin seared steak topped with sauteed onions, with black beans, white rice, fried plantains and a lime wedge

Cuba 50m

Dinner •Cuban Steakhouse Classic

Bistec de Palomilla

This bistec de palomilla recipe is Cuba's everyday steakhouse plate: a thin round steak, butterflied, pounded flat and marinated in garlic and lime, then seared in a screaming-hot pan in about two minutes a side. It arrives buried under a tangle of sweet sauteed onions, with black beans, white rice and fried plantains alongside. One serving is about 485 g.

Comfort & Energy

A thin lime-and-garlic marinated steak, seared fast and buried under sweet sauteed onions, with black beans, rice and fried plantains.

Pairs Well With
Black beans and white rice, fried plantains, and a cold lager or a glass of fresh limeade.

High Protein

Two golden Salvadoran empanadas de platano dusted with sugar on a blue plate with a fork

El Salvador 1h

Snack & Tea •Salvadoran Market Sweet

Empanadas de Platano

This empanadas de platano recipe turns very ripe plantains into a soft, sweet dough, fills it with leche poleada — a thick vanilla milk custard — then fries the little half-moons until golden and rolls them in cinnamon sugar. They are the sweet sold at Salvadoran markets and fairs, eaten warm out of a paper bag. One serving is about 255 g.

Sweet Comfort

Golden fried empanadas of sweet ripe-plantain dough wrapped around a vanilla milk custard, rolled in cinnamon sugar — El Salvador's market sweet, best eaten warm with coffee.

Pairs Well With
Hot coffee, atol de elote and fresh fruit

Dark glossy slices of posta negra beef in a rich panela sauce, served in a clear glass dish

Colombia 2h 55m

Dinner •Cartagena Heritage

Posta Negra Cartagenera

This posta negra recipe turns a beef top round into Cartagena's famous black beef: the meat is marinated with garlic, cumin and Worcestershire sauce, seared in caramelised panela, then braised low and slow in red wine and beef stock until it slices tender. One serving is about 290 g. Serve it with coconut rice and fried plantains and let the dark, glossy sauce do the talking.

Rich & Celebratory

A slow-braised beef roast in a dark, sweet-savoury panela sauce, the centrepiece of Cartagena family tables.

Pairs Well With
Serve with Colombian coconut rice and patacones, and a glass of red wine or a cold beer.

High Protein

Five glossy dark-brown jalao coconut-ginger candy balls on a white plate, one with a wooden toothpick

Dominican Republic 20m

Snack & Tea •Dominican Sweet Classic

Jalao

This jalao recipe is the Dominican colmado classic: grated coconut and brown sugar are cooked with fresh ginger until dark and sticky, then rolled by hand into glossy balls. No baking, no butter, no milk — just coconut, sugar and ginger. One serving is 4 balls, about 108 g. Keep a tin of them on the counter and they will not last the day.

Sweet & Simple

A no-bake Dominican candy of grated coconut, brown sugar and ginger, rolled into glossy dark balls.

Pairs Well With
Serve with strong Dominican coffee or a glass of cold milk, and a few balls tucked into a lunchbox.

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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Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

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Bangladesh

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Belarus

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Belize

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

Brunei

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Burkina Faso

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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

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Dominican Republic

Ecuador

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El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

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Eswatini

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Fiji

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Gabon

Gambia

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Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

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Iceland

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Iran

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Jamaica

Japan

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Laos

Latvia

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Mali

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Mauritius

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Myanmar

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Netherlands

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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

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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)

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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