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 2041–2052 of 2290 dinner recipes

A bowl of mote de queso: pale creamy yam soup with white cheese cubes melting in, topped with chopped cilantro

Colombia 55m

Lunch •Caribbean Coast Yam Soup

Mote de Queso

This mote de queso recipe simmers white yam in a light sofrito broth until the yam breaks down and thickens the soup, then stirs in cubes of salty queso costeno that soften and melt at the edges — a pale, creamy, savoury soup from Colombia's Caribbean coast. One serving is about 470 g.

Comfort & Warmth

White yam simmered until it thickens the broth, with cubes of salty coastal cheese melting in and a fresh lime finish.

Pairs Well With
White rice, fried plantain, avocado and a cold lemonade

Soups & Broths

A whole Venezuelan bienmesabe cake covered in shredded coconut with a piped meringue border, cinnamon and coconut stripes on top, on a white plate

Venezuela 1h 10m

Snack & Tea •Venezuelan Celebration Cake

Bienmesabe Venezolano

Bienmesabe Venezolano is a soft sponge cake soaked in a rich coconut cream made with egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk, then crowned with piped meringue, shredded coconut and a dusting of cinnamon. It is sweet, moist and deeply coconutty, and it tastes best well chilled. One serving is about 164 g.

Coconut Celebration Cake

A light sponge cake soaked in a coconut and egg-yolk cream, finished with meringue, shredded coconut and cinnamon.

Pairs Well With
Black coffee & fresh tropical fruit

A sandwich de chola in a soft round roll filled with sliced roast pork, pickled carrot and onion, tomato and herbs, with crisp roast pork skin in front

Bolivia 3h 15m

Lunch •La Paz Street Classic

Sandwich de Chola

Sandwich de chola is the great street sandwich of La Paz: a soft round roll piled with slices of slow-roast pork leg and crisp crackling, then topped with escabeche — onion, carrot and locoto pickled in vinegar — plus fresh tomato and herbs. The pork is seasoned simply with garlic, cumin and salt, roasted low and slow until tender, and finished at high heat so the skin crackles. One serving is about 445 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Slow-roast pork with crackling skin, sliced into a soft roll with sharp pickled onion, carrot and locoto — the sandwich La Paz eats standing up at the market.

Pairs Well With
Llajua hot sauce & a cold glass of api or beer

Slices of roasted stuffed pork loin on a plate, showing the spiral of ham, cheese and olive stuffing

El Salvador 2h

Dinner •Salvadoran Holiday Roast

Lomo Relleno

Lomo relleno is a stuffed pork loin, the kind of roast Salvadoran families bring out for Christmas and other holiday gatherings. This lomo relleno recipe butterflies a boneless pork loin, fills it with ham, queso fresco, prunes, raisins, olives, carrots and green beans, ties it into a neat roll and roasts it with red wine and tomato until the centre reaches 63°C (145°F). One serving is about 334 g (two thick slices with pan sauce).

Comfort & Warmth

A butterflied pork loin rolled around ham, cheese, prunes and olives, roasted until juicy and sliced to show the spiral of stuffing.

Pairs Well With
Sliced thick with its red-wine pan sauce, beside white rice, curtido and warm corn tortillas.

High Protein

Golden grilled mollejas sweetbreads with charred edges and lemon wedges on a rustic plate

Uruguay 1h 35m

Dinner •Montevideo Parrilla Heritage

Uruguayan Mollejas

Uruguayan mollejas are calf sweetbreads — the thymus glands — soaked, blanched, pressed flat and grilled over charcoal until the outside turns golden and crisp while the inside stays soft and creamy. They are served hot with lemon wedges and chimichurri, usually as the first thing off the parrilla. One serving is about 195 g.

High-Protein & Satisfying

Creamy grilled sweetbreads with a crisp, salty crust, lemon and chimichurri — the prized first cut of the Uruguayan parrilla.

Pairs Well With
Lemon wedges & chimichurri, with grilled bread

High Protein

A block of Haitian dous makos milk fudge with pink, cream and pale cocoa layers on white paper

Haiti 50m

Snack & Tea •Haitian Heritage

Dous Makos

This dous makos recipe makes Haiti's striped milk fudge: sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk cooked with sugar and butter until thick, then poured in layers — plain cream, pink, and cocoa — and left to set into a firm, sliceable candy. One serving is about 100 g, one square. It is the sweet every Haitian bakery counter and family party seems to have, and it keeps for days.

Sweet Treats & Celebration

A layered milk fudge of condensed milk, evaporated milk and sugar, coloured pink and cocoa-brown in stripes.

Pairs Well With
Serve one square with strong Haitian coffee or a glass of cold milk; the coffee's bitterness balances the fudge's sweetness.

Golden blistered yaniqueques, thin fried Dominican dough rounds, piled on a white cloth

Dominican Republic 35m

Snack & Tea •Dominican Beach Snack

Yaniqueques

This yaniqueques recipe makes thin, blistered Dominican johnnycakes: a simple flour dough rolled out almost paper-thin and fried in hot oil until golden, puffed and crackle-crisp. They are the beach snack of Boca Chica, sold from street carts and eaten warm, plain or with fried fish and salami. One serving is about 101 g, two yaniqueques.

Comfort & Warmth

Thin rounds of plain flour dough, rolled out and fried until golden and blistered — the crisp beach snack Dominicans buy from street vendors in Boca Chica and all along the coast.

Pairs Well With
Fried fish or fried Dominican salami & a cold drink

Quick Prep (<30m)

A clay bowl of ceviche de chochos con pollo: pale lupini beans, shredded chicken strips and red onion in lime dressing, with a bowl of popcorn beside it

Ecuador 45m

Lunch •Andean Lupini Ceviche

Ceviche de Chochos con Pollo

This ceviche de chochos con pollo recipe marinates creamy Andean lupini beans with shredded chicken, tomato, red onion and lime juice until the beans soak up the sour, savoury dressing — a cold, protein-rich ceviche from the Ecuadorian highlands, served with a bowl of popcorn. One serving is about 320 g.

Fresh & Protein-Rich

Andean lupini beans marinated in lime juice with shredded chicken, tomato and red onion, served cold with popcorn.

Pairs Well With
Popcorn, toasted corn, avocado and a cold fruit juice

Golden-topped coconut cocadas piled in a gold tray

Colombia 50m

Snack & Tea •Colombian Pacific Coast Sweet

Cocadas Colombianas

This cocadas colombianas recipe turns grated coconut, panela and coconut water into golden, chewy coconut mounds with crisp tops. They are the classic sweet sold by street vendors along Colombia's Pacific coast, made with no milk, no egg and no wheat flour. One serving is about 72 g.

Sweet Coconut Treat

Golden coconut mounds made from grated coconut, panela and coconut water, cooked in a pot, shaped by hand and baked until the tops turn crisp and golden.

Pairs Well With
Colombian coffee, aguapanela, or a cold glass of lulada

A pile of golden, thin fried green plantain chips (chifles) filling the frame

Ecuador 25m

Snack & Tea •Ecuadorian Coastal Snack

Chifles

This chifles recipe makes the thin, golden chips of coastal Ecuador: green plantains sliced paper-thin and fried once in hot oil until they turn crisp all the way through, then salted while still hot. They are nothing like thick twice-fried patacones — these are light, shattering chips, made to be scooped up by the handful. One serving is about 120 g.

Crisp & Snackable

Paper-thin green plantain chips, fried once until they shatter — the crunchy snack coastal Ecuador reaches for.

Pairs Well With
Ají criollo, ceviche de palmito, or an ice-cold limeade

Quick Prep (<30m)

A trancapecho sandwich in a soft round roll filled with a breaded beef cutlet, a fried egg, fried potato, white rice and tomato salsa

Bolivia 1h 5m

Lunch •Cochabamba Heritage

Trancapecho

Trancapecho is Cochabamba's answer to the packed lunch: a complete silpancho folded into bread. A beef steak is pounded paper-thin, breaded and fried crisp, then layered in a soft round roll with white rice, golden fried potato slices, one fried egg and a fresh salsa of tomato, onion and locoto. It is not a steak-and-egg tower like the Uruguayan chivito — there is no ham, bacon or cheese, and the cutlet, rice and potato are the silpancho itself, served in bread instead of on a plate. One serving is about 535 g.

Hearty & Satisfying

A whole silpancho — pounded breaded beef, rice, fried potato, a fried egg and fresh salsa — tucked inside a soft round roll: Cochabamba's handheld lunch.

Pairs Well With
Llajua hot sauce & a cold beer or chicha

Braided chinchulines grilling over charcoal embers on a parrilla, golden and crisp

Uruguay 1h 25m

Dinner •Río de la Plata Parrilla Heritage

Uruguayan Chinchulines

Uruguayan chinchulines are beef small intestines, cleaned, braided into rings, parboiled until tender and then grilled over charcoal until the outside turns crisp and golden. They are served hot with lemon wedges and chimichurri, usually as one of the first things off the parrilla. One serving is about 183 g.

Hearty & Satisfying

Braided beef intestines parboiled, then grilled over charcoal until crisp and golden, with lemon and chimichurri — a classic parrilla offal dish.

Pairs Well With
Lemon wedges & chimichurri, with grilled bread

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