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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193

Cuisines Covered

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4 Slots

Breakfast to Snack

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100%

Recipes with Nutrition

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What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 2077–2088 of 2290 dinner recipes

A whole golden pumpkin tart with a crisp pastry crust and a smooth orange pumpkin filling on a wooden board

Uruguay 1h 15m

Lunch •Uruguayan Home-Baking Classic

Torta de Zapallo

This torta de zapallo recipe bakes the Uruguayan pumpkin tart: roasted pumpkin mashed with cheese, egg and cream in a crisp shortcrust shell. One serving is about 190 g and carries 393 calories. It is a home-baking classic — a whole tart, sliced at the table, not a pumpkin stuffed and served whole.

Comfort & Warmth

A golden Uruguayan pumpkin and cheese tart in a crisp pastry shell.

Pairs Well With
A green salad with a sharp dressing, and a glass of white wine or sparkling water.

A whole grilled fish topped with charred lemon slices on a white plate, with a bowl of wild rice, lettuce and lemons beside it

Paraguay 1h 50m

Dinner •Paraná River Parrilla Classic

Boga a la Parrilla

This boga a la parrilla recipe grills the Paraguayan river fish the parrilla way: a whole boga, butterflied and deboned, marinated in lemon, garlic, oregano and white wine, then cooked scale-side down over gentle coals. One serving is about 268 g and carries 341 calories, with 51 g of protein. Lemon slices char on the flesh as it cooks.

Comfort & Warmth

A whole butterflied river fish grilled over coals with lemon, garlic and oregano.

Pairs Well With
White rice and a green salad, with lemon wedges and chimichurri on the side if you like.

High Protein

Sliced mojo chicken with orange citrus sauce on a dark plate with avocado, greens and a small bowl of aioli

Cuba 5h 35m

Dinner •Cuban Mojo Classic

Cuban Mojo Chicken

This Cuban mojo chicken recipe roasts a whole chicken that has spent hours in mojo criollo — sour orange, lime, garlic, oregano and cumin — until the skin is golden and the meat is juicy and garlicky. One serving is about 175 g and carries 548 calories. It is the chicken cousin of lechon asado: the same marinade family, a different bird.

Comfort & Warmth

A whole chicken marinated in sour-orange mojo and roasted until golden and juicy.

Pairs Well With
Black beans and rice, with fried plantains and a little of the pan juices spooned over.

High Protein

A glass of cola de mono, a creamy beige Chilean Christmas drink, in front of a Christmas tree

Chile 30m

Snack & Tea •Chilean Christmas Classic

Cola de Mono

This cola de mono recipe makes Chile's Christmas milk drink: whole milk gently heated with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, sweetened, stirred with strong coffee, then cooled and finished with aguardiente. It is served ice-cold in small glasses, next to pan de Pascua, on Christmas Eve. One serving is about 231 g (a small glass).

Festive Christmas Drink

Warmly spiced milk with coffee and aguardiente, served ice-cold with pan de Pascua at Christmas.

Pairs Well With
Pan de Pascua (Chilean Christmas fruitcake) and Christmas cookies, with a glass of water alongside

A plastic cup of red tizana venezolana topped with banana and peach slices, with two straws

Venezuela 25m

Snack & Tea •Venezuelan Party Punch

Tizana Venezolana

This tizana venezolana recipe is Venezuela's party punch: seven kinds of fresh fruit chopped small and drowned in orange juice, lime and grenadine, then finished with soda water and served ice-cold. It is so full of fruit that you eat it with a spoon as well as drinking it through a straw. One serving is about 348 g (a tall glass).

Fresh Fruit Punch

Seven chopped fresh fruits in orange juice and grenadine, served ice-cold with a spoon and a straw.

Pairs Well With
Tequeños (Venezuelan cheese sticks) and small arepas, with a glass of sparkling water

A metal bowl of bright red cooked crabs in criollo sauce, served Ecuadorian cangrejada style

Ecuador 1h

Dinner •Guayaquil Coastal Classic

Cangrejo Criollo

This cangrejo criollo recipe is the crab feast of Guayaquil: whole blue crabs simmered in a criollo sauce of tomato, onion, green pepper, garlic and achiote oil, loosened with beer, and served in a big bowl with white rice and boiled plantain. You crack the shells at the table and spoon the sauce over everything. One serving is about 391 g of crab meat and criollo sauce (two whole crabs, picked at the table).

Coastal Crab Feast

Whole blue crabs simmered in a tomato, onion and pepper criollo sauce, eaten with your hands at the table.

Pairs Well With
White rice, boiled green plantain and tomato-onion salad, with an ice-cold beer

Pacumutu — grilled meat skewers with peppers and onion on a white plate, served with cheesy rice and golden fried yuca

Bolivia 55m

Dinner •Santa Cruz Heritage

Pacumutu

This pacumutu recipe brings Santa Cruz de la Sierra to your grill: large chunks of tender beef fillet marinated with garlic and black pepper, threaded onto skewers with peppers and onion, and grilled over charcoal until charred at the edges. Fried yuca and the meat's own juices finish the plate. One serving is about 390 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Big chunks of tender beef, charred peppers and golden fried yuca — the eastern Bolivian barbecue plate, built for sharing.

Pairs Well With
Fried yuca, arroz con queso and llajua

High Protein

A glass bowl of white corn kernels in creamy sweet milk with a clove and a cinnamon stick, on a blue-patterned plate

Dominican Republic 2h 15m

Snack & Tea •Dominican Corn Pudding

Chaca

This chaca recipe soaks cracked corn overnight, then boils it tender and simmers it in sweet milk with cinnamon, cloves, a little rice and raisins until the pot turns thick and creamy. It is served warm, dusted with cinnamon, like a cross between rice pudding and porridge. One serving is about 275 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Cracked corn simmered until tender in sweet cinnamon milk with rice and raisins, served warm by the bowlful.

Pairs Well With
Warm milk, cinnamon tea & a slice of buttered bread

Flaked salt cod simmered with tomato, green peppers, onion and thyme in a glass bowl

Haiti 1h 5m

Lunch •Haitian Salt Cod Classic

Lanmori

This lanmori recipe starts with salted cod — lanmori is the Haitian Creole name for the dried, salted fish — soaked and boiled to wash out the salt, then flaked into a tomato sauce built on onion, green and red peppers, garlic, thyme and a whole Scotch bonnet. Lime juice at the end lifts the whole pot. One serving is about 260 g.

Hearty & Satisfying

Desalted cod flaked into a tomato sauce with peppers, onion, epis herbs and a whole habanero, finished with lime.

Pairs Well With
Boiled plantains, white rice & pikliz

Shrimp simmered in a golden coconut milk sauce with a green chilli, served in a dark bowl

Honduras 40m

Dinner •Honduran Coastal Classic

Camarones al Coco

This camarones al coco recipe is the Honduran coast in a pan: shrimp simmered just until pink in a creamy coconut milk sauce with onion, red pepper, ginger and a little chilli, finished with lime and cilantro. It is rich but quick — dinner in forty minutes — and the sauce is made for spooning over white rice. One serving is about 330 g of shrimp and sauce.

Comfort & Warmth

Shrimp simmered in a creamy coconut milk sauce with peppers, ginger and lime, served over white rice.

Pairs Well With
White rice, fried plantains & a cold limeade

Shrimp in a glossy red tomato sauce with onion rings and red peppers, served in a white dish

El Salvador 40m

Dinner •Salvadoran Coastal Classic

Camarones en Salsa

This camarones en salsa recipe blends fresh tomatoes with onion, green pepper and garlic into a bright red sauce, simmers it until it thickens, then cooks the shrimp right in the sauce until they turn pink. It is a quick Salvadoran dinner — forty minutes from pan to plate — served with white rice and warm corn tortillas for scooping. One serving is about 320 g of shrimp and sauce.

Light & Satisfying

Shrimp cooked in a fresh blended tomato sauce with onion, green pepper and garlic, finished with cilantro and lime.

Pairs Well With
White rice, corn tortillas & a cold horchata

Six golden baked empanadas de choclo with crimped edges and melted cheese showing at the seams, on white paper

Paraguay 1h 25m

Snack & Tea •Paraguay Heritage

Empanada de Choclo

This empanada de choclo recipe wraps sweet corn, soft-cooked onion and melted mozzarella in a buttery wheat pastry, then bakes the empanadas until golden and crisp. The filling stays creamy inside while the crust turns flaky, and the corn gives every bite a gentle sweetness. One serving is about 107 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Golden baked pastry filled with sweet corn, soft onion and melted mozzarella — a warm, cheesy Paraguayan snack.

Pairs Well With
Warm empanadas with a tomato salad and tereré or 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

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)

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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