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 2161–2172 of 2290 dinner recipes

A golden grilled Venezuelan arepa split open and stuffed with scrambled eggs, tomato and onion, served on red-checked paper

Venezuela 55m

Breakfast •Venezuelan Heritage

Arepa Perico

Arepa perico is Venezuela's classic breakfast arepa: a crisp grilled corn cake split open and stuffed with huevos pericos, soft scrambled eggs cooked with tomato, onion and sweet pepper. This arepa perico recipe makes 4 stuffed arepas, and one serving is about 360 g. The egg filling is the whole point — without it, this is just a plain arepa — and the tomato and onion keep the eggs juicy instead of dry.

Hearty Breakfast

A grilled corn arepa stuffed with scrambled eggs, tomato and onion, giving protein and slow-release energy to start the day.

Pairs Well With
A cup of café con leche or a glass of fresh orange juice, with a slice of white cheese on the side if you like.

Sliced red tomatoes topped with thinly sliced white onion and chopped cilantro on a white rectangular plate

Chile 20m

Lunch •Chilean Heritage

Ensalada Chilena

Ensalada chilena is the salad on every Chilean table: thick slices of ripe tomato layered with paper-thin onion cut en pluma, like feathers, then scattered with cilantro and dressed with olive oil, lemon and salt. The red tomatoes and white onion echo the colours of the Chilean flag, and the whole dish is only as good as the tomatoes — make it in tomato season and serve it the same day. One serving is about 215 g.

Fresh & Light Side

Ripe tomatoes and feathered onion with cilantro, olive oil and lemon — the cool, sharp counterpoint to Chile's rich mains.

Pairs Well With
Pastel de choclo, grilled meat or fish, and crusty bread

Quick Prep (<30m)

A terracotta bowl of smooth pale-green guasacaca sauce topped with a parsley sprig, on a mustard cloth

Venezuela 15m

Snack & Tea •Venezuelan Heritage

Guasacaca Venezolana

This guasacaca recipe blends ripe avocado with green pepper, ají dulce, onion, garlic, parsley and cilantro, then thins the mix with white vinegar, oil and water into a smooth, pourable sauce. It is Venezuela's green table sauce, spooned over grilled meat, tequeños and arepas — thinner and sharper than guacamole, with vinegar where guacamole uses lime. One serving is about 70 g.

Fresh & Creamy

Blended avocado, green pepper, onion, garlic and herbs with vinegar and oil — a thin, pourable table sauce, not a dip.

Pairs Well With
Guasacaca spooned over grilled meat with arepas and lime

Quick Prep (<30m)

A white bowl of sliced hearts of palm salad with tomato, cucumber, olives and chopped herbs

Ecuador 20m

Lunch •Ecuadorian Coast Heritage

Ensalada de Palmito Ecuatoriana

Ensalada de palmito ecuatoriana is the bright, crunchy salad of Ecuador: sliced hearts of palm tossed with creamy avocado, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and red onion over lettuce, dressed with lime and olive oil. One serving is about 380 g. This ensalada de palmito ecuatoriana recipe is ready in 20 minutes with no cooking at all.

Light Fresh Lunch

Hearts of palm tossed with avocado, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and red onion in a lime and olive oil vinaigrette.

Pairs Well With
Grilled fish or chicken, white rice, and an ice-cold lemonade.

Two flutes of pale sparkling wine with fine bubbles rising, one in sharp focus in front

Uruguay 5m

Snack & Tea •Uruguayan Heritage

Medio y Medio

This medio y medio recipe mixes equal parts dry white wine and sparkling wine — half and half, as the name says — into Uruguay's classic bubbly aperitif. One serving is one tall glass, about 198 g. It is the pale, fizzing drink Montevideo bars have poured for generations, at about 12% alcohol by volume.

Crisp Sparkling Aperitif

Dry white wine and sparkling wine, half and half — Montevideo's crisp, bubbly aperitif, served ice-cold.

Pairs Well With
Empanadas, grilled white fish and a green salad

A black bowl of whole red beans topped with a dollop of white cream, served over rice with mushrooms on a wooden table

El Salvador 1h 30m

Lunch •Salvadoran Heritage

Frijoles con Crema

This frijoles con crema recipe simmers small Salvadoran red beans with onion and garlic until tender, then stirs in cool Salvadoran crema for a creamy, comforting side dish. It is the pot of beans at the heart of the Salvadoran table, served with rice, eggs or tortillas. One serving is about 260 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Slow-simmered red beans finished with cool Salvadoran crema — the creamy, protein-rich side dish at the centre of the Salvadoran table.

Pairs Well With
White rice, fried plantains and warm corn tortillas, with crumbled queso fresco and fresh cilantro on top.

Three slices of golden Honduran banana bread with a moist crumb, cut from a loaf on a wooden board

Honduras 1h 15m

Snack & Tea •Honduran Heritage

Honduran Banana Bread

This Honduran banana bread recipe turns three very ripe bananas into a moist, golden loaf, enriched with Neufchatel cheese and flecked with sweet coconut. It is a one-bowl quick bread with no yeast: cream, mash, fold and bake. One serving is about 85 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A soft, golden loaf of very ripe bananas, Neufchatel cheese and flaked coconut — a sweet Honduran home bake for coffee time.

Pairs Well With
Salted butter and hot Honduran coffee

A tray piled high with golden fried hojuelas, crisp triangular pastries dusted with sugar

Colombia 1h

Snack & Tea •Antioquia Heritage

Hojuelas Colombianas

Hojuelas colombianas, also called hojaldras, are the crisp fried fritters of the Colombian Christmas table: a simple dough of wheat flour, butter, egg and orange juice, rolled paper-thin, cut into diamonds and fried for seconds until golden and bubbled. They are dusted with cinnamon sugar and eaten with natilla and buñuelos during the December novenas. One serving is about 90 g.

Sweet & Crispy

Thin sheets of wheat dough fried until golden and shatteringly crisp, dusted with cinnamon sugar — the Christmas fritter of Colombia.

Pairs Well With
Hot chocolate, aguapanela or black coffee, with natilla and buñuelos on the Christmas table.

A whole golden fried trout on white rice with a boiled potato and fresh salad on a patterned plate

Bolivia 45m

Lunch •Lake Titicaca Heritage

Trucha Frita Boliviana

Trucha frita boliviana is the fried trout of Lake Titicaca: a whole butterflied rainbow trout, seasoned with garlic, cumin and lime, dusted in flour and pan-fried until the skin turns golden and crisp. It comes to the table with white rice, boiled potatoes, mote corn and a sharp onion and tomato salad. One serving is about 512 g.

High-Protein & Hearty

Whole butterflied rainbow trout, floured and pan-fried until crisp, served with white rice, boiled potatoes, mote and onion-tomato salad.

Pairs Well With
White rice, boiled potatoes, mote corn and onion-tomato salad, with lime wedges and a cold lager or a glass of white wine.

High Protein

A white plate of ensalada de cochayuyo, glossy dark red-brown strips of cooked cochayuyo seaweed tossed with finely diced white onion and fresh coriander, on a black tablecloth

Chile 50m

Lunch •Chilean Coastal Heritage

Ensalada de Cochayuyo

This ensalada de cochayuyo recipe turns dried Chilean bull kelp into a bright, chewy salad: the seaweed is soaked overnight, boiled until tender, then tossed with finely diced white onion, fresh coriander, lemon juice and olive oil. It is the salad of Chile's fishing coves, served cold beside grilled fish or on its own with bread. One serving is about 182 g.

Light & Fresh

A bright, mineral-rich seaweed salad with lemon and coriander, light enough for a warm day.

Pairs Well With
Serve cold with grilled fish, pebre and marraqueta bread, and a glass of cold white wine or sparkling water.

Dark red slabs of guava paste topped with a wedge of white cheese, with halved pink guavas, green leaves and a block of white cheese behind, on a wooden board

Colombia 10m

Snack & Tea •Vélez Heritage

Bocadillo Veleño

This bocadillo veleno recipe layers ruby-red guava paste with slices of mild queso campesino, the sweet-salty bite Colombians call a casado. No cooking, no fuss - just two ingredients cut to match and eaten at room temperature, when the cheese is soft and the paste is firm. One serving is about 90 g.

Sweet-Salty No-Cook Snack

Firm guava paste layered with mild fresh cheese, the sweet-salty pairing Colombians call a casado.

Pairs Well With
Black coffee or aguapanela, with a fresh fruit salad on the side

Quick Prep (<30m)

An oval golden-brown sweet bread roll, split in half to show its soft brown crumb, on a white plate with small blue flowers.

Venezuela 2h 55m

Breakfast •Táchira Bakery Classic

Acema Venezolana

This acema venezolana recipe bakes 8 soft, golden rolls from a sweet yeasted dough in which grated white cheese, panela and anise seeds are mixed right through the crumb. One serving is about 125 g, one warm roll brushed with panela syrup. The rolls are sweet, lightly spiced and salty at once, the way Táchira bakeries have made them for generations.

Sweet Breakfast Rolls

Soft, sweet yeasted rolls with panela, anise and cheese, baked for breakfast.

Pairs Well With
Hot chocolate or coffee with milk, for dunking.

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