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 2281–2290 of 2290 dinner recipes

Grilled chorizo sausages and arepas cooking over glowing charcoal

Colombia 1h 5m

Lunch •Coffee Triangle Heritage

Chorizo Santarrosano

This chorizo santarrosano recipe makes the fresh pork sausage of Santa Rosa de Cabal, in Colombia's Coffee Triangle: pork shoulder and back fat ground coarse, mixed with scallions, garlic, sweet paprika, cumin and oregano, stuffed into hog casings and grilled. The links come off the grill juicy and reddish-gold, and they are eaten with arepa, papa criolla and ají. One serving is about 275 g.

Rich & Savory

A fresh pork sausage seasoned with scallion, garlic, paprika and cumin, grilled and served with arepa.

Pairs Well With
Warm arepas and ají picante, with a cold beer or panela lemonade.

Golden wheat arepas andinas in a metal bowl on a red checked cloth

Venezuela 45m

Breakfast •Andean Heritage

Arepa Andina

This arepa andina recipe makes the wheat arepas of the Venezuelan Andes: wheat flour, milk, egg, butter and a spoonful of sugar kneaded into a soft dough, rested, shaped thin and griddled on a budare until golden and speckled. Unlike the corn arepas known across Venezuela, these are bread-like, thin and faintly sweet — made to be split open and filled with white cheese. One arepa is about 115 g. The photo shows a bowl of golden arepas andinas, fresh off the griddle.

Warm & Comforting

A soft, lightly sweet wheat flatbread from the Venezuelan Andes, griddled golden on a budare and split open for white cheese.

Pairs Well With
White cheese and hot chocolate, or butter and coffee with milk

A plate of arroz con menestra y pollo apanado — white rice, red-bean menestra with onion and tomato, and golden breaded chicken breast

Ecuador 1h 20m

Lunch •Ecuadorian Heritage

Arroz con Menestra y Pollo Apanado

This arroz con menestra y pollo apanado recipe makes Guayaquil's classic lunch — fluffy white rice, red-bean menestra stewed in an onion, tomato and achiote refrito, and golden breaded chicken breast fried crisp. One plate is about 680 g, a full lunch for one.

Hearty & Filling

Guayaquil's weekday lunch — white rice, red-bean menestra in an achiote refrito, and crisp breaded chicken.

Pairs Well With
Fried green plantain (patacones) and a spoonful of aji on the side, with iced lemonade to drink.

High Protein

A clay bowl of golden wallaqe broth with whole carachi fish, dark chuño and potato, garnished with herbs, with dried chillies beside it

Bolivia 1h 5m

Lunch •Lake Titicaca Heritage

Wallaqe

This wallaqe recipe makes the fish broth of the Lake Titicaca shores: whole small carachi simmered in a light, golden broth with yellow ají, koa and garlic, served with boiled potatoes and chuño in a deep clay bowl. It is the lakeshore's answer to the highland meat soups — lighter, quicker, and built on the lake's own fish. One serving is about 800 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A hot, golden fish broth with chuño and potato — the warming bowl the Titicaca lakeshore reaches for on cold highland days.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot with llajwa on the side and boiled broad beans, with the broth ladled over the fish

Soups & Broths

Charred chicken cubes on a skewer with saffron rice, grilled tomato, sliced onion and lemon

Uruguay 59m

Dinner •Uruguayan Parrilla Heritage

Uruguayan Chicken Brochette

This Uruguayan chicken brochette recipe marinates chicken thigh in olive oil, lemon, garlic and oregano, threads it onto skewers with red and green peppers and onion, and grills it over charcoal until charred at the edges and juicy inside. It is parrilla food at its simplest — fire, smoke and a spoonful of chimichurri. One serving is about 240 g. Photo note: the photo shows a grilled chicken skewer served with saffron rice, grilled tomato, onion and lemon as a visual equivalent for the Uruguayan brochette, which is served with peppers, onion and chimichurri.

Lean Protein & Grilled Fresh

Chicken thigh marinated in garlic, oregano and lemon, threaded with peppers and onion and grilled over charcoal, served with chimichurri.

Pairs Well With
Chimichurri & a mixed green salad

High Protein

A whole golden orange loaf cake dusted with powdered sugar on a white plate

Paraguay 1h 5m

Snack & Tea •Paraguayan Home Baking

Paraguayan Orange Cake

This paraguayan orange cake recipe creams butter and sugar, then bakes them with fresh orange juice and zest, milk and eggs into a soft, golden loaf — a plain, sunny sponge with no frosting, just a dusting of powdered sugar. It is the cake Paraguayan home bakers make for merienda, the afternoon snack, with cocido or mate. One serving is about 110 g, a thick slice with a hot drink.

Bright & Comforting

A soft butter sponge made with fresh orange juice and zest — Paraguay's everyday home-baked cake.

Pairs Well With
Hot cocido or mate, with a few orange slices.

A bowl of diced avocado, tomato, cucumber and onion salad with black pepper

Cuba 15m

Lunch •Cuba Heritage

Cuban Avocado Salad

This cuban avocado salad recipe is the ensalada de aguacate Cubans set on the table with almost every meal: ripe avocado, tomato, cucumber and thinly sliced sweet onion, tossed in a simple dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar and lime. One serving is about 229 g. Make it at the last minute so the avocado stays bright green. Photo note: the photo shows a Peruvian avocado salad (ensalada de palta) — diced avocado, tomato, cucumber and onion — as a visual equivalent for the Cuban salad.

Fresh & Light

Ripe avocado, tomato, cucumber and sweet onion in a lime and olive oil dressing — the cool, crisp salad on every Cuban table.

Pairs Well With
White rice, black beans and roast pork

A bowl of soft stewed cabbage strips with fresh parsley and a serving spoon

Dominican Republic 25m

Lunch •Santo Domingo Home-Cooking Heritage

Repollo Guisado

This repollo guisado recipe wilts finely shredded green cabbage in a sofrito of onion, green pepper and garlic, with fresh tomato, tomato sauce, a splash of vinegar and a few green olives. It cooks in minutes, so the cabbage stays a little bright and keeps its bite instead of turning to mush. One serving is about 270 g. Photo note: the photo shows a fried cabbage dish used as a visual equivalent for the Dominican stewed cabbage.

Light & Fresh

Shredded green cabbage wilted in a sofrito tomato sauce with vinegar and olives — light, bright and ready in 25 minutes.

Pairs Well With
Serve the hot stewed cabbage with white rice and tostones

A bowl of okra sauce with chopped okra, tomato and a piece of meat, served with white maize paste

Haiti 1h 55m

Dinner •Haitian Heritage

Kalalou Djon Djon

This kalalou djon djon recipe is the Haitian stew of chicken and okra in a dark sauce made from djon djon, the black mushrooms that grow in the mountains of the Artibonite valley: the mushrooms are soaked and boiled, their black liquid becomes the sauce, and the okra goes in last so it stays whole. One serving is about 375 g. The photo shows a West African sauce gombo, the same kind of chopped-okra stew, used as a visual stand-in because no freely licensed photo of kalalou djon djon exists.

Rich & Earthy

Chicken and okra stewed in a dark, smoky sauce made from Haitian black djon djon mushrooms.

Pairs Well With
White rice with bean sauce (sos pwa), with fried plantain and pikliz on the side.

Sliced beef tongue in a tomato sauce with green olives, peppers, mushrooms and grated cheese on a white plate

Honduras 3h 20m

Dinner •Honduran Heritage

Lengua Guisada

This lengua guisada recipe simmers a whole beef tongue with onion, garlic and bay leaves until it is tender enough to cut with a spoon, then peels it, slices it across the grain and braises the slices in a sofrito and tomato sauce with olives, capers and mushrooms. It is the slow Sunday dinner of Honduras, served over white rice with fried plantain on the side. One serving is about 392 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Beef tongue simmered until tender, peeled and sliced, then braised in a sofrito and tomato sauce with olives, capers and mushrooms — a slow, rich Honduran dinner.

Pairs Well With
Serve the tongue and sauce over white rice with fried ripe plantain and warm corn tortillas

High Protein

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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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