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 349–360 of 2290 dinner recipes

A white bowl of Ecuadorian shrimp ceviche in pink tomato-citrus sauce with cooked shrimp, red onion, cilantro and an avocado slice

Ecuador 30m

Lunch •Coastal Ecuador

Ecuadorian Ceviche

Ecuadorian ceviche is a bowl of poached shrimp in a pink-orange sauce of tomato, lime and orange juice, with red onion and cilantro. Unlike the Peruvian version, where raw fish is cured in lime juice, the shrimp here is cooked first, so the dish is saucy, cold and gentle rather than sharp. One serving is about 341 g.

Light & Fresh

Poached shrimp in a bright lime, orange and tomato sauce, served chilled with crunchy sides.

Pairs Well With
Chifles, popcorn and avocado slices

A bowl of golden locro de papa, Ecuadorian potato and cheese soup, topped with avocado chunks and cubes of white cheese

Ecuador 55m

Dinner •Andean Heritage

Locro de Papa

Locro de papa is Ecuador's golden potato and cheese soup, thickened by the potatoes themselves and finished with creamy avocado and crumbled queso fresco. One serving is about 675 g. It is a one-pot, meat-free dinner that tastes like the cool Andean evenings it comes from.

Comfort & Warmth

A thick, golden potato and cheese soup from the Ecuadorian highlands, finished with fresh avocado.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread and a simple lettuce and tomato salad, with hot panela water or herbal tea to drink.

Soups & Broths

A bowl of encebollado with flaked tuna, pickled red onion rings, yuca and golden broth, sprinkled with cilantro

Ecuador 1h 20m

Lunch •Guayaquil Heritage

Encebollado

This encebollado recipe is Ecuador's beloved coastal soup: fresh albacore tuna simmered in a tomato, onion and cumin broth with tender chunks of yuca, then ladled into bowls under a bright mound of lime-pickled red onion and tomato. The broth is light and savoury, the onion topping is sharp and fresh, and the chifles and tostado on the side add the crunch every Ecuadorian expects. One serving is about 600 g, soup and toppings together.

Comfort & Warmth

Fresh tuna and yuca simmered in a tomato-cumin broth, finished with lime-pickled red onion and crunchy plantain chips.

Pairs Well With
Chifles (plantain chips) and tostado (toasted corn) for crunch, avocado slices, and lime wedges to squeeze over the bowl.

Soups & Broths

A platter of Egyptian koshari with rice, lentils, macaroni, chickpeas, crispy fried onions and tomato sauce

Egypt 1h 15m

Dinner •Cairo Street Food

Egyptian Koshari

This egyptian koshari recipe builds Egypt's national dish at home: brown lentils and short-grain rice cooked with toasted vermicelli, layered with macaroni and chickpeas, then topped with a spiced tomato sauce, garlic vinegar and a heap of crispy fried onions. One serving is about 600 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Layers of lentils, rice and pasta with a spiced tomato sauce and crispy onions.

Pairs Well With
Garlic vinegar (daqqa), hot sauce and pickled vegetables

A white plate of mashed ful medames glistening with olive oil, garnished with fresh mint, with flatbread in a bowl beside it

Egypt 1h 45m

Breakfast •Cairo Breakfast

Ful Medames

Ful medames is Egypt's beloved breakfast of fava beans simmered until soft, then lightly mashed and dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and cumin. It is creamy, tangy and deeply savoury, scooped up with warm flatbread. One serving is about 283 g.

Plant Protein & Energy

Slow-cooked fava beans with olive oil give steady energy and 15.9 g of protein per serving, with no meat at all.

Pairs Well With
Warm baladi bread, pickled vegetables and a boiled egg

High Protein

A white bowl of bright green molokhia soup made from finely chopped jute leaves

Egypt 1h 15m

Dinner •Egyptian Family Table

Molokhia

This molokhia recipe turns finely chopped jute leaves into Egypt's beloved green soup: simmered briefly in a rich chicken broth, then finished with ta'leya — garlic and ground coriander fried in ghee until it sizzles. Ladled over white rice with a squeeze of lemon, it is slippery, garlicky and deeply comforting. One serving is about 550 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A bright green jute-leaf soup simmered in chicken broth and finished with a sizzling garlic and coriander ta'leya.

Pairs Well With
White rice, lemon wedges and browned chicken pieces

Soups & Broths

Two golden griddled pupusas on a plate with curtido cabbage slaw and red tomato salsa, melted cheese showing at the edge

El Salvador 1h 15m

Lunch •San Salvador Heritage

Pupusas

This pupusas recipe makes the stuffed corn cakes El Salvador is known for: soft nixtamalized masa wrapped around a molten filling of seasoned pork, refried beans and quesillo-style cheese, then griddled until the outside is golden and speckled and the cheese runs when you bite in. They are eaten hot, straight off the comal, with a pile of tangy curtido cabbage slaw and tomato salsa on the side. One serving is two pupusas, about 330 g.

Comfort & Warmth

El Salvador's national dish: thick corn masa cakes stuffed with pork, beans and melted cheese, griddled on a hot comal and served with curtido.

Pairs Well With
Curtido (pickled cabbage slaw) and salsa roja, with a cold horchata or tamarind drink on the side.

A bowl of sopa de pata, orange-red achiote broth with corn on the cob, cabbage and chunks of yuca

El Salvador 4h 5m

Lunch •Salvadoran Heritage

Sopa de Pata

This sopa de pata recipe is El Salvador's most famous soup: cow's feet and tripe simmered for hours until the broth turns rich and gelatinous, then loaded with yuca, chayote, corn, green plantain and cabbage, and coloured a warm orange-red with achiote. It is a weekend lunch in Salvadoran homes, served steaming hot with lime wedges and warm tortillas for squeezing and scooping. One serving is about 640 g, soup and vegetables together.

Comfort & Warmth

El Salvador's slow-simmered cow's foot and tripe soup, thick with yuca, corn and chayote in a red achiote broth.

Pairs Well With
Warm corn tortillas and lime wedges, with a little chopped onion and cilantro on the side.

Soups & Broths

A plate of yuca con chicharron — boiled cassava chunks topped with golden crispy pork cracklings and shredded cabbage, carrot and tomato slaw

El Salvador 1h 35m

Lunch •Salvadoran Street-Food Classic

Yuca con Chicharrón

This yuca con chicharron recipe is the Salvadoran street-food plate: cassava boiled until soft and fluffy, topped with pork belly simmered until tender and then fried crisp in its own fat, with tangy curtido cabbage slaw and fresh tomato salsa on the side. It is the same trio of yuca, chicharron and cabbage slaw that is sold from market stalls across El Salvador. One serving is about 590 g.

Comfort & Energy

Tender boiled cassava with crisp fried pork, tangy curtido and fresh tomato salsa — a filling Salvadoran street-food plate.

Pairs Well With
Warm corn tortillas, fried plantains and a cold horchata or limeade

Fijian kokoda — cubes of white fish in creamy coconut milk served in a halved coconut shell, garnished with tomato and cucumber

Fiji 1h 35m

Lunch •Fiji's National Dish

Fijian Kokoda

This kokoda recipe cures fresh mahi-mahi in lime juice until the edges turn opaque, then folds it through creamy coconut milk with tomato, red onion, cucumber and chilli. It is Fiji's national dish — bright, cool and rich all at once, and it needs no cooking at all. One serving is about 284 g.

Light & Refreshing

Raw fish cured in lime and finished with coconut milk, served cold — high in protein and light on the stomach.

Pairs Well With
Steamed taro or cassava, with lime wedges and an icy drink

Freshly unearthed Fijian lovo — cooked cassava and taro piled on hot stones in the earth oven, with banana leaves

Fiji 4h

Dinner •Fiji's Celebration Feast

Fijian Lovo

This lovo recipe brings Fiji's earth-oven feast into a home kitchen: pork shoulder and chicken jointed and rubbed with garlic and salt, wrapped in banana leaves with taro, cassava, sweet potato and coconut-cream palusami parcels, then slow-roasted until everything is tender and smoky. Traditionally the parcels are buried over white-hot river stones in a pit dug in the ground; here a low oven and foil do the same job, and the recipe says so plainly. One serving is about 591 g.

Hearty & Communal

Pork and chicken slow-roasted with taro, cassava and sweet potato, cooked the Fijian way and built for sharing.

Pairs Well With
Kokoda to start, with rourou or a crisp salad and cold coconut water on the side

High Protein

Lamb curry in a golden coconut milk sauce with potatoes and curry leaves, served on a banana leaf with appam

Fiji 1h 40m

Dinner •Indo-Fijian Heritage

Fijian Lamb Curry

This fijian lamb curry recipe is Fiji's Indo-Fijian classic: lamb shoulder simmered slowly with Fiji masala, turmeric, mustard seeds, curry leaves, tomato and potato in a rich coconut milk sauce, until the meat is spoon-tender and the gravy turns golden. It is the curry Fijian-Indian families cook for Sundays and celebrations — warming, fragrant and deeply savoury, with fresh coriander and lemon to finish. One serving is about 450 g, without rice.

Island Comfort

Lamb pieces simmered slowly in a spiced coconut milk sauce with potato, tomato and curry leaves — the Indo-Fijian curry served at family gatherings across Fiji.

Pairs Well With
Steamed rice, roti & cucumber salad

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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Antigua and Barbuda

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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