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

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Breakfast to Snack

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Recipes with Nutrition

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What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 433–444 of 2290 dinner recipes

A bowl of thick, creamy millet porridge with milk, served with a spoon

Mauritania 40m

Breakfast •Mauritanian Breakfast

Mauritanian Millet Porridge

This Mauritanian millet porridge recipe makes bouille de mil, the millet porridge Mauritanians wake up to: whole pearl millet simmered in water until soft and creamy, sweetened with a little sugar, and served warm with milk poured over the top. It is simple, filling, and kind to the stomach. One serving is about 335 g.

Slow Morning Energy

A warm bowl of whole-grain millet with milk gives steady, gentle energy to start the day.

Pairs Well With
Serve with hot mint tea and a few dates on the side.

A whole spit-roasted mechoui lamb, golden-brown and crisp, resting on its spit over a foil-covered table as hands begin to carve it

Mauritania 3h 40m

Dinner •Mauritanian Feast Dish

Mauritanian Mechoui

This mauritanian mechoui recipe turns a cumin-, coriander- and garlic-rubbed leg of lamb slowly on a spit beside glowing charcoal embers until the skin crisps and the meat pulls apart by hand, served with a bowl of toasted cumin salt for dipping. Unlike Omani shuwa, which is sealed in banana leaves and buried in an underground pit for a day or two, mechoui cooks in the open air, turned by hand and basted with butter so the outside browns while the inside stays juicy. One serving is about 250 g.

Festive Feast

A slow spit-roasted leg of lamb with cumin, garlic and paprika, made for sharing at a celebration.

Pairs Well With
Toasted cumin salt, couscous and mint tea

High Protein

A plate of golden fried Mauritanian fataya, half-moon pastries with crimped edges

Mauritania 2h 5m

Snack & Tea •Nouakchott Street Snack

Mauritanian Fataya

This fataya recipe makes golden, crisp Mauritanian pastries from a soft yeasted dough, filled with spiced ground beef, onion, tomato, carrot and parsley, then deep-fried until puffed and golden. Fataya are the hand-held snack sold at market stalls across Mauritania. One serving (two pastries) is about 172 g.

Snack & Sharing

Crisp fried pastry with a spiced beef and vegetable filling, made for sharing.

Pairs Well With
Spicy onion sauce, a tomato and cucumber salad, and hot mint tea

Micronesian chicken kelaguen — finely chopped grilled chicken with green onions, red chilli and grated coconut in a bowl, served with titiyas flatbread

Micronesia 1h 15m

Lunch •Chamorro Fiesta Classic

Micronesian Chicken Kelaguen

This chicken kelaguen recipe turns smoky grilled chicken into something bright and completely different: the meat is chopped fine, cured in fresh lemon juice with grated coconut, green onion and fiery bird's eye chilli, then served cold. It is the Chamorro classic of the Mariana Islands in Micronesia — tangy first, creamy second, with a slow warmth at the end. One serving is about 267 g.

Bright & Refreshing

Grilled chicken chopped fine and cured in lemon juice with coconut and chilli, served cold — high in protein and light on the stomach.

Pairs Well With
Warm titiyas or steamed rice, with red rice and finadene on the side

High Protein

A bowl of smooth orange sweet potato soup topped with pecans

Micronesia 40m

Lunch •Micronesian Island Soup

Micronesian Sweet Potato Soup

This micronesian sweet potato soup recipe simmers sweet potatoes with onion, garlic and ginger, then blends them with coconut milk into a smooth, golden soup finished with lime and spring onion. One serving is about 460 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A smooth, naturally sweet soup that turns a handful of island staples into a warming lunch bowl.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot with a wedge of lime and a slice of crusty bread for dipping.

Soups & Broths

Micronesian fish soup — whole reef fish and root vegetables simmering in creamy coconut milk in a large pot over an open fire

Micronesia 55m

Dinner •Micronesian Everyday Dish

Micronesian Fish Soup

This micronesian fish soup recipe simmers chunks of fresh white fish and taro in a creamy coconut milk broth with tomato, onion, ginger and a bright finish of lime juice. It is the kind of everyday pot that island kitchens across the Federated States of Micronesia cook from the day's catch, with whatever root vegetables are on hand. One serving is about 575 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Fresh white fish and taro simmered in coconut milk with tomato, ginger and lime — a warming, filling one-pot dinner.

Pairs Well With
Steamed white rice, with lime wedges and fresh coconut water

Soups & Broths

A golden fried barbagiuan cut in half to show its savoury filling, on a white plate

Monaco 1h 15m

Snack & Tea •Monaco National Dish

Monegasque Barbagiuan

This barbagiuan recipe makes Monaco's national snack: thin pastry folded around Swiss chard, spinach and ricotta, then deep-fried until the outside shatters and the cheese filling turns soft and creamy. They are the bites handed round at markets and parties across Monaco, and they disappear fast while still warm. One serving is about 190 g.

Crisp Snack & Sharing

A crisp, hand-held fried pastry with a soft chard and ricotta centre, made for sharing as a snack or aperitivo.

Pairs Well With
Serve warm with a lemon-dressed green salad and a glass of dry white wine.

A whole golden socca chickpea flatbread in a large round black pan, its surface blistered and crisp

Monaco 55m

Snack & Tea •Monegasque Classic

Monegasque Socca

Monegasque socca is a paper-thin chickpea flatbread baked in a blazing-hot oiled pan until its edges blister and its top turns deep gold, crisp outside and soft in the middle. It is the snack Monaco and Nice are famous for, sold hot from market stalls and eaten by hand, torn into rough pieces and dusted with black pepper. One serving is about 120 g.

Light & Satisfying

A thin, crisp chickpea flatbread that makes a light, plant-protein snack from just five everyday ingredients.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot with a lemony green salad, a glass of dry rose, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Quick Prep (<30m)

A white bowl of stockfish stew in tomato sauce, with chunks of potato and green olives

Monaco 1h 50m

Dinner •Monegasque Classic

Monegasque Stocafi

Monegasque stocafi is air-dried stockfish, soaked until tender, then braised slowly in a tomato sauce with onion, leek, peppers, celery and black olives, with potatoes cooked right in the pot. It is the Riviera's answer to a fish stew: humble, deeply savoury and made for mopping up with bread. One serving is about 540 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A slow-braised Riviera stew of rehydrated stockfish in tomato sauce with potatoes, peppers and black olives.

Pairs Well With
Serve with crusty bread, a simple green salad and a glass of dry white wine from Provence.

Mongolian buuz — small round top-knotted steamed beef dumplings piled on a plate with lettuce

Mongolia 1h 20m

Dinner •Mongolia's National Dish

Mongolian Buuz

This mongolian buuz recipe shapes seasoned beef and onion into small round dumplings, pinches each one closed with a little top knot, and steams them until the dough is tender and the filling runs juicy. Buuz are eaten hot, by hand, with no sauce on top. One serving is about 330 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Small steamed dumplings filled with seasoned beef and onion, eaten hot by hand.

Pairs Well With
Mongolian milk tea, pickled vegetables, and a light clear broth

High Protein

Golden round khuushuur — Mongolian fried meat pastries stacked on a white plate

Mongolia 1h 10m

Lunch •Naadam Festival Classic

Mongolian Khuushuur

This khuushuur recipe makes Mongolia's famous fried meat pastry: a thin wheat dough folded around seasoned ground beef, onion, garlic and caraway, then fried until golden and crisp. It is the signature food of the Naadam festival each July, when families and stadium stalls fry it by the thousands, and it is just as loved as an everyday lunch in Mongolian homes and cafes. One serving is about 320 g (three pastries).

Hearty & Satisfying

Golden fried pastry filled with seasoned ground beef, onion and caraway — Mongolia's Naadam festival lunch.

Pairs Well With
Cabbage salad, sour cream & milk tea

High Protein

Tsuivan on a white plate — dry hand-cut noodles tossed with beef strips, carrot and cabbage, topped with julienned cucumber

Mongolia 1h 25m

Dinner •Mongolian Everyday Noodles

Tsuivan

This tsuivan recipe is Mongolia's everyday noodle dinner: a simple flour-and-water dough rolled out, oiled and cut by hand into short flat strips, then steamed over a pot of stir-fried beef, onion, carrot and cabbage until the water has almost gone and the noodles are dry, glossy and lightly browned. There is no broth and no tomato sauce — unlike the lagman soups of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, tsuivan is served dry on a plate, with the noodles tossed through the meat and vegetables. One serving is about 450 g.

Hearty & Comforting

Dry stir-fried hand-cut noodles with beef, carrot and cabbage, steamed over the meat and tossed until glossy — Mongolia's everyday noodle dinner.

Pairs Well With
Pickled cucumber, tomato salad & milk tea

Pasta & Noodles

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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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