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 637–648 of 2301 dinner recipes

A bowl of Trinidad saltfish buljol — flaked salt cod tossed with diced tomato, onion and pepper, with pieces of boiled egg

Trinidad and Tobago 35m

Breakfast •Trinidad Heritage

Trinidad Saltfish Buljol

This Trinidad saltfish buljol recipe makes the island's beloved breakfast salad: flakes of desalted cod tossed — never stewed — with onion, tomato, sweet pepper and hot pepper, dressed with lime juice and olive oil and left to rest until it reaches room temperature. It is eaten with hot bake or hops bread, often with boiled egg and avocado on the side. One serving is about 250 g.

Fresh & Protein-Rich

Flaked salt cod tossed with onion, tomato and sweet pepper, dressed with lime and olive oil and served at room temperature — a light, salty, protein-rich Trinidad breakfast.

Pairs Well With
Hot fried bake or hops bread, sliced avocado, and a cup of cocoa tea.

High Protein

A plate of Singapore hokkien mee — pale yellow egg noodles and white rice vermicelli in a light prawn stock with prawns, squid rings and pork, topped with crisp lard and fried garlic, with sambal belacan and a whole calamansi lime on the side

Singapore 55m

Lunch •Rochor Road Hawker Heritage

Singapore Hokkien Mee

Singapore hokkien mee is yellow egg noodles and thin rice vermicelli stir-fried in a rich prawn stock until the noodles drink it up and turn glossy and wet, loaded with prawns, squid rings, pork belly and bean sprouts. It is finished with a squeeze of calamansi and a spoon of fiery sambal belacan on the side. One serving is about 510 g.

Hearty & Satisfying

Yellow egg noodles and rice vermicelli braised in a rich prawn stock with prawns, squid and pork belly — a wet, saucy hawker lunch that eats like a full meal in one plate.

Pairs Well With
Serve with sambal belacan and a calamansi half on the side, and a cold glass of sugarcane juice or iced barley water.

Pasta & Noodles • High Protein

Folded butter naan with golden-brown blisters and a glossy butter sheen, served in a foil-lined basket

India 2h 15m

Dinner •North India Heritage

Butter Naan

This butter naan recipe makes eight soft, puffed flatbreads with golden-brown blisters and a glossy butter finish. Unlike unleavened chapati, which is rolled flat and griddled, naan is a leavened bread: yeast and yoghurt lift the dough, and fierce oven heat — the home stand-in for a clay tandoor — makes it puff and blister in minutes. Brush it with melted butter the moment it comes out, and tear it open while it is still steaming. One serving is about 220 g (two naans).

Comfort & Warmth

Soft leavened flatbread, baked blistering-hot like a tandoor and brushed with melted butter — the bread curries were made for.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot with butter chicken, dal makhani or any saucy curry, plus cucumber raita and a mango lassi.

A mound of smooth white pounded yam in a clay bowl beside a bowl of afang soup with meat

Nigeria 55m

Dinner •Nigerian Classic

Nigerian Pounded Yam

This Nigerian pounded yam recipe starts with white yam — puna yam, not cassava, plantain or garri — boiled until soft and pounded in a mortar until it turns into a smooth, stretchy, dough-like swallow. Pinch off a small ball, dip it into egusi or ogbono soup, and swallow. One serving is about 325 g.

Comfort & Warmth

White yam boiled until tender, then pounded into a smooth, stretchy swallow — the most loved of all Nigerian swallows, made to scoop up rich soups.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot with egusi soup, ogbono soup or efo riro for scooping — the swallow is the carrier, the soup brings the flavour.

Pakistani chicken handi — bone-in chicken in a creamy red tomato sauce served in a clay handi pot, drizzled with cream and garnished with julienned ginger, green chillies and coriander

Pakistan 1h 15m

Dinner •Punjabi Heritage

Pakistani Chicken Handi

This Pakistani chicken handi recipe is the restaurant classic named after the pot it is cooked in: bone-in chicken simmered low and slow in a clay handi, in a creamy sauce of browned onion, tomato and yoghurt, finished with cream and crushed kasuri methi. The long, gentle cook in the handi makes the chicken fall-off-the-bone tender and the sauce thick, glossy and deeply spiced. It is served still bubbling in the handi itself, with naan for scooping. One serving is about 425 g.

Slow Clay-Pot Cooking

Bone-in chicken slow-cooked in a clay handi with onion, tomato, yoghurt and cream, finished with kasuri methi — a rich restaurant curry that is cooked low and slow, never seared in a wok.

Pairs Well With
Hot naan & mint raita

High Protein

A pot of chakalaka simmering — a spicy red relish of baked beans, peas, grated carrot and green pepper with a wooden spoon

South Africa 40m

Dinner •South African Braai Heritage

Chakalaka

This chakalaka recipe simmers tinned baked beans with grated carrot, onion, green pepper, chilli and curry spices into a thick, spicy-sweet relish — a cooked relish, never a raw salsa — served hot or cold beside pap and braai meat. It is the spoonful that belongs on every South African braai table. One serving is about 205 g.

Bold & Filling

A cooked spicy bean, carrot and pepper relish — the hot, sweet-savoury spoonful that belongs beside braai meat and pap.

Pairs Well With
Serve hot or cold with pap, braai meat and crusty bread.

A plate of mukimo — a soft green-flecked mash of potatoes, maize kernels and pumpkin leaves — served with roast chicken, cabbage and kachumbari

Kenya 1h 5m

Dinner •Kikuyu Celebration Mash

Mukimo

This mukimo recipe boils potatoes, fresh maize kernels, green peas and pumpkin leaves together, then mashes them into a soft, green-flecked mash — the beloved Kikuyu celebration dish of Central Kenya. Unlike githeri, where every maize kernel and bean stays whole, mukimo is defined by the mash: the potatoes are crushed, the maize and peas are pounded in, and the greens marble through the whole pot. Serve it hot beside nyama choma or a beef stew. One serving is about 430 g.

Comforting & Filling

Soft mashed potatoes, sweet maize, peas and pumpkin leaves pounded into one green-flecked mash — filling, plant-based and gentle on the budget.

Pairs Well With
Nyama choma or beef stew, with kachumbari and milky Kenyan chai

A bowl of Singapore bak kut teh at Song Fa Bak Kut Teh in Singapore: pork ribs and a whole garlic bulb in a pale, clear peppery broth, with small side dishes at the edges of the table

Singapore 2h 20m

Breakfast •Singapore Heritage

Singapore Bak Kut Teh

This singapore bak kut teh recipe makes the Teochew-style pork rib soup Singapore is famous for: meaty ribs simmered until tender in a light, clear broth where white pepper and whole garlic do the talking, not dark herbs or dark soy sauce. The broth stays pale and peppery, and the ribs are eaten with steamed rice while youtiao soaks up the soup. One serving is about 590 g of soup (ribs and broth), before rice and youtiao.

Comfort & Warmth

Slow-simmered pork ribs in a clear, white-pepper broth, served with rice and youtiao for dipping.

Pairs Well With
Steamed jasmine rice and youtiao, with a small dish of chilli-garlic dipping sauce.

Soups & Broths • High Protein

A bowl of kare-kare — oxtail in thick golden peanut sauce with eggplant and string beans — with a small bowl of dark bagoong (shrimp paste) and scattered peanuts beside it

Philippines 4h

Dinner •Pampanga Fiesta Heritage

Kare-Kare

This kare-kare recipe is the Filipino fiesta stew: oxtail and beef tripe simmered for hours until the meat falls off the bone, then folded into a thick, golden peanut sauce with eggplant, string beans, banana blossoms and bok choy. A spoonful of salty bagoong on the side is what makes the mild, nutty stew come alive. One serving is about 490 g.

Rich & Comforting

Oxtail and tripe slow-simmered until tender in a thick peanut sauce coloured golden with annatto, with eggplant, string beans, banana blossoms and bok choy, and salty bagoong on the side.

Pairs Well With
Steamed white rice and a small bowl of sauteed bagoong on the side

High Protein

A Trinidad pastelle unwrapped on its banana leaf — a golden cornmeal parcel on a white plate

Trinidad and Tobago 1h 55m

Dinner •Trinidad's Christmas Classic

Trinidad Pastelles

This trinidad pastelles recipe makes 12 golden parcels: a soft dough of fine yellow cornmeal, butter and warm water, spread on banana leaves and folded around seasoned minced beef with green olives, raisins and capers, then tied up and boiled until firm. Unlike a tamale's raw masa beaten with lard, or a Venezuelan hallaca's annatto-coloured dough and three-meat guiso, a pastelle uses plain yellow cornmeal dough and a single seasoned beef filling with Trinidad green seasoning and chadon beni. One serving is two pastelles, about 275 g, and they are unwrapped at the table so the banana-leaf steam escapes in front of everyone.

Comfort & Warmth

Golden cornmeal parcels of seasoned minced beef with olives, raisins and capers, wrapped in banana leaves and boiled — Trinidad's Christmas dinner, unwrapped at the table.

Pairs Well With
Christmas baked ham and a glass of sorrel drink, with a crisp green salad on the side.

A bowl of red red: whole black-eyed peas in a red palm-oil stew with golden fried plantain

Ghana 1h 20m

Lunch •Ga Heritage

Red Red

This red red recipe stews whole black-eyed peas in red palm oil with onion, tomato and scotch bonnet until the sauce turns deep red, then serves the beans with golden fried ripe plantain and a sprinkle of gari. One serving is about 435 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A hearty bean stew with fried plantain that keeps well and makes a filling weekday lunch.

Pairs Well With
Serve with gari and, if you like, fried fish or sliced avocado on the side.

Whole golden fried escovitch fish in a takeout container with rice, fried plantain, cabbage and carrot

Jamaica 50m

Dinner •Jamaican Heritage

Escovitch Fish

This escovitch fish recipe starts with whole red snapper, scored and fried until the skin is golden and shatteringly crisp, then pours a hot pickled sauce of onion, carrot, sweet pepper, Scotch bonnet and pimento in white vinegar over the top. The sharp, vinegary pickle soaks into the crust without turning it to mush, and the fish tastes brighter the longer it sits. One serving is about 315 g.

Sharp, Sour & Crispy

Crisp fried snapper drowned in a hot vinegar pickle of onion, carrot, Scotch bonnet and pimento.

Pairs Well With
Festival dumplings or bammy, with fried ripe plantain and a cold sorrel 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

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Belize

Benin

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Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

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Burkina Faso

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Cabo Verde

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Central African Republic

Chad

Chile

China

Colombia

Comoros

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Republic of the Congo

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Niger

Nigeria

North Korea

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Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Palau

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Peru

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Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Romania

Russia

Rwanda

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Samoa

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São Tomé and Príncipe

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

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Sierra Leone

Singapore

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Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

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Syria

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Thailand

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Togo

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

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Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

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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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Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snack & Tea

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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