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 673–684 of 2301 dinner recipes

A toddy tapper carrying a clay pot of freshly collected coconut toddy through green fields, with his climbing rope over his shoulder

Tuvalu 20m

Snack & Tea •Tuvalu Heritage

Tuvaluan Kaleve (Coconut Toddy)

Kaleve is the sweet sap of the coconut palm, tapped twice a day from the cut flower spathe and drunk fresh, the same morning it is collected. Cloudy, pale and honey-sweet, it is Tuvalu's everyday drink and sweetener, served cold from the morning collection or warmed for breakfast as ssali kaleve. One serving is about 250 g.

Sweet Morning Refreshment

Fresh coconut sap tapped at dawn, strained and drunk the same morning - Tuvalu's sweet daily drink.

Pairs Well With
Fekei pulaka, fresh reef fish and ripe tropical fruit

Fermented / Gut Health

A square bowl of bright green guacamole with a lime wedge, surrounded by tomatoes, peppers and bread

Mexico 15m

Snack & Tea •Mexican Classic

Guacamole

This guacamole recipe is the Mexican classic done the simple way: ripe Hass avocados mashed with tomato, red onion, jalapeño, lime and coriander, seasoned and served straight away. One serving is about 208 g, with tortilla chips for scooping. It takes 15 minutes and no cooking at all.

Fresh & Creamy

Mashed avocado with tomato, onion, lime and chilli, made fresh in 15 minutes and served with tortilla chips.

Pairs Well With
Tortilla chips, lime wedges & cold beer

A plate of spaghetti carbonara with golden egg sauce, crisp guanciale and black pepper

Italy 30m

Dinner •Roman Classic

Spaghetti Carbonara

This spaghetti carbonara recipe is the Roman classic as it should be: spaghetti tossed with crisp guanciale, egg yolks, Pecorino Romano and black pepper — no cream, no bacon, no garlic. One serving is about 275 g. It takes 30 minutes, and the sauce comes together in the time the pasta cooks.

Comfort & Rich

Silky egg-and-cheese sauce over spaghetti with crisp guanciale and black pepper, ready in 30 minutes.

Pairs Well With
Pecorino Romano, black pepper & a crisp white wine

Pasta & Noodles • Quick Prep (<30m)

A bowl of coq au vin with a braised chicken leg in dark red wine sauce with mushrooms and onions, greens on the side

France 1h 40m

Dinner •Burgundy Classic

Coq au Vin

This coq au vin recipe is the Burgundy classic: chicken thighs browned with bacon, then braised in red wine with mushrooms, pearl onions and carrots until the meat is tender and the sauce is dark and glossy. One serving is about 375 g. It takes 1 hour 40 minutes, most of it hands-off while the pot simmers.

Comfort & Warmth

Chicken braised slowly in red wine with mushrooms, pearl onions and bacon until it falls off the bone.

Pairs Well With
Mashed potatoes, crusty bread & Burgundy wine

A cup of chilled orange-red gazpacho with olive oil, served with diced peppers and onion and a bowl of croutons

Spain 20m

Lunch •Andalusian Classic

Gazpacho

This gazpacho recipe is the Andalusian classic: ripe tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, onion and garlic blended raw with bread, sherry vinegar and olive oil, then chilled until ice cold. One serving is about 395 g. It takes 20 minutes plus chilling, and there is no cooking at all.

Light & Refreshing

Chilled raw tomato soup blended with cucumber, pepper and olive oil, served cold with diced vegetables and croutons.

Pairs Well With
Croutons, diced vegetables & crusty bread

Soups & Broths • Quick Prep (<30m)

A plate of spicy tuna uramaki rolls with pickled ginger and wasabi, the pink tuna filling visible in the cut rolls

Japan 1h

Lunch •American Sushi Classic

Spicy Tuna Roll

This spicy tuna roll recipe shows how to season sushi rice, chop sashimi-grade tuna with spicy mayo, and roll neat rice-outside uramaki with cucumber and avocado. One serving is about 355 g — one full roll, cut into 8 pieces.

Light & Fresh

A cool, light sushi roll with raw tuna, cucumber and avocado — fresh, filling and quick to assemble once the rice is ready.

Pairs Well With
Miso soup, pickled ginger and iced green tea

A dark bowl of pad thai with shrimp, tofu and egg, served on a bamboo mat

Thailand 35m

Lunch •Thai Street-Food Classic

Pad Thai

This pad thai recipe stir-fries flat rice noodles with shrimp, egg and tofu in a tamarind, fish-sauce and palm-sugar glaze, finished with bean sprouts, peanuts and lime. One serving is about 350 g.

Street-Food Comfort

Stir-fried rice noodles in a sweet, sour and salty tamarind glaze, with shrimp, egg and tofu — the balance of flavours is the whole point.

Pairs Well With
Iced lime tea and a crisp cucumber salad

Pasta & Noodles

An open banh mi baguette filled with sliced pork, pâté, pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro and jalapeño

Vietnam 35m

Lunch •Saigon Street Classic

Banh Mi

This banh mi recipe builds a crusty Vietnamese baguette with char siu pork, pork liver pâté, mayonnaise and quick pickled carrot and daikon, finished with cucumber, cilantro and jalapeño. One serving is about 286 g — one full sandwich.

Quick & Satisfying

A crackly baguette layered with savoury pork, rich pâté and sharp pickled vegetables — crunchy, juicy and bright in every bite.

Pairs Well With
Iced Vietnamese coffee and a light cucumber salad

A bamboo steamer of steamed jiaozi beside a plate of boiled jiaozi, with a bottle of black vinegar

China 1h 15m

Dinner •Northern Chinese Classic

Steamed Pork Jiaozi

This steamed pork jiaozi recipe shows how to mix and roll the dough, fill it with seasoned pork and Chinese cabbage, and steam the dumplings until the pork is cooked through. One serving is about 275 g — 8 dumplings with dipping sauce.

Comfort & Warmth

Soft, hand-rolled dumplings filled with juicy pork and cabbage, steamed until tender and dipped in black vinegar — a northern Chinese family staple.

Pairs Well With
Hot and sour soup and a pot of jasmine tea

Whole heads of baechu kimchi coated in red gochugaru paste on a white platter

South Korea 2h 35m

Dinner •Korean Kimjang Heritage

Baechu Kimchi

This kimchi recipe turns one head of napa cabbage into classic baechu kimchi: salted leaves packed with a bright red gochugaru paste, then left to ferment until tangy and fizzy. It is the spicy southern-style kimchi most people picture when they hear the word kimchi, and it keeps for weeks in the fridge. One serving is about 165 g.

Fermented & Fiery

Crisp, spicy, sour napa cabbage kimchi — Korea's everyday banchan, fermented at home in a jar.

Pairs Well With
Serve a small bowl with steamed rice, grilled meat or a fried egg.

Fermented / Gut Health

A doner kebab in flatbread filled with sliced lamb, red and white cabbage, tomato and cucumber

Turkey 2h 55m

Dinner •Bursa Spit-Roast Heritage

Doner Kebab

This doner kebab recipe brings the Turkish spit-roast home: lamb leg marinated in yogurt, onion and spices, seared until charred at the edges, then sliced thin and tucked into warm pitta bread with crisp salad and a cool garlic yogurt sauce. No vertical spit needed — a ripping-hot pan does the job. One serving is about 415 g.

Charcoal-Grilled & Juicy

Home-style doner kebab — yogurt-marinated lamb, sliced thin and piled into warm pitta with salad and garlic sauce.

Pairs Well With
Serve in warm pitta with salad, garlic sauce and a little chilli sauce.

High Protein

A terracotta bowl of thick white tzatziki with cucumber and a black olive, with a spoon

Greece 25m

Snack & Tea •Greek Meze Classic

Tzatziki

This tzatziki recipe is the real Greek version: thick strained yogurt, cucumber grated and squeezed bone dry, raw garlic, a thread of olive oil and a handful of dill. No cooking at all — just grating, squeezing and stirring — and the result is cool, creamy and sharp enough to cut through grilled meat. One serving is about 120 g.

Cool & Creamy

Thick Greek yogurt folded with grated cucumber, garlic and dill — the cool white dip at the heart of every Greek meze.

Pairs Well With
Spoon over grilled meat, or serve as a dip with warm pitta and raw vegetables.

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)

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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.