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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What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 793–804 of 2311 dinner recipes

Two golden, blistered Brazilian pastels on paper, one bitten open showing melted cheese

Brazil 1h 5m

Snack & Tea •Brazilian Market Snack

Brazilian Pastel

This Brazilian pastel recipe shows how to roll a thin, crackly pastry, fill it with seasoned ground beef and melted mozzarella, and fry it until golden and blistered. It is the beloved street snack of Brazilian markets, sold hot from the feira wrapped in paper. One serving is about 241 g (two pastels).

Crisp, Golden & Satisfying

Thin pastry fried blistered and golden around seasoned beef and melted mozzarella — the classic Brazilian market snack.

Pairs Well With
Serve with cold sugarcane juice, a squeeze of lime and a simple salad

Two Baja fish tacos with shredded cabbage, red onion and chipotle crema on a blue plate with lime wedges

Mexico 45m

Lunch •Ensenada Street Food

Baja Fish Tacos

This baja fish tacos recipe fries cod in a light, crisp beer batter and tucks it into warm corn tortillas with shredded cabbage, tomato, red onion and a smoky chipotle crema. One serving is about 430 g — two generously filled tacos. It is the fish taco as it is sold on the streets of Ensenada, Baja California: hot, crunchy, cool and sharp all at once.

Bold & Satisfying

Beer-battered white fish, crisp cabbage slaw and chipotle crema in warm corn tortillas — the beach food of Ensenada.

Pairs Well With
Ice-cold Mexican lager, lime wedges and salsa verde

A plate of penne alla vodka in a creamy pink tomato sauce topped with grated Parmesan

Italy 35m

Dinner •1970s Italian-American Classic

Penne alla Vodka

This penne alla vodka recipe simmers crushed tomatoes with vodka, then finishes the sauce with cream, butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano until it turns silky and blush-pink. One serving is about 420 g. The vodka is not there to taste — it sharpens the tomato and helps the cream and tomato hold together in one glossy sauce.

Comfort & Warmth

Penne folded into a silky tomato, vodka and cream sauce with Parmigiano — rich, pink and ready in 35 minutes.

Pairs Well With
A simple green salad, warm bread and a glass of dry white wine

Pasta & Noodles

Sliced medium-rare steak with golden French fries and a small bowl of sauce on a wooden board

France 55m

Dinner •Paris Bistro Classic

Steak Frites

This steak frites recipe pan-sears ribeye steaks in butter, fries the potatoes twice until shatteringly crisp, and finishes everything with garlic, shallot and parsley butter. One serving is about 400 g — a 200 g steak with a generous pile of frites. It is the dish every Paris bistro is judged by: simple, fast and unforgiving of shortcuts.

High-Protein & Satisfying

Pan-seared ribeye, twice-cooked frites and garlic-herb butter — the Paris bistro plate, cooked at home.

Pairs Well With
A glass of red Bordeaux, Dijon mustard and a green salad

High Protein

Cocido madrileno served in courses: a bowl of golden broth and a plate of chickpeas with meats and vegetables

Spain 3h 30m

Dinner •Madrid Classic

Cocido Madrileño

This cocido madrileno recipe soaks chickpeas overnight, then simmers them for hours with beef shank, pork belly, chicken, chorizo, morcilla and jamón until the broth is deep and golden. One serving is about 800 g — a bowl of noodle soup first, then chickpeas with vegetables, then the meats. It is Madrid's great winter meal, served in three courses called tres vuelcos.

Comfort & Warmth

Chickpeas, beef, pork, chicken and cured meats slow-cooked into Madrid's three-course stew.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread, a glass of red Rioja and a green salad

Soups & Broths

A bowl of kitsune udon with thick white noodles in clear broth, topped with a large sweet fried tofu pouch and chopped spring onions

Japan 35m

Lunch •Osaka Classic

Kitsune Udon

This kitsune udon recipe cooks thick, chewy udon noodles in a clear dashi broth and tops them with aburaage — fried tofu pouches simmered until sweet and savoury. The name comes from the kitsune, the fox of Japanese folklore, said to love fried tofu. One serving is about 590 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Thick udon noodles in a clear, savoury dashi broth topped with sweet simmered fried tofu.

Pairs Well With
Pickled ginger and a small plate of tempura

Soups & Broths • Pasta & Noodles

A bowl of Thai yellow curry with chicken pieces and potato chunks in a golden coconut sauce

Thailand 45m

Dinner •Central Thai Classic

Thai Yellow Curry

This thai yellow curry recipe simmers chicken and potato in coconut milk with yellow curry paste — a mild, golden curry coloured by turmeric and sweetened with a little palm sugar. It is the gentlest of Thailand's three famous coconut curries, and the potato drinks up the sauce as it cooks. One serving is about 500 g, rice included.

Comfort & Warmth

Mild, golden coconut curry with chicken and potato, coloured by turmeric.

Pairs Well With
Steamed jasmine rice and a cucumber salad

A bowl of bun thit nuong with char-grilled pork over rice vermicelli, fresh herbs, lettuce, carrot and a red chilli on top

Vietnam 45m

Lunch •Southern Vietnamese Classic

Bun Thit Nuong

This bun thit nuong recipe grills lemongrass-marinated pork until charred at the edges, then serves it over cool rice vermicelli with lettuce, cucumber, carrot, bean sprouts and a tangle of fresh herbs. A spoonful of nuoc cham — sweet, sour, salty fish-sauce dressing — ties the whole bowl together. One serving is about 400 g.

Fresh & Light

Char-grilled lemongrass pork over cool rice vermicelli with herbs and nuoc cham.

Pairs Well With
Nuoc cham dressing and a glass of iced tea

High Protein

A metal bowl of Sichuan boiled fish with white fish slices in red chilli oil broth, dried chillies and chopped spring onions

China 35m

Dinner •Sichuan Classic

Sichuan Boiled Fish

This sichuan boiled fish recipe — shui zhu yu — poaches slices of white fish in a spicy broth built on doubanjiang, dried chillies and Sichuan pepper, then finishes the bowl with a pour of smoking-hot oil that blooms the spices on top. The result is mala: hot and numbing at the same time, with silky fish underneath. One serving is about 440 g.

Bold & Spicy

Tender white fish poached in a fiery mala broth, finished with hot chilli oil.

Pairs Well With
Steamed jasmine rice and a cool cucumber salad

High Protein

Black stone pots of samgyetang — milky ginseng chicken soup with spring onions, simmering over blue flames

South Korea 1h 30m

Dinner •Korean Summer Classic

Samgyetang

This samgyetang recipe simmers two whole young chickens, each stuffed with glutinous rice, garlic, jujube and ginseng, in a gentle broth until the meat is tender and the soup turns milky. It is the soup Koreans reach for on the hottest days of summer, served in deep bowls with kimchi and salt and pepper to season at the table. One serving is about 600 g.

Comfort & Warmth

A whole young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice and ginseng, simmered into a milky, restorative broth.

Pairs Well With
Serve with kimchi and a small dish of salt and ground pepper for seasoning the broth to taste

Soups & Broths • High Protein

A pile of Turkish delight cubes dusted with icing sugar, studded with pistachios

Turkey 1h 15m

Snack & Tea •Anatolian Sweet Classic

Turkish Delight

This Turkish delight recipe makes soft, rose-scented lokum cubes with pistachios, set the traditional way with cornstarch — no gelatin at all. Sugar syrup is stirred slowly into a starch paste until it turns thick and glossy, then left to set, cut into cubes and dusted with icing sugar. One serving is about 60 g, three pieces.

Sweet & Festive

Sugar, cornstarch and rose water, set into soft jelly cubes with pistachios — the classic Turkish sweet.

Pairs Well With
Serve with strong Turkish coffee or black tea

A white bowl of fasolada — white bean soup with carrot and celery in a tomato broth, with a red onion beside it

Greece 1h 30m

Dinner •Greek National Dish

Fasolada

This fasolada recipe simmers white beans with carrot, celery, onion and tomato paste in olive oil until the beans are creamy and the broth is thick enough to coat a spoon. It is the soup Greeks call their national dish — cheap, filling and made from the pantry, served with crusty bread, olives and lemon. One serving is about 480 g.

Hearty, Rustic & Wholesome

White beans simmered with carrot, celery and tomato into a thick, olive-oil-rich soup — Greece's everyday national dish.

Pairs Well With
Serve with crusty bread, olives and a wedge of lemon

Soups & Broths

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.

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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