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.

Countries

193

Cuisines Covered

Meal Times

4 Slots

Breakfast to Snack

Nutrition

100%

Recipes with Nutrition

Category:

Meal Time

Choose the meal you are cooking for

Region

2311 dinner ideas matching filters

Reset Filters ×

What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 805–816 of 2311 dinner recipes

A platter of Brazilian esfiha — open yeasted flatbreads topped with seasoned beef and cheese, golden from the oven

Brazil 55m

Snack & Tea •Sao Paulo Street Classic

Brazilian Esfiha

This Brazilian esfiha recipe makes the open esfihas of Sao Paulo bakeries: rounds of soft yeasted dough with pinched-up rims, topped with raw seasoned ground beef that cooks in the oven as the dough bakes golden. They are the city's favourite street snack — best eaten warm, with lime and hot sauce. One serving is about 185 g, two pieces.

Hearty & Satisfying

Soft yeasted flatbreads topped with seasoned ground beef, baked until golden — the open esfiha of Brazilian bakeries.

Pairs Well With
Serve warm with lime wedges, hot sauce and a cold drink

A stuffed poblano pepper covered in white walnut sauce with pomegranate seeds and parsley on a red plate with fried plantains

Mexico 1h 35m

Dinner •Puebla Heritage

Chiles en Nogada

This chiles en nogada recipe roasts poblano peppers until their skins blister, stuffs them with a picadillo of ground pork and beef, apple, pear, raisins and almonds, then covers each one in a pale walnut sauce and finishes it with pomegranate seeds and parsley — green, white and red, the colours of the Mexican flag. One serving is about 470 g. The sauce is never cooked: it is blended cold, so it stays ivory-white and tastes fresh and nutty.

Celebration & Heritage

Roasted poblanos stuffed with a sweet-savoury picadillo of pork, beef, fruit and nuts, cloaked in a creamy walnut sauce and scattered with pomegranate and parsley.

Pairs Well With
Warm corn tortillas, Mexican rice and a glass of dry white wine

A bowl of pasta alla norma with fried eggplant cubes, tomato sauce, shaved ricotta salata and a basil leaf

Italy 45m

Dinner •Catania Heritage

Pasta alla Norma

This pasta alla norma recipe fries eggplant until golden and creamy inside, simmers it with a quick tomato sauce, and tosses everything with rigatoni, fresh basil and shavings of ricotta salata. One serving is about 440 g. There is no long simmer and no cream — the dish works because the eggplant is fried properly and the tomato sauce stays bright.

Comfort & Warmth

Fried eggplant folded through a simple tomato sauce with basil and salty ricotta salata — Catania's famous pasta, named for Bellini's opera.

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

Pasta & Noodles

A cassoulet in an earthenware pot with a golden breadcrumb crust and a duck leg

France 4h 30m

Dinner •Languedoc Heritage

Cassoulet

This cassoulet recipe soaks white beans overnight, then bakes them slowly in a deep earthenware pot with duck confit, pork sausage and pork belly, breaking the crust as it forms, until the beans are creamy and the top is deep golden. One serving is about 450 g. It is a dish that asks for an afternoon, not an hour — and it pays the time back in full.

Comfort & Warmth

White beans slow-baked with duck confit, pork sausage and pork belly under a golden breadcrumb crust — the great casserole of Languedoc.

Pairs Well With
A green salad, crusty bread and a glass of red wine from Languedoc

A plate of fideua with golden toasted noodles and prawns

Spain 55m

Dinner •Gandia Heritage

Fideuà

This fideua recipe toasts short fideo noodles in olive oil until golden, then cooks them in a saffron seafood stock with prawns, squid, mussels and monkfish in a wide, shallow pan — the same pan as a paella, but with noodles instead of rice. One serving is about 430 g. The noodles drink up the stock, crisp a little at the edges, and come out saffron-gold and full of the sea.

Comfort & Warmth

Short noodles toasted in olive oil, then cooked in saffron seafood stock with prawns, squid, mussels and monkfish — Gandia's answer to paella.

Pairs Well With
Allioli, lemon wedges and a green salad

Pasta & Noodles

Chilled soba noodles topped with shredded nori on a plate beside a red bowl of mentsuyu dipping sauce with sliced green onion

Japan 30m

Lunch •Japanese Heritage

Zaru Soba

This zaru soba recipe makes Japan's classic chilled buckwheat noodles: nutty soba served cold on a plate with a savoury-sweet mentsuyu dipping sauce, grated daikon, green onion and a dab of wasabi. You cook the noodles, chill them in cold water, and dip each bite — no hot broth, no heavy sauce. One serving is about 312 g, noodles, dipping sauce and toppings together.

Light & Refreshing

Chilled buckwheat noodles with a savoury dipping sauce, light enough for a hot day yet satisfying.

Pairs Well With
Tempura, a small bowl of pickled vegetables, and iced green tea.

Pasta & Noodles • Quick Prep (<30m)

A bowl of khao soi coconut curry noodles with herbs, crispy fried noodles, pickled greens, lime and shallots on the side

Thailand 1h

Lunch •Chiang Mai Heritage

Khao Soi

This khao soi recipe makes Chiang Mai's signature noodle dish: soft egg noodles in a golden coconut curry broth with tender chicken, topped with a crunchy nest of crispy fried noodles and served with pickled mustard greens, shallots, lime and fresh herbs. The curry paste, coconut milk and a little curry powder give the broth its colour and warmth, and the pickles cut through the richness. One serving is about 640 g, noodles, broth and toppings together.

Comfort & Warmth

A rich coconut curry noodle soup from Chiang Mai, with soft egg noodles, tender chicken and a crunchy nest of crispy noodles on top.

Pairs Well With
Pickled mustard greens, lime wedges and a glass of iced Thai tea.

Soups & Broths • Pasta & Noodles

A bowl of Vietnamese chicken curry with rice vermicelli noodles, chicken pieces, sliced onion and cilantro

Vietnam 1h 5m

Dinner •Vietnamese Heritage

Vietnamese Chicken Curry

This vietnamese chicken curry recipe makes ca ri ga the southern Vietnamese way: chicken simmered in coconut milk with lemongrass, curry powder and turmeric, sweet potato and carrot, until the sauce is golden and fragrant. It is gentler than a Thai curry — no curry paste, no fierce heat — and the sweet potato melts into the sauce. It is served here with rice vermicelli noodles, the way the photo shows it, and a crusty baguette is the classic extra for mopping up. One serving is about 600 g, curry and noodles together.

Comfort & Warmth

A gentle coconut and lemongrass chicken curry with sweet potato and carrot, rich but not fiery, served with rice vermicelli.

Pairs Well With
Rice vermicelli noodles, a crusty baguette, and pickled carrots.

Glazed General Tso's chicken pieces with dried chillies on a white plate

China 40m

Dinner •Chinese-American Heritage

General Tso's Chicken

This general tso's chicken recipe makes the Chinese-American classic at home: bite-sized chicken marinated in soy and wine, coated in cornstarch and flour, deep-fried until shatteringly crisp, then tossed in a sticky glaze of soy, vinegar, sugar and hoisin with dried red chillies. The coating stays crunchy under the glaze for a few precious minutes, so serve it the moment it hits the plate. One serving is about 230 g of chicken, before rice.

Bold & Satisfying

Crispy deep-fried chicken tossed in a sticky, sweet-spicy glaze with dried chillies — the most-ordered Chinese-American dish.

Pairs Well With
Steamed jasmine rice, stir-fried broccoli, and hot tea.

High Protein

A golden haemul pajeon seafood pancake with green onions and a small bowl of soy dipping sauce

South Korea 45m

Snack & Tea •Korean Heritage

Haemul Pajeon

This haemul pajeon recipe layers long green onions, shrimp and squid into a light flour-and-egg batter, then pan-fries it until the edges turn golden and crisp. Torn into pieces and dipped in a soy-vinegar sauce, it is the snack Koreans reach for on rainy days, usually beside a bowl of makgeolli. One serving is about 255 g.

Crispy Sharing Snack

A crisp, golden seafood and scallion pancake with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce — Korea's classic rainy-day snack.

Pairs Well With
Soy-vinegar dipping sauce, makgeolli & kimchi

A golden simit sesame bread ring on a white plate

Turkey 1h 55m

Breakfast •Istanbul Street Classic

Simit

This simit recipe makes eight golden Turkish sesame bread rings: a soft yeast dough is twisted into rings, dipped in grape molasses, rolled in toasted sesame seeds and baked until the crust crackles. Unlike a bagel, simit is never boiled — the molasses dip is what gives it its dark shine and gentle sweetness. One serving (one ring) is about 110 g.

Bakery Breakfast

A sesame-crusted bread ring with a crisp, molasses-glazed crust and a soft, chewy crumb — the breakfast bread of Istanbul's streets.

Pairs Well With
Turkish tea, white cheese, tomatoes & olives

A plate of gemista with a rice-stuffed tomato and green pepper and golden potato wedges

Greece 1h 45m

Dinner •Greek Summer Classic

Gemista

This gemista recipe hollows out ripe tomatoes and green peppers, fills them with rice, onion, garlic and a big handful of parsley, mint and dill, and bakes them in olive oil with potato wedges until the tops blister. It is made with no cheese and no egg, so it is vegan as written — one of Greece's ladera, the olive-oil dishes that carry a whole meal. One serving is about 512 g.

Garden Summer Dinner

Ripe tomatoes and peppers stuffed with herbed rice and baked in olive oil with potato wedges — the meatless summer dinner of Greece.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread, Greek salad & chilled white wine

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)

Dinner Ideas by Meal

Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snack & Tea

Dinner Ideas by Region

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