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 829–840 of 2311 dinner recipes

A Brazilian plate of white rice and brown beans served with grilled chicken and fries

Brazil 1h 30m

Dinner •Brazilian Everyday Plate

Brazilian Rice and Beans

Brazilian rice and beans (arroz e feijão) is the everyday plate of Brazil: brown carioca beans simmered with garlic and bay, and white rice cooked on its own, served side by side on the plate — never cooked together in one pot, and with no coconut milk, which is what sets it apart from Belizean rice and beans. The beans here are meat-free, so the base plate is vegan; grilled meat or an egg is the usual companion, not part of the beans. One serving is about 360 g.

Comfort & Everyday

Brown beans and white rice cooked separately and served side by side — the plate Brazil eats nearly every day.

Pairs Well With
Grilled chicken or steak, with a tomato salad

Three corn tacos filled with shredded Mexican barbacoa beef, onion and cilantro

Mexico 5h

Dinner •Central Mexico Heritage

Mexican Barbacoa

This Mexican barbacoa recipe rubs beef chuck with chipotle, garlic, cumin and lime, then slow-roasts it in broth until it falls apart into juicy shreds. It is not cochinita pibil: that Yucatan dish is pork in banana leaf with achiote, while barbacoa is beef (or lamb) pit- and oven-roasted with a smoky chipotle adobo. One serving is about 170 g.

Bold & Satisfying

Beef chuck slow-roasted with chipotle and adobo until it shreds, served in warm tortillas.

Pairs Well With
Warm corn tortillas with diced onion, cilantro and lime

High Protein

Spaghetti alla puttanesca with tomato sauce, capers, olives and parmesan shavings

Italy 35m

Dinner •Naples Heritage

Pasta alla Puttanesca

This pasta alla puttanesca recipe tosses spaghetti in a fast tomato sauce built on garlic, anchovies, black olives, capers and chilli. It is not penne arrabbiata: arrabbiata is plain tomato, chilli and garlic, while puttanesca's defining sauce is the briny quartet of olives, capers, anchovies and chilli. One serving is about 363 g.

Quick & Comforting

Spaghetti in a bold, salty-savoury tomato sauce with olives, capers and anchovies, ready in about 35 minutes.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread and a simple green salad

Pasta & Noodles • Quick Prep (<30m)

Sliced roast duck breast with an orange slice and glossy orange sauce

France 3h

Dinner •French Classic

Canard a l'Orange

This duck a l'orange recipe roasts a whole duck until the skin is crisp, then serves it with a glossy sweet-sour sauce of caramel, orange and vinegar. It is not confit de canard: confit is duck legs slow-cooked in their own fat, while this is a whole bird roasted in the oven and finished with an orange sauce. It is also unlike Peking duck, which is served with pancakes and hoisin. One serving is about 388 g.

Rich & Elegant

A whole duck roasted until crisp, carved and glazed with a sweet-sour orange sauce.

Pairs Well With
Buttered green beans and pommes sarladaises

High Protein

Slices of Galician empanada pie stacked on paper trays

Spain 1h 45m

Lunch •Galician Classic

Empanada Gallega

This empanada gallega recipe bakes a large tuna pie in a tray: a soft olive-oil crust filled with tuna, peppers, onion, tomato and chopped egg, then cut into squares. It is not like the small Argentine empanadas already on the site — those are hand-held half-moons, while the Galician version is a big flat pie shared from the tray. One serving is about 225 g.

Hearty & Satisfying

A large Galician tuna pie baked in a tray and cut into squares, with peppers, onion and egg.

Pairs Well With
A simple green salad and a glass of Albariño

A bowl of oyakodon with chicken pieces and softly set egg over rice, garnished with mitsuba leaves

Japan 35m

Dinner •Tokyo Donburi Classic

Oyakodon

This oyakodon recipe simmers chicken thigh and onions in a dashi, soy sauce and mirin broth, then pours beaten egg over the top so it sets into soft, golden ribbons around the chicken, and serves the whole lot over steaming rice. It is a different bowl from gyudon, our published beef donburi: oyakodon is built on chicken and egg, while gyudon is built on thinly sliced beef and onions, with no egg in the simmer. One serving is about 350 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Tender chicken and softly set egg simmered in a sweet-savoury dashi broth, spooned over hot rice.

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

High Protein

A plate of Thai chicken larb with minced chicken, herbs and chilli, served with a mound of rice

Thailand 30m

Lunch •Isaan Minced Salad

Thai Chicken Larb

This Thai chicken larb recipe cooks minced chicken until just done, then tosses it while still warm with lime juice, fish sauce, chilli and toasted rice powder, and folds in shallots, mint, coriander and spring onion. It is a salad, not a stir-fry and not a curry: there is no coconut milk, no curry paste and no long simmer, which is what sets it apart from the Thai curries and pad kra pao already on this site. One serving is about 230 g.

Light & Fresh

Warm minced chicken tossed with lime, fish sauce and toasted rice powder, folded through fresh herbs.

Pairs Well With
Sticky rice, lettuce leaves and cucumber

High Protein

A glass of Vietnamese iced coffee with dark coffee layered over sweetened condensed milk, on a street-cafe table

Vietnam 15m

Breakfast •Saigon Street-Cafe Classic

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

This Vietnamese iced coffee recipe brews strong robusta coffee through a phin filter, lets it cool, then pours it over sweetened condensed milk and a tall glass of ice. It is a different drink from Vietnamese egg coffee, our published Hanoi speciality: that one is hot coffee under a whipped egg-yolk cream, while this one has no egg at all — just bitter black coffee, sweet milk and ice. One serving is about 265 g.

Cool & Refreshing

Strong robusta coffee poured over sweetened condensed milk and ice — bitter, sweet and cold in one glass.

Pairs Well With
A buttered banh mi and fresh fruit

A plate of beef and broccoli stir-fry with sliced beef and bright green broccoli over steamed rice

China 35m

Dinner •Chinese-American Stir-Fry Classic

Beef and Broccoli

This beef and broccoli recipe sears thinly sliced flank steak until browned at the edges, blanches the broccoli until bright green, then brings them together in a glossy oyster-and-soy sauce with garlic and ginger. It is a stir-fry, not a braise or a curry: there is no long simmer and no coconut milk, which is what sets it apart from the beef rendang and beef curries already on this site. One serving is about 230 g.

Hearty & Savoury

Tender seared beef and crisp-tender broccoli in a glossy oyster-and-soy sauce.

Pairs Well With
Steamed jasmine rice and hot tea

High Protein

Doenjang jjigae — a brown soybean-paste stew with zucchini and onion in a black stone pot, with tofu, spring onion and red chilli on a wooden board

South Korea 40m

Dinner •Korean Everyday Classic

Doenjang Jjigae

This doenjang jjigae recipe is Korea's everyday soybean-paste stew: doenjang whisked into simmering water with tofu, zucchini, onion and mushrooms until the broth turns cloudy, savoury and rich. It is the pot that sits at the centre of countless Korean family tables, ladled over rice. One serving is about 405 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Fermented soybean paste simmered with tofu, zucchini and mushrooms into a savoury, deeply comforting stew.

Pairs Well With
Steamed rice, kimchi & a fried egg

Soups & Broths • Fermented / Gut Health

Hunkar begendi — braised lamb in tomato sauce over smoked eggplant purée in a copper bowl, with a grilled green pepper and tomato

Turkey 2h

Dinner •Ottoman Palace Classic

Hunkar Begendi

This hunkar begendi recipe — the name means 'the sultan liked it' — pairs slow-braised lamb in a tomato sauce with a smoky eggplant purée enriched with béchamel and kaşar cheese. It is one of the great dishes of the Ottoman palace kitchen, still served in Istanbul restaurants today. One serving is about 425 g.

Rich & Comforting

Slow-braised lamb in tomato sauce spooned over a silky purée of smoked eggplant, butter, milk and cheese.

Pairs Well With
Warm pide bread, shepherd's salad & ayran

Horta — boiled wild greens glistening with olive oil on a white plate

Greece 35m

Dinner •Greek Village Classic

Horta

This horta recipe is Greece at its simplest: wild leafy greens boiled in salted water until tender, drained, and dressed while warm with good olive oil, lemon juice and salt. It is the dish Greek grandmothers make from whatever the hillside offers, and it belongs beside almost everything. One serving is about 170 g.

Light & Plant-Based

Wild leafy greens boiled until tender and dressed with olive oil, lemon and salt — the simplest dish in the Greek kitchen.

Pairs Well With
Grilled fish, crusty bread & lemon potatoes

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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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

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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