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 901–912 of 2321 dinner recipes

A Brazilian tapioca crepe cooking in a pan, topped with melting cheese

Brazil 25m

Snack & Tea •Pernambuco Street-Food Classic

Brazilian Tapioca

This brazilian tapioca recipe turns hydrated cassava starch into a crisp-edged crepe on a hot pan, filled two ways — melted queijo coalho and sweet coconut with condensed milk. One serving is one crepe, about 163 g, and all four are ready in 25 minutes.

Warm & Chewy Snack

A crisp-edged tapioca starch crepe, filled with melted cheese or sweet coconut.

Pairs Well With
Strong Brazilian coffee (cafezinho) and fresh tropical fruit

Quick Prep (<30m)

A dark bowl of bright green salsa verde with tomatillo seeds and flecks of cilantro

Mexico 15m

Snack & Tea •Mexican Classic

Salsa Verde

Salsa verde is Mexico's bright green table sauce: raw tomatillos, white onion, serrano chillies, garlic, cilantro and lime blitzed into a tangy, lightly chunky sauce that wakes up tacos, eggs and grilled meat. Unlike salsa roja, which is roasted and simmered, this one is never heated, so it keeps the sharp, fresh bite of the raw tomatillo. One serving is about 70 g (about 5 tablespoons).

Fresh & Tangy

Raw tomatillos, serrano chillies and lime blended into a bright green sauce with no cooking at all.

Pairs Well With
Warm corn tortilla chips, tacos & enchiladas

A green bowl of minestrone soup with carrots, beans, pasta and tomato broth

Italy 1h 5m

Lunch •Italian Classic

Minestrone

Minestrone is Italy's great vegetable soup: onion, carrot and celery softened in olive oil, then potatoes, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes and cannellini beans simmered in vegetable stock until everything is tender, with small pasta stirred in at the end. No two pots are ever the same — it is a soup built from whatever the garden has — but the shape is always this: a thick, brothy, spoon-standing bowl of vegetables, beans and pasta. One serving is about 410 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Seven vegetables, cannellini beans and small pasta simmered in tomato broth into a thick, filling soup.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread, olive oil & a green salad

Soups & Broths

A white cup of creamy orange lobster bisque scattered with chopped herbs

France 1h 15m

Lunch •French Classic

Lobster Bisque

Lobster bisque is the great French shellfish soup: lobster shells simmered into a deep orange stock, thickened with a little flour, enriched with cream and a splash of cognac, then blended until silky and finished with pieces of sweet lobster meat. It is the most luxurious soup in the French repertoire — a celebration dish built from what other recipes throw away, the shells. One serving is about 350 g.

Rich & Elegant

Lobster shells simmered into stock, blended with cream and cognac into a silky, deep-orange soup.

Pairs Well With
Warm crusty bread, dry white wine & a green salad

Soups & Broths

Golden torrijas with a honey glaze arranged on a white plate

Spain 30m

Breakfast •Spanish Classic

Torrijas

Torrijas are Spain's answer to French toast, and the food of Holy Week: thick slices of day-old bread soaked in cinnamon-scented milk, dipped in beaten egg, fried in olive oil until golden, then rolled in cinnamon sugar and finished with a drizzle of honey. The outside turns crisp and caramelised while the inside stays soft and custardy, like the middle of a good bread pudding. One serving is about 210 g (2 slices).

Sweet & Comforting

Day-old bread soaked in cinnamon milk, fried golden and finished with sugar and honey.

Pairs Well With
Café con leche, fresh orange & a little honey

A square bowl of nikujaga with tender potatoes, carrots, beef and onion in a light golden broth

Japan 55m

Dinner •Japanese Home Cooking

Nikujaga

Nikujaga is the Japanese home-cooked stew that tastes like a hug: thin slices of beef, soft potatoes, sweet carrot and onion simmered together in dashi with soy sauce, mirin and sake until everything is tender and glossy. The potatoes drink up the broth, the beef stays silky, and the whole pot comes together in under an hour — it is the dish Japanese families reach for on a cold evening. One serving is about 375 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Thinly sliced beef, potato, carrot and onion simmered in a sweet-savoury soy and mirin broth.

Pairs Well With
Steamed rice and a small bowl of miso soup

A scoop of white Thai coconut ice cream in a coconut shell with pink water chestnuts and coconut flesh

Thailand 35m

Snack & Tea •Bangkok Street Dessert

Thai Coconut Ice Cream

Thai coconut ice cream is the dessert Bangkok street vendors scoop straight from a metal churn: coconut milk and cream frozen into something softer and silkier than Western ice cream, then piled into a coconut shell or a sweet bread roll with sticky rice, roasted peanuts and glossy red water chestnuts. It tastes of fresh coconut, not of a tin — rich, cold and floral, with a little crunch in every spoonful. One serving is about 257 g, toppings included.

Cool & Sweet

Coconut milk churned into a creamy frozen dessert, served with sticky rice, peanuts and red rubies.

Pairs Well With
A cup of Thai iced tea and a walk in the evening heat

A white bowl of bo kho with beef chunks, carrots and daikon in a rich reddish broth with rice noodles

Vietnam 2h 25m

Dinner •Saigon Heritage

Bo Kho

Bo kho is Vietnam's answer to a beef stew: chunks of beef chuck braised slowly with lemongrass, star anise, cinnamon and five-spice until they fall apart, in a reddish, fragrant broth that is nothing like pho. Carrot and daikon go in near the end so they stay sweet and firm, and the pot is served with crusty baguette for mopping up the sauce — or with rice noodles, if that is how your family eats it. One serving is about 383 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Beef chuck slow-braised with lemongrass, star anise and carrot until spoon-tender.

Pairs Well With
Crusty baguette and fresh herbs

High Protein

A plate of dry-fried green beans with minced pork, dried red chillies and Sichuan pepper

China 30m

Dinner •Sichuan Heritage

Dry-Fried Green Beans

Dry-fried green beans are Sichuan cooking at its most addictive: whole green beans blistered in hot oil until they wrinkle and char in spots, then tossed in a screaming-hot wok with minced pork, dried chillies, garlic and tingling Sichuan pepper. There is no sauce to hide behind — just beans, pork and heat, salty, spicy and deeply savoury, with a crunch that survives the wok. One serving is about 175 g.

Bold & Savoury

Blistered green beans tossed with minced pork, dried chilli and Sichuan pepper.

Pairs Well With
Steamed rice and a cold lager

Yukhoe — a mound of seasoned raw beef with pine nuts over julienned Asian pear on a pale blue plate

South Korea 25m

Dinner •Seoul Market Classic

Yukhoe

This yukhoe recipe is Korea's answer to beef tartare: hand-cut raw beef tenderloin, chilled until firm, tossed in a soy-sesame dressing and mounded over crisp julienned Asian pear, then crowned with a raw egg yolk and pine nuts. The beef is sweet and clean-tasting, the pear is cold and juicy, and the yolk turns the whole plate glossy and rich. One serving is about 179 g.

High-Protein Raw Beef Delicacy

Paper-thin raw beef tenderloin seasoned with soy, sesame and garlic, served over julienned Asian pear with a raw egg yolk.

Pairs Well With
Steamed rice, kimchi, perilla leaves and a cold glass of makgeolli

Haydari — a thick white yogurt dip flecked with fresh dill, served on a white plate

Turkey 15m

Snack & Tea •Anatolian Meze Classic

Haydari

This haydari recipe is Turkey's cool, thick yogurt meze: strained Greek yogurt whipped with fresh dill and mint, a little garlic and lemon, and a thread of olive oil — no cucumber anywhere, which is exactly what sets it apart from Greek tzatziki. It is creamy, herby and quietly tangy, and it belongs on every meze table next to warm bread. One serving is about 144 g.

Cool & Herby Meze

Thick strained yogurt mixed with fresh dill, mint, garlic and olive oil — a creamy Turkish meze served cold with bread.

Pairs Well With
Warm flatbread, grilled meats, raw vegetables and Turkish tea

Tirokafteri — a creamy white feta dip topped with strips of green pepper, served on a metal tray

Greece 25m

Snack & Tea •Greek Taverna Classic

Tirokafteri

This tirokafteri recipe is Greece's fiery feta dip: crumbled feta whipped with yogurt, roasted red pepper and hot green chilli until it is creamy, pink-tinged and properly spicy, with olive oil and lemon to round it out. It is the meze that makes the whole table reach for more bread — salty, tangy, and hot in the best way. One serving is about 152 g.

Spicy & Creamy Meze

Crumbled feta whipped with yogurt, roasted red pepper and hot chilli into a creamy, spicy Greek dip.

Pairs Well With
Warm pita bread, cucumber sticks, grilled meats and a cold glass of ouzo or beer

Quick Prep (<30m)

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

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Canada

Central African Republic

Chad

Chile

China

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Comoros

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Republic of the Congo

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Dominican Republic

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Fiji

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Ireland

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Italy

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Niger

Nigeria

North Korea

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Norway

Oman

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Panama

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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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Saudi Arabia

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Trinidad and Tobago

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Turkey

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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

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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