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 1033–1044 of 2321 dinner recipes

A large tray of thick golden caruru stew with a serving spoon

Brazil 55m

Dinner •Bahian Afro-Brazilian Classic

Caruru

This caruru recipe is the Bahian classic: fresh okra cooked down with dried shrimp, ground peanuts and cashews, ginger and dendê — red palm oil — until it turns into a thick, golden stew. It is the Afro-Brazilian dish of Salvador, served with rice and vatapá, and tucked into acarajé on the street. One serving is about 310 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Okra stewed down with dried shrimp, ground peanuts and cashews in dendê oil — thick, savoury and deeply Bahian.

Pairs Well With
Steamed rice, vatapá & farofa

Two vegetarian sopes on a white plate — one topped with green salsa, one with sautéed mushrooms — with a slice of watermelon radish.

Mexico 50m

Lunch •Central Mexican Street Classic

Sopes

Thick, hand-pressed masa cakes with a pinched rim, fried until the edges crisp and the centres stay soft. Each one is layered with warm refried beans, garlicky sautéed mushrooms, salsa verde, crema and crumbled queso fresco, then finished with pickled onion and watermelon radish. One serving is about 325 g (two sopes).

Vegetarian Street Food

Thick masa cakes fried crisp, layered with refried beans, garlicky mushrooms, salsa verde and queso fresco.

Pairs Well With
Agua fresca, Mexican beer or a crisp lettuce and tomato salad.

Caponata with peppers served in a white bowl — glossy eggplant, tomato and celery in a sweet-sour sauce.

Italy 1h 10m

Lunch •Sicilian Agrodolce Classic

Caponata

Sicilian caponata — fried eggplant, peppers and celery folded into a sweet-sour tomato sauce with green olives, capers and a splash of vinegar. It is cooked slowly, rested, and served at room temperature, when the agrodolce has had time to mellow. One serving is about 287 g.

Mediterranean Vegetables

Fried eggplant, peppers and celery in a sweet-sour agrodolce with olives and capers, served at room temperature.

Pairs Well With
Grilled sourdough, a crisp white wine or a simple green salad.

Herb-roasted chicken halves with golden baby potatoes on a platter.

France 1h 55m

Dinner •French Sunday Roast Classic

Poulet Roti

The classic French Sunday roast: a whole chicken rubbed with herbes de Provence butter under the skin, roasted on a bed of baby potatoes with lemon halves in the cavity, until the skin is golden and the pan juices are rich. One serving is about 430 g (a quarter of the bird with potatoes).

Sunday Roast

A whole chicken roasted with herb butter, lemon and baby potatoes, golden skin and rich pan juices.

Pairs Well With
Green beans, a little gem salad and a dry white wine.

High Protein

A bowl of thick white allioli — traditional Catalan garlic sauce.

Spain 30m

Snack & Tea •Catalan Mortar Sauce

Allioli

Allioli — from the Catalan all i oli, garlic and oil — is the traditional sauce of Catalonia and Valencia: garlic pounded to a paste in a mortar, then olive oil worked in drop by drop until it turns thick, white and spoonable. No egg, no blender, just patience. One serving is about 28 g (a generous tablespoon).

Catalan Sauce

Garlic pounded in a mortar with olive oil worked in drop by drop until thick, white and spoonable — no egg, no blender.

Pairs Well With
Patatas bravas, grilled vegetables or a cold beer.

A golden omurice omelette topped with ketchup on a white plate

Japan 45m

Lunch •Tokyo Yoshoku Classic

Omurice

Omurice is Japan's beloved yoshoku comfort dish: chicken fried rice, stained rosy with ketchup, folded inside a soft golden omelette. This home version keeps the omelette tender and just set, the way Tokyo's old Western-style restaurants serve it. One serving is about 412 g.

Comfort & Joy

Fluffy omelette wrapped around savoury chicken ketchup rice — a yoshoku favourite for lunch.

Pairs Well With
Pickled ginger, miso soup & a crisp green salad

A bowl of orange gaeng som sour fish curry with fish chunks and vegetables

Thailand 45m

Dinner •Southern Thai Classic

Gaeng Som

Gaeng som is southern Thailand's sour curry: a clear, tamarind-sharp broth with tender white fish, green papaya, long beans and pineapple — hot, sour and light, with no coconut milk at all. One serving is about 490 g.

Light & Warming

Tamarind-sour, chilli-hot fish curry with vegetables — bright, brothy and light.

Pairs Well With
Steamed jasmine rice & a cucumber salad

Soups & Broths

A bowl of hu tieu Nam Vang with shrimp, sliced pork, noodles and fresh herbs

Vietnam 3h

Lunch •Saigon Street Classic

Hu Tieu

Hu Tieu Nam Vang is southern Vietnam's great noodle soup: a crystal-clear pork-bone broth with silky rice noodles, sliced pork, shrimp, minced pork and quail eggs, finished with fried garlic, bean sprouts and chives. Lighter than phở, richer in toppings, and a Saigon street classic. One serving is about 830 g.

Comfort & Warmth

Clear pork-bone broth with rice noodles, sliced pork, shrimp, minced pork and quail eggs.

Pairs Well With
Lettuce, bean sprouts, lime & chilli fish sauce

Soups & Broths • Pasta & Noodles

Marbled tea eggs with star anise, dried chillies and rock sugar

China 1h 10m

Snack & Tea •Chinese Street-Food Classic

Tea Eggs

Tea eggs are China's marbled snack: hard-boiled eggs cracked all over, then simmered and steeped overnight in black tea, soy sauce, star anise and cinnamon, until the whites wear a dark lace pattern and taste faintly of spice. Sold by street vendors and in convenience stores across China. One serving is 2 eggs, about 110 g.

Simple & Satisfying

Hard-boiled eggs cracked and steeped in black tea, soy sauce and star anise — marbled, savoury and portable.

Pairs Well With
Congee, pickled vegetables & hot tea

Sigeumchi namul — blanched spinach tossed with sesame seeds and green onion

South Korea 15m

Dinner •Korean Banchan Classic

Sigeumchi Namul

This sigeumchi namul recipe blanches fresh spinach for 30 seconds, then tosses it with garlic, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds — a bright, nutty banchan that takes 15 minutes. One serving is about 65 g.

Light & Fresh

Blanched spinach tossed in a sesame-soy dressing — a small, fresh banchan that brightens a Korean table.

Pairs Well With
Steamed rice, kimchi and grilled fish

Acili ezme — a finely chopped spicy tomato dip garnished with parsley, served on a white plate with a spoon

Turkey 15m

Snack & Tea •Gaziantep Meze Classic

Acili Ezme

A spicy tomato dip from Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey, chopped so fine it is almost a salsa and dressed with pomegranate molasses, lemon and olive oil. One serving is 199 g and holds 177 kcal, so it is easy to scoop a generous spoonful alongside grilled meats or warm bread.

Fresh & Fiery

Finely chopped tomato and peppers in a sweet-sour pomegranate dressing — a bright, spicy start to a Turkish meal.

Pairs Well With
Warm pita, grilled kebabs and cacık

Quick Prep (<30m)

Briam — a pan of oven-roasted potatoes, zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes with feta on the side

Greece 2h

Dinner •Greek Ladera Classic

Briam

Briam is Greece's answer to ratatouille — potatoes, zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes slow-baked in olive oil until silky and caramelised. One serving is 368 g and holds 289 kcal, so it makes a generous vegetarian main with crusty bread and feta.

Slow-Roasted & Silky

Greek vegetables slow-baked in olive oil until silky and caramelised — a countryside classic.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread, feta and a crisp Greek salad

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 →

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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.