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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Breakfast to Snack

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What’s for Dinner TonightFeatured Dinner Recipes from 193 Countries

Showing 1105–1116 of 2321 dinner recipes

A whole golden empadao, Brazilian chicken pie with a crimped crust, on a white plate with salad leaves

Brazil 1h 35m

Dinner •Brazilian Bakery Classic

Empadao

This empadao recipe makes the Brazilian bakery classic: a buttery, crumbly pastry crust filled with shredded chicken cooked with tomato, onion, hearts of palm, sweetcorn and olives, bound with creamy cheese, then sealed with a crimped lid and baked until deep golden. It serves eight generous slices from a 26 cm pie dish. One serving is about 240 g.

Comfort & Hearty

Empadão is Brazil's chicken pot pie: a crumbly, buttery crust around shredded chicken, hearts of palm and creamy cheese, baked until golden.

Pairs Well With
Serve warm in slices with a green salad and a cold drink, the way Brazilian bakeries serve it.

A torta ahogada, a pork sandwich drowned in red tomato-chile sauce in a bowl, with radishes beside it

Mexico 2h 25m

Lunch •Guadalajara Street-Food Classic

Torta Ahogada

This torta ahogada recipe roasts pork shoulder until tender, piles it into a crusty birote roll and drowns the whole sandwich in a spicy tomato and chile de arbol sauce. One serving is about 400 g. Eat it with a fork and spoon — the roll soaks up the sauce and that is exactly the point.

Comfort & Warmth

A hot, sauce-drenched pork sandwich from Guadalajara, served in a bowl with radish and pickled onion.

Pairs Well With
Crisp radishes, pickled red onion and a cold Mexican lager.

Linguine alle vongole — linguine tossed with open clams in their shells and chopped parsley

Italy 45m

Dinner •Naples Coastal Classic

Linguine alle Vongole

This linguine alle vongole recipe tosses long flat pasta with fresh clams steamed open in garlic, white wine and olive oil, finished with parsley and lemon. One serving is about 330 g. It cooks fast, so have everything ready before the pasta hits the water.

Comfort & Warmth

A light, briny linguine with fresh clams, garlic, white wine and parsley — a classic of the Neapolitan coast.

Pairs Well With
Crusty bread, a simple green salad and a glass of dry white wine.

Pasta & Noodles

Profiteroles — golden round choux puffs on a white plate, drizzled with dark chocolate sauce

France 1h

Snack & Tea •Paris Pâtisserie Classic

Profiteroles

This profiteroles recipe bakes light, crisp choux puffs, fills them with vanilla whipped cream and pours over a glossy dark chocolate sauce. One serving is about 150 g. The puffs must be completely cool before filling, or the cream will melt.

Comfort & Warmth

Golden choux puffs filled with softly whipped cream and served with a warm dark chocolate sauce.

Pairs Well With
A cup of coffee or tea, and fresh berries on the side.

A bowl of caldo gallego, a green Galician soup of beans, potato and turnip greens, in an earthenware bowl

Spain 1h 50m

Lunch •Galicia Farmhouse Classic

Caldo Gallego

This caldo gallego recipe simmers white beans, potatoes, turnip greens and cured pork together until the broth is rich and the beans are creamy. One serving is about 400 g. It is a one-pot lunch that tastes even better the next day.

Comfort & Warmth

A hearty Galician soup of white beans, potatoes, turnip greens and cured pork, simmered into a warming broth.

Pairs Well With
Crusty Galician bread, a drizzle of olive oil and a glass of Albariño.

Soups & Broths

A dorayaki pancake sandwich with a golden-brown top and sweet red bean filling peeking out at the edge

Japan 40m

Snack & Tea •Japanese Sweet Shop Classic

Dorayaki

Two golden honey pancakes sandwich a generous layer of sweet red bean paste in this classic Japanese sweet. One serving is about 105 g (one dorayaki). This dorayaki recipe makes 8 dorayaki in about 40 minutes, and the batter rests while you set out the filling.

Sweet & Comforting

Two soft honey pancakes sandwiching sweet red bean paste - a gentle, filling snack with steady energy from the beans and flour.

Pairs Well With
Hot green tea or hojicha, with no other sweet needed.

Khao lam bamboo sticky rice, dark glutinous rice with beans served in split bamboo tubes on a tray

Thailand 1h 40m

Snack & Tea •Thai Market Classic

Khao Lam

Glutinous rice soaked overnight, mixed with coconut milk and sugar, packed into bamboo tubes and roasted over charcoal until fragrant and tender. One serving is about 125 g (one bamboo tube). This khao lam recipe makes 8 tubes in about 1 hour 40 minutes, most of it hands-off roasting.

Sweet & Filling

Glutinous rice steamed in bamboo with coconut milk and sugar — rich, fragrant and filling, with fibre from the black beans.

Pairs Well With
Hot Thai tea or fresh coconut water.

A bowl of canh kho qua, pork-stuffed bitter melon in clear broth with chopped herbs

Vietnam 1h 10m

Lunch •Vietnamese Tet Classic

Canh Kho Qua

Bitter melon is hollowed out, stuffed with seasoned ground pork, wood ear mushrooms and glass noodles, then simmered in a clear broth until tender. One serving is about 425 g (one stuffed melon piece with broth). This canh kho qua recipe makes 6 servings in about 1 hour 10 minutes.

Light & Warming

Clear broth with pork-stuffed bitter melon — light, savoury and warming, with the melon's gentle bitterness balanced by the rich filling.

Pairs Well With
Steamed jasmine rice and a small dish of fish sauce with chilli.

Soups & Broths

Lion's head meatballs in brown sauce with baby bok choy, one meatball cut open

China 1h 55m

Dinner •Jiangsu Banquet Classic

Lion's Head Meatballs

Hand-shaped pork meatballs as big as a fist are browned, then braised for over an hour with napa cabbage in a soy-seasoned stock until meltingly tender. One serving is about 445 g (one meatball with cabbage and broth). This lion's head meatballs recipe makes 4 servings in about 1 hour 55 minutes.

Rich & Hearty

Giant pork meatballs braised low and slow with napa cabbage — rich, savoury and deeply filling, with about 32 g of protein per serving.

Pairs Well With
Steamed jasmine rice and hot Chinese tea.

High Protein

Golden kimchi jeon pancakes cut into squares on a white plate with a small bowl of soy dipping sauce

South Korea 30m

Snack & Tea •Korean Heritage

Kimchi Jeon

This kimchi jeon recipe folds well-fermented kimchi into a light flour-and-egg batter and pan-fries it until the edges turn golden and crisp. Cut into squares and dipped in a soy-vinegar sauce, it is the snack Koreans make on rainy days and the fastest way to turn a jar of sour kimchi into dinner. One serving is about 198 g.

Crispy Sharing Snack

A crisp, tangy kimchi pancake with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce — Korea's favourite way to use up well-fermented kimchi.

Pairs Well With
Soy-vinegar dipping sauce, makgeolli & steamed rice

A plate of Turkish piyaz with white beans, shredded carrot, sliced onion and a lemon wedge

Turkey 20m

Lunch •Antalya Meze Classic

Piyaz

This piyaz recipe tosses creamy cannellini beans with thinly sliced red onion, ripe tomato and flat-leaf parsley, then dresses them in lemon juice, olive oil and sumac. It needs no cooking at all, and after a short rest the onion softens and the flavours settle into one of Turkey's most loved salads. One serving is about 225 g.

Fresh Meze Lunch

Tender white beans with red onion, tomato and parsley in a lemon and olive-oil dressing — Antalya's classic meze, served cold.

Pairs Well With
Warm pide bread, grilled köfte & ayran

Three Cretan dakos rusks topped with grated tomato, crumbled feta and capers on a white plate

Greece 20m

Lunch •Cretan Table Classic

Dakos

This dakos recipe starts with rock-hard barley rusks, moistened with water until they soften just enough to bite, then piled with grated ripe tomato, crumbled feta, capers and oregano under a generous drizzle of olive oil. It is a salad and a bread course in one, and the classic light lunch of Crete. One serving is about 252 g.

Light Cretan Lunch

Crunchy barley rusks softened with tomato juice and olive oil, topped with grated tomato and crumbled feta — Crete's beloved no-cook salad.

Pairs Well With
Grilled sardines, a village 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

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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

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Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Estonia

Eswatini

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

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Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary

Iceland

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Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

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Kiribati

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Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liberia

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Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Madagascar

Malawi

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Maldives

Mali

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Marshall Islands

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

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Mozambique

Myanmar

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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

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Slovakia

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South Sudan

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Syria

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Togo

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey

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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)

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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