Lunch around the world
The midday meal: in much of the world, the main one.
Pizza
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreFlatbread topped with tomato, cheese and baked at high heat
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Sushi寿司
🇯🇵 JapanVinegared rice paired with seafood, vegetables or other toppings
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
HamburgerMeat
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreA hot ground meat patty in a sliced bun, often with salad and sauces
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Pasta
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreUnleavened dough shaped and cooked, a staple of Italian cuisine
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
French friesVeganpommes frites
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreDeep-fried strips of potato, served hot and salted
Street food, Lunch, Dinner
Kebabكَبَاب
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreGrilled or roasted meat, often on skewers, found across the Middle East and beyond
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Borscht
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreA sour soup of beetroot and vegetables, served hot or cold across Eastern Europe
Soup, Lunch, Dinner
SpaghettiVegan
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreLong, thin pasta strands made from durum wheat and water
Noodle or pasta dish, Lunch, Dinner
Pilaf
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan and 5 moreRice cooked in stock with spices, meat or vegetables, with each grain kept separate
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Samosa
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreFried or baked pastry with a spiced filling, shaped into triangles or cones
Pie or savoury pastry, Snacks, Lunch
Hot dogMeat
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreA sausage in a sliced bun, topped with condiments and eaten hot
Street food, Lunch, Dinner
KimchiVegan김치
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreFermented and seasoned vegetables central to Korean meals
Sauce, pickle or ferment, Lunch, Dinner
Couscousseksu
🇩🇿 Algeria and 4 moreSteamed semolina granules served with stew or vegetables across North Africa
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Biryani
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreRice and spiced meat or vegetables layered and cooked together
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
RamenMeatラーメン
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreJapanese noodle soup with Chinese-style wheat noodles in hot broth
Soup, Lunch, Dinner
Lasagnalasagne
🇮🇹 ItalyBaked layers of pasta sheets, sauce, cheese and fillings from Italy
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
ShawarmaMeatشاورما
🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreMeat roasted on a vertical spit and sliced into flatbread with sauces and vegetables
Street food, Lunch, Dinner
RatatouilleVegan
🇫🇷 FranceA Provençal stew of summer vegetables cooked in olive oil
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
HummusVegan
🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreMashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon, and garlic, served as a dip or spread
Sauce, pickle or ferment, Breakfast, Lunch
Moussakaμουσακάς
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreBaked casserole of eggplant or potato, often layered with meat and sauce
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
GoulashMeatgulyás
🇭🇺 Hungary and 5 moreA paprika-spiced meat and vegetable soup from Hungary
Soup, Lunch, Dinner
Taco
🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreA folded tortilla filled with meat, beans or vegetables, eaten by hand
Street food, Lunch, Dinner
Paella
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreRice cooked with meat, seafood or vegetables in a wide shallow pan from Valencia
Main dish, Lunch
SauerkrautVegan
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreFinely shredded cabbage preserved by natural fermentation in salt
Sauce, pickle or ferment, Lunch, Dinner
GuacamoleVegan
🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreAvocado mashed with lime, salt, and herbs, served as a dip or spread
Sauce, pickle or ferment, Snacks, Lunch
GazpachoVegan
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreChilled soup of blended raw vegetables, served cold in Spain and Portugal
Soup, Lunch, Dinner
Naanनान
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLeavened flatbread baked in a tandoor or on a pan, soft and spotted with golden brown
Bread, Lunch, Dinner
Blood sausageMeat
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreA sausage made with animal blood, fillers and spices, cooked or dried until firm
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Risotto
🇮🇹 ItalyCreamy Italian rice dish slowly cooked with broth and finished with cheese
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Olivier saladсалат Оливье
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreA Russian salad of diced vegetables, meat and mayonnaise, served at festive meals
Salad or side, Dinner, Lunch
Fish and chipsFish or seafood
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 8 moreBattered fried fish served hot with thick-cut chips
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
AyranVegetarian
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreChilled yogurt drink mixed with water and salt, popular in Turkey and beyond
Drink, Breakfast, Lunch
Pie
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreA baked dish with a pastry crust and sweet or savoury filling
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
BaguetteVegan
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreLong, thin French bread with a crisp crust and soft interior
Bread, Breakfast, Lunch
Crêpe
🇫🇷 FranceThin French pancakes, served sweet or savoury with a range of fillings
Main dish, Breakfast, Lunch
ChapatiVeganचपाती
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreUnleavened flatbread cooked on a griddle and served hot with meals
Bread, Breakfast, Lunch
Rice pudding
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreSweetened rice cooked in milk, found in many forms worldwide
Sweet or dessert, Breakfast, Lunch
Kefir
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreA tangy, fermented milk drink made with kefir grains
Drink, Breakfast, Lunch
Pelmeniпельмени
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian dumplings filled with seasoned meat and wrapped in thin dough
Dumpling, Lunch, Dinner
Sashimi刺身
🇯🇵 JapanThin slices of raw fish or meat, served with soy sauce and condiments
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
BrieVegetarian
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreSoft French cheese with a white edible rind and creamy interior
Cheese or dairy food, Lunch, Dinner
RaitaVegetarianरायता
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreYogurt mixed with vegetables, fruit or pulses, served as a cooling side dish
Sauce, pickle or ferment, Lunch, Dinner
MahaprasadVegetarianମହାପ୍ରସାଦ
🇮🇳 IndiaSanctified vegetarian food served at the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Smörgåsbord
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreA Swedish buffet meal with a spread of cold and hot dishes
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Oxtail stewMeat
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreStew made with oxtail, found in many world cuisines
Stew or curry, Lunch, Dinner
Kabab koobidehMeatکباب کوبیده
🇮🇷 IranIranian skewered kebab of ground lamb or beef mixed with onion and spices
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Zereshk poloMeatزرشکپلو
🇮🇷 Iran and 1 morePersian rice with tart barberries, often served with saffron chicken
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
RechtaMeatرشتة
🇩🇿 Algeria and 1 moreAlgerian handmade noodles served with chicken and vegetables in a spiced sauce
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Neapolitan pizza: Valerio Capello at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kimchi: Nagyman , a flickr user, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sashimi: No machine-readable author provided. Arnaud 25 assumed (based on copyr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Taco: Popo le Chien, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ayran: bnhsu, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Risotto: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hummus: Paul Goyette, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Olivier salad: Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hamburger: Luke, Public domain, source
- Kebab: Lesya Dolyk, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Guacamole: Popo le Chien, CC0, source
- Brie: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Raita: Sonia Goyal, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Mahaprasad: Government of Odisha, CC BY 4.0, source
- Smörgåsbord: Jordan Klein, CC BY 2.0, source
- Oxtail stew: shu tu, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kabab koobideh: User:همان, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rechta: Ms10vc, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pie: Peggy Greb, Public domain, source
- Paella: Jebulon, CC0, source
- Biryani: Shyamveer.singh1982, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fish and chips: Andrew Dunn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Goulash: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, source
- Ramen: Mariaaa05, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pilaf: Mizu basyo at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Samosa: kspoddar, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hot dog: Evan Swigart, CC BY 2.0, source
- Moussaka: Fotograf: Dieter Mueller ( dino1948 ) Kamera: de:Nikon 885, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Baguette: Popo le Chien, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- French fries: Horacio Cambeiro, CC BY 4.0, source
- Shawarma: جنان مريش, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chapati: Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Borscht: Juerg Vollmer, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Crêpe: David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Spaghetti: Tim Reckmann, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lasagna: Breville USA, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pasta: Deror avi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pelmeni: Eugene Kim @ Flickr, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sushi: Yumi Kimura, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Rice pudding: Eli123seo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Couscous: Lmmima, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sauerkraut: Annakareninerussie, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kefir: -donald-, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gazpacho: Bocadorada, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ratatouille: Marcus Guimarães, CC BY 2.0, source