It’s HOT out there. Having a tiny kitchen in a house with no air conditioning does not help! I don’t feel like cooking or baking anything unless it’s absolutely necessary.
But we still have to eat!
No Cook Meal Ideas
It’s beginning to warm up outside and that means that busier days and less time spent inside are on the horizon. But a family still must eat! So just how do we feed our family when we just want to be outside and we would rather not spend extra on our air conditioning costs as we heat up the oven to cook?
There are a few great solutions to this problem. Here are some simple ideas on how to handle to too-hot-to-cook summer days. These meals and ideas are perfect for the days when you don’t want to heat up your home during the day by turning on the oven.
The Beautiful Slow Cooker
One good option is slow cooker meals. You won’t heat up your kitchen and house and you still will get a great filling meal. The only downside to this solution is the meal will be a hot dish so if you are already warm you may not feel like eating a hot meal!
Some of our very favorite slow cooker meals are:
- Slow Cooker Steak
- BBQ Meatballs
- Shredded Beef
- Homemade Vegetable Soup (with fresh garden veggies of course!)
- Scalloped Potatoes
Make It Now, Eat It Later
Another great option is to make up some make ahead or freezer meals. Even though you do have to heat up the oven to make most of those meals, you could try and make as many of them as possible at night when it is a little cooler in the house or when you can open the windows and let in some cooler air while you are cooking.
I love doing make ahead meals at our house (especially for things like sides and breads), here are some of our favorites:
Here are more great no cook meal ideas to try as well when you need some inspiration!
- Taco Salad -with cold refried beans (these are good to have in the freezer) and Homemade Salsa
- Cold Pasta (make the evening before when it’s not hot and refrigerate) – with a sharp or aged cheese and fresh veggies mixed in, topped with a vinegar based dressing.
- Tacos – with cold refried black beans and fresh garden veggies
- Anything Grilled!
- Avocado Feta Hummus
- 7 Layer Taco Dip
- Chef Salad
- Waldorf Chicken Salad or Egg Salad (make the night before) or this Best Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipe
- Chef Salad – with homemade dressing! (Like Ranch Dressing, Dorthy Lynch, Russian Dressing, ect)
- BLT Salad
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Sandwiches – with various cold cuts or meats
- Peach Blueberry Salad
- Instant Pot Summer Vegetable Soup
- Spinach, Apple, and Glazed Pecan Salad
Don’t forget the desserts! Here are some yummy desserts to try…no baking required!
- No Bake Cookies
- No Bake Cookie Dough Treat
- No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Simple Chocolate Truffles
And of course, there is plenty of fresh garden produce this time of year to feast on! Be sure and make frequent stops at the Farmer’s Market on the days that they are open to be able to indulge in the freshest in-season produce.
Hopefully you’ve been able to find some great inspiration in this article for when it’s just too hot or busy to turn on the oven during the day and put in much effort in the kitchen.
What are some of your favorite no cook meal ideas for hot summer days?
This article on No Cook Meals for Hot Summer Days was originally posted on Little House Living in July 2014 and has been updated in June 2019.
Although you already mentioned egg salad,we often have hard-boiled eggs and fresh veggies. It is easy,good for you,and no cooking! I try to keep some boiled eggs on hand..they go in everything all summer long. Hubby would eat 1/2 a cantaloupe filled with ice cream if he could!!
BLT! I cook the bacon in the microwave so that I do not have to stand over the hot stove. Also nachos-this is a great way to use a good can of chili and top it up with cheese and veggies.
You could also take the “kitchen” outside — in the form of a bbq grill in the shade! 🙂
I love these ideas, thank you. But what is that delicious tomato pie picture. Do you have a recipe for that? Wow, that looks amazing!
It’s a tomato pizza. I’m a very simple pizza girl, I like fresh tomatoes sliced over the crust for “sauce” then topped with cheese (preferably mozzarella but cheddar works). Then after it’s cooked I dip it in garlic butter. 😀
What a wonderful list! I am so glad I found your blog from a link-up today. What recipe goes with that picture up above? Is that a pizza?
It is a pizza! They are great when cooked on a stone over the grill 🙂
Thanks for these excellent reminders and for sharing at What’d You Do This Weekend.
Linda
Gazpacho!!!Get fresh veggies like tomato, bell pepper cucumber , zucchini onion garlic any kind of lettuce and blend them with a little water and whatever seasoning you like cool in the fridge. If you are more adventurous you could add peach or watermelon. Delicious
I so need this list! I’m always looking for ways to not heat up the house! Thank you for sharing at The Creative Exchange, I’m featuring you today.
I always use either kidney or black beans in my salads and tacos just drain and rense with cold water then add. No having to mess with cold refried beans. Pasta Salads, cold soups or gazpacho, Sandwiches made from homemade Dutch oven bread with cream cheese and cucumbers. Lightly frozen fruit drizzled with honey. I’m almost anti cook in the summer. Especially since we have no ac and Arkansas summers are normally Hot and Humid.
Love your recipes. Use many of them. Thank you for sharing. We are in the middle of a heat wave, also. Try to keep cool.
Wonderful ideas!!! We don’t have air conditioning either, and I’m finding myself wanting cold foods especially at supper.
We also sometimes like popcorn for supper (I know, weird. 😀 )
I can’t WAIT to try these–especially the Dorthy Lynch dressing!!! I have always loved that dressing but now can’t have the preservatives, etc. Thank you so much!!!
Yum! Now I’m hungry 😉 especially for that BLT sandwich you mentioned! We did just break down and buy central air, but last summer I routinely depended on my crock-pot, also, and even took to plugging it in outside! I wrote a similar post at that time that I’ll link here. http://untoadoption.org/simple-summer-fun-cooking-for-your-family-without-cooking-your-house/
What recipe did you use for the pizza crust on the pizza pictured above with the tomato slices on it? It looks different than regular pizza dough…it also looks scrumptious! THANKS!
I don’t really have a recipe for it but it was something we threw together with gluten free flour, baking powder, salt, water, oil, and butter.
I thought perhaps it was gluten free ( I was hoping)! I’ll see what I can come up with! Thanks!
The pizza looks amazing! I always forget salads when I’m thinking of no cook meals. We always resort to wraps and the microwave when we don’t want to turn on the oven.