No-Cook Recipes: When It's Too Hot to Cook!

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Recipes to Cook Without Turning On a Stove

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Don’t feel like cooking on a hot summer day? Check out these no-cook recipes. From cool soups to protein-rich salads to sandwich suppers, none of these recipes will have you heating up the oven (or yourself).

Soups

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Make this refreshing soup in the blender to serve as an instant midsummer dinner. Serve with avocado toast, or add shrimp if you’d like protein.

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Chilled Cucumber Soup
Photo Credit: Africa Studios/shutterstock

Gazpacho

To turn this light soup into a hearty meal, stir in chunks of avocado, kernels of fresh-cooked corn, and chopped cooked shrimp or crabmeat.

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Gazpacho

Salads

White Bean and Tuna Salad

This salad’s got everything: white beans and tuna for protein, plus healthy, crunchy vegetables.

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White Bean and Tuna Salad
Photo Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Chicken, Fennel, and Fruit Salad

Use prepared chicken and grains or leftover chicken.

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Chicken, Fennel, and Fruit Salad

Sally’s Bulgur Salad

This recipe comes from our editor-in-chief’s wife, Sally.  She wanted to introduce grains into the family’s diet, so she concocted this simple and delicious bulgur salad.

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Sally’s Bulgur Salad
Credit: Sarah Perreault

Shrimp Salad With Nasturtium

This shrimp salad is delicious when served with bread or crackers. If you grow nasturtium (optional), the blooms add a peppery flavor.

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Shrimp Salad With Nasturtium

Sandwich Suppers

Curried Tuna Salad in Pita Pockets

This recipe, a spicy new twist for an old favorite, comes from The Sandwich Book, by Judy Gethers, Vintage Books, Random House, New York, 1988.

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Curried Tuna Salad in Pita Pockets
Credit: Catherine Boeckmann

Apple and Blue Cheese Sandwich

If you love toasty, melt-y sandwiches, this one’s for you! The blue cheese adds a salty, sharp flavor.

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Apple and Blue Cheese Sandwich

Vermont Farm Sandwich

Our Vermont Farm Sandwich with horseradish and raw onion is not for the faint-hearted. According to one Vermont farmer we know, a daily lunch of this is the best cold preventative there is! 

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Vermont Farm Sandwich

Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella

How about just garden-fresh tomatoes, herbs, and creamy mozzarella on excellent bread? It’s a go-to for us.

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Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella

And just to add something sweet …

Fruit Salad With Maple Mint Dressing

Add this delicious fruit salad as a side or dessert!

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Fruit Salad With Maple Mint Dressing

Icebox Tiramisu

Or, end your meal with our simple yet decadent icebox tiramisu!

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Icebox Tiramisu
Photo credit: margouillat photo/shutterstock

Do you have a favorite no-cook or no-bake recipe?  We’d love to hear about it. Just comment below.

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann

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