15 no cook meals for summer (2024)

Sometimes it’s just too hot to cook.

When it’s 100 degrees outside, who wants to labor over a stove?

Here’s a round-up of no cook meals that come together without heat.

In this post:

It doesn’t get simpler than tortilla pinwheels!

Smear hummus onto a tortilla, top with lettuce, shredded carrots, cilantro, and/or chives.

Then roll it up tightly, cut it into even bites, and serve!

For this recipe, I use buffalo hummus and extra splashes of hot sauce.

However, you could use any hummus that strikes your fancy:

• Standard hummus
• Olive hummus
• Sun-dried tomato hummus
• Pickle hummus

Or make it really easy on yourself and use store-bought!

Tuna salad is one of the first things I ever learned how to “cook.”

Vegan chickpea tuna salad is just as foolproof!

Chickpeas are quickly broken up in a food processor with celery, dill pickles, vegan mayo, stoneground mustard, and seasonings.

Then it can be used a sandwich filling, rolled into a tortilla or romaine leaf, stuffed into a hollow tomato, or eaten with crackers.

Don’t have a food processor?

Just leave the chickpeas whole. Or break them up with a knife before adding them to the other ingredients.

Raw tacos have the fresh vibrancy of salad, but with the flavor of everyone’s favorite Tuesday night meal.

The taco meat is made by quickly breaking up walnuts in a food processor with sun-dried tomatoes for stickiness, tamari for salty umami richness, and spices for flair.

Then spoon them into romaine leaves with your preferred taco toppings like tomatoes, bell peppers, and avocado.

Tomato cucumber salad just screams summer.

Tomatoes and cucumber come together with a garlicky lemon dressing, and a dotting of vegan feta.

Use your own homemade vegan feta cheese, use store-bought, or replace it with avocado!

This fresh & crisp vegetable sandwich was inspired by a favorite of mine from my local Co-op.

It’s filled with red bell peppers, thin slices of onion, and spinach.

But what really sets it off is the spreadable jalapeño cashew cheese inside.

If you don’t feel like making the cashew cheese, it’s also good with your favorite store-bought spreadable cashew cheese or hummus.

(Miyoko’s scallion cream cheese would be especially good here!)

Speaking of no cook meals, did you know that you don’t have to cook tofu?

It can be eaten right out of the package.

(The process of making it is very similar to dairy-based cheese, but with soy milk instead of dairy.)

Take advantage of this readymade protein option, and make vegan egg salad.

The egg flavor comes from kala namak, a sulfurous salt.

Simply break up the tofu.

Then mix it in a bowl with vegan mayo, onion, pumpkin seeds, stoneground mustard, kala namak, black pepper, and the tiniest pinch of turmeric for color.

It’s a wonderful on-the-go meal, because it’s almost instantaneous to make.

Put it in a sandwich, wrap, or pile it on top of crackers.

Only a toaster is required for this foolproof vegan bagel sandwich.

(And if you’re really in a pinch, you could leave the bagel untoasted, or use sandwich bread instead!)

It comes together with a slathering of hummus, cucumbers, onions, and bell peppers.

Vegan chef salad is a full meal in a bowl!

You’ve got satiating seitan, creamy avocado, and crisp veggies.

It’s finished with a flavorful vegan ranch dressing.

This easy vegan chicken salad sandwich is made with store-bought seitan, celery, onions, pickles, seasonings, and vegan mayo.

Use a food processor to break everything up into even pieces. Or use a kitchen knife.

It’s great as a sandwich, stuffed into a tortilla, lettuce wrap, or in a big dollop on top of a salad.

Plus, it takes only 15 minutes to make!

This light, bright spinach salad with strawberries is packed with spring onions, celery, pistachios, and vegan feta cheese.

It’s finished with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

If you don’t have homemade vegan feta on hand, use store-bought. My favorites are from the Herbivorous Butcher and Violife.

Or replace the feta with diced avocado instead!

If you love it when sweet and salty come together, you’ll be all over this curried tofu salad.

It’s one of those no cook meals that comes together in only ten minutes.

This mayo-based salad includes curry powder, raisins, shredded carrot, and pistachios.

It can be eaten on its own, piled onto a salad, spread into a sandwich, or spooned into a wrap.

This juicy salad is all summer!

Avocado caprese salad is filled with tomatoes, diced avocado, and a fragrant basil vinaigrette.

If you’ve ever said you could make a meal out of avocados, now is your chance to make that a reality!

With this tortilla wrap, you get all of the flavor of a summer roll, but with the sturdy portability of a whole wheat tortilla.

This wrap recipe gives the option of baking your own tofu. However, you can easily make it “no cook friendly” by using store-bought baked tofu instead.

(Teriyaki flavor is my preferred choice here! It’s one of my favorite vegan Trader Joe’s products.)

The wrap is finished with a spicy peanut sauce for dipping or slathering inside.

This black bean corn avocado salad is tossed in a garlicky lime dressing.

You have protein from the corn and black beans. Plus, satisfying fat from the creamy avocado.

Enjoy this salad on its own, as a side dish, or alongside tortilla chips for scooping.

Green salad with blood oranges is a delicious mix of tangy, salty, and sweet.

It’s finished with a peanut dressing that brings it all together.

Finish out your meal with any of these no cook appetizers on the side:

• Pineapple salsa
• Vegan ceviche
• Guacamole
• Vegan crab dip
• Peach black bean salsa
• Tofu ricotta