Summer cooking doesn’t have to be difficult—in fact, it should be the easiest cooking you do all year long! Because when the ingredients are this good, you don’t have to do much to them to make them shine. Enter these beyond-easy no-cook recipes that you can also prep in advance.
Zucchini and Fresh Corn Salad
Gather the vegetables for this fresh summer salad from the farmers market or your garden, then let them marinate in a pungent Dijon-lemon vinaigrette. When ready to serve, toss in creamy goat cheese, fragrant basil, and a handful of toasted pine nuts, as recommended by Foodie Crush. Soak up excess luscious marinade with a crusty baguette.
Tangy No-Cook Noodles
We know firsthand how hectic summer can get. The last thing you want to do after getting home from a long day in the hot sun is cook dinner in a hot kitchen. The Foodie Takes Flight comes to the rescue with this super-easy but oh-so-tangy vermicelli salad. The thin noodles don’t even need to be cooked on the stovetop—simply top with hot water and let them soak for 8 to 10 minutes until chewy. Make this salad ahead of time and then refrigerate until mealtime, as this is a dish best eaten cold!
Make-Ahead Gazpacho
Let’s chill with the best cool soup around: gazpacho! This recipe from Simple Recipes is a Southwest take on the blender soup, with creamy avocado and crunchy raw corn scattered on top before serving. Another trick with gazpacho is you can easily make it ahead. In fact, letting it sit in your fridge for a few hours lets the ingredients mingle, giving you more flavor.
Marinated Mixed Beans Toast
We all know that toasts are a trend, but just when you think your favorite toast is avocado, we have a new one we’re loving: this version from Bon Appétit piled with marinated beans. Prep the bean salad in advance and toss the bread in the toaster when you’re ready to eat.
Watermelon Halibut Ceviche
Nothing is more refreshing than watermelon, and in this recipe, watermelon is the star of this zesty ceviche. Make this dish while the fruit is at its peak and bursting with flavor—the sweetness mellows out the intense acidity from the lime juice. If you’re sensitive to heat, add the serrano pepper sparingly.
Summer Tacos with Scallion-Peanut Relish
Store-bought rotisserie chicken is one of our favorite no-cook shortcuts. For these super-easy tacos from Real Simple, you can assemble the components in advance—shred the chicken, make the pickles, mix up the sauce—so the meal itself comes together quickly at dinnertime. Serve it with your favorite H-E-B wine!
Sardinian Tomato Salad
Using olive oil–packed tuna, juicy green tomatoes, and olives, this refreshing and verdant salad from Martha Stewart Living tastes like the Mediterranean. Serve it with a hearty slice of warm bread and you’ll be transported to the coast.
No-Cook Cheesecake
And for a no-cook dessert, we found an easy and effortless way to make a cheesecake, thanks to Sally’s Baking Recipes. No stove or oven is needed for this recipe using a clever workaround with whipped cream.
Leave a Reply