No-Cook Recipes to Make During a Heat Wave

Without a doubt, humanity advanced leaps and bounds once it became clear that cooking over fire equaled better food. But sometimes, it’s just too hot or the day’s too long to even consider turning on an oven or stove. Luckily, plenty of recipes require no heat (or very, very little) and are just as flavorful and satisfying as cooked ones. Here are 28 spectacular ideas for heat wave days — or when cooking just isn’t on the menu.

With nearly 2,000 five-star reviews, this cucumber soup from Melissa Clark doesn’t shy away from bold ingredients like buttermilk, sherry vinegar, jalapeños and anchovies. Creamy avocado toast topped with feta and lemon juice acts as a perfect foil to the vibrant soup, while making sure no one walks away from the table feeling hungry.

Recipe: Chilled Cucumber Soup With Avocado Toast

The only encouragement you need to make this super delicious salad from Ali Slagle comes from our food stylist, who was hoping to save the leftovers from the photo shoot for herself, but the rest of the people on set had other ideas: “The entire dish was devoured before any of it could be packed away!”

Recipe: Chicken Salad Slaw With Peanuts and Nori

Crunchy corn, juicy tomatoes, tangy feta, fresh mint, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of S and P is all you need to make this blissfully simple salad from Mark Bittman. Add a can of drained white beans or chunks of cooked chicken if you want a bit more oomph.

Recipe: Corn Salad With Tomatoes, Feta and Mint

This crunchy, satisfying salad from Yewande Komolafe relies on rotisserie chicken for heft and a quick homemade nuoc cham for the salty-sweet tang from its blend of sugar, lime juice and fish sauce. A finish of mint and basil makes it all feel especially fresh.

Recipe: Chicken and Herb Salad With Nuoc Cham

Digging into a block of silken tofu, cold from the fridge, is one of life’s most refreshing experiences, and Ali Slagle’s additions take it to the next level: sliced celery for crunch and a punchy peanut sauce made from peanut butter, chile crisp, soy sauce and vinegar.

Recipe: Chilled Tofu With Peanut Sauce

Tinned fish is the ultimate no-cook hack, and this Mediterranean-inspired salad from Yasmin Fahr works with whatever you have in the pantry, be it tuna, sardines, trout or salmon. Add feta, juicy tomatoes, briny olives and thinly sliced onions for a highly savory meal you can assemble in no time.

Recipe: Tomato, Olive and Feta Salad with Tinned Fish

This spin on the standard caprese salad from Colu Henry involves adding cannellini beans to give the Italian favorite some heft. And the whole thing comes together in about 10 minutes. Though it works well as a side dish, Colu says you can easily make it a no-cook entree by doubling the ingredients.

Recipe: White Bean Caprese Salad

Christian Reynoso celebrates the fresh, tangy flavors and textures of a bánh mì sandwich in this hearty, vibrant salad. For protein, he calls for ham, but rotisserie chicken, tofu or sardines work beautifully, too. For croutons? Buttery, salty Ritz crackers, thank you very much.

Recipe: Bánh Mì Salad

At its heart, this clever recipe from Hetty is a no-cook, no-heat chili that’s great for a potluck, or just to toss into a cooler to dish out into cups for poolside lunches.

Recipe: No-Cook Chili Bean Salad

Say it with us: dip for dinner. A dip shares well, can take on any number of crackers and crudités, and, most important, it usually requires no heat. This Iranian recipe from Naz Deravian encourages you to use dried herbs, which anchor the brightness and zip of celery, lemon juice and tart Greek yogurt. Serve with your favorite vehicles for dip delivery and rest well knowing that the kitchen won’t be a total disaster when you’re done.

Recipe: Borani-yeh Karafs (Celery Yogurt Dip)

In this salad from Hetty Lui McKinnon, the fresh corn is shaved right off the cob, then tossed with supple black beans, cilantro, avocado and a bright cumin-lime dressing. But it’s the corn chips, added at the end so they stay crunchy, that will have you making this recipe again and again.

Recipe: Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salad With Corn Chips

Another no-cook winner from Hetty, this one features pillowy silken tofu dressed with a salty-sweet sauce of soy, scallions and sesame. Serve alongside cold noodles or the cucumber-avocado salad above.

Recipe: Silken Tofu With Spicy Soy Dressing

Is your summer garden overflowing with squash? Put it to use in this budget-friendly recipe from Ali, which involves softening raw zucchini in salt and lime juice and allowing toasted chickpeas and peanuts seasoned with sumac to bring crunch and heft. If you don’t want to turn on your stove, feel free to use toasted peanuts or your favorite chickpea snacks from the grocery store — just skip the added salt.

Recipe: Smashed Zucchini With Chickpeas and Peanuts

This recipe from Eric Kim is more than just a boon for beginner cooks. It’s also just the ticket for those days when you want something straightforward but delicious. Mash together canned tuna, mayonnaise, sesame oil and soy sauce, then season it to taste with furikake and sesame seeds, or scallions and a little wasabi. Spoon over last night’s leftover rice or take some to-go from a local restaurant.

Recipe: Tuna Mayo Rice Bowl

This Melissa Clark recipe is packed with fresh herbs: mint, parsley, basil, scallions and dill, so if you have an abundance, look no further. It’s also wonderfully tangy and creamy with feta, mayonnaise and Greek yogurt, making it supremely dippable. Put it on top of meats, sandwiches or anything else you can dream of.

Recipe: Greek Goddess Dip

Mango always shines in an unfussy setting, like this green papaya salad-inspired recipe from Kay Chun. Umami-rich fish sauce and sharp minced shallots give the salad a kick — perfect complements to mellow avocado and mango. The only hard and fast rule here: Make sure your mangoes are at peak ripeness.

Recipe: Mango-Avocado Salad With Lime Vinaigrette

The beauty of this five-star salad, which Julia Moskin adapted from the chef Antoine Westermann, is that it transforms the simple into the simply divine. Strip bare a rotisserie chicken (a half-chicken should do), and prepare the rich, tangy shallot dressing with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. You can either make your own croutons or use some from the store, but either way it’s then just a matter of marrying the two over your favorite greens and finishing with curls of Parmesan.

Recipe: Roast Chicken Salad With Croutons and Shallot Dressing

Every kitchen should be stocked with at least a few cans of chickpeas. Not only are chickpeas filling, but they can go straight into whatever dish you’re preparing without any cooking. This recipe from Kay calls for mashing and mixing them with a tangy lemon-tahini dressing, with scallions and celery for crunch. Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano adds a touch of umami. It’s up to you whether you eat it straight out of the bowl or pile the salad between a couple of slices of multigrain bread.

Recipe: Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Salads are truly the ultimate no-cook dish. This recipe from Ali Slagle is a bacchanal of textures, combining crunchy cucumbers and scallions (fresh out of an ice bath) with creamy cubes of avocado dressed in lemon juice and seasoned with salt. Add as many or as few red-pepper flakes as you’d like, and consider your lunch or dinner ready.

Recipe: Cucumber-Avocado Salad

Kristina Felix gussies up canned tuna with a chile-lime dressing, tomatoes, red onion and avocados, then plops it atop crispy tostadas for a true no-cook meal that doesn’t feel like a compromise.

Recipe: Spicy Tuna and Avocado Tostadas

This gazpacho from Julia has more than 14,000 five-star reviews and for good reason: It’s inspired by the rich, not-at-all-watery gazpachos of Seville, Spain, and makes use of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers — both stars of summer produce. Peppers, onion and sherry vinegar deliver some much-needed bite. And, with half a cup of olive oil to smooth things out, you’re more likely to gulp this strained gazpacho from a cup than to ingest it by the spoonful.

Recipe: Best Gazpacho

While it sounds like something you can get only in a restaurant, ceviche is wonderfully easy to make at home. There are loads of variations, but this Mexican-style version from Ali features cubed firm fish like bass, snapper or fluke, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, jalapeño and avocado dressed in just lime juice and salt.

Recipe: Ceviche

It is a testament to the versatility of the cucumber that it comes up so often in the no-cooking discourse. After all, it is the very embodiment of freshness and ease: Just look at this recipe from Sue Li, which involves dressing salted Persian cucumbers with a medley of pantry staples — peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic — and throwing in salted, roasted peanuts for crunch. As for the finishing chile oil, you can always use your favorite store-bought version, but it’s just as fun (and easy) to whip some up yourself.

Recipe: Cucumber Salad With Roasted Peanuts and Chile

If you’ve never explored the world of raw broccoli, this salad from Hetty McKinnon is your chance. It surrounds the hardy vegetable with sweet, crisp apples; a mixture of toasted nuts and seeds (almonds, pepitas and sunflower seeds); and aromatic scallions. Unlike the typical mayo-laden variety, the dressing here is sharper, brighter and just a bit sweet, thanks to the use of red onions, apple cider vinegar and golden raisins. Feel free to make it 24 hours ahead of time if you’d like, saving the toasted almonds to toss in at the last minute.

Recipe: Broccoli Salad

Nothing beats the satisfying snap of biting into a well-made summer roll. Add lobster (or shrimp or crab), and that enjoyment doubles. This recipe from David Tanis, inspired by Vietnamese summer rolls, involves mixing lobster with the sharp flavors of lime, basil and ginger alongside creamy avocado. It may take a few tries to get the rolling just right, but it will all be worth it once you’re dipping these rolls in an umami-forward dipping sauce of fish sauce and brown sugar.

Recipe: Lobster Summer Rolls

When in doubt, channel the spirit of the French. This five-star recipe adapted by Sam Sifton from the chef Steven Satterfield for a French picnic favorite requires little more than a fresh baguette with a sturdy crust, a lot of butter, and peppery arugula and radishes to cut through it all. Top with whatever fresh garden herbs you’ve got around, along with your favorite flaky sea salt, and the rest is l’histoire.

Recipe: Radish Sandwiches With Butter and Salt

Whether they’re straight from the garden or the local grocery store, there’s no going wrong with summer tomatoes. This tomato salad from Alexa Weibel, inspired by Thai papaya salad, uses just a few key ingredients — fish sauce, serrano chiles, lime juice and ginger — to pack an unforgettable punch. Best of all, it comes together in just 15 minutes.

Recipe: Tomato Salad With Cucumber and Ginger

A big bowl of pimento cheese in your fridge is the gift that keeps on giving, and this recipe from Matt and Ted Lee proves it. The classic move is to make sandwiches, but you can also do what I do: serve it alongside Ritz crackers and cut raw vegetables, and call it dinner.

Recipe: Pimento Cheese

Follow NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest. Get regular updates from NYT Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice.