When it's hot outside the last thing you want is to switch the oven on. Try our no-cook dinners instead. Choose from filling salads, easy couscous and chilled soups...
When it’s hot outside the last thing you want is to switch the cooker on or fire up the hob. Try our no-cook dinners instead – strictly no oven required!
Balmy summer nights are few and far between in Britain – so we want to make the most of them instead of sweltering in the kitchen. Our no-cook dinners are perfect for hot summer evenings. Choose from filling salads, easy couscous and chilled soups.
Put down the apron, grab the wine out of the fridge and head out into the garden to eat with the family. Click through all our quick no-cook dinners for summer nights…
First on the list is this delicious and easy cauliflower and radish salad. There’s no oven required to make this hearty salad. It’s made with crisp raw cauliflower and radishes, red pepper and chickpeas which are all tossed together with a creamy dressing.
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Chicken fusion salad
Put leftover or pre-cooked chicken to delicious use in this peppy Asian-style salad. Instead of cooking the rice noodles, you just need to pour boiling water over them then wait 15 minutes.
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Couscous salad
Couscous is a brilliant ingredient to keep on hand for hot or busy nights. Instead of simmering it on the hob like rice, you simply need to pour boiling water over it, cover and leave for five minutes. Make double the amount of this salad and you’ll have enough for lunchboxes too.
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Strawberry gazpacho
The Spanish know a thing or two about hot-weather eating. We’re addicted to classic tomato gazpacho during the summer months, but when you’ve got friends over give the Spanish classic an English twist by adding in-season strawbs. Sounds weird but it works!
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Gok Wan’s Vietnamese-style leftover chicken salad
This Vietnamese-style salad from Gok is an ingenious way of using up leftover roast chicken without switching the cooker on again. You simply soak some vermicelli noodles and then toss them with the other ingredients and dressing for a zesty noodle dish.
Get the recipe: Gok Wan’s Vietnamese-style leftover chicken salad
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Classic Middle-Eastern tabbouleh is the perfect filling salad for balmy evenings. The Bulgar wheat doesn’t need cooking – just soak it in boiling water like couscous. Serve with ready-cooked chicken drumsticks to turn it into a family-size meal.
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Chickpea pesto salad
Chickpeas are packed full of protein and fibre so they make a filling alternative to pasta or potatoes on those nights when it’s just too hot to cook. Stir them together with olives, tomatoes and pesto for a delicious dinner.
Get the recipe: Chickpea pesto salad
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Prosciutto and fig open sandwich
This posh sarnie is ideal for those busy summer nights when turning on the oven is just a step too far! Spread soft goat’s cheese onto granary or wholegrain bread and top with salty Prosciutto and slices of ripe fig. Perfection.
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Crab mango and watercress salad
We can’t believe there’s no cooking involved to make this fancy salad. Just use two cartons of fresh crab meat, some juicy mango, radishes and watercress and you’ve got a salad worthy of a posh restaurant!
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Courgette salad
Use a Y-shaped vegetable peeler to cut a courgette into ribbons – it makes a healthy and low-carb alternative to pasta. Toss them together with Parma ham and Parmesan for a fancy salad to eat in the garden with a cold glass of wine.
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Greek salad pittas
Greek salad is one of our favourite holiday dishes. Stuff it into wholemeal pittas for a nutritious and delicious dinner. Perfect heatwave food!
Get the recipe: Greek salad pittas
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