Easy No Cook Meal Plan

This week of summer dinner meals saves my summers! Go beyond meal prep and skip cooking altogether with these family-friendly no cook summer meal ideas.

I don’t know where you live, but summers are HOT here in the south.

We have a never-ending supply of Homemade Ice Pops in the freezer, and the kids know that as long as we’re going to the pool, I’ll make Avocado Chocolate Mousse over Black Bean Brownies any day because the mousse doesn’t require the oven!

We do our best to avoid cooking meals as often as possible in the summer to keep the house cool. If I do need to bake or cook something, we’ll do it in the morning before the sun is beaming through the windows.

It took some time to get into a no-cook groove, but now that we’ve done it for a few weeks, it’s become second nature. I thought I’d share a few of my favorite ideas for summer dinners in a one-week no-cook meal plan, in case it’s blistering hot where you live, too!

ONE WEEK PLAN: SUMMER DINNER MEALS

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

• 100% real food no-cook summer dinner meals that are simple, straightforward, and family-friendly.
• All of the recipes are simple and can easily be made in under an hour (no cooking!).
• A couple of store-bought items for things I usually make from scratch (breads, beans, cooked chicken). Feel free to make these items from scratch if you prefer. I purchased these items in this meal plan to make it completely no-cook.

WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED:

• This plan is not tied to a specific grocery store or price point. Not everyone has access to the discount grocery stores like ALDI or Grocery Outlet. Even though I did not tie this specific plan to a price point (like my $50 ALDI meal plan), it is still frugal and budget-friendly.
• Spices, oils, mustards, and vinegar. We aren’t using an enormous amount of these in this plan, and you probably already have them in the pantry.
• Precautions for food allergies. My family is blessed not to have food allergies, so I don’t plan for them in my meal plans. With a few tweaks, I think this no-cook meal plan would work for most food allergy families, too.

NO BREAKFASTS OR LUNCHES?

This meal plan doesn’t include any breakfast or lunch recipes because, in my experience, most families have personal preferences on what they eat for breakfast or lunch.

No worries though – I have NO DOUBT the ingredients you buy for this meal plan will provide extras that you can use to cover breakfasts and/or lunches.

• Use the “Bonus Meal Ideas” section at the bottom to create your own breakfast and lunch menu. Those are just some ideas to get you started, but they’re there to help you use the ingredients you’re already buying!
• If you still don’t think this is enough food to cover breakfast AND lunches, buy a bag of apples and a container of oatmeal for breakfast and only add a few more dollars to your bill!

ONE WEEK OF SUMMER SUPPER IDEAS: WHAT TO BUY

The goal with any plan is to buy as little food as possible, use everything you buy, and to do both without sacrificing taste or quality.

Here’s what you’re buying for this meal plan of summer dishes for dinner:

COLD CASE

Butter

This plan uses all of the required butter in one recipe – Butter Parmesan Zoodles – can’t really have “butter” in the name and not use a lot, right?

Parmesan

We get to use an entire wedge of Parmesan this week, adding it into salads and the yummy Butter Parmesan Zoodles. For a little twist, we are using parmesan cheese instead of feta in the Greek Salad! It goes further and tastes just as good.

Greek Yogurt

I see this as a staple in my meal plans because it’s healthy and an easy substitution for Homemade Mayo. If you are looking to make this plan dairy-free, just substitute homemade mayo for an easy fix.

If you use a lot of yogurt regularly, you can make your own with this recipe.

PRODUCE

Fresh Basil

This is used in a couple of recipes this week, including the Zucchini and Corn Salad and Tomato Basil Chickpea Salad Sandwiches. Fresh herbs will be best if possible!

Bell Peppers

Red bell peppers are an amazing addition to the Cool Black Bean Salad this week, adding a cool sweetness to the meal.

Cabbage

I know cabbage can get a bad rap, but it is so delicious in my Cabbage Slaw, I serve it twice this week.

Carrots

These show up in two meals this week and are shredded. Be sure to check out “Bonus Meal Ideas” for what to do with leftovers if you can only purchase them by the pound in your area.

Lemons

Fresh lemon juice is used throughout the meal plan. You could easily substitute bottled lemon juice instead, as no lemon zest is needed this week.

Celery

I used celery in a few different meals, including the Open-Faced Mediterranean Chicken Sandwiches, and it adds a wonderful crispness to the meal.

Cucumbers

One of the yummy veggies in the Greek Salad this week.

Green Onions

I have been seeing some amazing green onions at my local farmer’s markets and just had to include them this week!

Lime

Just like the lemons, no zest is used this week, so feel free to substitute bottled lime juice if you have it on hand. From a planning perspective, since I only need one lime and don’t have juice on hand, it is cheaper to purchase one lime instead of an entire bottle.

Onions

I love including onions in my meal plans because they are so cheap. While they are rarely the star of the show, they do add lots of flavor to several of the summer supper ideas here and store very well. White or yellow onions are my choice for the Tomato and Onion Salad – they balance the tomato so well and add an amazing crunch!

Romaine Lettuce

This week, lettuce will be used in a delicious Greek salad. If romaine is hard to find, try a head of iceberg or red leaf lettuce instead.

Spinach

Spinach is the most inexpensive in spring, but I still love to use it in salads year-round because it’s yummy. (And it tastes great in my daily green smoothie.)

Squash, Yellow

I used yellow squash in my Zucchini and Corn Salad for this plan, and while raw squash or zucchini may sound odd, I am telling you it is delicious!

Strawberries

Strawberry season is quick, and if you blink, you will miss it! We are just wrapping up the season in my area, but I couldn’t resist adding them to the amazing Strawberry Spinach Salad. If strawberries are too expensive in your area, you can always substitute a Granny Smith apple or two and still have a wonderful flavor.

Tomatoes

Fresh cherry tomatoes taste amazing in summer, perfect for adding to all the summer salads and sandwiches.

Zucchini

This meal plan uses zucchini twice this week – Zucchini and Corn Salad and Butter Parmesan Zoodles. Zucchini is the perfect addition to any no-cook plan because it doesn’t need to be cooked. 🙂

MEAT

Chicken (canned)

Normally, I prefer to cook a whole chicken and use it in multiple recipes throughout the week, but since this is a no-cook plan, I decided to go for canned chicken. While fresh is my favorite way, canned is still doable.

If available, you could also grill your chicken. Chicken thighs tend to stay juicy, while chicken breast will work for any of these dishes.

PANTRY

Black Beans

A staple in my frugal household, and one of the stars of the Cool Black Bean and Corn Salad. If you choose to cook your own beans instead of buying canned, I suggest soaking and cooking with this method or cooking in your Instant Pot.

Bread

We use a lot of bread throughout this meal plan (20 slices), but to keep it interesting, there is a mixture of open-faced sandwiches and traditional sandwiches. (To cut costs, you can make your own White Sandwich Bread.)

Chickpeas

Changing up the flavor a bit, these are the star of the Tomato-Basil Chickpea Sandwiches served at the end of the week.

Kalamata Olives

I know these are expensive, but they add such a unique flair to Mediterranean dishes that I didn’t want to leave them out. You will be using the entire jar, split between a couple of dishes in this plan.

Sesame Seeds

Even though these are technically a spice, I went ahead and included them because you will need 2 tablespoons in the Strawberry Spinach Salad.

Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds are also in the Strawberry Spinach Salad this week, giving the crunch that is so amazing in a salad.

FROZEN

Corn

Even though summer is peak season for fresh sweet corn, I still wanted to use frozen corn to put a nice chill on the Zucchini and Corn Salad and Cool Black Bean and Corn Salad. This allows your dishes to chill without using your refrigerator – just prep your meal and set the table, and it’s done!

ONE WEEK OF SUMMER DISHES FOR DINNER

Here are the no cook summer dinner meals we’ll be enjoying this week:

Meal #1: Cool Black Bean and Corn Salad // Cabbage Slaw

Meal #2: Chicken Salad Sandwiches // Butter Parmesan Zoodles

Meal #3: Greek Salad

Meal #4: Open-Face Mediterranean Chicken Salad // Cabbage Slaw

Meal #5: Strawberry-Spinach Salad

Meal #6: Zucchini and Corn Salad

Meal #7: Tomato-Basil Chickpea Sandwiches // Sliced Tomato and Onion Salad

You can find all of the recipes, along with the shopping list and all of the instructions, in the FREE No Cook Meal Plan download.

BONUS IDEAS FOR SUMMER DINNERS AND OTHER MEALS

• Frittata. Use leftover spinach to make a frittata for breakfast (using leftover spinach, adding eggs).
• Greek Yogurt Fruit Bowls. Eat your remaining Greek yogurt for breakfast along with the remaining strawberries with sunflower seeds sprinkled on top. Add some bananas or other seasonal fruit to make it go further for the entire family (using leftover Greek yogurt, strawberries, and sunflower seeds, adding banana, etc.).
• Smoothies. Green smoothies are an easy breakfast or snack option (using spinach, strawberries, and Greek yogurt).
• Veggie Sticks for Snacking. Add some carrot sticks and red peppers to your lunch for an easy side or snack throughout the week (using leftover carrot and red pepper, add a side of Homemade Ranch Dressing for the kids).
• Salad. Enjoy a bonus salad with any fresh veggies you have left over (using leftover romaine lettuce, spinach, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, onions, and carrots).
• Pesto Pasta Salad. Use leftover basil, garlic, olive oil, and almonds or other nuts to make a simple pesto. Serve over any pasta dish!
• Minestrone Soup. Alternatively, many of those same leftover veggies can be added to Minestrone Soup.
• Make free Vegetable Broth! Save all of your vegetable ends and make your own vegetable broth (uses normally discarded vegetable ends and peels).
• Add Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup to your meal plan when you start cooking again (use leftover red peppers, tomatoes, and onion)

DINNER IDEAS IN SUMMER FAQS

NEED MORE MEAL PLANS?

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