Once the summer heat hits, who wants to spend a bunch of time hovering around the stove? Not us! For this reason, we love no-cook vegetarian meals that are satisfying, easy to throw together at a moment's notice, and healthy to boot. Why use the oven when you can enjoy meals in the raw?
From bountiful bean salads to vegetable "noodle" entrees to wholesome raw tacos, here are 20 no-cook vegetarian recipes and ideas to help you keep your cool all summer long.
Mango Tempeh Lettuce Wraps
Crumbled tempeh and sweet champagne mangoes make a perfect filling for these easy vegetarian lettuce wraps. Inspired by Williams-Sonoma’s Pork and Mango Lettuce Wraps.
Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwiches
This no-mayo chickpea salad from Two Peas and Their Pod makes for excellent sandwiches, and can also double as a dip! Perfect for easy dinners al fresco or picnics at the beach.
Raw Carrot Pasta with Ginger-Lime Peanut Sauce
Vegetable "noodles" made with a spiralizer are a super stove-free solution, perfect for scorching summer days. Here, The Roasted Root serves up raw carrot noodles with cashews and ginger-lime peanut sauce for a fast and healthy meal.
Raw Nori Rolls with Red Cabbage
This Rawsome Vegan Life offers up rolls packed with carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, avocado, and more. Served with a delicious miso tahini sauce, these raw nori rolls truly are rawsome!
Meze Platter
Here's an idea - instead of cooking, put together a spread of Mediterranean favorites like olives, hummus, and pita bread and let everyone fill up their plates with deliciousness! Kitchen Treaty shows you how.
Black Bean and Feta Tacos with Strawberry Mango Salsa
Who says tacos have to take a lot of effort and time? These simple - yet tasty - tacos from Eats Well with Others not only make for the perfect no-cook summer dinner, but the pretty salsa makes the most of fresh in-season fruit.
Cucumber Chickpea Salad with Lemony Tahini Dressing
With fresh mint and a bright lemon-tahini dressing, this cucumber chickpea salad makes a hearty, healthy entree. But we love that it can also do double duty as a super-satisfying side!
Shaved Cauliflower Salad
Try your hand at shaved cauliflower for this veggie-packed dish from Happyolks. Radicchio joins up with parsley, walnuts, cauliflower, and a tangy Dijon dressing for a satisfying meal. The recipe calls for oven-glazed walnuts, but you can leave them raw!
Sprouted Quinoa Bowl with Kale Almond Pesto
Tasty Yummies shows us how to sprout quinoa and dress it up with delicious kale almond pesto. Along with the kale, sprouted quinoa is also packed with nutrients, so this one is an especially healthy no-cook option.
Radish and Cabbage Salad with Peanut Dressing
Dishing Up the Dirt brings us a farm-fresh cabbage salad with radishes, carrots, cilantro, avocado, and a creamy peanut dressing. Bonus: This crisp, satisfying salad takes just 10 minutes to make!
Green Zebra Gazpacho with Cucumber and Avocado
Heirloom Green Zebra tomatoes are the star of this chilled soup from Kalyn's Kitchen. Usually gazpacho is on the light side, but avocado makes this version more of a meal.
Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella Sandwiches with Arugula Pesto
These hearty vegetarian sandwiches are the perfect summer fare. To keep away from the oven, just use jarred, store-bought roasted red peppers. Or skip the peppers entirely and slice up a juicy, fresh-from-the-vine heirloom tomato to use instead!
Green Goddess Detox Salad
Pinch of Yum serves up this incredible salad that includes detoxifying veggies along with creamy feta and crunchy almonds. And then it's all dressed up with a vibrant homemade green goddess dressing. Three cheers for going green!
Zucchini Pasta with Two-Tomato Pesto
To Her Core spirals up zucchini noodles and serves it with a tangy tomato-basil pesto and pine nuts for crunch. This flavor-packed no-cook option is delicious, healthy, and oh-so easy to prepare.
Cauliflower Couscous with Cherries and Sumac-Lemon Vinaigrette
With sweet-tart cherries, fresh herbs, and raw cauliflower "couscous," this creative salad from Dolly and Oatmeal is sure to steal the dinnertime show. The clincher? That lemony sumac vinaigrette that couldn't be more summery if it tried.
Greek-Flavored Butter Bean Salad
An Edible Mosaic offers this Greek-inspired butter bean salad bursting with bold flavors. Serve a hearty scoop alongside wedges of pita bread - or better yet, stuff it inside the pitas for grab-and-go goodness!
Mango Black Bean Salad
Fight fire with fire! With jalapeno peppers in the mix, this light, fresh black bean salad features a nice hit of heat to go along with the weather. We love it as a filling for tacos or lettuce wraps.
Avocado Smash Wrap
These wraps from The Spicy RD make an especially great meal-on-the-go. Filled with creamy avocado chickpea spread and all your favorite raw veggies, they might just make you forget you own an oven!
Spicy Asian Slaw Summer Rolls
Filled with fresh bell peppers, crunchy radicchio, spinach, and more, these raw summer rolls from The View from the Great Island are fresh, tasty, and fun. As if the rolls themselves weren't spectacular enough, the cool coconut dipping sauce really seals the deal.
Swiss Chard Wraps with Raw Walnut Taco "Meat"
These vegan tacos from Tasty Yummies are made with a hearty raw walnut "meat," and served up with creamy avocado and a smoky tomato vinaigrette. Yum indeed!
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
Bookmarked! There are some days when cranking up the oven for dinner just ain't gonna happen!
Julia Mueller says
You said it! Amazing how simple raw veggie dishes make for such perfect eats when it's hot out 🙂
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
I needed this! We live in an old, un-conditioned house so turning on the oven just isn't happening sometimes!
Julia Mueller says
Oh yes, raw meals are where its at during the hot weather months! I used to live in a similar situation, and I'd literally be sweating bullets while roasting vegetables in the oven. It only took me a few attempts to realize I'd be eating in the raw for the remainder of the summer 🙂
sue/the view from great island says
All these dishes are beautiful, and I've been pinning away! Thanks for including my summer rolls.
Julia Mueller says
Thanks, Sue! And thank YOU for the delicious recipe! Summer rolls are on the menu!
[email protected] says
I love this round-up! Just pinned and tweeted a few recipes, will keep coming back for more ideas. Yum! I never would have thought to put strawberries in a salsa, but who not? 🙂
Julia Mueller says
I'm glad you like the recipes, Christy! The strawberry-mango salsa is definitely a delicious one! Let us know if you give 'er a go!
Heather E says
THANK YOU! I really needed no-cook ideas, since we live in the top floor of an old Tudor townhouse in very humid NYC!
Julia Mueller says
You're welcome, Heather! Nothing like a cool crisp meal to help beat the heat 😀
Millie l Add A Little says
Love this recipe roundup Julia - they all look perfect for summer!
Julia Mueller says
Thanks, Millie. Hope you enjoy 🙂
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Not wanting to turn the oven on isn't really a 'thing' in the UK (it never gets that warm!!) but I'll definitely be trying a few of these fresh summer meals anyway 🙂
Julia Mueller says
Oh sister, I'm going to need to go visit you this summer and hide away from the heat! We can enjoy a lovely crisp salad...and a hearty bowl of soup 😉
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I would honestly LOVE you to come visit haha, you're welcome any time! Though we're moving in about a month so the house might be a bit of a building site!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I am all about no-cook meals in the summer, great round-up!
Julia Mueller says
You and me both, Laura! I'm ready to cycle through all these tasty recipes!
Arthur in the Garden! says
Yummy!
Maria says
Love this round up! So many great options! Thanks for including our sandwich!
Julia Mueller says
I enjoyed putting this round-up together - it was so nice to gape at all the drool-worthy healthful recipes. You're welcome, Maria - thank you for an amazing sando!
Dearna || to her core says
All these dishes look so good! I am definitely pinning some for when the weather warms up down here in a few months time! Thanks for including my raw zucchini pasta dish 🙂
Julia Mueller says
You're welcome, Dearna! I can't wait to try your recipe!
[email protected] says
I am bookmarking this post!! So many delicious recipes!
Julia Mueller says
It's definitely a nice resource to hold onto for all those scorching summer days 🙂
Grace @ Earthy Feast says
I love this round-up! I've been having smoothies for dinner every night because cooking in a hot summer kitchen is not fun! These recipes looks so fun and flavorful - thank you for putting this together! Yum!
Julia Mueller says
Get ye some solid food, my dear! 😉 Honestly, I'm tempted to drink smoothies for dinner when it's extra toasty out, too, but I always love a good crisp meal to sink my teeth into. Let us know which recipes you try, Grace!
EA-The Spicy RD says
Looking forward to trying every single one of these recipes this summer-fabulous round-up! Thanks so much for sharing my Smashed Avocado Wrap too 🙂
Julia Mueller says
I'm excited about trying all of them too! Your smashed avo wrap looks delicious - can't wait to whip 'er up!!
Joanne says
I've gotten quite lazy in the kitchen as of late, so no cook sounds perfect to me!! Love all these awesome summer options!
Julia Mueller says
We must be on the very same page, because I'm thinking leaving everything as raw as can be and tossing it together is what my summer's looking like 😀