27 delicious low- and no-cook recipes for hot summer days

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When it’s scorching out, the last thing you want to do is turn on the oven or stand over a hot stove. But since we still have to eat, it’s worth finding flavourful recipes that take little effort and won’t heat up the kitchen.

I like to choose lighter dishes in the summer, often with vegetarian proteins such as beans, eggs and tofu — which need less cooking than meat.

But if you’re making grilled chicken, steak or fish, a base of broccoli slaw or kale salad will keep things cool. And prepping and freezing marinades beforehand makes dinner even easier.

If company’s coming, you can host your guests without breaking a sweat. Guacamole with grilled jalapenos and a pitcher of margaritas is a crowd-pleasing combo, as is a cooling avocado kefir lassi and a platter of papri chaat. Herby labneh pasta takes little time on the stove — and you can serve it with a Mediterranean dipping oil and lush tomato tonnato.

For dessert, put your popsicle moulds and blender to use. You can go all out with a layered Lebanese fruit smoothie or keep it simple with key lime pops.

If you’re looking for low- and no-cook options for the dog days of summer, we’ve rounded up the best recipes below.

Avocado kefir lassi

(Photography by Dhivya Subramanian)