42 Easy Summer Dinner Ideas for When It's Too Hot for the Stovetop

Recipe: Herbed Chicken-and-Rice Salad

Microwaveable rice and rotisserie chicken are the helpful ingredients to help pull together this pretty salad without having to turn on the stove.

Recipe: Lemon Vinaigrette Pasta Salad with Field Peas

Pick whichever pasta you prefer and combine with an easy honey-lemon vinaigrette and fresh veggies for a side dish that goes with anything. 

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

This taco night classic just got way easier by being able to make it all in your slow cooker, which leaves you ample time to savor the summertime breeze outside. 

Recipe: Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches

Use that rotisserie chicken to the bone with these delicious sandwiches that are perfect for lunch or dinner. The chicken salad mixture can be made a day ahead for extra ease when assembling your sandwiches. 

Recipe: Steak-and-Bell Pepper Salad

This savory salad is delicious and hearty enough to enjoy for a quick summer dinner on the patio. Toasted sourdough croutons and juicy steak take it from basic to super special.

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Pork Tacos with Fresh Tomato Salsa

Let the slow cooker do the work on the pork, and throw the tacos together with a healthy salsa recipe when you get home for dinner.

Recipe: Tropical Chicken Lettuce Wraps

These healthy lettuce wraps are no-cook and all good. The light chicken salad mixture brings both heat and sweet for a 15-minute recipe that's anything but boring. Serve in lettuce wraps, wheat wraps, or over a bed of greens.

Recipe: Easy Egg Salad

Southerners do love to smear up an egg salad sandwich on the go, so pack up a basket of these to eat outside on your porch or at the park. 

Recipe: Watermelon Gazpacho

We didn't know a five-ingredient recipe could look and taste fancy, but this chilled soup is proving otherwise. If watermelon is your favorite summer fruit, this recipe is a unique, fun, and delicious way to prepare it.

Recipe: Shrimp Cobb Salad with Bacon Dressing

The only thing you have to prep for this salad is the bacon, and once you taste this dressing, you won't mind the few minutes you spent cooking it. This light recipe feels so much more indulgent than it is.

Recipe: Greek Grilled Chicken Pita

This is worlds away from that boring deli chicken sandwich, while still being easy enough to whip up on the busiest of days. 

Recipe: Tuna Pasta Salad

This isn't your great-aunt's tuna salad, and thank goodness for that. Packed with fresh arugula, cherry tomatoes, and some pickled peppers for a pop of heat and color, this tuna pasta salad is a crowd-pleaser. 

Recipe: Instant Pot Crack Chicken

Made with a winning combination of pepper Jack cheese, sour cream, chicken, and bacon, this family-friendly recipe is what we turn to when we need something comforting and no-fuss. 

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Pork Roast with Carrots, Turnips, and Potatoes

A boneless pork loin makes for an inexpensive and satisfying meal, especially when paired with all-time classic veggies like potatoes and carrots. Set the slow cooker and forget about it. 

Recipe: Salmon Bagel Sandwiches

Stay cool with this recipe that you can eat from brunch to dinner. Cook the salmon ahead in the slow cooker and assemble the best bagel sandwich you've ever had.

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Carnitas Tacos

Using this convenient shortcut to typically skillet-toasted carnitas, you can broil the meat on a sheet pan to brown and crisp the entire batch at once before popping in a slow cooker until oh-so tender. 

Recipe: Marinated Tomato-and-Herb Salad

When it's too hot to cook, we look to our farmers' market baskets and get creative. This chunky tomato salad will be your new favorite side dish to throw together.

Recipe: Chilled Radish-and-Avocado Soup

This refreshing summer soup gets a peppery bite from radishes, hot sauce, and chile powder that is wonderfully balanced out by creamy avocados, tangy whole buttermilk, and a little honey for sweetness.

Recipe: Field Pea Fattoush Salad

This salad makes the most of your summer peas. Bright and fresh in flavor from mint and lemon, it gets great added crunch from both the crisp romaine and toasted pita.

Recipe: Spiced Chicken and Veggie Kebabs with Grilled Pita Bread

These 30-minute kebabs deliver big on flavor thanks to the dark meat of the chicken thighs. 

Recipe: Sheet Pan Hanger Steak and Vegetables

When it's just too hot to fire up the grill outside, this sheet pan supper will satisfy your family's desire for steak.

Recipe: Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp

Your frying skillet has no place here. Get all the crunch and crispiness of fried shrimp in just 30 minutes with this mess-free recipe that uses your air fryer. 

Recipe: Sheet Pan Fajitas

Get all the fun of Taco Tuesday without having to tend to a hot skillet for an hour. Pop in the oven and you're ready to go in less than half an hour. Minimal hands-on time is always a plus. 

Recipe: Creamy Pesto-and-Shrimp Penne with Peas

Pre-peeled shrimp, frozen peas, and store-bought pesto makes this tasty pasta come together in a jiff. Just like that, you have a hearty summertime dinner up your sleeve.

Recipe: Turkey, Apple, and Brie Sandwich

You can snag all of these ingredients at the grocery at the start of each week and dole out these hearty sandwiches filled with turkey, hot pepper jelly, Dijon mustard, brie cheese, and more whenever you don't feel like cooking. Ask for thick-cut turkey to make it more filling! 

Recipe: Ham Salad

This retro Southern recipe is ideal for having on hand when you don't feel like cooking. Serve on a buttery croissant (or between two slices of whatever bread you have), with a side of crackers, or over leafy greens for a quick, comforting meal.

Recipe: Ham-and-Cheese Sliders

These sliders are a great crowd-pleasing dinner that's reminiscent of a croque monsieur.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

Serve this flavorful chicken over rice or as a base for tacos.

Recipe: Slow-cooked Barbecued Chicken

This chicken recipe is prepped right in the slow cooker and then left to cook for five hours.

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Ginger, Sweet Tea, and Whiskey Short Ribs

These ribs are covered in a tangy sauce that's inspired by spiked sweet tea and topped with parsley, scallions, and lemon zest.

Recipe: Shrimp-and-Corn Succotash

We served this succotash cold so it tastes as refreshing as can be on summer nights.

Recipe: Chicken Salad-Stuffed Tomatoes

Take advantage of in-season tomatoes and make this irresistible handheld chicken salad dish.

Recipe: Kale-and-Chicken Salad with Jalapeño-Lime Dressing

This salad is a cool and light dinner option that will keep you full thanks to the healthy greens and plentiful protein.

Recipe: Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad

This easy pasta salad is full of fresh flavors like sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, feta cheese, and basil.

Recipe: The SL BLT

Nothing hits the spot like a BLT on a hot day.

Recipe: Broccoli, Grape, and Pasta Salad

This salad does it all. Broccoli and bacon add crunch, while grapes add a burst of juicy summer fun.

Recipe: Spaghetti with Marinated Tomatoes and Mozzarella

Just a few minutes of stove time is required to cook the spaghetti in this recipe. The rest comes together after the pasta cooks.

Recipe: Brisket Tacos with Summer Salsa

Flavorful tacos are a favorite summer meal, and we love the bright salsa on these ones.

Recipe: Four-Ingredient Slow-Cooker Pot Roast

Let this pot roast cook in your slow cooker while you enjoy your summer vacation.

Recipe: Grilled Shrimp and Squash Skewers with Herbed Couscous

These summertime grilled shrimp skewers are made for al fresco dining.

Recipe: One-Pan Garlic-Butter Shrimp with Orzo

In this speedy 30-minute recipe, you can cook your shrimp directly over the orzo, making cleanup a breeze.

Recipe: Grilled Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

This recipe tucks grilled shrimp, cilantro, and quick pickled veggies into lettuce leaves for a light lunch or appetizer that's sure to cool you off.