Food and Recipes Lunch Easy, Breezy Summer Lunch Ideas By Alana Al-Hatlani Alana Al-Hatlani Alana Al-Hatlani is an Assistant Food Editor at Southern Living. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on June 30, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners On hot summer days, making lunch can feel like a drag. With the mid-day sun beaming down, nobody wants to be stuck over a stove cooking. Plus, it's summer, you want something light and quick, so you can get back to relaxing. With that in mind, these lunch recipes uses the best of summer produce, like tomatoes and corn, but come together quickly and don't use the oven. Shortcuts like using a slow cooker for our Four Ingredient Slow-Cooker Pot Roast give you all the flavor of a braise without any extra heat. A few of these recipes are served chilled, for an extra refreshing lunch, like our Soba Noodle-and-Shrimp Bowls. Other recipes like our Tropical Chicken Lettuce Wraps, swap heavier ingredients like bread, for tender lettuce leaves, for a lighter summer meal. Beat the heat and hunger with these summer lunch recipes. 01 of 20 Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches Don't choose between a salad and a sandwich, enjoy both rolled into one with this recipe. All the elements of Caesar salad are made portable in this sandwich, from the dressing turning into a spread for the bread, to the lettuce becoming the bed for shredded chicken, it's a fun new way to enjoy a favorite. 02 of 20 Burrito Bowls Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Burrito Bowls Think of these bowls as a burrito minus the tortilla. Filled with black beans, rice, pico de gallo, and of course, avocado, these bowls are filling, packed with flavor, and won't leave you feeling stuffed before hitting the pool. 03 of 20 Tropical Chicken Lettuce Wraps Photo: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Tropical Chicken Lettuce Wraps Jalapeño, lime, and honey transform rotisserie chicken into a vibrant chicken salad for the summer. These lettuce wraps come together in 15 minutes and the chicken salad filling could easily be sandwiched between two slices of bread or stuffed inside a tortilla for a heartier lunch. 04 of 20 Orzo Salad with Shrimp and Lemon Dressing Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Orzo Salad with Shrimp and Lemon Dressing Fresh herbs and veggies make this anything but your average pasta salad. It can also be big-batched and enjoyed as leftovers the next day, in fact the salad is even better after the tangy lemony dressing has a chance to mingle with all the ingredients overnight. 05 of 20 Four-Ingredient Slow-Cooker Pot Roast Melina Hammer Recipe: Four-Ingredient Slow-Cooker Pot Roast Using your slow-cooker is the ultimate summer hack. Without turning on the oven, it transforms a tough chuck roast into tender pot roast, and you don't even have to be around to babysit the appliance while it works its magic. 06 of 20 Salmon Bagel Sandwiches Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Salmon Bagel Sandwiches A play on the classic lox bagel breakfast that makes for a satisfying summer lunch. We've topped the sandwich with an herbed cream cheese, but feel free to get creative and add jalapeño or fold in olives. 07 of 20 Open-Faced Tomato Sandwiches with Creamy Cucumber Spread Alison Miksch Recipe: Open-Faced Tomato Sandwiches with Creamy Cucumber Spread When tomatoes are as good as they are during the summer, it would be a crime to cover them up. This open-face sandwich puts summer tomatoes on full display, in every color of the rainbow, and dresses them up just a bit with an herby cucumber spread. 08 of 20 Pasta with Marinated Tomatoes Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Anna Hampton; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Recipe: Pasta with Marinated Tomatoes This 20-minute pasta will become your summer staple. Peak season tomatoes take a quick bath in a red wine vinaigrette and then combine with mozzerella, tons of fresh basil, and pasta for a simple dish with complex flavor. 09 of 20 Chimichurri Beef Meatball Hoagies Photo: Iain Bagwell Recipe: Chimichurri Beef Meatball Hoagies Made in a slow-cooker, these are the easiest meatball subs you'll ever make. With only 30-minutes of hands-on cooking, you can toss this recipe together in the slow-cooker and then go cross some summer reading off your list while it cooks. 10 of 20 Soba Noodle-and-Shrimp Bowls Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Soba Noodle-and-Shrimp Bowls Nutty Soba noodles pair with shrimp for a refreshing cold noodle bowl. Sriracha lends the dressing a touch of spice, while snow peas and carrots add crunch. 11 of 20 Grilled Chicken Salad with Blueberries, Goat Cheese, and Pickled Onion Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Grilled Chicken Salad with Blueberries, Goat Cheese, and Pickled Onion Chicken and blueberries might give you a pause, but trust us it works. The sweetness of the berries pair well with the pickled onions, and tangy goat cheese, for an interesting new salad to toss into your lunch rotation. 12 of 20 Summer Hoppin' John Salad Photo: Iain Bagwell Recipe: Summer Hoppin' John Salad This recipe reimagines the classic hot dish and turns it into a cold salad filled with the same flavors but better suited for a hot summer day. The Apple Cider Vinaigrette adds a touch of tang to the juicy, sweet heirloom tomatoes and rice. 13 of 20 Smoky Chicken Panini with Basil Mayo Jennifer Davick Recipe: Smoky Chicken Panini with Basil Mayo In the South, mayonnaise is a given on a sandwich, and on this panini we've taken the Southern favorite and brightened it with fresh basil. Paired with sun-dried tomatoes and smoked gouda, this chicken sandwich is bound to be a crowd pleaser. 14 of 20 Crispy-Shrimp Salad with Avocado Dressing Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Recipe: Crispy-Shrimp Salad with Avocado Dressing This main-dish salad won't leave you feeling hungry. Loaded with crispy Panko-breaded shrimp and a creamy avocado dressing so good it can be eaten on its own as a dip, everybody will be more than happy to eat their greens. 15 of 20 Grilled Corn-and-Salmon Salad with Tomatoes Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Recipe: Grilled Corn-and-Salmon Salad with Tomatoes A salad that keeps things easy, breezy, and summery, sign us up! Customize this recipe to your tastes, swap spinach for arugula, or salmon for steak, and if something at the farmers market looks better than corn, by all means add the best of what the seasons has to offer into the mix. 16 of 20 The BLT Alison Miksch Recipe: The BLT You can't go wrong with this classic. It also happens to be super simple to make, best served in the summer when the tomatoes are at their best, and easy to get creative with, from adding a hint of spice to the mayo, or layering in some avocado. 17 of 20 Steak-and-Bell Pepper Salad Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Recipe: Steak-and-Bell Pepper Salad This salad is a super sneaky way to use up leftovers. Got stale bread on the counter? Turn that into the croutons. Leftover steak or chicken in the fridge? Throw it on top. Then grab a few pantry staples to make an easy dressing and lunch is ready in no time. 18 of 20 Egg Salad Sandwiches Jen Causey Recipe: Egg Salad Sandwiches Our egg salad is made with all the usual suspects—celery, pickle relish, and mayonnaise—and a few unexpected additions as well: grated onion, dried salad seasoning (the kind that comes in a packet), Dijon mustard, and a pinch of sugar. For extra tang and richness, we added sour cream to the mayonnaise, but Greek yogurt work as well. 19 of 20 Chicken Biscuit Sandwiches Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Chicken Biscuit Sandwiches While this chicken biscuit sandwich isn't like the ones you'll see at Chick-fil-a, it tastes great on a Sunday. Tangy red cabbage and pickles add tang while the creamy mayonnaise-based barbecue sauce adds a touch of richness. 20 of 20 Greek Grilled Chicken Pita Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Greek Grilled Chicken Pita Bored with sandwiches? Try this grilled chicken pita instead. It's loaded with veggies and tangy tzatziki all rolled up in pita bread, making it a great lunch on the go or for summer picnics. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit