Food and Recipes Recipes 32 Oven-Free Recipes To Make From Now Through Labor Day By Southern Living Editors Updated on July 22, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall You know what can heat up a 1,000-square-foot house faster than you can say heat wave? An oven set at 375 degrees for an hour. We know all too well the struggles of cooking indoors during a brutal Southern summer. Let's skip the needless indoor sweating and take it outside to the grill or chill out with a quick stovetop flash fry, sauté, or sear. Some fresh air and wide-open spaces will help you make your meal with a whole lot more love. We're not promising a no-cook summer, but we can most assuredly give our ovens the season off—wouldn't you say? So let's fire up the grill or turn on the burner (perhaps with a glass of something chilly in hand) in favor of these oven-free supper recipes that'll keep your house and menu cool as can be, no matter how far into the triple digits the mercury creeps this year. And you know it will. 01 of 32 Grilled Chicken and Corn with Charred Scallion-Lime Butter Johnny Autry; Prop and Food Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Recipe: Grilled Chicken and Corn with Charred Scallion-Lime Butter It's a complete meal—all from the grill. Prep the Scallion-Lime Butter up to a day ahead, or just keep making that recipe on repeat to dress all of your grilled veggies throughout the season. We won't blame you one bit. 02 of 32 Shrimp and Corn Succotash Johnny Autry; Prop and Food Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Recipe: Shrimp and Corn Succotash This light supper comes together on the stovetop utilizing some of the summer's brightest stars like shrimp, green beans, corn, and lima beans. If you don't have fresh limas, go ahead and swap in the frozen variety. 03 of 32 Shrimp-Tomatillo Tacos Johnny Autry; Prop and Food Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Recipe: Shrimp-Tomatillo Tacos The base of these tacos is abounding with flavor thanks to fresh tomatillos, a chile pepper, shrimp, and onion. Kick them up a notch by topping each taco with sliced radishes, scallions, cilantro, and even a bit of shredded cabbage for a healthy dose of crunch. 04 of 32 Green Tomato Gazpacho Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist Christine Keely Recipe: Green Tomato Gazpacho All you need to pull together this refreshing soup is a blender. You can even make it up to 24 hours ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve. 05 of 32 Pasta with Marinated Tomatoes Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Anna Hampton; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Recipe: Pasta with Marinated Tomatoes Skip the oven-roasted tomatoes this summer for a variety that simply marinates for 20 minutes in a mixture of olive oil, white vinegar, salt, pepper, and a bit of shallot. The season's freshest pasta sauce is coming right up. 06 of 32 Goat Cheese-and-Summer Squash Pizza Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Goat Cheese-and-Summer Squash Pizza If you thought pizza couldn't be cooked without turning on the oven, think again. This summer pizza was made for the grill. 07 of 32 Mojo Chicken Bowls Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Mojo Chicken Bowls The beauty in these bowls is that you can make them your own with all of the toppings your tastebuds desire. Just don't skimp on the marinating time—the chicken will need at least a full hour to make sure it holds onto all of that flavor once it hits the grill. 08 of 32 Grilled Pork-and-Peach Salad With Honey-Mustard Dressing Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas Recipe: Grilled Pork-and-Peach Salad With Honey-Mustard Dressing Every part of this pretty salad is cooked on the grill, from the pork to the peaches to the baguette slices. 09 of 32 Grilled Stuffed Poblanos Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Anna Hampton Recipe: Grilled Stuffed Poblanos Had your fill of tacos? We know, we could never either. But let's just go ahead and get this dinner on the lineup ASAP. Corn, black-eyed peas, melted cheese, and a whole lot of spice make these stuffed peppers the best thing you'll taste from now until October. 10 of 32 Kale-and-Chicken Salad with Jalapeño-Lime Dressing Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Recipe: Kale-and-Chicken Salad with Jalapeño-Lime Dressing If you're in the mood to lighten up (and who isn't when it's this hot outside) then consider dinner found. Full of good-for-you greens and topped with convenient store-bought rotisserie chicken, this salad won't leave you want for flavor. A honey-lime vinaigrette with chopped fresh jalapeño brings the heat—but just the good kind. 11 of 32 Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches The chicken salad mixture that fills the middle of these sandwiches can be made a day ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until you're ready to assemble them. 12 of 32 Buttermilk Alfredo Chicken Spinach Pasta Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Buttermilk Alfredo Chicken Spinach Pasta You're just 20 minutes away from getting this pasta supper on the table. In addition to the short prep time, it also has a fairly short ingredient list. 13 of 32 Sweet-and-Spicy Salmon Rice Bowl Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Sweet-and-Spicy Salmon Rice Bowl Spice up your summer supper with a ready-in-30-minutes dinner recipe that comes together in a skillet. Each refreshing bowl is packed with flavor and lots of fresh crunch thanks to snow peas, scallions, cucumber, radishes, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds for good measure. 14 of 32 Easy Steak Fajitas Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Easy Steak Fajitas PSA: You do not need to fire up the grill for fajita night. This recipe uses one skillet (that's right, just one) to make the whole spread. 15 of 32 Fried Green Tomatoes Jennifer Davick Recipe: Fried Green Tomatoes This is the summer you will master the art of the fried green tomato. Let this classic recipe be your guide. 16 of 32 Heirloom Tomato and Chicken Toss Greg Dupree; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham Recipe: Heirloom Tomato and Chicken Toss Toss bright summer tomatoes with chicken for this light and refreshing meal. 17 of 32 Ham Salad Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Ham Salad Cold ham is a summertime staple, and you know what that means—ham salad. Cream cheese, scallions, Creole mustard, a little spice, and a sprinkling of fresh herby flavor are all you'll need. 18 of 32 Chicken Salad-Stuffed Tomatoes Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Chicken Salad-Stuffed Tomatoes A rotisserie chicken helps this recipe come together in just 15 minutes with no cooking required. 19 of 32 Tropical Chicken Lettuce Wraps Photo: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Tropical Chicken Lettuce Wraps Mango and lime juice add a flavorful burst to these lettuce wraps. 20 of 32 Tomato Tea Sandwiches Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Cat Steele Recipe: Tomato Tea Sandwiches These simple handheld sandwiches are always a crowd pleaser. 21 of 32 Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Toni Brogan Recipe: Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad Tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil are summer staples as far as we're concerned. 22 of 32 West Indies Crab Salad Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: West Indies Crab Salad A simple vinaigrette adds a subtle sweetness to this fresh crab salad. 23 of 32 Lady Pea-and-Corn Patties Alison Miksch Recipe: Lady Pea-and-Corn Patties If you like corn fritters, you're going to love these little cakes. Whip up a quick sauce with a cup sour cream, two teaspoons lime zest, three tablespoons lime juice, and two tablespoons cilantro. 24 of 32 Grilled Clambake Foil Packets with Herb Butter Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Anna Hampton Recipe: Grilled Clambake Foil Packets with Herb Butter Make clean-up even easier with this foil packet meal. 25 of 32 Grilled Grouper Photographer and Prop stylist: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Melissa Gray Recipe: Grilled Grouper Grouper is a versatile fish that you can easily pair with a simple side for any summer meal. 26 of 32 Summer Pasta Salad with Lime Vinaigrette Alison Miksch Recipe: Summer Pasta Salad with Lime Vinaigrette If you aren't making your pasta salad with squash, nectarines, zucchini, and the best lime vinaigrette (if we do say so ourselves) then you're assuredly missing out. Feel free to skip the toasted sliced almonds if you prefer. 27 of 32 Grilled Shrimp-and-Squash Pasta with Summer Herbs Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Anna Hampton Recipe: Grilled Shrimp-and-Squash Pasta with Summer Herbs Grill the toppings for this pasta so you don't have to spend as much time over the hot stove. 28 of 32 Shrimp-Okra-and-Sausage Kebabs Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Tina Stamos Recipe: Shrimp-Okra-and-Sausage Kebabs Grilled okra, shrimp, and sausage are charred perfectly in this this kebob recipe. 29 of 32 Whipped Cream Corn Salad Southern Living Recipe: Whipped Cream Corn Salad No cook corn, in the creamiest sauce ever. Grilled chicken, burgers, and more have been begging for a side like this. 30 of 32 Chicken Caprese Pasta Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Chicken Caprese Pasta This lightened up pasta recipe is almost too pretty to eat. 31 of 32 Tomato Salad with Grilled Shrimp Hector Sanchez Recipe: Tomato Salad with Grilled Shrimp This is a cool and refreshing summertime supper that's just right any night of the week. 32 of 32 Tomato, Peach, and Corn Salad Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Cat Steele Recipe: Tomato, Peach, and Corn Salad Tomato time! This fresh produce salad is a great substitute for a leafy green one. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit