Sometimes it’s just too hot to make dinner. Here are 20+ ideas for what to make and serve to your family!
I love to cook. I love the heat. I love summer. I love sunshine. I actually love to be hot. But even I get to a point where I don’t feel like cooking when it’s super hot outside.
And while our kids play hard all day and work up big appetites, their food preferences change when they’re hot. None of us want a heavy hot casserole or steamy pot of stew, right?
So if you, like me, need a list of ideas for meals you can serve when it’s too hot to cook, I’ve compiled one. I basically created this on an unusually hot day in April when nothing sounded good. :) I started to brainstorm and THIS LIST is what sounded good!
What to Make When It’s Too Hot to Make Dinner
- Cottage Cheese with Fruit (pineapple is our favorite, and peaches are a close second)
- Peanut Butter Banana Toast with a side of Fresh Fruit
- Yogurt Granola Parfaits (set them up as a build-your-own like this)
- Lunchmeat, Cheese, Veggie, and, Fruit Tray
- Smoothies and Muffins (if I’m lucky, I have muffins in the freezer so that I don’t have to bake)
- Scrambled Egg Sandwich (which requires a little bit of cooking, but it’s not so much that we want to cry, right?)
- Beef Hotdogs and Watermelon (again, this takes a little cooking but the meal is easy and refreshing)
- Chicken Salad on Crackers with Veggies and Fruit or a Smoothie
- Tuna Salad on Bread or Buns with Veggies and Fruit or a Smoothie
- Meat and Cheese Wraps with Spinach on a Tortilla with a side of Fruit
- Rotisserie Chicken (they cost $4.98 at Sam’s and Costco, and you can make any combination of these 12 meals with them!)
- Any of these Salads
- Or you can Drink Your Salad like Matt and I do (we do this in the winter too, but oh in the summer these are so refreshing!)
- Tortilla Pizzas on the grill with Veggies and Fruit
- Guacamole with Chips and Smoothies.
- Easy Bean and Cheese Salsa Dip with Chips and Fruit
- Fruit Tray (watermelon, grapes, berries) with Cheese
- Popcorn, Apples, Peanut Butter, Carrots
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches with Veggies and Fruit (almost too obvious not to mention)
- Turkey and Cheese or Ham and Cheese Sandwiches with Veggies and Fruit
What is your go-to meal on a hot day?
