9 Healthy and Delicious No-Cook Ideas For Lunch, Dinner and More!
These days, there are so many ways to get a meal on the table without actually, you know, cooking it. Boxed meal delivery services. Uber Eats. The list goes on. And while there are reasons to recommend many of them, if you’re being mindful about both your money and your macros, none of them can top turning out food from your very own kitchen. The reassuring news: You don’t even need to turn on your oven to do it. These clean, creative options don’t involve a single pot or pan on your stove either. Healthy no-cook meals, from breakfast to lunch, dinner and snack prep, coming at you quick!
9 Healthy No-Cook Meals to Mix It Up
1. Super Easy Overnight Bulgur
If you’re bored of overnight oats, consider this easy swap from Sara Haas, RDN, LDN. Bulgur is a whole wheat grain that has just as much fiber as oats but offers a bit more texture. Customize your breakfast by mixing it with your favorite nut milk and toppings, like walnuts, banana, peanuts, shaved coconut, or mango.
Related: 2-Minute Breakfasts You Can Make While the Coffee Brews
2. Mexican Three Bean Salad
Make this protein and fiber-filled veggie salad from Claire Cary, CHN of Eating With Clarity, ahead to pack for lunch. “The beans are a source of plant-based protein, fiber, iron, and a type of antioxidant called polyphenols. In addition to the beans, this salad has healthy fats from avocado, antioxidants from the veggies, and detoxifying properties, thanks to the cilantro,” Cary says.
3. Savory Curry Granola Bars
Don’t even go down the cookie and granola aisle if you want to eat clean. Instead, try this no-bake, grab-and-go healthy snack (without the sugar of store-bought granola bars) from Anne Mauney, MPH, RD of Fannetastic Food. There’s protein inside each bar from the peanut butter, cashews, and pistachio, fiber from the whole grain oats and puffed brown rice, and a nice kick from the curry powder!
Related: 5 Keto-Friendly Snacks to Fuel You Through the Afternoon
4. Summer Gazpacho with Watermelon
This blender gazpacho from Nutritionist Meets Chef is the bowl to belly up to when summer is transitioning to fall (or really, any time you don’t want to labor over hot pots). The fresh watermelon and cucumber pack the soup with vitamins A and C, and the creamy mixture is topped with a crunch of pumpkin seeds for a hit of magnesium and zinc.
5. Spicy Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon Poke Bowl
Fresh wild Alaskan salmon anchors this island-inspired meal from Jessica Gavin, certified culinary scientist. The sushi-grade salmon supplies you with 26 grams of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids as well. Gavin adds pickled cucumbers, Sriracha sauce, and avocado, so feel free to make the bowl your own or add it to a green salad.
6. Spring Rolls
These Vietnamese-inspired rice paper rolls look like they’d be a pain to make, but they’re about as easy as rolling a wrap. This how-to from Emily Kyle, MS, RDN, CLT, HCP walks you through the steps for a creative, healthy lunch or dinner. Feel free to fill yours with julienne-style veggies like carrots, peppers, zucchini, and red cabbage, or for protein, add shrimp or supermarket rotisserie chicken.
7. Blueberry Brussels Sprouts Salad
This refreshing combo of fruit, crispy shaved Brussels sprouts, and chopped spinach, topped with lemon poppyseed dressing from Maria and Josh Lichty of Two Peas & Their Pod, isn’t your garden-variety salad. It’s a nutritional winner, too: Between the blueberries and brussels sprouts, you’re hitting 78 percent of your recommended daily vitamin C intake.
Related: 6 Foods You Should Throw Away Right Now
8. Spiralized Raw Carrot Pasta with Ginger-Lime Peanut Sauce
Not only are these “noodles” from recipe developer Julia Mueller of The Roasted Root no-cook, but this dish is also low-carb, vegan, and gluten-free, too. All you need is a handheld spiralizer to work magic on vitamin A-packed carrots, and then you can blend up the sweet-and-salty peanutty lime ginger sauce to coat them. Sprinkle crunchy cashews over the top for protein.
9. Easy Shrimp Ceviche
With super fresh fish (you can use shrimp, scallops, or any white fish) you can create your own simple ceviche, using this recipe by Steph Gaudreau, NTC. Throw the ingredients in a bowl before work--the fish “cooks” in citrus juices in your fridge for four to six hours. The fresh mango, avocado, and chili powder bring bursts of flavor to the Paleo and Whole 30-approved dish.