50+ No-Cook Dinners

No-Cook Dinners Tips for Success

Of course, I mentioned things like chicken and quinoa. So I know you are thinking to yourself, “Wait, I thought these were supposed to be no-cook meals!” Well, there are some easy solutions to incorporate proteins and grains into those dishes.

• Chicken: For chicken, you can cook extra when you are making grilled chicken breasts. Throw a few chicken breasts in your Instant Pot or slow cooker, and keep chopped or shredded chicken in your freezer. Or pick up a roasted chicken from the grocery store. There are tons of leftover rotisserie chicken recipes, and some don’t require cooking.
• Shrimp: You can buy pre-cooked frozen shrimp that you just have to thaw to toss on top of a salad or other recipes.
• Steak: It takes the same amount of time to grill steak for one night as it does to grill steak for two. When we make a flank steak or flat iron steak, I usually buy a really big one or I buy two so we can make salads or wraps another night.
• Grains: For grain salads, cook a big batch on a day that isn’t too hot and you can keep it in the fridge or freezer.
• Bacon and Eggs: Pre-cooked bacon is available in the grocery store, and hard boiled eggs can be found in the refrigerator section or on the salad bar. But you can also cook bacon or make hard boiled eggs and keep them on hand in the fridge when you don’t want to cook.
• Don’t want to cook any meat at all? You can always get your protein from beans and lentils and chickpeas! Try swapping the chicken in some of these salads with a lovely legume!

Meal Prep Directions

As I mentioned, there are a number of items that can be prepped ahead of time. Then keep them in the fridge or freezer so you can easily make lunches for work that don’t have to be heated or just throw together a no-cook dinner. Here are instructions for 5 or 6 different methods to prepare each of these basics:

• How to Cook White Rice (Stove, Microwave, Slow Cooker, Instant Pot, Rice Cooker)
• How to Cook Brown Rice (Stove, Microwave, Slow Cooker, Instant Pot, Rice Cooker)
• How to Cook Quinoa (Stove, Microwave, Slow Cooker, Instant Pot, Rice Cooker)
• How to Cook Bacon (Stove, Microwave, Oven, Instant Pot, Air Fryer, Grill)
• How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs (Stove, Microwave, Oven, Instant Pot, Air Fryer, Grill)

Prep Ahead Packing Tips

• Keep them cold. All of these cold dishes should be stored in the refrigerator. See each individual recipe for the specific safe storage time based on the ingredients it contains, but most should be safely stored for at least 2 to 3 days, if not longer.
• Store properly. When packaging your no-cook meals, be sure to wrap them tightly or place them in an airtight container. In the case of salads and sandwiches, you may want to keep dressings, condiments, or spreads stored separately to minimize sogginess.
• Packing a lunch. If you are going to bring along one of these meal ideas for lunch, be sure to use an insulated lunch bag and an ice pack unless you are able to transfer it to a refrigerator right away.