Cold lunches and quick, no-heat breakfasts are key for staying cool in the heat of summer! Here are The Best Breakfast & Lunch Meal Prep Ideas for Hot Weather so you can always be prepared, and not lose your cool before dinner!
For those of us without air conditioning, the summer heat can drive us completely out of the kitchen. This can become a problem if you’re trying to keep up with healthy meal prep meals made at home.
Of course there’s always the grill for dinner, but how do you meal prep your other meals without a lot of sweat and miserable cooking in a kitchen that’s way too hot?
Here’s what I’ve got for you on the keep-cool-and-meal-prep front. Some of these ideas might be obvious, some others not so much. Cooking in the heat is no fun at all, and eating hot foods in the hottest of hot weather can also be unpleasant.
Related: Is it warm out?! See all my summer recipes here!
My general guidelines for meal prepping when it’s HOT:
- go big on fresh produce that does not require any cookingtry out some canned protein sources that are already cooked (tuna, chicken, etc.)
- try out some canned protein sources that are already cooked (tuna, chicken, etc.)
- buy a rotisserie chicken from the store instead of cooking chicken at home
- cook rice or quinoa in a rice cooker instead of on the stove top
- do not use the oven or stovetop, and instead use smaller, more energy efficient appliances for cooking meals (such as the Instant Pot – uses up to 70% less energy than other cooking methods)
- add variety to no cook breakfast ideas like overnight oats and yogurt
- plan to cook extra protein for meal prepping when you use your grill for making dinner
My favorite meal prep tools and their uses:
There are always going to be more other tools that people use for their own meal prep, but these are just some of my favorite and most commonly used items. I always prefer glass containers over plastic, and I *try* to make use of other appliances besides the stove in the summertime!
- 3 Compartment Glass Meal Prep Containers (affiliate link!) – Perfect for make ahead meals where you want to keep things separated. Some of those are on this list!
- Instant Pot Duo Plus 6 Qt (affiliate link!) – Using the Instant Pot is a great alternative to meal prepping with an oven or stove. Generally, it does not heat up the kitchen and uses much less energy than other cooking methods.
- 4-Cup Pyrex Round Glass Containers (affiliate link!) – Great for meal prep when you want a nice big bowl of a meal with no need to keep foods separated.
- Pint Sized Wide Mouth Mason Jars (affiliate link!) – The extra wide mouth makes it easy to use a spoon and eat all the way to the bottom or store cut veggies and easily fit your hands in the jars! Perfect for overnight oats.
Here are the Best Breakfast Meal Prep Ideas for Hot Weather:
Hope you’re able to make good use of some of these Meal Prep Ideas for Hot Weather!! Cheers to delicious, homemade food in the summer that you don’t have to break a sweat to prepare.
If you’re digging all of these ideas, I’ve got another one for you: 16 Make-Ahead Cold Lunch Ideas to Prep for Work This Week. Check ’em out, and stay cool!
Cooking during hot weather in a kitchen that has no air-conditioning could really give us a headache. My common recipe during hot weather includes canned goods but I’m not content with the nutrition on them so I prefer fresh produce foods that are good to go!
Totally agree Mike! Plus the fresh produce is always quicker, and usually more nutritious 🙂