Satisfying Lunch and Dinner Dishes for Hot Weather

Shrimp and Rice Salad With Peas and Celery

Color and flavor abound in this delicious shrimp and rice salad with peas and celery. Shrimp provides the protein, while flavor and color come from steamed peas, red bell pepper, and a mayonnaise dressing.

Chicken Salad With Apples and Cranberries

This chicken salad with apples and cranberries is a perfect hot weather salad, and hearty enough to serve for dinner. The salad has lots of flavor and crunch with diced fresh apples, cranberries, and optional walnuts or pecans. Serve on lettuce leaves or in nice soft rolls or wraps for a delicious lunch or dinner. To bypass the heat of roasting the chicken yourself, buy a supermarket rotisserie chicken or follow a quick chicken recipe for basic baked chicken breasts.

Basic Deviled Eggs

Basic deviled eggs are always a hit for lunches or snacks. Top these basic deviled eggs with sliced or finely chopped red onion, sliced grape tomatoes, fresh chopped parsley, chives, sliced olives, or cornichons.

Tuna Salad

Add fresh chopped celery or finely chopped onion to customize tuna salad with ingredients that you love. Hard-cooked eggs are delicious in tuna salad, along with a dill relish and dill weed; the beauty of tuna salad is that it is so versatile.

Serve the tuna salad in sandwiches made with your favorite bread, panini, or ditch the bread altogether and serve on lettuce leaves for a refreshing lunch option or summertime dinner.

Crab Salad With Summer Vegetables

Crab salad with summer vegetables makes for a sweet component as part of a salad to serve on a hot summer day, whether for a family meal or a special cookout or potluck. You can get Dungeness crabs from the West Coast and blue crab from the East, thankfully, crab is usually easily sourced in U.S. year-round.

Garden Pasta Salad With Rotini

This tasty garden pasta salad with rotini features fresh vegetables and a creamy, lemony mayonnaise and pesto dressing. Feel free to use your favorite type of pasta, too, rotini, elbows, and farfalle all work well.

Simple Shrimp Salad

This simple shrimp salad is a snap to throw together for a hot summer evening meal. Serve it on lettuce leaves with a side of fresh tomatoes or in a pita pocket.

Classic Crab Roll

The sister sandwich to the more labor-intensive lobster roll, the classic crab roll brings the fresh flavors of crab, lemon, and chives together in a delicious hand-held summertime meal. The pickled vegetables on top add a tangy finishing touch.

Tarragon Chicken Salad

Tarragon chicken salad is perfect in a sandwich or on a bed of greens. Roast the chicken or pull leftovers out of the fridge, then mix up the flavorful creamy dressing with lemon, Dijon mustard, and tarragon. It's both simple and delicious.