14 No-Cook Dinners for Spring

a bowl with salmon, avocado and greens

As the weather warms up, you'll want to keep your oven and stove off as much as you can. These no-cook dinners are healthy, tasty and will help cool you down. Plus, they include in-season veggies like avocado, carrots, celery and kale, so they're perfect for using up your spring produce. Recipes like our Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wrap and Chickpea, Artichoke & Avocado Salad with Apple-Cider Dressing are flavorful dishes you'll want to make again and again.

01 of 14

Chicken & Kale Taco Salad with Jalapeño-Avocado Ranch

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This healthy, super-fast salad recipe swaps out romaine for kale, giving you more than 10 times the vitamin C. Easy flavor hacks like store-bought ranch and pickled jalapeños help make a creamy, tangy and spicy dressing you'll want to drizzle on everything from salad to sliced veggies and shredded poached chicken.

02 of 14

Salmon & Avocado Poke Bowl

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Poke (pronounced poh-kay), the bite-size marinated fish salad famous in Hawaii, is so popular that it's sold by the pound in supermarkets. Now it has crossed the Pacific to become the meal-in-a-bowl du jour, served in eateries from Los Angeles to New York. But it's easy to make at home with this quick recipe. Sriracha and Chinese-style mustard add a touch of heat to the classic poke seasoning of soy sauce and sesame oil. Serving it over a brown rice salad makes it a meal.

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Chickpea, Artichoke & Avocado Salad with Apple-Cider Dressing

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This delicious 400-calorie salad is a helpful tool for weight loss because it provides a good balance of fiber, protein and healthy fats from loads of veggies and beans, all tossed in a tangy apple-cider vinaigrette. To meal-prep these for lunch throughout the week, pack the dressing and the salad separately and make sure your veggies are thoroughly dried before packing them together.

04 of 14

Chicken, Brussels Sprouts & Mushroom Salad

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Shaving the vegetables for this easy salad recipe makes them deliciously tender-crisp without having to cook anything and helps them stand up to the bright homemade vinaigrette and salty Parmesan cheese.

05 of 14

Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wrap

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White beans mashed with ripe avocado and blended with sharp Cheddar and onion makes an incredibly rich, flavorful filling for this wrap. The tangy, spicy slaw adds crunch. A pinch (or more) of ground chipotle pepper and an extra dash of cider vinegar can be used in place of the canned chipotles in adobo sauce. Wrap these up to take as a healthy and portable lunch for work.

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Brown Rice Shrimp Bowl with Tomatoes & Avocado

Brown Rice Shrimp Bowl with Tomatoes & Avocado

This quick and easy bowl pairs brown rice with cooked shrimp, tossed in a ginger-soy-sesame sauce, to create a flavorful dish in no time. Topping with tomatoes and avocado adds color and nutrients. Use leftover brown rice or pick up a package of pre-cooked brown rice from the grocery store to keep this meal no-cook.

07 of 14

Tofu Poke

tofu Poke

This fast vegan version of poke (the traditional Hawaiian salad of diced raw fish tossed in a soy-sesame sauce) swaps in extra-firm tofu for fish while loading your bowl with vegetables and crunchy toppers like pea shoots and peanuts. Serve over brown rice instead of the zucchini noodles to add a hearty boost of fiber.

08 of 14

Avocado Tuna Salad

Avocado-Tuna Salad
Photography / Greg DuPree, Styling / Ruth BlackBurn / Julia Bayless

Jazz up a can of tuna with this easy avocado tuna salad recipe. Silky avocado adds creaminess that's cut with a hit of acidity from lemon and a briny punch from feta cheese. Romaine hearts and cucumber offer refreshing crunch.

09 of 14

Kale Salad with Quinoa & Chicken

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Toss the cooked chicken into this healthy salad recipe while it's still warm to lightly wilt the kale, making it softer and easier to eat. Using store-bought salad dressing saves time, but you could also make your own tangy vinaigrette.

10 of 14

White Bean & Veggie Salad

White Bean & Veggie Salad

This meatless main-dish salad combines creamy, satisfying white beans and avocado. Try mixing it up with different seasonal vegetables.

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Avocado Chicken Salad

avocado chicken salad and crackers
Caitlin Bensel

This avocado chicken salad is herbaceous, bright and creamy. The blend of cilantro, dill and chives pairs nicely with fresh avocado. Enjoy this easy chicken salad over lettuce, on crackers or in a wrap.

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Tuna Poke

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Poke (pronounced poke-ay), a Hawaiian word meaning "to chop" or "to cut," refers to a traditional Hawaiian salad of diced raw fish in a simple, soy-based sauce with punchy seasonings like toasted sesame and chopped scallion greens. These tuna poke bowls feature seasoned brown rice and fresh veggies for a healthy, satisfying meal packed with protein and fiber.

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Strawberry Spinach Salad with Avocado & Walnuts

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Serve this summery strawberry spinach salad alongside soup or a half sandwich, or top with grilled chicken or roasted salmon for a complete and easy healthy meal.

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3-Ingredient Creamy Rotisserie Chicken Salad

3-Ingredient Creamy Rotisserie Chicken Salad
Carolyn Hodges

We put a flavor twist on the classic chicken salad by using a lemon-herb mayonnaise. Try other mayo varieties, like roasted garlic or chipotle lime, in this fast, no-cook lunch recipe. Serve this rotisserie chicken salad recipe with whole-grain crackers.

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