Our favorite refreshing foods when the weather is warm

Ceviche—raw fish marinated in citrus juice(s)—is the perfect seafood dish for the summer because there’s no heating necessary. The raw seafood ranges from shrimp and sea bass to grouper, catfish, and cod, which is mixed with peppers, red onion, and other diced ingredients.

Chicken is great on the grill, but hot poultry will make you perspire. Instead, chill your cooked bird and mix it up into chicken salad. Ever make it Waldorf style? You’ll need chicken, an apple, some grapes, celery, walnuts, mayo, and lemon juice. Serve it on bread or croissants, or eat it right out of the bowl!

Skip the hot sandwiches and opt for a cold sub instead. It could feature ham, turkey, roast beef, salami, or any other meat—or combination of meats—or you could enjoy a veggie version! No need to cook, no need to reheat, and no need to keep it warm. Store the sub in the cooler instead!

Coleslaw is one of our favorite summer sides. It’s not just because it’s tasty, and not just because it’s sort of like having a salad with mayonnaise, but because it’s one of the few chilled (and thus refreshing) items available at a cookout.

A simple summer snack, deviled eggs can be a cool complement to your next cookout. (And they’re sure to impress, as they look like more work than they really are.) Of course, if you’re just looking for a chill way to get some extra protein for yourself, you can always opt for hard-boiled eggs—which are even easier, as they require fewer steps!

We’ll lump dips together into one entry, as there are so many chilled varieties to choose from. Hummus and queso are traditionally served warm—especially when fresh—but many people prefer to eat them right out of the fridge. On the flip side, there’s little debate regarding salsa, French onion dip, guacamole, blue cheese, ranch, tzatziki, and other dipping delights, which are best served cool.

Another big group of foods, nearly any fruit, can serve as a refreshing food on a hot day—not just because they taste good cold, but because fruit is mostly water and thus will also hydrate you. The ones with the highest percentages of water include watermelon, strawberries, grapefruit, and peaches. Can’t pick one? Mix up a fruit salad!

Cold soup may seem like an oxymoron, but there are indeed numerous chilled concoctions you can opt for in the summer months. Gazpacho—made from tomatoes and other veggies—is the most common option and is especially popular in places like Portugal and Spain.

Ice cream trucks don’t limit their seasons to summer because they hate driving in the snow—it’s instead because ice cream is most refreshing when the weather is warm. (Of course, we eat ice cream even in the dead of winter—but that’s just us.)

Whether you prefer pasta salad or macaroni salad, both are the best ways to eat pasta & macaroni in the warm months. And yes, there’s a difference. Pasta salad has an oil and vinegar base and contains ingredients like cucumber, tomato, olive, cheese, and sometimes chicken, salami, or other meat. Macaroni salad is usually tossed in a sweetened mayonnaise dressing mixed with carrots, celery, onions, peppers, or pickles.

Most pies are best served cold, which makes them a better summer dessert option than cakes, cookies, and other baked goods. We’re talking everything from apple, cherry, and strawberry-rhubarb pies to custard, key lime, and any kind of cream pie.

Whether you prefer a red, white, and blue Firecracker Popsicle, a no-sugar-added real-fruit pop, or something shaped like SpongeBob SquarePants with gumball eyes, it’s sure to cool you down when the temperatures are up. And with some molds and sticks, you can even make your own frozen treats at home!

Forget fries and tots (just temporarily, of course)—it’s too hot for fried potatoes! Instead, serve your spuds as potato salad so you can have a cool side dish to balance out warm foods on an even warmer day.

Snow cones and Italian ice are nice, but it’s the Hawaiians who really nailed shaved ice, which is actually known as “shave ice” or “ice shave” in the Aloha State. The idea is generally the same, though: You shave a big block of ice and flavor it with sweetened syrups and fruits like pineapple, guava, mango, and kiwi.

Shrimp cocktail is cold and refreshing, but that doesn’t mean the seafood is raw. The shrimp is cooked first, then chilled for at least an hour (or overnight!) before serving—with cocktail sauce, of course.

Most salads are already warm weather-friendly unless they contain many hot ingredients. Still, a category of summer salads indeed exists, and it includes additional refreshing ingredients like water-packed leafy greens, tomatoes, berries, avocado, crumbled cheeses, and vinaigrette dressings. 

Sushi comes cold or at room temp, which makes it a good option for when you’re sweating and can’t stand the idea of a sizzling supper. Just be sure not to let your sushi get too warm if it contains tuna, salmon, eel, yellowtail, shrimp, or other raw seafood.

Here’s another cold soup, in case tomato isn’t your thing: Vichyssoise, which is made of pureed potatoes, onions, leeks, chicken stock, and cream. It’s referred to as a French soup, although chef Louis Diat actually invented it while working at the Ritz-Carlton in Manhattan.

Fruit or cereal are chill ways to start out a hot day, but sometimes you need a little more protein—and eggs and cooked meats are unfathomable. Instead, we reach for a big bowl of yogurt, which is packed with protein (especially Greek yogurt), served cold, and is even better when fresh fruit is added.