Scorching temperatures are blazing across the United States this summer with no end in sight. You’ve still got to make dinner, though. If you don’t want to empty your bank account ordering takeout all the time and are not a fan of cold meals, here’s what you can do to still use your stove and oven to cook without melting.
Read more: Best Foods for Staying Hydrated During a Heat Wave
During the summer, using your oven is the biggest contributor to an overheated home. Don’t worry; these expert cooking tips can help you keep your home cool and save money while enjoying a hot meal. There are also other appliances you can use to cook food that won’t necessarily overwhelm the temperature in your kitchen, let alone your home.
Read on for the best ways to keep your kitchen chill during a summer of heat waves.
1. Prepare food instead of cooking
Ceviche requires no cooking. It just might be the perfect summer food.
Don’t want to heat up your kitchen? Don’t cook. But that doesn’t mean you can’t eat. Focus on no-cook, fresh foods, such as summer salads, ceviche, smoothies and cold noodles. Even slicing up fresh fruit or vegetables like cucumbers and melons can be a refreshing and healthy summer treat. And no-cook foods help beat the heat in two ways: By not heating up your kitchen — or your body — as you consume them.
And when you do cook, limit your time in the kitchen with a helpful meal kit (these are the best meal kits for 2023). While you’ll likely still have to cook the food, you’ll do far less prep, and spending less time in a sweltering kitchen is definitely a good thing. Most services offer lighter, no-cook meals during the summer, too.
Essential gear for food prep
2. Use your exhaust fan
An exhaust fan above the stovetop is never more useful than during hot summer days.
If you’re going to use your oven, make sure the exhaust fan is on full tilt whenever you do. Most people associate exhaust systems with limiting smoke, but these above-oven fans suck up a ton of heat, too.
3. Cook outside with a grill or pizza oven
Home pizza ovens are on a tear and present an excellent alternative to hot indoor cooking.
Take the heat out of the kitchen by cooking outdoors this summer. BBQ grilled chicken or steaks are classics for the grill but don’t forget you can grill summer favorites like corn on the cob or watermelon, too. You might be hot while you’re outside using a grill or smoker to heat foods, but your kitchen can stay cool.
Essential gear for grilling and outdoor cooking, all tested and reviewed.
4. Use an air fryer or Instant Pot
Slow cookers give off far less heat than an oven.
Minimizing use of the oven and stove can help you avoid heating up your kitchen. Small appliances can cook your food just as well while emitting less heat than large appliances. Try using an air fryer instead of your wall oven, or a panini press instead of the stovetop. You’d be surprised how versatile small appliances can be. Your slow cooker and Instant Pot aren’t just for winter soups and stews, either. Think of summer recipes you can achieve on your countertop, like Instant Pot pork carnitas. And don’t turn your nose up at your microwave, which can zap rice, quinoa, vegetables and more while generating practically no heat.
Kitchen appliances that keep your wall oven off
5. Meal prepping is your friend during the summer
Some Instant Pots double as air fryers.
If you’re going to heat up your kitchen, make it worth it. If you do end up using your oven or stovetop, make larger quantities than normal. That way, you can use precooked leftovers, which means you have food ready to go without heating up your kitchen again.
But with the right kitchen appliances you can batch cook and keep the oven off. For example, make a whole bunch of pulled chicken in your Instant Pot (which gives off very little heat). Then you can use the leftovers to make tacos, chicken salad nachos, and other meals that don’t require firing up your oven.
Best gear for batch cooking
6. Cook during cooler hours
If you’re going to cook, try to do it when it’s cooler out.
Cooking in your kitchen when it’s already hot outside (and maybe already hot in your home) means you’ll only add to the heat. Plan ahead and strategize your cooking times for when it’s not as hot. The best time to cook to avoid the heat is in the morning or later in the evening. That might appear easier said than done, but you could bake bread in the morning, or cook proteins and pasta dishes while you’re making breakfast or an early lunch so they’ll be ready to go for dinner.
More cool kitchen tips
7. Add fans to the mix
We’re big fans of air circulation during the summer.
Airflow can help cool down your kitchen. If you’re using your stove, turn on the range hood vent. It’s there to remove not just grease, fumes and odors but smoke, heat and steam that could get trapped and heat up your kitchen while you’re cooking. Plus, you can keep a fan on in the kitchen to move air around and cool it down. You can also position your fan to move hot air out, or bring cold air in with a cool, wet towel.
We’re a fan of these
8. Limit lighting
Let there be (less) light.
Sunlight and even artificial interior light can generate heat, and when you’re in the heat of summer, every degree counts. Dim the lights, shut any curtains, close your blinds and limit how many lights you turn on. You don’t need to work in the dark but be wary of turning on lots of overhead lights.
Smart lights for a kitchen glow-up
9. Stay hydrated
Water, water everywhere.
This strategy won’t lower the actual temperature in your kitchen but it will make the heat far more bearable. Hydration is the no. 1 rule for any summer activity, and cooking outdoors or in a warm kitchen is no exception. Drink lots of water — it’s recommended to drink between 11 and 15 cups per day — and sip even more than you think you should when the mercury rises.
Want to punch it up a bit? Try water infusions for more flavor and refreshment. Planning to sweat? Add sea salt and lemon to boost electrolytes and flavor.
