Nothing saps a home of precious AC like a kitchen going full throttle.
Though fully retiring your range or oven for the summer may be a bit extreme, there are ways to modify your habits without resorting to a diet of ice cream and salad.
When the weather heats up, in addition to making sure you have a full propane tank for your gas grill or coals for your Weber, take stock of the small appliances that may be lurking in your pantry, and then put them to use. These multitaskers are not only convenient but also emit little to no heat while doing the essential work of preparing your next meal.
Do it all in an electric pressure cooker or a slow cooker
Workhorses like these may conjure images of cozy winter meals, but they can just as easily churn out summer-appropriate feasts. Think baked beans, clam chowder, seasonal fruit jam, braised meat for tacos or pulled pork sandwiches, and even cornbread. And these appliances give off minimal heat while cooking.
Though some of their features overlap, the electric pressure cooker is the more expedient and versatile of the two. Our pick, the Instant Pot Duo 6-Quart, can cook chicken breasts from frozen to fork-tender in about 40 minutes. It also functions as a slow cooker, a rice cooker, and a yogurt maker, eliminating the need to turn on the range or oven for a surprising variety of recipes. Some devotees pride themselves on being able to make all of their meals in the Instant Pot.
It may take a slow cooker longer to prepare dinner—think hours versus minutes—but it does so in a self-contained vessel that peacefully percolates on your counter while you do other stuff. It simply requires a bit of planning. Our top pick, the Hamilton Beach Set & Forget 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker, simmers at a slow, steady pace and can even switch automatically to the keep warm setting when your food is ready. You can throw ingredients in before you head to the beach in the morning, and you’ll have a pot of fall-off-the-bone ribs waiting when you arrive home famished at the end of the day. If you prefer, you can run the slow cooker overnight instead, when temperatures are cooler.
The rice cooker is your friend
The convenience of having perfect rice at the push of a button feels like a miracle any time of the year. In the summer, it’s an act of mercy. We recommend the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy NS-ZCC10 for beautifully cooking many varieties of rice. Not only does a rice cooker spare you from having your stove on for way too long (we’re looking at you, brown rice), but it can actually handle more than just rice. You can make oatmeal for breakfast, timed for when you wake up, as well as churn out full meals. Or you can use a rice cooker for its original purpose and try your hand at summer-friendly dishes like poke, kimbap, and sushi, which require little to no cooking beyond the rice itself.
Coddle proteins in a sous vide machine
It may sound involved, but sous vide pretty much amounts to cooking food in a water bath. In French, it translates to “under vacuum,” which makes sense: The tool, also known as an immersion circulator, heats water to a precise temperature in which you gently cook a variety of vacuum- or Ziploc-sealed foods. The relatively low cooking temperatures make this method an ideal candidate for summer, and it is especially effective with proteins: Sous vide preparation produces tender steaks, silky chicken breast, and custardy eggs.
Slow and steady is the key here. Using a sous vide machine entails a good deal of hands-off cooking time. According to some recipes, it can take 45 minutes to soft boil an egg, at least an hour to cook a chicken breast, and up to four hours for a steak, so plan accordingly. But will the results be sublime? Yes.
One thing sous vide cookery doesn’t offer is caramelization. If you’re seeking that steakhouse char, we recommend finishing your meat with a searing torch.
Cook in the microwave
A microwave—or, as Nigella Lawson says, “the meecrowahvay”—can do the heavy lifting without turning your kitchen into an inferno. Yet chances are good you’ve used it for little more than reheating leftovers and popping popcorn. Microwaves can cook entire meals that go far beyond frozen dinners, and in some cases, the meal may actually be better for you. According to food scientist Harold McGee, food can retain its nutrients better when it’s cooked in a microwave than when it’s boiled, steamed, or baked. How about a delicate dinner of steamed fish with scallions and ginger and a side of tender cooked vegetables? There are other clever hacks you can use a microwave for—such as frying herbs or garlic—that spare you standing over a sputtering skillet. It’s also well suited to scrambling eggs and cooking ears of corn. And, of course, there’s always mug cake.
Blenders and food processors make cool summer meals
Though blenders and food processors don’t cook food, per se, they’re still invaluable tools when it comes to preparing heat-free meals in the summer. Think gazpacho or chilled cucumber soup, as well as spreads and dips for crudité, like hummus, a cooling tofu dressing, or tonnato sauce. Most of those can be made successfully in either machine, so the one you choose can depend on the recipe’s recommendation, your own preferences, or simply what you have at home. The blender also comes in handy for making smoothies and icy drinks, which, on the hottest of summer days, may be all you want.
Trade in gas or electric for induction
If you must do some stovetop cooking but can’t bear the idea of standing over a flaming-hot burner, a portable induction cooktop may be the right option. Electric and gas stoves heat the stovetop itself, but an induction cooktop uses electromagnetic currents to generate heat directly in the pan. Your cooking vessel will still get quite hot, so don’t let your guard down completely. But this technology creates a significantly cooler cooking surface, which translates to a kitchen temp that’s more comfortable.
Get out the waffle maker
Waffles are a treat any time of year. Part of the beauty of pulling out the waffle maker in the summer is its ability to churn out, in minutes, hot and fluffy vessels for ice cream or your favorite summer fruit (and maple syrup, of course). And the Cuisinart WMR-CA Round Classic, one of our budget picks, cranks these babies out in about 50 seconds. But they’re not limited to sweet foods. Savory waffles are absolutely an appropriate summer dinner, and a waffle maker can double as a sandwich press and turn out some banging grilled cheese, too.
This article was edited by Anna Shults Held and Marilyn Ong.
Meet your guide
Gabriella Gershenson is an editor on Wirecutter’s kitchen team. Since the early aughts, she has been covering food for publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Time Out New York, and Saveur, and she is a James Beard Award nominee. She considers herself an honorary Canadian but will not take sides in the Montreal–versus–New York bagel debate.
Mentioned above
- We’ve tested eight grills since 2017. The Weber Spirit II E-310 is our top pick for its durability, ease of use, and great value.The Best Gas Grills
- The Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill 22″ has been our pick since 2017. It’s solidly constructed and easy to control, offering great value.The Best Charcoal Grill
- We’ve tested dozens of multi-cookers since 2016, and the Instant Pot Rio 6-quart is our favorite. It’s sleek, simple to use, and performs basic functions well.The Best Electric Pressure Cooker Is an Instant Pot
- Over five years, we've spent 109 hours researching and testing 14 slow cookers to find the best one for most people. Here's what we recommend.The Best Slow Cooker
- After cooking more than 275 pounds of white and brown rice, we've found the rice cooker that works best for the widest variety of grains.The Best Rice Cooker
- We’ve been testing sous vide gear for over 10 years. Here’s what you need to get started.The Best Sous Vide Machine and Gear
Further reading
Should I Get a Pressure Cooker, a Slow Cooker, or a Rice Cooker?
by Christine Cyr Clisset
The answer depends on what you cook and when you want it ready. We’ve tested dozens over the past few years. Here’s how to choose the right one(s) for you.
The Best Blender
by Lesley Stockton
After testing more than 25 blenders since 2012, we haven’t found a better one than the powerful, durable Vitamix 5200.
Wirecutter’s 100 Most Popular Kitchen Picks of 2023
by Wirecutter Staff
These kitchen and dining items were the most-purchased Wirecutter kitchen picks in 2023.
70(ish) Splurge-Worthy Wirecutter Picks to Upgrade Your Kitchen
by Wirecutter Staff
Ready to furnish your dream kitchen? Here are the picks to make it happen, from big-ticket items like espresso machines to upgraded essentials like oven mitts.