If the thought of heating up your oven to make meat and other high-protein foods puts you into a sweat – or it just sounds like too much work, here are solutions for protein-rich meals that don’t involve cooking (or much of it).

Protein is an essential part of our meals. While the Institute of Medicine recommends 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, for most people it’s a good idea to aim for 15 to 20 grams of protein per meal, plus protein from snacks. This helps with satiety, and maintaining bone and muscle. Eating plenty of protein at each meal has been shown to help some people lose weight. Also important, protein-packed foods like meat, poultry, seafood, beans, lentils, eggs, nuts, seeds and soy foods contain nutrients not found in many other foods like vitamins E, B12 and B6, along with iron, zinc and magnesium.

Here are our favorite no-cook meals to help you meet your protein needs deliciously. Plus, most have fiber-rich, anti-inflammatory vegetables. Each of these dishes have more than 15 grams of protein per serving.

Extreme Chips and Salsa: This is like a big plate of your favorite Mexican appetizer, except it’s a whole meal. Start with frozen corn (thawed by running beneath hot tap water) and add any jarred salsa, drained and rinsed canned black beans, and fresh (or dried) oregano or cilantro. Spoon this amped-up salsa over a serving of tortilla chips and top with a scoop of Greek yogurt and if you have it, a squeeze of lime.

Pita and “Falafel” with Tomato Relish: This pita sandwich may not include crispy Baked Falafel, but when all the same zesty flavors are generously stuffed inside, it’s still super satisfying. Just mash together canned garbanzo beans, garlic powder, ground cumin, chopped parsley, lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Spread this savory filling inside a whole wheat pita pocket (whole wheat generally has more protein) and add a mixture of chopped tomatoes and cucumbers, cilantro, lemon juice and a schmear of tahini sauce.

Hummus Sub Sandwich: Choose whole grain sourdough bread (for extra digestive benefits) and spread with protein-rich hummus instead of mayo. Top with meat and/or cheese plus fresh sauerkraut or kimchi and vegetables like bell peppers or shredded cabbage.

Cooling Gazpacho: Gazpacho is a cold Spanish tomato soup that’s traditionally made by whizzing together fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, onion, fresh basil, garlic and seasonings. For a refreshingly quick version, start with canned tomato or vegetable juice (like V8) and add any of the traditional version’s fresh vegetables along with canned drained/rinsed garbanzo beans, ground cumin and black pepper. Float a large slab of whole grain seeded bread on top and drizzle with olive oil.

Roast Beef Wrapped Wraps: Use slices of deli beef (or ham or turkey) as a wrap to go around lots of veggies like bagged coleslaw cabbage, shredded carrots, tomatoes, canned beans and microwave-warmed leftover brown rice or other cooked whole grain. Drizzle with a little olive oil and vinegar or chili crisp.

Tuna and Avocado Bowls: If you’ve never loved tuna, perhaps it’s because you’ve only tried the water-packed version of this canned fish. Try oil-packed instead. It’s less “fishy,” smoother-tasting and perfect to mix with creamy chunks of avocado, a little drizzle of vinegar or lemon juice, green onions, dried oregano and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper. Serve over a bowl of chopped cucumbers. Tip: Drain off the tuna oil but reserve it to drizzle over your bowl if desired.

Sweet and Savory Chinese Chicken Salad: This is a quick version of the famous and flavorful salad “invented” at Madam Wu’s in Santa Monica. Top a mix of romaine lettuce and shredded cabbage with drained and flaked canned chicken, fresh or canned mandarin orange sections, fresh cilantro and almonds. Whip together a dressing of the reserved mandarin orange juice and olive oil in a ratio of 2:1 then add a little soy sauce and honey. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds or everything-bagel-seasoning.

Hardboiled Eggs with Zippy Herb Sauce: If you don’t have cooked eggs on-hand, it only takes a few minutes to hard-boil eggs. But once you have the eggs (with six grams of protein each), serve them with one of these 27 savory sauces. Our current favorite egg topper is this bright green spicy cilantro chimichurri. For a no-blender version, just stir together chopped cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt; serve with whole-grain crackers.

Cold Tofu with Toppings: Simple, no-cook tofu preparations are nourishing and budget-friendly. It’s as easy as opening a package of firm or soft tofu and laying a few slices (or the whole block entirely) on your plate. A thick four-ounce slice is about the size of your palm and has about 10 grams of protein. The fun comes in the toppings. Try a Korean take on the dish with Jackie Ji Yoon Park’s recipe.

Zucchini “Fettuccini” with Tomato Sauce: It takes several minutes to peel, slice and salt these zoodles, but you won’t heat up your kitchen with a giant pot of boiling water. Top them with a fresh tomato sauce flavored with olive oil, garlic, basil and oregano. To bump up the protein of this dish, add grated cheese and diced Italian salami or canned cannellini beans.

*This article was written and/or reviewed by an independent registered dietitian nutritionist.

Serena Ball, MS, RD is a registered dietitian nutritionist, culinary instructor, and mom of five children. She blogs at TeaspoonOfSpice.com and is the author of the best-selling The 30-Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook, Easy Everyday Mediterranean Diet Cookbook and the newly-released The Sustainable Mediterranean Diet Cookbook. Follow her @TspCurry on Instagram.

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