Liberation can be won from standing over a hot stove, creating your own sauces, having anxiety about burning food, overcooking or undercooking meat, or feeling pressure to make everything from scratch because you want to eat more real foods. You don't have to wave the metaphoric anti-cooking white flag either and order takeout or buy another ready-made meal from the grocery store because you don't want to deal with the post-work hassle of deciding what to cook for dinner. Whether it's too hot to turn on heat-creating kitchen appliances, you don't know how or don't want to cook, or you're bone-tired and frazzled after meeting daytime obligations and can't face an hour or more of food preparation, this no cook meal plan can be your saving grace. It's five dinners that require little more effort than chopping produce; putting a store-bought rotisserie chicken to good use; and letting real-food, pre-made dressings, mayos, and sauces do the hard work of adding palate-pleasing flavor and variety to your evening meals. 

No Cook Meal Plan for the Work Week Menu

The following schedule is merely a blueprint; feel free to switch up the days of the week you eat each meal. Make substitutions for any ingredients you can't or don't want to eat—for example, if you don't like spicy flavors, omit the jalapeño in the Spicy Chicken Salad recipe and sub our regular Mayo with Avocado Oil, Garlic Aioli, or Pesto Mayo instead of our kicky Chipotle Lime Mayo. Here's our suggested schedule for the no cook meal plan:

• Monday: Vegetarian Big Ass Green Salad
• Tuesday: Cold Sesame Noodle Bowl with Chicken
• Wednesday: Spicy Chicken Salad Avocado Boats
• Thursday: Ceviche 
• Friday: Paleo BBQ Chicken Wraps

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How to Prepare the No Cook Meal Plan 

The first step to preparing your no cook meal plan for weeknight dinners: Go shopping. Organization is key when it comes to meal planning, but don't worry—we've done all of the thinking and planning for you. Simply download the no cook meal plan shopping list, purchase the items on the list, and you'll be on your way to new and exciting no-cook dinners for the work week. Note: This no cook meal plan serves one with the exception of the ceviche, which makes two servings. If you'd like to make more than one serving of any of the recipes, take a look at the no cook dinner recipes below and adjust the amount of the ingredients you need to make the number of servings you want.

Once you've purchased what you need for the no cook meal plan, you could do simple meal preparation, including:

1. Wash and dry all produce and herbs
2. Store herbs in the refrigerator either in small cups with water in the bottom (just enough for about an half inch of the stems to be submerged in water) or wrapped in a lightly damp paper towel stored in resealable bags or glass containers
3. Cut vegetables in the shapes/sizes needed for each recipe and store them in either resealable bags or airtight containers in the refrigerator. Note: Don't pre-cut the avocados; store them on the counter or if you couldn't find ripe avocados, store them in a closed brown paper bag to ripen more quickly
4. Remove all of the meat (and skin, if desired) from the bones of the rotisserie chicken and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Save the chicken carcass in a freezer-safe bag or container in case you'd like to make chicken bone broth another day

You don't have to do any meal prep if you don't want to, but just keep in mind that 30 minutes of meal prep on a weekend day or night can make preparing the no-cook dinners during the work week even easier and faster.

No Cook Meal Plan Dinner Recipes

All of the dinner recipes listed below for the no cook meal plan serve one person (except for the ceviche; the recipe serves two), don't involve cooking unless you decide to cook your own chicken instead of purchasing a rotisserie chicken, and can be made in 30 minutes or less. If you need to make more than one serving of the no-cook dinner recipes, make sure to plan ahead and buy the appropriate amount of ingredients. 

Vegetarian Big Ass Green Salad

Ingredients

• 3 ounces mixed baby lettuce*
• 1/3 cucumber, sliced into rounds or diced
• 6 asparagus spears, shaved or cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 1 serving (about 33) lupini beans** 
• 2 tablespoons Primal Kitchen Green Goddess Dressing

*Half of a 6-ounce bag of lettuce, or about 2 cups. If you'd like to add more lettuce to your salad, feel free to do so. The nutrition info for the recipe may change slightly but not enough to worry about!

**We used Brami Italian Snacking Lupini Beans

Instructions

• Place baby lettuce in a large bowl. 
• Cut 1/3 off of a cucumber (wrap the rest of the cucumber up and store in the refrigerator). Cut the cucumber into slices or dice into bite-sized pieces.
• Wash and dry the asparagus. Use a vegetable peeler or mandolin (be very careful with the sharp blade) to thinly shave the asparagus. You can also chop the asparagus into 1/4-inch pieces.
• Cut the avocado in half. Wrap up the part of the avocado with the pit and place in the refrigerator. Use a spoon to loosen the skin of the avocado from the flesh and place the flesh of the avocado on a cutting board. Dice the avocado.
• Open the bag of lupini beans, and take out about 33 beans.
• Arrange the cucumber, asparagus, avocado, and lupini beans on top of the lettuce. Drizzle the salad with the Green Goddess Dressing, and enjoy. 

Nutrition info (per serving):

Calories: 363

Carbs: 24 grams

Fat: 25 grams

Protein: 14 grams

All nutrition info in this article calculated using Cronometer.

Cold Sesame Noodle Bowl with Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 package (8 ounces) shirataki noodles
• 3 ounces rotisserie chicken meat
• 1 ounce shredded carrots
• 1/3 cucumber, sliced or diced
• 1 tablespoon tahini 
• 2 tablespoons Primal Kitchen Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette 
• 1 tablespoon cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Instructions

• Open the bag of shirataki noodles and pour into a colander with very small holes positioned over the sink. Drain the noodles. Rinse the noodles with hot tap water and drain. Repeat the process 5 times.
• Place two clean kitchen towels on a clean counter. Dump the shirataki noodles onto the kitchen towels. Use a third clean kitchen towel to blot the noodles until they are dry.
• Place the noodles into a large bowl. Add chicken and vegetables to the bowl. 
• Pour tahini and Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette into another small bowl or mason jar and either whisk with a fork, or screw the lid on the jar tightly and shake the jar to mix the sauce. Pour the sauce into the bowl with the noodles.
• Use tongs to toss the sauce with the noodles and the rest of the ingredients. Place the sesame noodles, veggies, and chicken onto a plate. Top with cilantro leaves and sesame seeds.  

Nutrition info (per serving):

Calories: 360

Carbs: 17 grams

Fat: 23 grams

Protein: 29 grams

Spicy Chicken Salad Avocado Boats

Ingredients

• 6 ounces rotisserie chicken
• 6 cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 jalapeño, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 tablespoons Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo
• 1 avocado

Instructions

• Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add the sliced cherry tomatoes, diced jalapeño, grated garlic, salt, pepper, and mayo in the bowl. Stir until well combined.
• Slice an avocado in half. Remove the pit. Pile an equal amount of the chicken salad into the hole of each avocado half. 

Nutrition info (per serving):

Calories: 887

Carbs: 18 grams

Fat: 70 grams

Protein: 52 grams 

Ceviche

This recipe makes 2 servings. Save half for lunch tomorrow!

Ingredients

• 1/4 onion, sliced thinly
• 1 pound sea bass or red snapper (skin and bones removed)
• 2 garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 jalapeño, finely minced
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered 
• 1/3 cucumber, diced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 tablespoon Primal Kitchen Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Extra Virgin Avocado Oil
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 2 ounces (2 servings) cassava chips

Instructions

• Place the sliced onions in a bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Allow the onions to sit for 15 minutes while you get the other parts of the ceviche ready.
• Dice the fish into bite-sized cubes. Add to a large bowl. Place grated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cilantro, jalapeño, tomatoes, and cucumber into the bowl. Pour in fresh lime juice and oil. Stir well to combine.
• Place the bowl with the ceviche into the refrigerator to marinate for 20 minutes. 
• After 15 minutes have passed, remove the sliced onions from the small bowl. Add the sliced onions to the bowl of ceviche in the refrigerator, and stir. Place ceviche bowl back in the refrigerator for another 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, remove the ceviche from the refrigerator. Remove the avocado half from the skin and dice it. Add the diced avocado to the ceviche, and stir gently (so you don't mash the avocado). Serve the ceviche with the cassava chips.

Nutrition info (per serving):

Calories: 580

Carbs: 34 grams

Fat: 25 grams

Protein: 56 grams

Paleo BBQ Chicken Wraps

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coleslaw mix
• 2 tablespoons Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 ounces rotisserie chicken
• 2 tablespoons Primal Kitchen Mango Jalapeño BBQ Sauce
• 1 coconut wrap

Instructions

• Place coleslaw in a bowl. Add Chipotle Lime Mayo, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
• Place chicken in a different bowl. Add BBQ sauce, and stir to combine.
• Place a coconut wrap on a cutting board. Spoon the coleslaw in the center of the wrap, spreading it out in a line in the middle of the wrap. Spoon the chicken on top of the coleslaw, and spread out in a line on top of the coleslaw.
• Fold the bottom and top ends of the coconut wrap over the top of the coleslaw and chicken. Pick up the right end of the coconut wrap and tuck it over the top of the coleslaw and chicken mixture and roll it over, creating a burrito shape, until it meets the end of the left side. Cut the wrap in half, and enjoy.

Nutrition info (per serving):

Calories: 447

Carbs: 20 grams

Fat: 29 grams

Protein: 26 grams   

You might also like these other dinner recipes:

• Primal Kitchen Dinner Recipes
• 30 Minute Dinner Recipes and Ideas
• Whole30 Lunch and Dinner Recipes
• Easy Italian-Style Family Dinner Recipes  
• Easy Chicken Dinner Recipe for Kids and Parents
• Primal Kitchen Dinner and a Movie