Chilean summer recipes: what to cook when it is hot, with 22 cool recipes
When it is hot, nobody wants a pot on the stove for two hours or the oven on at midday. This guide gathers twenty-two recipes from the site made for summer: drinks mixed in a pitcher and served over ice, salads that reach the table cold, afternoon aperitifs, mains cooked on a griddle or with 15 minutes of oven, and desserts that come out of the fridge. Each with its real time, how much it yields and what can be ready the day before.
Summer recipes, in short: on hot days, go for what is served cold and what cooks quickly without the oven. To drink, mote con huesillo (4 servings, best made the day before) and three 2-litre aguas frescas: hibiscus, horchata and lime with chia. To eat, Chilean salad and papas mayo for the barbecue, lentil salad and quinoa to take to work, shrimp ceviche that marinates for 20 minutes and cheese empanadas for snacking. Mains go on the griddle or into the oven for 15 minutes: chicken breasts in 20 minutes, salmon in 25 and a stir-fry that makes 4 lunches. For dessert, no-cook yogurt pots, lemon tart and leche asada, all three served cold.
To drink cold
Summer starts with a pitcher in the fridge. Four of these drinks make 2 litres or 8 glasses with under half an hour of work; the rest is chilling. Mote con huesillo is both a drink and the cold dessert of hot afternoons.
See the aguas frescas with their ratios →
Mote con huesillo
Chile's drink of dried peaches in cinnamon syrup over wheat berries, served very cold: 4 servings in 1 hour of work plus at least 2 hours in the fridge. Made the day before it is better, and the syrup with the peaches keeps up to 5 days chilled.
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Horchata
Creamy rice drink with cinnamon, soaked, blended and strained: 8 glasses (2 litres) with 20 minutes of work and a 4-hour soak. It keeps 2 to 3 days in the fridge, so make it the day before for the next day.
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Agua de jamaica
Cold hibiscus infusion with 1 cup of flowers per 2 litres: 8 glasses with 15 minutes of work and the rest chilling. It is the pitcher that lasts longest, 4 to 5 days well covered in the fridge.
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Lemon chia fresca
Lemonade with chia seeds hydrated for 15 minutes: juice of 6 limes and water up to 2 litres, 8 glasses ready in 25 minutes with no cooking. Drink it within 24 to 48 hours, before the chia thickens too much.
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Chicha de uva
Ripe grape must that ferments on its own for 2 to 3 days until it fizzes: about 2 litres from 4 kg of grapes and 40 minutes of work, at 2 to 4 degrees of alcohol. The freshly strained, unfermented must is the alcohol-free version for kids.
View recipeSalads and cold dishes
What is eaten cold or warm and assembled without turning on the oven. Two are the sides of the Chilean barbecue, two are portioned to take to work during the week, one is the fresh salad of the festive table, and the dressing works for all of them.
Chilean salad
Peeled tomato wedges, thin-sliced onion soaked for 10 minutes and cilantro: 4 servings in 20 minutes with no cooking. Onion and tomatoes can be ready up to 24 hours ahead, and it is dressed right before serving.
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Lentil and tuna salad
Lentils, tuna and crunchy vegetables with a lemon dressing: 4 servings in 25 minutes, portioned into containers for the week. It keeps 3 days in the fridge and tastes better the next day.
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Apple, beetroot and walnut salad
Leaves with cooked beetroot, green apple, orange, walnuts and goat cheese: 8 servings in 1 hour 10 minutes. The beetroot is cooked the day before and the salad is dressed at the table.
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Warm quinoa bowl
Quinoa cooked for 12 minutes with pan-roasted pepper, courgette and onion, avocado and a lemon dressing: 2 servings in 20 minutes. Eat it warm or cold as a salad; it keeps 3 days, with the avocado added at the last minute.
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Papas mayo
Potatoes boiled in their skins, cubed and folded warm into homemade lemon mayonnaise with spring onion and parsley: 4 servings in 45 minutes. With homemade mayonnaise they keep 2 days chilled, and never more than 2 hours out of the fridge at a sunny barbecue.
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Salad dressing
The 3-to-1 vinaigrette of oil to acid, ready in 5 minutes: 1 cup for about 8 servings that keeps 7 days in a sealed jar, with 5 variations for every salad of the summer.
View recipeAperitifs and cocktails for the afternoon
For the long summer afternoon: three drinks mixed in 10 minutes or less, a ceviche that marinates by itself in the fridge, and the fried empanadas that go with any snack table. The drinks contain alcohol and are for adults; the terremoto has an alcohol-free version.
Pisco sour
The Chilean 3:1:1 ratio (60 ml pisco, 20 ml pica lime juice and 20 ml syrup) shaken with ice: 4 glasses in 10 minutes. For a crowd, the base waits in a pitcher in the fridge for up to 4 hours and is shaken with ice when serving.
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Terremoto
Ice-cold pipeño wine topped with a scoop of pineapple ice cream: 200 ml of wine and 60 g of ice cream per glass, 4 glasses in 10 minutes. It is built glass by glass at the moment, and with white grape juice it becomes the alcohol-free version for kids.
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Aperol Spritz
The 3-2-1 rule over ice: 90 ml prosecco, 60 ml Aperol and 30 ml soda in a balloon glass, ready in 5 minutes with no shaker and about 8 degrees of alcohol, less than a glass of wine.
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Shrimp ceviche
Shrimp blanched for 1 to 2 minutes and marinated 20 minutes in lime juice with red onion, tomato and cilantro: 4 cold servings in 45 minutes. Eat it the same day, with a maximum of 24 hours in the fridge.
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Fried cheese empanadas
Thin hot-water pastry with lard, mantecoso or gouda cheese and 3 minutes of frying per side at 180 °C: 12 empanadas in 1 hour. They freeze raw for up to 3 months and fry straight from the freezer, 2 per adult as a snack.
View recipeLight mains with little oven time
A main course for the heat goes on the griddle or into the oven for a quarter of an hour, and is served cold the next day. All three make 4 servings and keep in the fridge for the week's lunches.
Pan-seared chicken breasts
Breasts evened to 1.5 cm, seared 4 to 5 minutes per side and rested 5 minutes: 4 servings in 20 minutes. They keep 4 days in the fridge and are eaten cold in salads and sandwiches.
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Baked salmon with lemon
Fillets with butter, garlic and lemon, 12 to 15 minutes at 200 °C: 4 servings in 25 minutes and the oven off right away. It keeps 3 days chilled and goes with a fresh salad or the quinoa in this guide.
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Chicken and vegetable stir-fry
2 kg of chicken breast browned in batches over high heat with red and green peppers and a soy, sesame and oyster sauce: 4 lunches in 45 minutes, no oven. It is portioned into containers and keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
View recipeCold desserts
Desserts that wait in the fridge and are served cold. One never touches the heat; the other two are baked ahead and need hours of chilling, so the oven goes on in the morning or the day before, never at mealtime.
See all the homemade desserts →
Greek yogurt pots
Layers of Greek yogurt, berries and granola in jars, no oven and no cooking, in 15 minutes: 4 servings that keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge with the granola stored separately.
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Lemon tart
Buttery biscuit base and a lemon cream set at 160 °C: 4 servings in 55 minutes of work, plus 1 hour of cooling and at least 2 in the fridge. Bake it in the morning and serve it cold.
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Leche asada
Milk and egg custard baked in a water bath over caramel, with a golden skin: 6 servings in about 70 minutes of work and at least 3 hours in the fridge. Best made the day before.
View recipeHow much each recipe makes and how long it keeps cold
Yields, times and storage are those of each recipe. A pitcher, a salad, a main and a cold dessert make a hot-day lunch for four.
| Recipe | Yields | Time | In the fridge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mote con huesillo | 4 servings | 1 h + 2 h chilling | Syrup with peaches, 5 days |
| Horchata | 8 glasses (2 l) | 20 min + 4 h soak | 2 to 3 days |
| Agua de jamaica | 8 glasses (2 l) | 15 min + chilling | 4 to 5 days |
| Lemon chia fresca | 8 glasses (2 l) | 25 min | 24 to 48 hours |
| Chicha de uva | 8 glasses (2 l) | 40 min + 2-3 days fermenting | 5 to 7 days |
| Chilean salad | 4 servings | 20 min | Undressed, 24 hours |
| Lentil and tuna salad | 4 servings | 25 min | 3 days |
| Apple and beetroot salad | 8 servings | 1 h 10 min | Cooked beetroot, the day before |
| Warm quinoa bowl | 2 servings | 20 min | 3 days, without the avocado |
| Papas mayo | 4 servings | 45 min | 2 days with homemade mayo |
| Salad dressing | 1 cup (8 servings) | 5 min | 7 days |
| Pisco sour | 4 glasses | 10 min | Base in a pitcher, up to 4 hours |
| Terremoto | 4 glasses | 10 min | Built to order |
| Aperol Spritz | 1 glass | 5 min | Built to order |
| Shrimp ceviche | 4 servings | 45 min | 24 hours at most |
| Fried cheese empanadas | 12 empanadas | 1 h | Raw, frozen 3 months |
| Pan-seared chicken breasts | 4 servings | 20 min | 4 days |
| Baked salmon | 4 servings | 25 min | 3 days |
| Chicken stir-fry | 4 servings | 45 min | 3 to 4 days |
| Greek yogurt pots | 4 servings | 15 min | 3 to 4 days |
| Lemon tart | 4 servings | 55 min + 3 h chilling | Served cold |
| Leche asada | 6 servings | 70 min + 3 h chilling | Made the day before |
Papas mayo and ceviche never sit in the sun: at a barbecue they go to the table in rounds and back to the fridge.
Work plan: what to make ahead and when
Summer cooking happens early or the day before, while the day is still cool; at mealtime there is only serving left. Each recipe says how long it keeps and how to store it.
- Up to three months ahead: Freeze the cheese empanadas raw (3 months; they fry straight from the freezer). Cooked pan-seared chicken breasts and baked salmon freeze for up to 2 months, so there is protein ready for salads.
- Three days ahead: Set the chicha de uva to ferment: it needs 2 to 3 days at room temperature and is then slowed down in the fridge, where it keeps 5 to 7 days.
- The day before: Mote con huesillo and leche asada, which improve with a night in the fridge. Agua de jamaica (4 to 5 days) and the salad dressing (7 days). Lentil and tuna salad, which tastes better the next day, and the chicken stir-fry portioned into containers. Cook and cube the beetroot for the apple salad.
- In the morning: Soak the rice for the horchata for 4 hours and blend. Bake the lemon tart (55 minutes, plus 1 hour of cooling and 2 in the fridge). Papas mayo, which cool before serving, and the yogurt pots in jars.
- One hour before: Shrimp ceviche: blanch for 2 minutes and marinate 20 in the fridge. Peel the tomatoes and soak the onion for the Chilean salad. Lemon chia fresca (25 minutes). Put the pisco sour base in a pitcher in the fridge and get the pipeño for the terremoto very cold.
- When serving: Dress the salads, slice the avocado for the quinoa and top the yogurt pots with granola. Shake every 4 glasses of pisco sour with ice, build the terremoto glass by glass with the ice cream and the Aperol Spritz glass by glass over ice. Pan-seared chicken (20 minutes) or salmon (25) if the main is eaten hot.
Summer food: frequently asked questions
What should I cook in summer when it is hot?
What is served cold and what is made quickly without the oven. A full hot-day lunch comes together with a pitcher of agua de jamaica (8 glasses, 15 minutes of work), a Chilean salad (20 minutes, no cooking), pan-seared chicken breasts (4 servings in 20 minutes) or a shrimp ceviche that marinates 20 minutes in the fridge, and Greek yogurt pots assembled in 15 minutes for dessert. The 22 recipes in this guide are sorted by what to drink, what to eat cold, the aperitif, the main and the dessert.
Which dishes are made without an oven?
Most of this guide. With no cooking at all: Chilean salad, lemon chia fresca, Greek yogurt pots, salad dressing and the three drinks. With just a pot or a pan: mote con huesillo, horchata and agua de jamaica, papas mayo, the warm quinoa bowl, pan-seared chicken, the chicken stir-fry and the fried cheese empanadas. The oven only goes on for the salmon (15 minutes), the lemon tart and the leche asada, and those last two are baked the day before.
What can be ready the day before?
Whatever improves with a night in the fridge: mote con huesillo (the syrup with the peaches keeps up to 5 days), leche asada (it needs at least 3 hours of chilling) and the lentil and tuna salad, which tastes better the next day. Also agua de jamaica (4 to 5 days), the dressing (7 days), the chicken stir-fry (3 to 4 days) and the cooked beetroot for the apple and beetroot salad. What cannot be made ahead: the ceviche (24 hours at most), the dressed Chilean salad and the drinks, which are built to order.
How long do aguas frescas keep in the fridge?
Each one differently, and it is in its recipe: agua de jamaica keeps 4 to 5 days well covered; horchata, 2 to 3 days, because it has rice and milk and ferments sooner; lemon chia fresca, 24 to 48 hours, before the chia thickens too much; and chicha de uva, 5 to 7 days with the cap loose, a little stronger every day. All four make 2 litres, about 8 glasses. The ratios for all of them are in the aguas frescas guide.
What do I bring to a barbecue or an outdoor lunch?
The two classic sides of the Chilean barbecue: Chilean salad, with the tomatoes peeled and the onion soaked up to 24 hours ahead and dressed on site, and papas mayo, which with homemade mayonnaise must not spend more than 2 hours out of the fridge in the sun. To snack on, fried cheese empanadas (2 per adult) and a terremoto built glass by glass. To finish, very cold mote con huesillo. The asado menu works out the meat and sides per person.
Which desserts are served cold?
Three in this guide, with different chilling times. The Greek yogurt pots never touch the heat and are ready in 15 minutes. The lemon tart is baked in 55 minutes of work and needs 1 hour of cooling and at least 2 in the fridge. Leche asada asks for 3 hours of chilling at least and is better made the day before. Mote con huesillo, which in Chile is both a drink and a dessert, closes the list. More options in easy desserts.
More of the summer table
For the hottest night of the year, the New Year's Eve dinner lays out a cold, make-ahead menu with a toast at midnight; if there is a grill, the asado menu works out the meat and the sides per person; and the exact ratios for every drink are in aguas frescas.