48 perfect picnic recipes (2024)

FAQs

What foods are best for a picnic? ›

Pack cheese and crackers, fresh fruit, or any of the recipes below for a fun, flavorful appetizer or side dish. Serve this board as an appetizer, or make it the main event! Filled with white bean dip, tart cherry compound butter, marinated feta, and a rainbow of veggies, it would be a delicious picnic on its own.

So, you may want to push it to mid-afternoon, or at least make sure you find a shady spot. Late afternoon or early evening picnics work well, it is often still warm, but cool enough to enjoy sitting outside, and more ambient for food. Just remember to take a pullover and some citronella candles or bug spray with you.

Choose location and company. Two of the three most important elements of every picnic (the third one being food and drinks) are most definitely the venue and people you're planning to invite. You need to start from choosing a suitable, if not perfect, location and those you'd like to keep you company.

Peel-and-eat shrimp, steamed lobsters and paella are a few of the foods you should avoid toting in your basket. Washed-rind cheeses (if eaten promptly) and already-peeled cocktail shrimp are the stinky-but-safe exceptions to this rule.

Sandwiches, pies, scotch eggs, sausage rolls and chicken drumsticks are considered classic picnic treats for a reason – they're all finger foods that travel well. Layer up a picnic baguette with salami, spinach, basil, pesto and mozzarella for a mouthwatering bite or create a colourful veggie rainbow sandwich.

Choose fruits and vegetables that are in season: Instead of cookies and cake, prepare a fruit salad before your picnic using fruits that are in season. Fruits in season at this time of year include watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwi, peaches, apricots, and plums.

What 12 foods should not be refrigerated? ›

Good choices are fresh firm vegetables (raw or cooked), chopped fruit, whole grains, pasta salad, beans, and trail mix!

A bigger picnic in a park that is more like a party with a lot of people might include a variety of sandwiches, cold fried chicken, potato or pasta salads, fruit tray, veggie tray with dip, probably assorted dips and chips (both potato and tortilla), maybe hummus and pita.