21 Perfect Picnic Recipes (Food and Drink Ideas!)

Planning a picnic? Make it one of a kind with the awesome picnic recipes found below!

Picnics are wonderful, aren’t they? A day out in the sun with friends, family, or a significant other, nature all around, games, and delicious picnic food! Such an awesome way to relieve stress and just relax for the day.

Now, you could simply pack a few sandwiches, chips, and soda and call it a day, but if you want some really good picnic food (that’s easy to make), check out the ideas below!

Meat Recipes

If you love protein you can’t go wrong with any of these picnic meat recipes:

1. Instant Pot Chicken

Although a whole chicken may not seem like the most picnic-friendly recipe in the world, stick with me here. There are a lot of ways you can pack this up for travel. Plus, it’s super easy to make ahead of time, and it’s big enough to feed a family of four.

If you wanted, you could shred up some of the chicken for sandwiches or wraps too.

2. Pulled Pork

This is another recipe you’ll want to prepare ahead of time but it is so good for a picnic. Delicious BBQ pulled pork sandwiches are all you need to feed picnic-goers 🙂

3. Pesto Roast Beef Sandwich

If you’re looking for easy Picnic foods, it doesn’t get any easier than this! You can prepare one of these big pesto roast beef sandwiches in just 15-minutes, and after slicing it into smaller sandwiches you can easily feed a group of people.

4. Beef Kebabs

If you have a BBQ at your picnic spot, kebabs are a fantastic choice. They’re so easy and convenient to eat! Even if you don’t have a BBQ around, you could make these and enjoy them cold and they’d still be really good!

5. BBQ Chicken Kebabs

This is another picnic recipe that’s best with a BBQ around, but can still be enjoyed later. You could even make these for dinner, then use the leftover kebab meat for picnic sandwiches!

Sides

Pile some of these sides on your picnic plate for a full meal!

6. Oven Roasted Asparagus

This is an easy and healthy side dish that can be prepared beforehand. Just don’t make them too far in advance or they might get soggy. The night before or the morning of the picnic should be good!

7. Corn on the Cob

Corn is awesome and this recipe is good even if you’re enjoying it a day later. The ginger-lime glaze is SO tasty!

8. Hard-Boiled Eggs

Hard-boiled eggs are about as easy as it gets when it comes to picnic recipes. Prepare them in the morning or day before, pack them up, and you’ve got a protein-filled, nearly bite-sized snack!

9. Hawaiian Rolls

I think rolls are a must-have at any picnic. They’re a perfect side/filler that goes great with almost anything. And these rolls aren’t just your average rolls either: they have a delicious yet subtle pineapple flavor. Yum!

10. Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

Here’s another must-have for any picnic and it’s SO easy to make! Only three ingredients are needed. This fruit dip is so good too, even non-fruit lovers will want to try it! Perfect for dipping all your favorite fruits.

Salads

Is a picnic really complete without a yummy salad? Try one of these classics:

11. Berry Quinoa Salad

This is another amazing recipe for the fruit lovers. The quinoa makes it so nutritious and the mixed berries and citrus honey dressing pump the flavor WAY up! So good!

12. Cauliflower Broccoli Pea Salad

This pea salad is pretty mind-blowing. It’s packed with cauliflower, broccoli, celery, peas, and finally to top things off: bacon! Definitely one of my favorite picnic recipes as it’s got almost everything you need, all in one bowl.

13. Lemon Herb Potato Salad

As an all-time favorite potato salad recipe, you can’t go wrong bringing this to a picnic. It’s an easy recipe to make and will leave you feeling nice and full.

14. Fruit Salad

This recipe is a dessert, salad, and side dish all in one. You can prepare it the morning of picnic day and it will be a super refreshing dish for later on!

15. Honey Lime Fruit Salad

Here’s another fruit salad option that’s a little bit healthier than the one above. What’s great about this recipe is you can prepare it in advance and then put the fruit on skewers for the picnic!

Drinks

Water is a picnic necessity, but so is a refreshing, tasty homemade drink! Try one of these easy recipes out:

16. Strawberry Lemonade

This is such a refreshing picnic drink and it’s really easy to make too. You can even make it ahead of time, freeze it, and then just add it to a pitcher with water once you’re at your picnic spot.

17. Homemade Root Beer

If you want to have the coolest most refreshing drink any picnic has ever seen, try this recipe. It uses dry ice so it’s really fun to make (the kids will love it) and you can easily transfer it to your picnic destination in a bottle of your choosing.

Dessert

If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that no picnic is complete without some desserts and snacks! While you could go with something simple like chips here, these homemade options are worth the extra effort:

18. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies aren’t always the most exciting but these ones are worth getting excited about! They’re nutritious, soft and chewy on the inside, and dairy-free!

19. Lemonies

If you like a fresh lemon-flavored snack on a sunny day, try these lemon brownies! They may sound a bit weird at first but they’re super tasty!

20. Wendy’s Copycat Frosty

This could have gone in the drinks section, but it’s definitely more of a dessert than a refreshing beverage. It will cool you down on a hot day though! It tastes just like a real Wendy’s frosty too.

21. Brownies

Don’t like the idea of lemonies? Why not make some real brownies instead – low carb style. They’re fudgy, easy to make, gluten-free, and low in sugar too.

Don’t Forget These Picnic Essentials!

If you’re going to have a picnic there are a few things you’ll want to bring along (other than picnic food)! First off, a picnic basket is pretty essential for transporting your delicious foods and snacks. You could use a cooler here too if needed.

Another thing you’ll want to bring along with you is a picnic blanket! You don’t have to get fancy here but there are some really cool picnic blankets on Amazon if you want something new.

And finally, if you’re planning a long picnic you may want to bring along some outdoor games. This could be something simple like a soccer ball or some badminton supplies, or you can go with classics like bocce ball or croquet! All the yummy picnic food ideas above will help fuel you for the fun!

Which Picnic Recipes Are You Going to Pack?

Ok, you’ve got the supplies in mind and some tasty picnic recipes to choose from, let us know what your picnic plans are!

What food are you going to pack? What are your favorite picnic games? Did we leave out any picnic essentials? Leave a comment below!