Fall is one of the best times of the year to plan a picnic. The beautiful colors and cool air are perfect for enjoying time outdoors with friends or loved ones. But how do you plan a cozy, memorable outing? I’ve got you covered. These are some of my favorite fall picnic ideas for food, themes and activities.
Best Fall Picnic Food Ideas
What’s a picnic without food? You can bring anything you want, but these are some of my favorite fall recipes for an outing.
French Onion and Apple Grilled Cheese
These sandwiches are one of my favorite fall picnic ideas for food. They’re flavorful and comforting, but easy to transport in a picnic basket.
What I love most about this sandwich is the caramelized onions, which are cooked in apple cider. Add crispy prosciutto, fresh apple slices and your favorite cheese and you have a gourmet grilled cheese that will impress everyone.
Pack your sandwiches in butcher paper and don’t forget to bring some hot cider along.
Chorizo Pumpkin and Caramelized Onion Hand Pies
These hand pies are so delicious and full of fall flavor. It takes a little work to make this pastry, but it’s worth the time and effort.
You’ll make a hot water pastry and a tasty filling made with:
- Butternut pumpkin
- Caramelized onions
- Chorizo
- Smoked paprika and other spices
- Shredded sage leaves
These pies are tasty with wine or even a glass of apple cider.
Related: 17+ Fancy Fall Recipes That Go Way Beyond Pumpkins
Faerie Fondue with Thyme in Mini Pumpkins
How adorable is this snack? You’ll need to hollow out a few small pumpkins and fill them with a cheesy filling made from:
- Raclette cheese
- Gruyere cheese
- White cheddar cheese
- Thyme
- Heavy cream
- White wine
- Shallots
You can serve these with chunks of apples, bread or dried fruit. The possibilities are endless and the presentation is unforgettable.
Spicy Cheddar & Apple Fall Veggie Sandwich
No list of fall picnic ideas is complete without a cheddar and apple sandwich. This one has a bit of a bite to it, thanks to the grainy Dijon mustard, but the honey adds a touch of sweetness.
As for the filling, you’ll mix sliced honeycrisp apple with pickled jalapenos, sliced sharp cheddar cheese, red onion and arugula.
Add some kettle potato chips to the mix for a little crunch and you have the perfect picnic sandwich.
Apple Brie Flatbread with Walnuts and Honey
Simple yet tasty. This flatbread is topped with brie cheese, slices of fresh apple, thyme leaves, walnuts and honey.
Just load up your toppings onto the naan bread and bake for 12-14 minutes until the cheese is nice and toasty.
Pack your flatbreads in butcher paper and you’re good to go.
If you’re not a fan of brie cheese, you could do white cheddar, Gouda or Gruyere. Really, any cheese you like will work well for this recipe.
Caramelized Onion, Spinach and Cheddar Flaky Pastries
These pastries will be the talk of your picnic. They’re full of fall flavor: caramelized onions, gooey cheddar and Havarti and tasty spinach.
Use pre-made puff pastry for this one to save time. Feel free to use whatever kind of cheese you want if cheddar and Havarti aren’t your favorites.
Fall Picnic Ideas – Fun Themes
The food is just one part of the plan. If you want to create a memorable picnic, consider giving your gathering a theme.
Here are some fun ideas.
White Pumpkin
This theme is so gorgeous because it really lets the fall colors around you shine. The setup is a little more elaborate, but you’ll be happy you created such a beautiful space for your outing.
Lay down a white picnic blanket and look for a portable floor desk or table to pack. Add a pretty fall tablecloth, like this one, to the table. For the table centerpiece, add some candlesticks and mini white pumpkins to each place setting.
Using real servingware and glassware will make your picnic more elegant and memorable.
Floral and Plaid
Here’s one of my favorite fall picnic ideas if you have time for a bigger setup. Decorate your picnic table with a plaid tablecloth, a lantern and all of the little things you’ll need to enjoy your meal.
Then, add pretty throw pillows to the space, fresh flowers, pumpkins in baskets and mums to decorate the rest of the space.
Choose colors that complement each other. For example, sunflowers and yellow mums pair well with the classic red and green plaid colors.
Don’t forget to pack some extra blankets to stay warm. Create a space where everyone feels comfortable sitting down and staying a while.
Related: 10 Outdoor Fall Party Ideas – Firepits, Blankets & Hot Drinks
Sweets and Cheese
You can also transform fall picnic food ideas into themes – like this one. Make sweets and cheese the center of your picnic.
You can serve sweet breads, fruit and cookies along with cheese. Pack some hot cider or mulled wine to enjoy with your snacks.
This type of picnic is more casual and simple, making it easy to set up anywhere.
Thanksgiving
Why not host a Thanksgiving-themed picnic? You don’t necessarily need to go all-out and bring a big turkey, but you could pack:
- Turkey sandwiches
- Mashed potatoes
- Stuffing
- Mini hand pies for dessert
Set up your picnic on an orange plaid blanket and bring some pretty little decor items, like pumpkins or a vase of flowers. Pack gold colored utensils to complement the other colors at your table.
Apple Spice
Apple spice fall picnic food ideas are always welcome during fall. You’ll be surprised by how many apple-related spices and themes there are. I recommend:
- Fill a wooden basket with apples. If you want to add a bit of color, opt for red and green apples.
- Place a white and red blanket or tablecloth on the ground for your food.
- Bring some apple cider to your picnic. If it’s going to be especially cold, make some spiced hot apple cider.
- Add some apple jam and toast, if it’s earlier in the morning.
- Later in the day or night? Bring along a slice of apple pie or even apple donuts.
Apple spice is a great start to an unforgettable picnic, but you’ll also need to keep yourself, and everyone who attends, occupied.
Activities to Keep You Entertained
If you have even one other person with you, it’s never a bad idea to have a few activities planned to keep everyone happy and engaged. You can have a picnic under the stars with a movie playing on a projector screen, but you can also keep things closer to nature.
I’ll give you a few examples of my all-time favorite activities for a fall picnic, starting with one that I recently found.
Play Nature Bingo
You’re out in nature, so why not play a round of nature Bingo? It’s an easy, fun game to play that Handmade Charlotte shows you how to do. You’ll have things that you’ll need to find, such as:
- Thorns
- Pink flowers
- Mushrooms
- Berries
- Squirrels
- Evergreens
- Birds nests
- Etc.
And the best part? Charlotte has a bunch of printables that you can use so that you don’t have to make the board on your own.
Bonfire and S’mores
It’s chilly outside. The leaves are falling off the trees. But, guess what? You won’t let that stop you from following these fall picnic ideas. First, you’ll need to make a bonfire. I recommend making sure that your wood has low humidity levels and has been allowed to dry out before burning it.
Why?
Wet, moist wood produces a lot of black smoke that will cause your picnic guests to run the other way. You can find dried wood at some grocery stores, online (believe it or not) or around town. You should only start a bonfire if you’re not in a drought and it’s rained recently because the last thing you want to do is cause an out-of-control fire.
Next, make some s’mores with:
- Graham crackers
- Marshmallows in the middle
- Chocolate in the middle
Sandwich your chocolate and marshmallows between two crackers, warm it up until the chocolate and marshmallows are gooey and enjoy. You can also make some hot cocoa to go along with it.
Play Giant Jenga
I wish we had giant Jenga when I was a kid, but you know what? It’s a lot of fun for adults, too. You can find these giant Jenga games on Amazon (here) and it’s sure to keep your guests occupied for hours.
This one has 60 blocks, a storage crate and stacks up to 5-feet high.
Set up your Jenga on a level surface and use the storage crate as a table.
Related: 17+ Easy Fall Appetizers You Can Make in Under 30 Minutes
Tell Scary Stories
Scary stories and picnics go together well. Everyone sits around, tells their scary story and hopes to put a little freight into everyone. You can tell a personal story or make one up – it’s up to you.
But you can always set the scene in the same way:
- Don’t rush and add in pauses
- Make it feel real using people and places others know
- Act as if the story you’re telling just happened
- Set the scene around a campfire, or use lanterns (I like these ones)
If you need inspiration for your story, you’ll find plenty of great options on Our Lively Adventures, which is linked in the Pin above.
