Nothing beats an outdoor picnic on a warm, sunny day. Just pack up some tasty treats and a blanket, and enjoy some quality time with friends or loved ones. If you’re planning an outing, why not skip the usual sandwich meal and try one of these 15+ fancy picnic foods instead?
15+ Fancy Picnic Foods That Aren’t Sandwiches
1. Cold Lentil Salad with Smoked Sausage
This cold lentil salad is a great addition to any picnic. You can store and serve it in little glass mason jars for easy eating. And it pairs well with just about anything else you want to serve.
The salad features delicious smoked sausage, healthy green lentils, fresh herbs, carrots, cherry tomatoes and red bell peppers.
The dressing adds an extra kick of flavor, thanks to the Dijon mustard, honey and lemon juice.
You can customize the ingredients however you want. Skip the carrots or add green onions to the mix. The possibilities are endless.
2. Summer Picnic Salad with Orzo
A delicious summer pasta salad loaded with fresh flavors like cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, herbs, feta and pine nuts.
Start by cooking the orzo and allowing it to cool. Chop your salad ingredients, and toss with the pasta. Top with lemon juice and lemon zest, toss and pack up to serve at your picnic.
If you want a zestier flavor, you mix the salad with your favorite salad dressing.
Related: 25+ Picnic Food Ideas That’ll Make You The MVP of Any Picnic
3. Peach Burrata Parmesan Crusted Crostini with Hot Honey
These crostini are the perfect antidote to summer heat. They’re refreshing and absolutely loaded with flavor.
Start by covering a baking pan with parchment paper and spreading a mix of Parmesan cheese, garlic, pecorino, thyme and butter in an even layer. Place the bread over the cheese and brush each slice with more butter.
Arrange the prosciutto on top around the pan and bake for 15–20 minutes until crispy.
Now, arrange your cheesy bread slices on a platter and top with burrata, peaches, basil and hot honey.
You’re ready to pack these up and serve at your picnic.
4. Fig and Goat Cheese Pinwheels
Pinwheels are one of my favorite picnic foods to pack because they’re so easy to eat and can be customized however you want.
This recipe combines figs and tasty goat cheese for a truly delicious finger food that’s easily portable.
Start by thawing out your puff pastry and rolling it out. Spread the goat cheese on top and add the figs or fig jam. Drizzle honey over the figs and add sprigs of thyme.
Roll and cut the pastry into slices. Bake, pack and enjoy!
5. Savory S’mores
Here’s a fresh take on s’mores, and it’s a fun treat to take on a picnic. You’ll start by making your own herb and cheese cookies.
Then, you’ll stuff your s’mores with thinly sliced prosciutto and brie cheese. Top with honey for a little sweetness and enjoy.
6. Asparagus, Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry Bundles
Puff pastry bundles are quickly becoming one of my favorite picnic foods because they’re just so easy to eat and keep well.
This recipe bundles fresh asparagus spears with deli ham and your favorite cheese in a puff pastry blanket. Additions like whole grain mustard, honey and everything bagel seasoning add so much flavor to each pastry.
If you’re feeling ambitious, you can make your own puff pastry. Otherwise, use a quality store-bought variety to save time.
7. Easy Asparagus Tart
Another tasty asparagus dish that’s perfect for a picnic and looks gorgeous. For this dish, you need only a few ingredients: puff pastry, mascarpone cheese, pecorino cheese, garlic, lemon, asparagus, cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs.
By the Forkful has a great tutorial on how to assemble your tart to create a work of art out of the ingredients. You’ll arrange the asparagus spears vertically to act as flower stems and add your cherry tomato halves to the end of the “stalk” to create flowers.
8. Asparagus Ricotta Tarts with Prosciutto and Herbs
Fancy picnic foods like this are almost too pretty to eat. This recipe is a little more involved, but worth every minute of your time.
You’ll start by making your own dough out of all-purpose flour, salt, butter and cold water (easy!).
Once you’ve shaped the tarts in a muffin pan, you can start filling them with asparagus and a delicious cheese mixture of ricotta, mascarpone, chives, tarragon and other basic ingredients.
Each baked tart is topped with slices of prosciutto, microgreens, fresh chives and a pinch of sea salt.
9. Goat Cheese and Radish Crostini
These crostini are so colorful and deliciously fresh. They’re the perfect addition to your next picnic, and what you’ll really love is that they’re so simple to make.
Slice up a loaf of sourdough baguette and bake until crispy. Top each slice with goat cheese, 3-4 thin slices of radish and a drizzle of olive oil. Add some vibrant microgreens and pepper.
The colors are a feast for the eyes and the tummy.
Related: 10+ Picnic Date Ideas That Are Cheap, Fun & Totally Romantic
10. Samosa Pinwheels
Want something more savory for your picnic? Try these samosa pinwheels. These spiced pinwheels are loaded with flavor and delicious ingredients like potatoes, peas, ginger, cilantro and more.
Use puff pastry to make these pinwheels if you want to save time.
You’ll cook the potatoes until soft and easily mashed. Then, you’ll mix in the peas and spices. Roll out the pastry, spread the potato mixture on top, roll, slice and bake.
Pack in your picnic basket and enjoy!
11. Tomato Tart with Boursin
Puff pastry recipes are always my go-to for picnics when we’re not in the mood for sandwiches. They don’t need special handling, and you can make them in so many different ways.
Plus, it doesn’t get much easier than this recipe. Just roll out some puff pastry dough, spread Boursin cheese on top, add slices of tomatoes and bake.
I recommend removing as much moisture from the tomatoes as possible to prevent the tarts from getting too soggy.
12. Italian Sushi
I love picnic foods like this that are a bit messy but so tasty that it’s worth it. You’ll wrap prosciutto around creamy burrata and mix with sundried tomatoes and basil.
Wrap all of your ingredients together and slice them into bite-sized pieces.
Because you’re eating these on a picnic, I would recommend using a toothpick to hold each bite together. Or you can pack them tightly into a container and use chopsticks to take them out carefully.
13. Banana, Coconut and Honey-Cream Tarts
Tarts are a welcome addition to any picnic, and this recipe is one of my personal favorites. You’ll make a pie dough and then a filling from:
- Sugar
- Honey
- Cornstarch
- Milk
- Salt
- Egg yolks
- Vanilla extract
- Heavy cream
For your toppings, you’ll add baby banana halves, turbinado sugar, coconut flakes and honey.
14. Garlic & Herb Savory Profiteroles
Rich in flavor and perfect for picnics, these little choux pastries are filled with a mixture of:
- Heavy cream
- Cream cheese
- Buter
- Parmesan cheese
- Garlic
- Dill, chives and parsley
Start by making the pastry by adding butter, milk and salt into a saucepan on medium heat. Remove from heat once the mixture comes to a boil and then add in all of your flour at once. Mix well so that all of the liquid absorbs into the flour before cooking for 2-3 minutes so that the dough clumps together.
Place your wooden spoon in the mixture. Does it stand upright? If so, it’s ready.
You can then add eggs one at a time and mix with a mixer. Pipe the mix onto a baking sheet and then start working on your garlic and herb mixture.
It’s one of the more complex recipes on the list, but it’s worth the effort.
15. Cheddar Cups with Avocado Feta Mousse
Cheddar cups are the perfect picnic foods because they’re small and bite-sized, while also being extremely light. Shred your cheddar cheese into little patties or cups and bake until they turn golden brown, which will take 8 to 10 minutes or so.
You want to allow them to cool for about a minute before placing them inside of a muffin tin.
Push them into each cup, then add your mixture of avocado and crumbled feta. You’ll also sprinkle your baked kale on top before serving.
The avocado and feta mousse steals the show. Just be sure that you have a blender to combine all of the ingredients well.
16. Mini Croque Monsieurs
Croque monsieurs are bite-sized treats that are filled with Dijon mustard, yellow onion, nutmeg, black pepper, sliced ham, gruyere cheese and thyme. You can opt for Swiss or Emmental cheeses if you prefer.
Prep time is 15 minutes, and the croque monsieurs must cook for 30 minutes, so be sure to allow enough time to make these.
Related: 26 Delicious Picnic Finger Food Ideas That Look Fancy
17. Brie Phyllo Cups with Blackberry and Thyme
Blackberry and thyme come together so well in this recipe, which is made out of phyllo shells, blackberry jam, honey, brie skin, blackberries and fresh thyme. Arrange your shells on a baking sheet and place the following on each:
- Small dab of jam
- A small amount of honey
Add a brie cube on top. Bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes. Top with blackberry and thyme and drizzle some more honey on top to taste.
Nourish and Fete even gives you neat tips at the bottom of the recipe, including one that explains how to keep the shells nice and crispy.
