Summer is here and with it comes the great British urge to dine al fresco, but eating outside comes with its limitations. If you’re here then you are probably on the hunt for easy, bite sized and mess free food options.
Wise Bartender has your back. These picnic food ideas will go down an absolute treat whether you’re spending the day at a nature reserve or making a quick trip to your local park. Simply stuff them in a picnic basket alongside your favourite alcohol-free drinks and you’re all set for a picnic experience like no other.
The humble sandwich
Sandwiches are the lifeblood of a great english picnic because they make ideal finger food, are low fuss to prepare, make minimal mess and are a real people pleaser.
Lay them out on your picnic blanket with a wide range of soft drinks.
Our top choices:
- Corrigan's Grape, Apple & Ginger Alcohol Free Drink
- Square Root Lemonade
- Square Root Cola
- Punchy Peach, Ginger, Chai
Chicken and pesto sandwiches
Chicken and pesto sandwiches are light, sumptuous and moreish, and super easy to transform into a vegetarian sandwich by simply leaving out the chicken.
Load toasted ciabatta with juicy tomatoes, tender chicken breast, plenty of pesto, fresh sprigs of basil and melted mozzarella to make the sandwich extra gooey.
Add an earthy IPA like Nirvana Classic IPA Alcohol Free Beer to the mix to take the sandwich flavours to the next level.
Baguette
The crunchy crust of a baguette baton compliments soft fillings beautifully. Slice it in half and take your pick of fillings. You could opt for a simple French Jambon-Beurre; smoked ham and Gruyère cheese on generously buttered bread.
Alternatively, recreate a classic deli sandwich stuffed with tuna, anchovies, hard boiled egg, peppers, green beans, black olives and a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette.
New York bagels
Toasted bagel bread filled with salmon, cream cheese, rocket, cucumber ribbons and the bite of ground pepper is a New York street food staple, but also makes a fantastic picnic snack. This option is fresh, filling, and ideally suited to outdoor dining in the summer months.
Of course, smoked salmon is famed for tasting spectacular with champagne so try this bagel with a side of Wild Life Botanicals Nude Alcohol Free Sparkling Wine.
Help yourself sandwiches
Do you have picky picnic companions? Pack the bread and ingredients separately and your family and friends can assemble their own sandwiches on location.
Choose your bread wisely as this can make or break your sandwiches. A beautiful bloomer loaf usually goes down a treat and makes both closed and open sandwiches, especially if those open sandwiches are topped with tomatoes and rings of onion that have been marinated in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. This tastes fantastic with a base of polish style ham and edam cheese.
Picnic pastries
Pork pies
It goes without saying that pork pies are a bitesize picnic delicacy, possibly because they can be stuffed into mouths in one large bite. They are also famously easy to buy from supermarkets, but we recommend spoiling yourself with freshly made posh pork pies from your local butchers.
If you choose to go down the handmade route, try making traditional british pork pies using the recipe from The Hedgecombers to really wow your loved ones.
Sharing pie
Why not try bringing a sharing pie to your picnic and slicing it on the picnic blanket? These large pies can be easily sourced from local butchers in a variety of filling flavours; chicken and leek, steak and ale, spinach and feta. The options are endless.
You could also choose to hand make your own pie stuffed to the brim with tasty goodness which will give you more control over the ingredients and allow you to cater for allergies and intolerances.
Filo dumplings
Dumplings wrapped in soft and flaky filo pastry bring a punch of flavour in a small package. Anything filled with chilli and garlic will explode in the mouths of your guests and make a delightful change from the earthy British classics.
These parcels also taste fantastic with a Greek inspired filling of spinach, feta and sundried tomatoes.
French pastries
Put the patisserie in your picnic by stacking french pastries of all kinds in your picnic basket. Crumbly croissants, buttery pain au chocolat and creamy profiteroles will provide a sweet surprise amongst your savoury options.
For a morning picnic, bring along a thermos full of hot coffee and combine it with a single shot of Lyre's Non-Alcoholic Coffee Liqueur to create a stunning Irish coffee; the perfect accompaniment to your pastries.
Mini pasties
A cornish pasty might be too hearty for your light picnic meal, but mini pasties bring the same full flavour in a much smaller package.
The compact size will still contain all the makings of a cornish pasty, relishing in the flavours of steak, potato and onion, and your guests will be able to munch on them quickly before moving on to the other finger food around them.
Finger foods
Stuffed mushrooms
Stuffed mushrooms are a vegetarian delight and can easily be transformed into bite sized picnic food by swapping large portobello mushrooms for button mushrooms. Simply remove the stalk and stuff it full of chopped shallot, garlic, parmesan cheese, parsley, olive oil, breadcrumbs and plenty of herbs to garnish.
If you’re a meat eater, add bacon to the mix for an added tangy crunch and you’re on to a winner.
Pitta & dips
Pitta bread makes an easy tear and share option for a picnic. The light, round bread can scoop up any number of earthy flavoured dips like hummus and babaganoush, but make sure you have tightly sealed all your travel tubs before you close your picnic basket.
You could also create less conventional but equally tasty dips like squash and caramelised onion, blue cheese paired with bacon and brie, and a garlicky herb and feta dip.
If you’re packing hummus for your pitta bread, include Double Dutch Ginger Ale to your picnic basket for some added spice.
Focaccia
If pitta bread isn’t to your tastes, you could substitute it with a sharing focaccia loaded with olives, caramelised red onion, feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes and plenty of olive oil. This soft, succulent bread from Italy melts in the mouth and eats beautifully with a tangy balsamic dressing.
Cheese and chutney
Give your picnic goers a taste sensation by filling your chilled bag with cheese, chutney and accompanying non-alcoholic beverages.
We suggest taking these wise pairings on your picnic:
- Brie on whole wheat crackers with Crafty Nectar x Wise Bartender Cider Collab
- Mild cheddar paired with tomato and chilli chutney, washed down with a generous glug of Adnams Sauvignon Blanc Alcohol Free White Wine
- Gouda cheese eaten with tangy apple chutney and Ebony Vale Cabernet Sauvignon Alcohol Free Red Wine
Scotch eggs
Scotch eggs are traditionally known as the egg wrapped in sausage meat recipe, but now you can spice up your picnic with numerous other mouth watering options. Seek gourmet scotch egg companies at food festivals or online, or make your own from home.
Try substituting sausage meat for pulled pork and sample the pulled pork scotch egg recipe from The Smokey Carter to create a barbecue flavoured delight complete with oozing egg yolk.
Fruit
You can never go wrong with fruit at a picnic; the perfect combination of sweet and healthy to quench your appetite.
Chocolate covered strawberries
Sweet, refreshing berries go down a treat on warm days, and chocolate covered strawberries are no exception. They’re juicy and sticky and easy eating; everything you could ever want from picnic food. Not to mention they taste fantastic with a glass of bubbly and our Thomson & Scott Noughty Alcohol-free Sparkling Wine does the job wonderfully.
Be warned, chocolate can melt on hot days so you’ll need to munch them down quickly.
Caramelised figs
Just like chocolate covered strawberries, caramelised figs are succulent and sticky and easy eating, but with an added kick of sweetness. This can be undercut with a side serving of goat's cheese and a drizzle of golden honey.
Watermelon slices
Close your eyes and imagine the crisp, crunchy watermelon slice melting on your tongue as you bask in the summer sun, laid out on a picnic blanket. Is your mouth watering? Then you need to take watermelon to your picnic.
The cool, watery texture of this summertime fruit is fantastic picnic food to keep you feeling hydrated and happy. Just make sure you give it a good wash before slicing.
Bananas, apples and grapes
Any fruit that can be washed and thrown into a basket without further thought is, without question, the easiest type of food to bring to a picnic. They can be eaten at any stage of the excursion and are packed full of vitamins and water that your body will need when spending hours in the sun.
Sweets
Doughnuts
As we all know, doughnuts are naughty but tasty and enjoyed thoroughly by people of all ages. The choices are endless; ring doughnuts, iced doughnuts, jam doughnuts, custard doughnuts, sugared, dinky, even Krispy Kreme. The list goes on and on.
All you need to do is put together a selection of your favourites and pack them in your picnic basket. Simple.
Flapjacks
Flapjacks bring crumbly buttery goodness to a picnic; a mess-free snack that keeps your blanket free of crumbs. Making flapjacks is quick and easy, and Lyle’s Golden Syrup have put together the ultimate flapjack recipe that can be thrown together in an hour.
Lyre's Dark 'n' Spicy RTD is a spicy, decadent match that will deepen the flavours of your flapjack.
Cookies
Does the other food at a picnic really matter when you’ve got cookies to eat? The short answer: yes, yes it does. But that doesn’t mean they won’t be a certain favourite amongst the picnic guests. They can also be eaten without fuss on the walk to your chosen picnic spot.
Try this chocolate chip cookie recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction and make the perfect gooey and chewy chocolate chip cookies that will keep your friends suggesting picnics for months.
Scones
Scones and picnics marry together as two quintessentially British things that instil conflict across the country; nobody can quite decide what the perfect formula is for either. That being said, put them together in the summer months and you’ve found the recipe to a splendid day out.
Whether you make them cheesy, fruity, sweet or savoury, packing scones on your picnic excursion will bring the event together. We’d recommend best enjoying the classic cream tea scone on a picnic bench with paper plates to hand as the combination of jam and clotted cream can lead to mess.
Whichever nibbles you settle on for your picnic this summer, finish them off with a large helping of alcohol free drinks from Wise Bartender. Check out our selection of alcohol free wines, beers and ciders, as well as our non-alcoholic spirits & mixers.
