Picnic Food Ideas and Tips

A picnic can be a lot of fun when you do some forward planning to come up with some suitable picnic food ideas. By choosing the rights types of food and asking the people attending to bring the various selection of foods, you will avoid double ups and ensure you have a good range of delicious picnic foods to enjoy.

Unless of Meat grinders are having a BBQ picnic, bring food that can be eaten cold. In that regard, nibbles are easy as there is a plethora of cold nibbles you can bring such as dips, cheese, pate or antipasta. A mixed plate of cut sandwiches or rolls will be popular at a picnic. Make the fillings gourmet such as chicken and chive, or salami, sundried tomato & roasted capsicum or perhaps ham & brie. Other picnic food ideas include marinated cooked meats, frittatas and salads which can all be made in advance. For sweet options, choose food that can be eaten cold such as muffins, cakes and tarts.

Allocate different people attending the picnic to bring different foods. Try and get the right balance of quantities and types of food. To avoid double ups, get people to put their hands up to make and bring something as people will have different preferences about what picnic food to bring. After everyone has nominated their dish/s, you should establish what is missing (i.e. a sweet dish or a salad) and allocate those remaining things. Don't forget to allocate someone to bring the drinks and someone else to bring the disposable plates and cutlery.

These following tips will help ensure your picnic success. Remember to pack the necessary utensils to serve the food for example tongs or a spoon. Choose food that travels well and store it in appropriate containers for travelling. Keep food that requires refrigeration (meats, dairy etc) kept cold in a portable esky. Take a rubbish bag as you might not be positioned near a public rubbish bin. And remember to bring condiments such as salt, pepper, sauces or mustards.

Whether it's a casual affair with your children and some friends or a gathering with work colleagues, your picnic can be a lot of fun. These are just a few picnic food ideas. There are so many different picnic food ideas depending on your personal preference, so take the time to sit down and plan the outing to get the most out of your picnic.