10 Easy Picnic Food Ideas For Spring & Summer

The British weather is finally starting to give us something to smile about and there’s no better way to celebrate than by packing up your favourite treats, dusting off your picnic blanket and feasting outdoors. Planning a picnic is the perfect excuse to bring family and friends together all in the name of fine food, and whether the forecast looks good and you’re organising a big get-together or some spontaneous sunshine has got you rushing to get outdoors, you can count on DukesHill for some culinary inspiration. 

Combining some of our favourite finger food recipes with ready-to-eat DukesHill classics, we have compiled our top 10 easy picnic food ideas. These simple suggestions are sure to delight all of the family and maximise the amount of time you can spend enjoying the long-awaited sunny season.

picnic basket in park

1. Scotch Eggs

No picnic is complete without some classic touches and scotch eggs are as classic as they come. Easy to transport and even easier to enjoy, the DukesHill take on this classic picnic food is delicious eaten hot or cold and therefore an exceptionally simple way to add fine foods to your picnic without any preparation. We offer a range of delicious scotch eggs, including our popular Cumberland Scotch Eggs as well as our new Chicken & Chorizo Scotch Eggs and Sweet Potato, Caramelised Onion & Goats Cheese Scotch Eggs. Each features a soft-boiled hen’s egg wrapped in either our premium meats or goats cheese with flavours of sage and black pepper sure to add a punch to your picnic.

2. Cheese & Chilli Sausage Rolls

Easy to serve and easy to eat, sausage rolls are another picnic staple. If you’re really tight on time, try our ready-made Gourmet Cumberland Sausage Rolls which are handmade using British Quality Assured Pork for ultimate indulgence. However, if you want to add a special twist to this simple picnic food idea why not follow our Cheese & Chilli Sausage Rolls recipe the night before, pack in a tin and share around? We can’t promise they won’t be all gone in minutes but we can guarantee that they’ll be delicious with a cheesy chilli kick! Prepped in just 10 minutes, this quick recipe proves that you can create a delicious picnic even when time is of the essence.

3. Sliced Ham With Rocket, Spinach & Clementine Salad

The beauty of a good picnic is that you can balance different textures and flavours and include something for everyone. A sublime salad is the perfect way to counter the indulgence of rich pastries like your sausage rolls and the merit of making your own is that it can be rustled up in a short space of time with minimal effort but maximum reward. We particularly love the refreshing nature of our Sliced Ham With Rocket, Spinach & Clementine Salad recipe. The light leaves are a match made in heaven combined with the saltiness of the ham and goats cheese, resulting in a fresh but layered salad that really was made to be enjoyed in the great outdoors.

4. Charcuterie Selection

If you’re looking to impress at your picnic, our Charcuterie Selection is just the ticket. Including four of our most popular continental meats, this balanced selection is sure to include something to delight all tastebuds and preferences. The melt-in-the-mouth Porchetta pairs brilliantly with ciabatta while the popular Pastrami is the perfect addition to your picnic sandwich. Prep before you go or lay out on a board when you arrive at your picnic destination for everyone to get stuck into. 

5. Bacon, Cheese & Potato Tart

With lots of picnic guests, focusing on one staple dish can be an easy way to sure everyone is fed and happy on the day. Try our Bacon, Cheese & Potato Tart recipe for a real crowd-pleaser that is perfect for satisfying lots of hungry mouths at a lunchtime picnic. You can make it the night before and slice it before you pack it into your picnic basket. This picnic food is also a lovely addition to your salad and is sure to be gobbled down as the kids grab a slice in between playtime. 

6. Cracked Black Pepper Crackers

The main event of your picnic should always be countered by foods that can be nibbled and grazed on - and it’s a bonus that this kind of picnic food typically requires no preparation! Crisps, dips and crackers are always a safe bet and a great way to add some contrasting crunch to your al-fresco menu. Try our Cracked Black Pepper Crackers alongside your favourite cheese if you want an exceptionally flavourful bite. These delightful savoury crackers are part of our multi-buy offer too, so stock up now and you’ll be ready for even the most spur-of-the-moment picnic when you suddenly fancy a fun afternoon. 

7. Mini Stilton Topped Pork Pies

When hosting a picnic, you can’t go wrong with the ultimate finger food: a mini pork pie. Our ready-to-eat Mini Stilton Topped Pork Pies are a fine example of what makes this pastry classic so perfect for a picnic. Bitesize and easy to eat, the combination of the rich pork meat with the creamy Stilton results in a truly heavenly mouthful. Each pack includes four pies, so you need not worry about food envy amongst the group when you tuck into yours.

8. Sticky Glazed Cocktail Sausages

This Sticky Glazed Cocktail Sausages recipe is the epitome of easy picnic food ideas. Offering a tangy twist on classic picnic food, these cocktail sausages can be rustled up in just minutes with only three simple ingredients. The beauty of this recipe is that it is so effortless yet brings complex and bold flavours to your picnic selection, sure to delight both adults and children alike.

9. Bakewell Tarts

Don’t forget a sweet treat or two to finish off your picnic in style! After rustling up one or some of the recipe suggestions in this list of easy picnic food ideas, kick back and enjoy the ready-to-eat but luxurious nature of our Bakewell Tarts. These delightful tarts have a comforting home-cooked flavour with smooth frangipane packed into a melt-in-the-mouth pastry case - a truly sweet way to round off a successful but stress-free picnic.

10. Chocolate Tiffin

For a truly indulgent sweet addition to your picnic, try our decadent Chocolate Tiffin. Made by hand to add a comforting dimension to your spread, this luxury tiffin is guaranteed to be a firm favourite with the whole family. High-quality Belgian chocolate is used in both the biscuit base and topping for total indulgence, with rich English butter and sweet golden syrup giving the tiffin a completely moreish appeal.

For even more fantastic and easy picnic food ideas, explore the full DukesHill picnic collection online today.

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