13 Transportable Picnic Recipes to Pack In Your Basket

Let’s be sincere—placing a picnic collectively takes fairly a little bit of advance planning. Making ready provisions forward of time may be sufficient to make you throw within the towel and say, “Let’s simply go to Entire Meals.” However this summer season, we’re difficult you to interrupt out your basket and head to the park with a number of home-cooked eats in tow (you are able to do it, promise!). Convey a blanket, some music or a superb e-book, and switch your picnic lunch into a calming afternoon al fresco. To assist preserve your picnic stress-free, we’ve rounded up a number of easy-to-pack moveable picnic recipes that can preserve you consuming open air all summer season lengthy.

With the publishing of our High 40 Finest Austin Eating places, these of you who name Austin house may be racing round as shortly as doable to suit every elegant institution into your schedule, which is completely inspired (and I’ll or might not be doing the identical). However for others, or for you Austinites who’re searching for a enjoyable and distinctive technique to spend the afternoon, get able to make your picnic desires come true with these moveable picnic recipes.

Transportable picnic recipes are the best picnic contribution as a result of, clearly, they pack effectively. These recipes match simply right into a Tupperware container, bag, or basket, which implies you gained’t be fumbling with any additional gear to your outside meal. These recipes additionally match the vibe of a picnic as a result of they don’t require quite a lot of prep. Like a picnic, they’re simple to arrange, easy in nature, and rejoice the flavors of the season. With a basket full of those moveable picnic recipes and good firm to share them with, all that’s left to do is to seek out a while in your afternoon to sit down again, loosen up, and revel in.

And we wish to know: What are your favourite moveable picnic recipes? Drop a hyperlink within the feedback beneath!

Featured picture by Michelle Nash.

1 of 13

PHOTO: Processed with VSCO with s2 preset

Why We Love It: This pasta salad is chock stuffed with advanced carbs, protein, nutritional vitamins, and—better of all—seasonal produce. It’s additionally good for a picnic as a result of it’s greatest loved at room temp, so that you don’t have to fret about saving area within the cooler. Bringing collectively edamame, kalamata olives, and a slew of grilled greens (assume broccolini, summer season squash, eggplant, and zucchini), this bowl of goodness has all of it. Toss it along with olive oil and lemon juice, pack it up in a to-go container, and prepare to savor the flavors of summer season.

Hero Ingredient: Make sure to get a wholesome char on these veggies. It’s that bitter taste from the grill marks that makes this salad memorable.

2 of 13

Why We Love It: The best salad for straightforward and breezy summer season gatherings. Olivia Muniak’s white bean and radicchio salad is a type of recipes that yields an entire that’s a lot better than the sum of its components. It’s best for a picnic starter or facet that everybody will love. The cannellini beans make it hearty and satisfying, whereas the bitter radicchio makes an fascinating base you’ll be longing for the remainder of summer season.

Hero Ingredient: Salty Parmigiano Reggiano ties all of the flavors collectively. Bitter radicchio and creamy beans change into really harmonious below these mouthwatering shaves of parm.

3 of 13

PHOTO: Processed with VSCO with m6 preset

Why We Love It: One factor I like about spring rolls is that they’re a distinct and thrilling technique to incorporate veggies into your food regimen. They’re additionally just a little enjoyable, no? Both means, these tempeh spring rolls are as simple to assemble as they’re to get pleasure from, which makes them greater than best for a picnic. And don’t even get me began on that honey sriracha sauce—it’s candy, spicy, and oh so satisfying. Pack up numerous these spring rolls and put together to be amazed.

Hero Ingredient: Mango! I’m all the time searching for methods to usher in a salty/candy taste mixture that’s completely craveable. These spring rolls undoubtedly have it.

4 of 13

Why We Love It: Macaroni noodles provide all of the picnic vibes. Particularly when mixed with crunchy veggies and recent herbs. Peas, radishes, cucumber, and tons of herbs seal the deal right here to create a pasta salad you’ll wish to add to your weekly rotation. The dressing consists of white miso paste, tahini, lemon juice, honey, soy sauce, and olive oil, maintaining every part gentle and flavorful.

Hero Ingredient: Salty feta cubes carry a dose of tang to every tasty chew. Don’t skimp on the cheese right here!

5 of 13

PHOTO: Kristen Kilpatrick Images, Kristen Kilpatrick, Kristen Kilpatrick Austin, Kristen Kilpatrick Editorial Meals Images, Editorial pictures Austin, Pure Mild Photographers Austin Texas, Camille Kinds, Camille Kinds Austin Texas, Kristen Kilpatrick Camille Kinds, Camille Kinds Bungalow, Cooking With Sequence, Kristen Kilpatrick Austin Texas Editorial, Stephanie Izard, Stephanie Izard cookbook, Collect & Graze, Collect & Graze Cookbook, High Chef Cookbooks, High Chef, La Crema Wines, La Crema Dinner Events

Why We Love It: An appetizer with solely 4 elements? Signal me up. This would possibly simply be the best picnic recipe to ever exist, and right here’s why. All you want is toasted bread, store-bought (or do-it-yourself if in case you have the bandwidth) pesto, recent figs, and burrata. Pack the parts individually and wait to construct on-site. The elements do the work, so all it’s a must to do is assemble, sit again, and loosen up with peace of thoughts and a bit of burrata-laden bread. Yum.

Hero Ingredient: Figs. Sufficient stated.

6 of 13

Why We Love It: One thing I like about this pasta salad is that the pasta mimics the veggies. All the things is identical dimension, from the crisp asparagus items to the sugar snap peas. Pesto lovingly coats every noodle and veggie for an enormous bowl of nutty deliciousness. All that stands between you and this masterpiece is about half-hour and a drawerful of veggies. Want I say extra?

Hero Ingredient: Creamy goat cheese crumbles carry a style of tang to every forkful.

7 of 13

Why We Love It: There are two issues you could learn about this crudité: it’s delightfully simple and the inexperienced goddess dressing is to die for. Is there a extra good technique to kick off a meal exterior than a refreshing crudité? I relaxation my case. All you want are a number of recent veggies and people easy inexperienced goddess elements, and also you’re set to begin a cultured meal exterior.

Hero Ingredient: Pulse up just a little additional dressing to maintain within the fridge for future salads, veggie dipping, or no matter else you deem in want of just a little wholesome and flavorful increase.

8 of 13

Why We Love It: Tomato, avocado, cucumber, feta, jalapeño, pickled crimson onion, and recent herbs are the primary parts of this predominant dish sidekick that may simply steal the present. It’s cool, refreshing, and all-around scrumptious and will certainly preserve you coming again for extra. The tomato and cucumber lay the inspiration for flavorful feta, spicy jalapeño, and creamy avocado to shine off this salad.

Hero Ingredient: Honey lime French dressing brings the recent flavors collectively in probably the most elevated means.

9 of 13

Why We Love It: One other refreshing facet, this Watermelon Tomato Caprese Salad can be a success at any barbecue, soirée, and—in fact—picnic. It’s easy in nature however brings the flavors of summer season all of us like to middle stage. In case you have watermelon leftover (I do know you do), I extremely advocate utilizing it on this salad—you gained’t remorse it.

Hero Ingredient: Recent mozzarella introduces a creamy ingredient that’s harmonized by recent basil, lime juice, flaky salt, and crimson pepper flakes. Drool-worthy? Completely.

10 of 13

Why We Love It: As our meals editor Suruchi Avasthi shares, “inexperienced goddess dressing paired with tender pasta is a match made in heaven,” and I couldn’t agree extra. This pasta salad, just like the others on this record, is filled with veggies, recent herbs, and *gasp* avocado. Bonus: This complete batch of creamy deliciousness is completely vegan. Whip up a big bowl of this wholesome and hearty pasta salad to take with you in your picnic, sit again, and revel in.

Hero Ingredient: Artichoke hearts are briny, nutty, and lemony and excellent for having fun with among the many different veggies on this recipe. With cucumber, peas, and celery within the combine, it’s good to have a delicate veggie to change issues up and mimic the pasta’s texture.

11 of 13

Why We Love It: Gluten-free associates, get able to be amazed. These shortcakes are nothing wanting a miracle, they usually’re able to be loved by gluten-free and non-gluten-free eaters alike. For extra dietary context, these strawberry shortcakes are additionally dairy-free and vegan, and they’re utterly scrumptious. With the bottom of a fluffy shortcake, whipped cream introduces a creamy layer that’s topped with swoon-worthy macerated strawberries. One style and also you would possibly simply be hooked. You heard it right here first.

Hero Ingredient: Should you chill your coconut milk in a single day, you’ll have thick, concentrated coconut cream to scoop out and thicken up that whipped cream. Hero technique, anybody?

12 of 13

Why We Love It: These lemon cardamom slices have gotten it occurring. They’re no frills, no-bake, and made for a picnic. For optimum picnic enjoyment, think about freezing the slices for a number of hours earlier than reducing into them. As they thaw to room temperature, you’ll have the proper cool-but-not-melted texture to fulfill your post-picnic candy tooth.

Hero Ingredient: As soon as once more, our meals editor Suruchi delivers the important thing to this recipe that’s grinding your personal spices. In a easy recipe similar to this, it’s the little issues that make all of the distinction.

13 of 13

Why We Love It: Let’s get actual. What’s higher than a chocolatey, gooey, sun-warmed brownie on the finish of a picnic? End off your scrumptious meal with considered one of these gluten-free, dairy-free brownies that style simply as superb because the OG model. These are fudgy, wealthy, and nonetheless have the crispy edges and gooey facilities of a conventional brownie (crew edge piece or crew middle?). Both means, everybody will love this brownie and doubtless ask you to make them extra typically. You’ve been warned.

Hero Ingredient: As an alternative of eggs, we’re utilizing a combination of floor flaxseeds and water that helps every part bake correctly whereas bringing a lift of wholesome fiber to the brownies. Sudden? Possibly. Appreciated? Completely.

This submit was initially printed on July 14, 2016, and has since been up to date.