How to plan the perfect picnic

• Find a picturesque location, with both sunny and shady spots (and a nearby loo!). Your local park or back garden are great choices for a low-stress event. After a sense of occasion? Browse The Woodland Trust or National Trust website to find a new picnic location to venture to.
• Plan an achievable menu, with a mix of homemade recipes and supermarket/deli staples, then divvy up the dishes between guests for a pot luck-style sharing picnic. Put those who don’t have the time or inclination to cook in charge of crisps, drinks and other shop-bought items.
• Choose a few dishes you can make in advance. Many of the savoury bakes, cakes and homemade drinks below can be made the day before and kept in the fridge or stored in an airtight container.
• Pick dishes that pack up easily and can survive a journey. Think sturdy loaf cakes and scones rather than teetering layer cakes or daintily iced cupcakes, and robust pasta and potato salads rather than leafy recipes that could go limp.

How to carry food for a picnic

Here’s how to pack for success…

• Store your homemade dishes in separate airtight containers. This isn’t just to keep things at their best but also to stop leaks and spillages ruining your picnic basket or cool bag. Pack ice packs around your airtight containers.
• A traditional wicker picnic basket looks beautiful but cool bags help keep your food chilled until it’s time to serve. If you’re keen on a picnic basket, look for ones with a removable, insulated cool bag liner or that are big enough to house a small cool bag. Save the rest of the basket for items that don’t need chilling, like flapjacks, breads and loaf cakes, plus non-food essentials like picnicware and napkins.
• If you want to serve ice in your drinks, put the cubes in a Thermos flask to stop them melting or in an airtight container in a cool box. It’s also a good idea to freeze bottles of water and cartons of drinks before you go, which can double up as ice blocks on the way to your destination.

How to elevate your picnic

Make it a posh picnic with a few easy tweaks.

• Bring pretty picnic dishes to decant shop-bought foods into when you arrive (and hide the packets!).
• Spoon supermarket dips into serving bowls and finish with a sprinkling of herbs, spices or a swirl of olive oil.
• Serve drinks in pitchers or stoppered bottles and add sliced citrus, cucumber or summer fruits. You could even invest in a chic freezable wine-cooler bag, like this one from Fortnum & Mason.
• Serve elevated versions of picnic food classics. While you might not have the time to make everything from scratch, pick a couple of dishes from our round-up below, like the ultimate sausage rolls or our homemade millionaire’s shortbread, which has a secret sophisticated ingredient.
• Invest in stylish eco-friendly melamine plates and re-useable wine glass-style plastic glasses – they make drinking chilled fizz or rosé so much more pleasurable than sipping from a white plastic cup. Our top recommendation for a one-stop shop is John Lewis, which has baskets, cool bags and blankets galore, plus chic melamine picnicware from Rick Stein and Guzzini. Its own-brand mock glassware and plastic wine glasses are hard to distinguish looks-wise from the real thing.

What do you need to pack for a picnic?

Make sure you’ve packed these picnic day essentials.

• Paper napkins
• Bin liners to take away rubbish and recycling. Take a few extra liners and lay them on the ground before placing your blanket on top if it’s been raining
•  A sharp knife for cutting and slicing, if needed (Kuhn Rikon makes a variety of knives that come with a safety sleeve)
• Suncream and sunhats
• Citronella candles (and matches) and insect repellent to keep bugs at bay
• Biodegradable wipes
• Non-breakable cups and plates
• Forks, dessert spoons and serving spoons
• Plenty of water
• A picnic blanket or something to sit on

What else do you need for a picnic day?

These optional extras will make your picnic extra special.

• A portable speaker – if music’s your thing
• Twinkly (battery-operated) fairy lights – for gatherings that roll on into the evening
• A large golf umbrella or two – in case of showers or (joy) too much sunshine
• Card games for sedentary moments
• Rounders set, cricket set or frisbee for something a little more active

The best picnic recipes

The sausage rolls

Ultimate sausage rolls
Want to impress your friends? Make your own sausage rolls from scratch. Our ultimate sausage rolls have a rich pork and pickled shallot filling encased in homemade shortcrust pastry. For a plant-based alternative, try our epic vegan sausage plait.

The scotch eggs

Classic scotch eggs
Homemade scotch eggs knock the supermarket versions out of the park. Think a jammy egg, rich sausagemeat and a perfectly crispy coating. Our step-by-step photo recipe shows you how.

The savoury bakes

Camembert and roasted grape picnic loaf
Hollow out the centre of a crusty sourdough loaf, then stuff with oozy camembert, peppery rocket, pesto, ham and grapes to make this epic picnic centrepiece. It travels well, as you can wrap up and take to the picnic whole – but just remember a knife for cutting into into generous wedges when you arrive!

Quiche lorraine
Quiche lorraine is a dish for the picnic hall of fame. Our homemade version has buttery pastry and a perfectly set filling flavoured with gruyere and bacon lardons. Try our vegan quiche, too.

Tear and share feta and herb bread
Picnics are about passing around dishes and tucking in, so this tear and share bread is an ideal savoury bake. Tear off the round, cheesy rolls and enjoy with your favourite dips.

Black bean and sweet potato empanadas
Vegetarians and meat-eaters alike will fall upon these spicy bakes. Inside the smoky, paprika-scented pastry you’ll find a rich black bean and sweet potato filling with ancho chilli heat.

The pasta salad

Runner bean pasta salad
A large tub of pasta salad is a must for group picnics. This simple runner bean number won’t fight against some of the other big flavours in your picnic spread and is a great way to put a glut of home-grown runner beans to work in the summer.

The potato salad

New potato salad
It’s a classic potato salad with a modern makeover. We’ve swapped the heavy mayo for greek yogurt and thrown in slivers of radish and aromatic dill for a Scandi-inspired potato salad.

The sandwiches

Roast beef tray sandwiches
Tray sandwiches are a fun way to feed the picnic hoards. Bake this focaccia-style bread in a roasting tin in two layers, with some of the condiments and fillings (mustard, horseradish and tomato) cleverly sandwiched between. Stuff with slivers of beef then cut into squares to serve easily.

Classic egg mayo sandwiches
Make the best egg mayonnaise of your life with our ultimate recipe, which uses a mix of soft and hard-boiled eggs, creamy homemade mayo and a touch of vinegar. Serve in soft white bread.

More great ideas

• Coronation chicken sandwich filling
• Assorted finger sandwiches
• French pan bagnat
• Prawn cocktail subs
• Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels

The cakes and bakes

Tottenham cake
Easily transportable traybakes are a picnicker’s friend. This retro choice with vanilla sponge, bright pink icing and sprinkles serves 12-16, making it ideal for birthday picnics.

Millionaire’s shortbread
We love those tubs of mini millionaire’s shortbread from the supermarket as much as the next person but nothing compares to homemade. We’ve added an optional extra ingredient to our version: crushed juniper berries. They subtly enhance the fruitiness of the chocolate and balance the caramel’s sweetness – perfect for a grown-up picnic.

Elderflower drizzle cake
Loaf cakes are another sturdy bake ideal for transporting to a picnic. Slice this fragrant elderflower number once you get there. We love this gooseberry and ginger loaf cake too, which uses the seasonal fruits in both the moist sponge and the two-ingredient icing.

Chocolate chip cookies
Another great picnic bake: make ahead and no mess – just hand around the tin. This crowdpleasing chewy-in-the middle, crisp-on-the-outside recipe makes 20 cookies to share (enough for seconds).

More great ideas

• Raspberry loaf cake
• Easy butterfly cakes
• Pineapple blondies
• Blackberry and almond squares
• Honey flapjacks

The drinks

Homemade lemonade
There’s something so Famous Five about homemade lemonade at a picnic. Top up the zesty lemon base with sparkling water to serve. If you prefer lashings of ginger beer, we’ve got a recipe for that, too.

Elderflower cordial
Forage in the hedgerows for fresh elderflowers then use them to make this classic cordial. It keeps in a cool, dark place for up to two months, so you can make and store it well in advance of your picnic.

More great ideas

• Homemade cream soda
• Peach iced tea
• Raspberry lemonade

Good picnic snacks to buy

Add these staples to your shopping list (or delegate to a friend)

• Olives
• Houmous
• Crisps
• Crudités
• Cheese straws
• Charcuterie
• Crackers
• Fresh berries

For more inspiration, grab a cuppa and take a look through our complete picnic recipes collection.