Easy Picnic Recipes for the Beach or Wherever You’re Going This Summer

Snacks, sandwiches, sweets and more to grab and go, go, go.

Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Sue Li. Prop Stylist: Sarah Smart.

Published May 19, 2025Updated May 19, 2025

You’d think the first 70-degree day in New York was a government-sanctioned holiday, the way that throngs of winter-weary city dwellers spill out onto patios and piers and into parks. It’s a culturally sanctioned holiday, at least, an excuse to grab the portable speaker and some friends, and finally — finally! — eat outdoors. That feverish appetite for summer’s arrival is universal. We’re all itching to get outside, and the season’s restless nature necessitates food that can tag along with us. So below you’ll find 24 portable and shareable recipes built for the backyard, the beach and the communal barbecue, along with tips that will make planning and packing for blissfully unstructured days a little bit easier, and a lot more delicious.

From pass-the-Tupperware finger foods
to grazing platters that can double as dinner.

An overhead image of a snack mix with shrimp crackers, waffled rice cereal, pretzel sticks and toasted nori in a large steel bowl.

This snack mix will keep for one week in an airtight container, so it’s great for prepping ahead of a very outdoorsy weekend.

No one is more popular at the park hang than the friend who rolls up with a tub of fancy Spanish potato chips or a bag of elusive Japanese butter corn Cheetos. That is, until you show up with Sue Li’s snack mix, teeming with crunchy ramen noodles, shrimp crackers, puffed cereal, wasabi peas and more crunchy bits tossed in soy butter.

Recipe: Furikake Snack Mix

A platter holding tomatoes, mozzarella, prosciutto and olives peeks into the frame next to two servings.

If you’ve ever wondered, “What if a caprese was more?” you might worry that David Tanis learned how to read minds. His answer is a satisfying one, as he embellishes the classic salad with roasted peppers, caperberries, olives and prosciutto for a luscious grazing meal best sopped up with crusty bread, al fresco.

Recipe: Caprese Antipasto

A platter teeming with watermelon, scallions, cucumbers, herbs, grapes, lavash, walnuts and feta.

If this composed snacking plate from Naz Deravian were a summer blockbuster, the critics’ blurbs in the trailer would look something like this: “A sweet little gentle thing.” “Refreshing.” “A wonderful, delightful surprise.” “Summer in a plate.” That’s what readers are saying, anyway, about this open canvas of a recipe, ideal for leisurely nights on the patio.

Recipe: Naan-o Paneer-o Sabzi

Cubed watermelon sits on a white plate against a light pink background.

This salad needs to marinate for at least one hour and up to six, so it will get only better as it lingers. Enjoy it the same day, though!

What’s a day at the beach without a Tupperware of cubed watermelon, pulled from the recesses of the cooler and slick with condensation? This fruit salad, adapted from Malika Ameen by Tejal Rao, is sweet, sour and savory, a vibrant antidote to the salty sea air.

Recipe: Watermelon Chaat

A glass dish of creamy pickle dip rests on a tray full of ridged potato chips.

Our readers have spoken,
and they’re saying this dip is even better on Day 2.

This creamy dip from Ali Slagle takes a consummate snack for one — a crunchy pickle — and party-proofs it, stretching its briny flavors. This simple, playful sauce calls out for potato or pita chips, or your favorite crisp crudités. Dare we say, cucumbers?

Recipe: Dill Pickle Tzatziki

Totable, hearty sides that hold up well
under the pressures of a real we’re-going-outside summer.

A salad of cucumbers, chiles, peanuts and mint rests in a shallow white bowl with a spoon tucked in.

This salad needs to rest and chill for 30 minutes after it’s dressed (relatable), so plan accordingly.

I checked the Weather app this morning, and it said today’s high is cucumber salad degrees. Prepare accordingly with this refreshingly piquant salad from David Tanis, featuring more than a few stars of summer.

Recipe: Spicy Cucumbers With Mint, Scallions and Crushed Peanuts

A white enamel serving bowl with a blue edge holds a salad of tiny red potatoes, creamy dressing and herbs. Light blue glasses hold sparkling water.

Alexa Weibel reinvigorates potato salad, that standard-bearer of the picnic spread, with salty capers and bread-and-butter pickles, as well as plenty of parsley, dill and lemon zest. But she doesn’t stop there: Rather than just dressing and tossing the potatoes, she builds the salad in layers, alternating sauce and starch for some inspired eating.

Recipe: Potato Salad With Tartar Sauce and Fresh Herbs

A vibrant salad of black-eyed peas, tomato, cucumbers, bell peppers, chiles and herbs fill a sea foam green serving bowl.

Fresh with tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper and serrano chile, yet hearty with beans, this Senegalese salad from the chef Isaiah Screetch, adapted by Korsha Wilson, gets only better with time. Tied together with a lime dressing, it improves as it rests, so you too can rest easily knowing it’ll taste even better by the time it reaches its final destination.

Recipe: Saladu Nebbe (Black-Eyed Pea Salad With Tomatoes and Cucumbers)

An overhead image of a farro and tomato salad topped with arugula on a wooden table.

If you plan to eat this more than two hours later, pack the arugula separately and toss it in when you’re ready to serve.

Yossy Arefi had the beach and the barbecue in mind when she developed this recipe, which holds up well and packs double the tomato-y punch, thanks to both sweet cherry tomatoes and savory sun-dried tomatoes. “I wouldn’t change a thing about this salad,” one reader wrote.

Recipe: Tomato and Farro Salad With Arugula

An overhead image shows a pasta salad of macaroni, celery and herbs tossed in a light creamy dressing.

For those deterred by heavy, one-note, mayo-laden pasta salad, Alexa Weibel has something fresher, brighter, tangier. OK, there’s still a little mayo — would it really be pasta salad without it? — but pickles, celery, scallions, capers, dill, citrus, Dijon and a good dose of parsley provide ample texture, bite and distraction.

READER TIP

I made the dressing the night before minus the celery and scallions. It had such a nicely melded flavor the next morning. Then added all the remaining ingredients the next day before my picnic.

Recipe: Macaroni Salad With Lemon and Herbs

Sandwiches, skewers and more mains that will forgive whoever forgot to pick up the plates.

Quarters of an Italian hero stuffed with deli meats, cheese and seasoned lettuce fill a serving board.

Wrap sandwiches snugly with parchment or wax paper for tidier eating and transporting, as Ali suggests.

A hero on the beach by any other name — sub, hoagie, grinder — would taste as sweet. It is the canonical “we’re outside” sandwich, and Ali Slagle’s version nails the proportions, structure and assembly. Crucially, the wet ingredients (pickles, onions, dressed shredded lettuce) are enrobed in deli meats as to not soak the roll.

Recipe: Italian Hero Sandwich

A side image of halved pimento cheese and tomato sandwiches.

These are best eaten immediately, so pack up your bread, sliced tomatoes and pimento cheese separately and engage in a little picturesque picnic assembly.

Two Southern picnic mainstays — pimento cheese dip and the simple yet sublime tomato sandwich — come together for the collab of the summer in this recipe from Kia Damon. Fresh jalapeño gives the cheese spread a bit more of a jolt, without stealing the tomatoes’ thunder.

Recipe: Pimento Cheese and Tomato Sandwiches

Onigiri with their sides dipped in mixed sesame seeds sit on a white and yellow striped plate on a wooden table.

These hand-held delights are a Japanese convenience store staple for their pint-size portability. Priya Krishna stuffs hers with salmon (you could certainly use fish from last night’s dinner), but onigiri filling is flexible: Tuna mayo or pickled vegetables would be just as satisfying.

READER TIP

Lay a piece of plastic wrap flat. Scoop rice onto it and spread it out sort of flat. (I often salt the rice a bit at this stage.) Place your filling on top in the center. Using the plastic wrap, fold the rice over the filling so it forms a ball, then shape into a triangle. Unwrap the plastic so you can wrap the nori around the rice, then re-wrap the plastic and you’re ready to go!

Recipe: Salmon Onigiri

Four hoagie rolls split and stuffed with a marigold cauliflower salad rest on a parchment-lined sheet pan.

These sandwiches can be enjoyed up to 12 hours after they’re assembled — just chill them if you plan to eat them more than an hour later.

Ham El-Waylly built these chicken salad-inspired vegetarian subs with an on-the-go lifestyle in mind. The sandwich, not just the hard-roasted cauliflower, walnut, apple and raisin filling, improves after some time to sit, so you needn’t worry if your destination is a bit of a ride away.

Recipe: Cauliflower Salad Sandwiches

A side image of a baguette cut in half and filled with ham, rich cherry jam and butter.

For long, languorous days at the beach or park, a sog-proof sandwich is in order. Bread lathered in salted butter will hold up better over time than breads drenched in mayo, though each is exceptional in its own way. Ali Slagle punches up the classic French jambon-beurre with fruit preserves and Dijon for a charcuterie-on-the-go feel.

Recipe: Ham and Jam Sandwich

Two skewers of well-charred chicken pieces rest on a grilled flatbread, garnished with grilled scallions, yogurt sauce, mint and lime wedges.

These skewers from Clare de Boer are tender from a yogurt marinade and fragrant from a tarragon-mint baste brushed over as they char. Be sure to throw some pita on the grill while you’re at it, so that not a drop from the juicy chicken goes to waste.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Skewers With Tarragon and Yogurt

A white platter holds skewers of reddish grilled shrimp and cherry tomatoes. Lemon wedges are scattered around the plate.

These supremely simple shrimp skewers from Yossy Arefi require only five ingredients (not including salt and olive oil), making grilling on location, be that at the public park or poolside, a cinch. Using a condiment like spicy harissa paste streamlines the marinating process, so you can prepare the skewers quickly before stepping out for the afternoon.

Recipe: Grilled Harissa Shrimp

An overhead image shows cross sections of chicken salad wraps that have been rolled in parchment paper.

This salad can be made up to three days in advance, but hold off on throwing it in a wrap with any leafy greens until the day of.

The only thing that improves a well-seasoned, crunchy and fresh chicken salad? The smoky notes imparted when the chicken is charred first. Yossy Arefi’s recipe, rolled up alongside some crisp lettuce in your favorite wrap, is the sort of finger food you’ll want to reach for before you’ve had the chance to wipe the sunscreen from your hands.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Salad

An overhead image shows a puff pastry tart that has been garnished with sour cream, smoked salmon, cucumbers, red onion, capers and dill.

This breezy tart from Christian Reynoso tastes best in a grassy backyard dappled in late-morning light. It certainly looks best in that context, anyway. And it can be assembled entirely at the table, if you like: Bake off the store-bought puff pastry, then top it like a pizza when you’re ready to eat.

Recipe: Quick Smoked Salmon Tart

An overhead image of grilled squash slices threaded onto skewers.

Skewers of tender grilled zucchini and eggplant are the sort of low-mess, low-stress thing you’ll be happy to lug to the grill, wherever it may be. Melissa Clark marinates the vegetables in a bit of oregano- and garlic-infused olive oil for a subtly summery flavor.

Recipe: Summer Vegetable Skewers

Cheerful treats that will make it to your destination with ease — but they won’t last long there.

A dozen squares of Rice Krispies treats, speckled with black sesame, sit in a dark blue pan.

Rice Krispies treats aren’t just fun to eat; they’re durable too, their compact nature making them tough to crush in even the most-stuffed cooler bag. Eric Kim embellishes his with butter-fried black sesame seeds and toasted sesame oil for a fragrantly nutty sweet-tooth satisfier.

To make these even easier to pack and distribute, cut them into squares or rectangles, and wrap them individually. They’ll tuck nicely into the unoccupied crevices of your cooler or tote.

Recipe: Black Sesame Rice Krispies Treats

Jammy bars topped with pistachio are photographed from overhead.

These sandwich bars from Yewande Komolafe are everything you want in a potluck dessert: fruity, colorful, crunchy and, of course, a breeze to share. “Delicious and easy recipe!” one reader wrote. “Brought this to a picnic and received many compliments and recipe requests.” Go get your compliment!

Recipe: Strawberry Jam Bars With Cardamom

An overhead image of blondies frosted with a yellow frosting and scattered with pistachios.

Priya Krishna’s floral, nutty blondies are reminiscent of the radiant late-afternoon sun, with their amber saffron-infused frosting. And just like the waning light, basking in their glow is best done alongside friends. Thankfully, they’re especially shareable.

Recipe: Saffron Pistachio Blondies

A glazed partly sliced pound cake sits on a crumbled sheet of parchment. A single serving sits off to the side.

What’s a list of summery treats to take outdoors without a little lemony moment? Surely, real New York Times Cooking fans will know that this five-star recipe for a supple, citrusy loaf cake could come from only one source: the queen of lemons herself, Melissa Clark.