Picnic Foods for Date Night
Picnic foods for date night should be simple & uncomplicated. Here are ideas and delicious recipes that you can serve at your next romantic picnic for two.
If you’ve been following along in my cozy indoor picnic series, this is the 3rd and final picnic blog post. And truthfully, this is the best one because this post is all about the picnic food! Picnic food is the quintessential part of any indoor or outdoor picnic. A picnic is just not a picnic without it.
When it comes to the best picnic foods for date night, simplicity is essential. Picnic date food should include recipes that can be made ahead of time, include items that can be eaten with your hands, and food that can be eaten at room temperature. Each of the recipes and ideas I am sharing with you today for our picnic date night menu, encompass each of these things. You want to be able to enjoy date night too, right?!
Now before we begin to talk about picnic food, grab everything you need for a picnic in this blog post, where I shared all the picnic essentials along with links to shop. And, if you need ideas on how to set up an indoor picnic for 2, in this blog post I shared 5 steps for a cozy indoor picnic.
Let’s talk food…picnic food!
Tips to Keeping Picnic Date Night Food Simple
Picnics can be elegant or simple affairs. For picnic date nights, I like to lean on the side of simple. Date night should be about spending quality time with someone you love, so the food should not be overcomplicated. Here are a few tips to keep your picnic date food simple and easy to make.
- Prepare food ahead of time and store in a container that can easily be transported.
- Serve food that can be eaten at room temperature. You don’t want to worry about food spoiling.
- Food that can be eaten with fingers is a fun picnic food option. No utensils are needed, and who doesn’t love eating delicious food with their fingers?!
- No time to cook? Shop the prepared food section at your local grocery store for premade dishes & meals.
Best Picnic Food for Date Night Ideas
Avocado Chicken Salad Sandwiches on Croissants
Jump to RecipeThese easy to make, scrumptious chicken salad sandwiches were a delicious addition to our picnic menu.
What I love about this chicken salad sandwich recipe is that it does not contain any mayonnaise, which is ideal for a picnic! No need to worry if the sandwiches are going to spoil.
These sandwiches are not your average chicken salad since they are served on croissants. Croissants are rich, flaky, and buttery, which pairs nicely with the bright, fresh chicken salad filling. It also elevates the sandwiches (chicken salad on a French pastry…yes please!) without adding any extra work.
Since I served these sandwiches at our indoor picnic, I simply placed them on a large charcuterie board. If making these for an outdoor picnic, wrap them in parchment paper and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours. These taste delicious served at room temperature.
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Jump to RecipePasta salad is the easiest picnic date food option! It’s classic and can be prepared a million different ways with an infinite amount of ingredient variations. We love a Mediterranean pasta salad with chunks of tomato, feta cheese, and olives.
Pasta salad can be prepared a day or so ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to be served.
I placed our Mediterranean pasta salad in mason jars. It was easy to store individual portions this way, all I had to do was grab the jars from the fridge, and they were ready for our picnic. Simple & easy…my kind of picnic food!
Charcuterie Board
For indoor picnic, I placed most of our picnic food on a large wooden board to create a charcuterie board. Our charcuterie board included jars of pasta salad, chicken salad sandwiches, crackers, sliced pears, sliced white cheddar cheese, along with a bunch of grapes.
The fun thing about charcuterie boards is that you can include any food you love on them, and design them however you like! I kept our picnic charcuterie board basic & simple, but oh so yummy.
If you’re planning an outdoor picnic for date night, you could place all of your charcuterie ingredients in to-go containers like these, and you have the yumminess of a charcuterie board as individual servings.
Drinks & Dessert
Wine is the perfect accompaniment to picnic date food.
Whether you enjoy red or white, either would be delicious with this picnic menu. Dave and I enjoy white wine, so that is what I served at our cozy indoor picnic for 2.
And for dessert, I transformed a store bought cake from an ugly orange grocery store cake to a beautiful spring one. You can read about that transformation here, and see it here.
Where to Enjoy Picnic Date Food
While we enjoyed a cozy picnic in the comfort of our living room, these picnic date food ideas can be enjoyed anywhere! Pack up your picnic basket, grab your honey, and enjoy picnic food at some of these other locations.
- The Beach
- A Local Park
- State Forest
- Your Own Backyard
- Drive in Movie Theater
- At a Summer Concert
- Next to a River or Lake
Google great places to have a picnic near me and you will find so many places you may not have thought of to enjoy a picnic near you!
More Picnic Ideas
For all the picnic essentials you will need to create your own indoor or outdoor picnic visit our Amazon Storefront.
You can also shop this picnic shopping guide by clicking below.
Picnic Essentials Shopping Guide
For ideas on how to set up a picnic for two & how to serve your picnic food, visit this blog post for 5 steps to create a cozy indoor picnic.
Shop Our Home
Links to products featured in this post can be found in our Shop Our Home page. I hope this page makes shopping our home a little easier for you! I earn a small commission when you make a purchase from one of our LTK & Amazon Storefront links. Your support helps me continue to create meaningful content for you!
I look forward to sharing more of my home with you and inspiring you to have a well loved home! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LIKEtoKNOW.it.
xoxo, heidi
Avocado Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 Rotisserie Chicken meat removed from the bones & shredded
- 3 Medium Ripe Avocados or 2 Large
- 1/4 cup Red Onion minced
- 2 tbsp. Lime Juice
- 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the avocados with the skins & pits removed.
- To the avocados add the lime juice, olive oil, and salt & pepper. Mash together until desired consistency. Mash less for a chunkier texture, and less for smoother texture.
- To the avocado mixture, stir in the shredded chicken & minced onions. Toss together gently until well combined.
- Serve the avocado chicken salad on croissants or sandwiched between your favorite bread.
Notes
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 box Dry Pasta mini penne
- 1/2 English Cucumber thinly sliced into half moons
- 1 pint Grape or Cherry Tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup Pitted Kalamata Olives sliced
- 4 ounces Feta Cheese crumbled
- 1/4 Medium Red Onion peeled & minced
Mediterranean Pasta Salad Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 tbsp. Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp. Honey
- 1 small Clove of Garlic minced
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta al dente in a large stockpot of generously-salted water according to package instructions.
- While the pasta cooks, whisk all of the pasta salad vinaigrette ingredients together at the bottom of a large mixing bowl until well combined.
- Add cucumber, tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, and red onion to the mixing bowl.
- Drain pasta, then rinse under cold water for about 20-30 seconds until no longer hot. Transfer the pasta to the large mixing bowl.
- Toss until all of the ingredients are evenly coated with the vinaigrette.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
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Thank you Renae!
Yum! This sounds delicious!