20 tips for a successful picnic

On the beach, in a park, or in the forest, a picnic is always a friendly moment where we like to share different dishes, salty and sweet, and often homemade. Are you lacking the inspiration to prepare lunch? Get your beautiful checkered tablecloth ready and discover our quick and easy recipe ideas.

Both delicious and refreshing, cold cucumber soup, like gazpacho, helps us get through the hot weather better. It is made with natural yogurt, lemon, cucumber, fresh mint leaves, salt, and pepper. Add pieces of green apple to give it a fruity touch.

A quick and easy dish is the savory pie. To make the one pictured here, you will need flour, eggs, baking powder, milk, olive oil, salt, pepper, bacon bits, grated cheese, and green olives. A real treat!

Quiche is a great classic that accompanies us to all events. We never get tired of it, perhaps thanks to its easy preparation and cooking time. A puff pastry, 4 eggs, 25 cl of liquid cream, 100 g of grated cheese, 200 g of bacon bits, 1/2 onion, salt, pepper, and you're done. To vary the flavors, replace the Gruyère cheese with grated Comté cheese.

Fresh and colorful, the tomato tart is a delight to taste in summer. It is made in about thirty minutes, with the following ingredients: puff pastry, 5 tomatoes, 1 tbsp of mustard, pieces of fresh goat cheese, and a pinch of Provencal herbs. This tart goes perfectly with a green salad and a glass of rosé.

Cut your bagel in half and toast each side. Then spread a layer of fresh cheese, such as Philadelphia or Saint-Morêt. Then place avocado slices on top. You can add a few slices of mozzarella if you are a cheese lover. Don't forget to sprinkle the whole thing with sesame seeds, if you have some on hand.

As the star of our summer buffets and Sundays around the barbecue, the pasta salad is an ode to conviviality. To make it, there is no single recipe; you can let your imagination run wild! If you like Italian flavors, mix your already cooked and cooled pasta with cherry tomatoes, pesto, mozzarella, and basil.

This snack does not actually require any preparation. Take sliced bread and the terrine of your choice in your picnic basket to make delicious country sandwiches.

What if your meal basket was flavored with the flavors of the Orient? The Lebanese tabbouleh is concocted from semolina, parsley, mint, tomatoes, new onions, lemon, and olive oil. An explosion of flavors in the mouth. The original recipe can also be revisited with quinoa, chickpeas, or grated cauliflower, for example.

Convenient to take with you, quick to make, varied, fresh, and healthy... wraps tick all the boxes of a successful picnic basket. Chicken-avocado, tomatoes-mozzarella, salmon and fresh cheese, ham-crudités... Mix your ingredients in a wheat tortilla, add a little sauce, roll up your wrap, and enjoy!

To make a potato salad, both fresh and seasonal, you will need 500 g of potatoes, 1/2 red onion, arugula, fresh basil, and lime. Add a fruity side to your salad with pieces of mango or peach. Success guaranteed!

Caesar sauce is made with two eggs, a clove of garlic, grated parmesan, 1/2 lemon, sherry vinegar, olive oil, anchovy fillets, single cream, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. In a salad bowl, mix lettuce, chicken breast, and croutons. Then pour the homemade Caesar sauce over your preparation.

Obviously, a real picnic basket cannot be complete without its share of sweets. Let's start with a great classic for chocolate lovers: the brownie. With its cooking time of 15 minutes, the chocolate brownie is easily prepared using 250 g of dark chocolate, 150 g of butter, 150 g of sugar, 60 g of flour, 3 eggs, and 1 sachet of vanilla sugar. And what pleasure in the mouth!

Photo: Anna Przepiorka / Unsplash

For a slightly lighter dessert, opt for a good fruit salad. There's no precise recipe to compose this one: you just have to mix the fruits you love, such as strawberries, bananas, kiwis, blackberries, apples, or even peaches. Add some lemon juice and honey to give it more flavor and help it keep its original colors. You can also add crunch to the salad with almonds, walnuts, or pistachios.

Photo: Rebecca Hansen / Unsplash

They are always appropriate and their small size makes them practical to carry: muffins fit perfectly in your picnic basket. For a dozen muffins, the classic recipe is made with 200 g of flour, 150 g of sugar, chocolate chips, 2 tsp of baking powder, 100 g of butter, 2 eggs, 120 ml of skimmed milk, and 1 tsp liquid vanilla.

In summer, we generally eat melons in abundance. It goes without saying that they make for a great addition to our picnic. Cut your melon into cubes and place them in Tupperware to transport them in your basket.

Apple pie is known to appeal to young and old alike. To make it in a heartbeat, you will only need very few ingredients: shortcrust pastry, 2 apples, 100g of apple compote, and 1 tbsp of brown sugar.

Photo: Didi Yum / Unsplash

Another quick and easy-to-prepare dessert, homemade strawberry yogurt requires 500g Greek yogurt, 250g strawberries, 50g mascarpone, and 1 vanilla pod to make. Once the preparation is complete, pour your strawberry yogurt into small tubs so you can easily take it with you in your picnic basket.

Who could say no to delicious chocolate chip cookies? To make these classics, you will need 100g chocolate chips, an egg, 85g butter, 85g sugar, 150g flour, a packet of vanilla sugar, and 1 tsp baking powder.

If your picnic extends into the afternoon, be aware that banana bread will help you through lunch and snack time. To make this staple of American cuisine, you will need 3 bananas, 2 eggs, 400 g flour, 200 g sugar, 100 g butter, and 1 tsp baking powder.

To accompany your savory and sweet dishes, bring a fresh lemonade! Lemons, limes, mint leaves, a little sugar, and water will suffice for this homemade delicacy.