Ideas and Tips for Vegan Picnic Recipes

Ready for the tastiest vegan picnic? Try these vegan picnic recipes, plus use these tips for summer picnic food safety!

Vegan picnic recipes

When it comes to putting together a healthy vegan picnic, it helps to have some go-to vegan picnic recipes. Use these ones:

Appetizers and Sides

Mains

Desserts

Drinks

6 healthy picnic tips

Now that you have your menu of vegan picnic recipes set, let’s talk tips to help your picnic go as seamless as possible.

Use these tips for a tasty, calorie-friendly, and easy picnic. You’ll also find food safety picnic safety tips here!

1. Prep healthy sides in advance

Think about preparing food the night before. “My go-to picnic recipes are whole-grain and bean salads because they taste better when you make them the day before,” says Christy Brissette, MS, RD, author of Everyday Low Carb.

2. Cool your food

Keep your food cold by packing it with frozen water bottles. That’s right, don’t pack drinks in separate coolers! As the weather warms and the bottles melt, you’ll have really cold water to drink!

This tip helps to keep perishable food safe to eat, and hopefully your cooked food won’t even get to room temperature. You want to keep harmful bacteria away!

3. Pack ingredients for wraps

When think up vegan picnic recipes, think easy sandwiches. Use Boston lettuce, flatbreads, or light whole-grain tortillas as the base. “Mixing and matching is a fun way to have a picnic,” says Bridget Swinney, MS, RD, author of Eating Expectantly.

Add shredded vegan cheese, hummus, cooked tofu crumbles, bagged salad, julienned carrots, and sliced cucumber to your picnic basket. Don’t forget to bring along paper towels or napkins.

4. Make a salad in a jar

“To keep things easy and neat, consider layered salads in mason jars so you can replace the lid and carry empty and dirty jars home to pop in the dishwasher,” says Judy Barbe, author of Your 6-Week Guide to LiveBest.

5. Use a lighter condiment

Here’s a reason that eating vegan is great for a picnic: “Even if your salads are chilled, mayo-based foods will spoil quicker.,” says Sarah Pflugradt, MS, RDN, author of Favorite Family Meals.

Choose olive and avocado oils. This is an especially important tip for prepping pasta salad.

6. Pack ready-to-eat fruit

“To make prep easier, focus on fruit like grapes, fresh raspberries, and apples that you just need to wash and put into a container rather than cut,” says Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD, author of Expect the Best.

Sources

• Julie Kay Andrews, MS, RDN, author of The 28-Day DASH Diet Weight-Loss Program
• Cindy Chou, RDN and chef at The Sound of Cooking
• Amy Williams at Nourish Plate
• Jessica Randhawa at The Forked Spoon
• Kidney Nutrition Institute
• Rebecca Pytell at Strength & Sunshine
• Alpa Jain at Culinary Shades
• Ann Evers at Air Fryer Everything
• Nija Clark at The Vgn Way
• Stephanie Collazo at Clean Food Mama
• Ann Otis at Our Happy Mess
• Christina Conte at Christina’s Cucina
• Mel Blake at Food Wine & Love
• Gwen Leron at Delightful Adventures
• Kayla Daniels at The Dairy-Free Menu
• Sunena Anand at The Sassy Foodie
• Meredith Kruse at Our Love Language is Food
• Christy Brissette, MS, RD, author of Everyday Low Carb
• Bridget Swinney, MS, RD, author of Eating Expectantly
• Judy Barbe, author of Your 6-Week Guide to LiveBest
• Sarah Pflugradt, MS, RDN, author of Favorite Family Meals
• Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD, author of Expect the Best

I’d love to hear from you! What other nutritious picnic foods do you enjoy?