10 Picnic Perfect Recipes You Can Eat On The Beach
Picnic foods and picnic food recipes should meet three standards. First, the recipe should be easily adapted to make a lot or a little, depending on how many people you're planning to feed. Second, the food should be something that can be easily pulled out and packed away again, depending on when and where you're planning to eat. And third, the food should be enticing, something that will draw attention on a table packed with other foods and keep everyone coming back for more.
Keep reading here for 10 picnic perfect recipes that you can easily prepare in your Topsail Island rental and take with you to enjoy on the beach!
Salsas
Salsas make a great picnic food for lots of reasons. They're colorful, easy to prepare, and can be eaten as a garnish, topping, or stand-alone side. They are also easy to divide into individual servings or keep as one large dish.
Cucumber Mango Salsa
This citrus-y cucumber mango salsa packs a bit of a surprisingly spicy punch. If your group prefers a salsa with less of a bite, consider swapping out the jalapeno pepper for a standard green pepper. This substitution will allow you to retain the beautiful color presentation of the recipe as well as the satisfying crunch.
Fruit Salsa
This sweet fruit salsa is almost a dessert in and of itself. Easy to make and a breeze to customize, this recipe will leave you and your crowd asking for more. Eat with cinnamon chips as recommended by the original author or get creative with it. Use as a compote on your morning toast or add to your afternoon ice cream.
Salads
Salads come in all shapes and sizes. These kinds of dishes are perfect for beach days because not only do they pack a hefty nutritional punch, they also tend to taste better the longer they have to marinate. Here are four tasty options that can easily go from fridge to cooler to table and back again.
Tomato and Chickpea Salad
This tomato and chickpea salad is a fabulous, beach-friendly dish. Filling and tasty, this recipe travels well and will hold up for several days. This salad is so good that you can pack this in your cooler rather than last night's leftover pizza and the kids will barely blink an eye.
Marinated Zucchini Salad
This marinated zucchini salad is perfect for the low-carb veggie-lovers in your group. The best thing about this salad is that the individual components can all be used as finger-food snacks until you're ready to mix them together, add the dressing, and eat!
Spaghetti Salad
Give pasta Thursday a huge make-over with this light and healthy spaghetti salad. It's quick and inexpensive to make, and one batch can feed a LOT of people. This versatile salad can also be eaten warm or cold, which makes it perfect for a day on the beach!
Quinoa Avocado Spinach Salad
Beach-going super foods lovers are sure to enjoy this quinoa avocado spinach salad. While this basic recipe is amazing on its own, it can easily be modified. Include beans or chicken to add more protein or toss in a handful of sunflower seeds for even more healthy fats.
Meat Treats
While salads make for delicious light and filling fare, chances are that some members of your beach party prefer options that are not entirely plant-based. Here are a couple of options that will keep your carnivores content.
Antipasto Salad Kabobs
What better way to convince the kids to eat some veggies than to serve them with meats and cheeses on a stick? For those reasons and more, these antipasto salad kabobs may be the perfect beach food. This recipe is fun to make, easy to pack in a cooler, and requires no additional utensils.
Salami & Cream Cheese Roll-Ups
Make sandwiches fun again with these salami and cream cheese roll-ups! Use this recipe as a template and get creative with the flavor combos. Swap the salami for roast beef and/or the green pepper for pickle, or make these roll-ups super kid-friendly with some ham and spray cheese!
Sweet Treats
You can't go to the beach without an option to satisfy your sweet tooth! Pack one - or both! - of these treats in your cooler and you can indulge all day long!
Cherry Walnut Bars
These cherry walnut bars are a well-prepared beach mom's secret weapon. Sweet without being loaded with extra sugar, filling without being heavy, and versatile enough to be served at any time of the day or night, you'll be happy to let your crowd eat as many as they want!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
While this chocolate peanut butter ball treat is certainly the most decadent recipe of the bunch, that doesn't mean that it doesn't pack a healthy punch. These full-of-fiber goodies will give your crew the boost of healthy energy they need to help them power through a day at the beach!
We here at Island Real Estate want your Topsail Island beach vacation to be the best it can be! No matter what you choose to pack in your cooler, we know that you'll have a great stay with us!
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