Our Best Picnic Recipes

Grilled Antipasto Focaccia Sandwich

Italian food is all about sharing, so why not serve a giant sweet and spicy grilled sandwich as an appetizer? Offer it up on a wooden board with a serrated knife and invite company to cut their own pieces—as little or as big as they like.

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Perfect Tuna Salad Sandwiches

This classic sandwich gets a boost with a twist of lemon and a sprinkle of chopped olives. The sandwiches are best assembled just before eating, so the bread doesn't get soggy. Just pack your fillings and bread separately. If you don't have bread on hand, serve the tuna mixture with crackers and vegetables for dipping.

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Tofu Salad Sandwiches

This creamy filling looks just like egg salad and bursts with fresh dill and pickle flavours. It keeps well, so you can double it to have leftovers for easy lunches. If you like, add alfalfa sprouts when layering the sandwiches.

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Tropical Fruit Salad

This refreshing exotic fruit salad is an after-dinner indulgence that's light enough to end a rich meal but sweet enough to please the palates of friends and family.

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Broccoli Cheddar Frittata

Enjoy this vegetarian frittata that's packed with broccoli and cheddar for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

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Chicken Skewers With Peanut Lime Dipping Sauce

These skewers pair nicely with sesame noodles or sautéed greens.

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Grilled Mushroom Skewers

Meaty mushrooms grill in a flash and complement just about any meal. If you have leftovers, toss them into an omelette or salad the next day. Be sure to soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before using so that they don't burn.

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Herbed Egg & Potato Salad

Forgo mayo with this lightened-up potato salad. Boiling the potatoes whole and cutting them after cooking allows them to better hold their shape.

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Watermelon Fruit Salad

Sweet, juicy watermelon is packed with antioxidants and vitamins C and A. Watermelon has an extremely high water content (about 92 per cent), giving its flesh a crumbly, subtly crunchy texture and making it a favourite thirst-quenching fruit. For best flavour, choose melons with brightly coloured flesh with no white streaks. When choosing a whole watermelon, look for one that is heavy for its size with a relatively smooth rind that is neither overly shiny nor overly dull.

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Fully Loaded Potato Salad

This version of potato salad has all the comfort of a fully loaded baked potato. If you're near a kitchen, crisp up your cooked and chopped bacon by microwaving it for 20 seconds before sprinkling on the salad.

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The Best Chocolate Brownies

Yes, these really are the best brownies ever! For a fancy plated dessert, cut cooled brownies with a round cutter, dust with icing sugar or cocoa powder, and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

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Cheddar Scones

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Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

This straightforward recipe for the classic cookie has been in Canadian Living's recipe archive for decades. For a larger cookie, simply double the amount of dough per cookie and increase the baking time by a couple of minutes. 

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Lemon Crackle Cookies

Creamy ricotta gives these lemony cookies a soft, cakey texture. To get the most defined crackled tops, be sure to generously coat the cookies with icing sugar before baking.

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Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

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Festive "Taco" Pasta Salad

This Mexican-inspired pasta salad will surely brighten any family reunion. Its colourful Mexican flavours, paired with fresh ingredients like cilantro, peppers, red onion and cherry tomatoes make it the perfect dish for serving large crowds.

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Lemony Red Pepper And Asparagus Pasta Salad

A bright vinaigrette makes this pasta salad the ultimate dish to serve at any summer party. The acidity of the lemon dressing mellows as it stands in the fridge, so this dish is actually better the next day.

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The Ultimate Macaroni Salad

This recipe will become your go-to for picnics, potlucks and the like. The dressing will continue to thicken as it stands; if you make the salad a day in advance, add water, a tablespoon at a time, before serving to reach the desired consistency.

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Steak And Pesto Baguette Sandwiches

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Beet & Cumin Hummus

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Ploughman's Lunch Sandwiches

We've transformed the traditional ploughman's lunch into a savoury sandwich. Branston pickled chutney is typically served in this dish, but we’ve substituted with a pickled beet hummus.

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Edamame, Red Pepper And Corn Salad

This bright salad tastes as good as it looks. Use shelled edamame (Japanese green soy beans), which can be found in your grocer's freezer section, to make this salad in just five minutes.

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Mini Leek And Bacon Pies

These cute individual-size pies are delicious served either hot, as an elegant starter with a salad, or cold, eaten out of hand with a little HP sauce.

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Fennel And Parmesan Coleslaw

Fennel is perfect in a summer salad because it stays crisp in dressing and doesn't discolour. The lemon vinaigrette mellows its licorice flavour, so give this salad a try even if fennel isn't your favourite. For a boost of colour, add up to 2 tbsp more chopped fennel fronds if your fennel bulb still has a lot attached.

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