Choosing picnic food for kids requires a little thought, as their tastes and needs differ from adults.
Ensuring a fun and hassle-free experience is essential, with food that seamlessly complements picnic playtime adventures.
Little ones shouldn’t have to juggle plates or tackle unwieldy dishes during a picnic – fun, and enjoyment is the name of the picnic game for kids.

In this guide, we’ve curated a collection of picnic food ideas for kids crafted with young adventurers in mind.
Going beyond the ordinary picnic sandwich, we’ve embraced a medley of savory and sweet flavors. Recipes that focus on simplicity in preparation and convenience in transportation.
These kid-friendly picnic ideas are your ticket to a hassle-free picnic filled with fun and delicious memories.
Picnic Food for Kids
The challenge of creating a good kids' picnic menu lies in catering to their unique preferences.
Picnics are fun, so striking the right balance between wholesome and indulgent treats is the key.
Our handpicked kid-friendly picnic recipes go beyond the usual sandwiches, offering a variety of scrumptious, nutritious, and hassle-free options. From savory to sweet, these delights are bound to be a hit with the kids!
Bunny Sausage Buns
Why on earth would you have regular hotdogs or sausages in bread when you can make these adorable bunny sausage buns. Aside from resting and coking time, you only have to invest 30 mins to make these cute as a button hotdogs every kid is going to love.
Raw Veggie Wraps with Avocado
Wraps are perfect picnic sandwiches for kids because they are so easy to manage. Veggie wraps with avocado are a delicious and healthy option that you can tailor to suit even the pickiest eaters.
Star-Shaped Mini Ham & Cheese Sandwiches
When it comes to picnic sandwiches for kids, you don't have to be a square. Put those cookie cutters to good use with this easy sandwich makeover. You can even make entire bento box themes with shaped fruit & cheese slices to match.
Grilled Chicken Wraps
It's like a Caesar Salad in a wrap. Tasty grilled chicken with creamy dressing, cheese and lettuce in a picnic portable wrap. It's like a Caesar Salad in a wrap. Easy to make ahead of time and easy to manage al fresco.
Mini Caprese Salad Skewers
There is no better way to keep your salads simple and portable than to put them on a stick. This recipe is just the beginning of ways you can experiment with salad on a stick. It's a super kid-friendly and no mess, no fuss way to serve salads at a kids picnic. It also makes eating salad a little more interesting for kids.
Healthy Kitty Rice Cakes
Another recipe that wins points on the cute stakes and is also delicious and nutritious. While this recipe uses cucumber and cream cheese as the main filler, mix and match fillings as you please.
Mushroom Quesadillas
Kids love Mexican food, so these Mushroom Quesadillas make great handheld picnic food for kids. Make them in advance at home and wrap them in foil, or build them and cook them fresh on a BBQ plate at the picnic. You can find more Mexican picnic food ideas here.
Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwich Rolls (with Lavash Bread)
In a nod to the traditional English tea sandwich, these Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwich Rolls are excellent picnic food for kids. They are healthy and so easy to manage; little ones barely have to sit still to enjoy them.
Sausage Rolls Recipe
Everybody loves a good sausage roll, and they make deliciously portable picnic food, especially for a winter picnic. This sausage roll recipe gives you the know-how to whip these tasty pastry morsels up with ease. Eat the cold from the fridge or serve them piping hot. We give you all the tips for keeping food warm for a picnic here.
Mini Filo Pastry Quiches
Mini quiches are fabulous kid-friendly picnic food. They are easy to make, easy to eat, and there is no end of ways you can mix and match fillings and flavours. These mini quiches also have deliciously flaky filo pastry for extra points. Kids will love helping to make these.
Super Easy Zucchini Slice
Up there with mini quiches, Zucchini Slice is a delicious and healthy picnic companion. Whip these up in under an hour and watch them disappear in a flash. Serve them snack size at a kids picnic for easy handling, and feel free to experiment with different flavours or additions.
Sandwich Lollipops
Another creative way to prepare sandwiches when having a picnic for kids is to put them on a stick. So easy to make, these lollipop sandwiches will be the hit of the picnic spread. Imagine the colour and flavour variations you can come up with.
Chicken Macaroni Salad
Take a deliciously creamy macaroni salad and mix it with chicken salad, and you have a winning picnic combination—a great addition to a bento lunch box. Or, for a kid-friendly, easy to manage salad that is picnic portable, serve this in individual portion food containers.
Creamy Pesto Potato Salad
You can't go past a traditional creamy potato salad for another winning kid-friendly picnic salad. This potato salad is perfect for bento boxes or individual serve containers like the macaroni salad. You can even serve it in paper cups with a bamboo fork or spoon– a very kid-friendly way to serve salad at a picnic.
Scotch Eggs
Up there with sausage rolls, Scotch Eggs are a classic British picnic staple. They are a hearty snack that is easy to make and super portable. Scotch Eggs are a fabulous picnic lunch idea for kids that can be made well in advance and eaten hot or cold. This is also a great recipe for kids to help make.
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Chips
There is no need to resort to store-bought salty snacks when you can make delicious sweet potato chips.
These are so easy to make and are a healthier way to satisfy that salty snack craving.
Cranberry Chicken Salad on Apple Slices
Everyone loves a good chicken salad, so why not make it even more portable? Kids will love these snack-size Cranberry Chicken Salad Apple Slices.
Easy Ham and Cheese Pizza Scrolls
This is one of those super easy recipes kids love, and you can whip up in no time. Make a batch and pop them in the freezer for picnic pizza rolls anytime.
Chicken Cheese Balls
Another recipe you can make in advance and have on hand in the freezer. These Chicken Cheese Balls can be baked rather than fried, making them healthy and hassle-free: a tasty snack anytime and great picnic finger food for kids.
Easy Kids Charcuterie Board
Who says only grown-ups can enjoy grazing on a Charcuterie Board? It is such a great idea for kids picnics because you can bundle up all their favourite foods and simply lay it all out at the picnic for a snacking feast.
Carrot Star Bites
These gorgeous little Carrot Star Bites make delightful picnic food for toddlers. Although, I think kids of any age are going to love these bite-size cheesy snacks.
Vegetable Savoury Muffins
Muffins are such a great picnic food because they are so portable and so versatile. These savoury vegetable muffins remind us, muffins don't always have to be sweet to be great. Feel free to experiment with variations.
Simple Hot & Cold Picnic Dip Recipes
Dips are the best picnic food, even for kids picnics. Serve them with vegetable sticks, pita triangles or corn chips. Add them to sandwiches and wraps instead of cheese; there are many great ways to incorporate healthy and tasty dips into a kids picnic menu.
Healthy Snack Pack Lunch Box
Create a personalised protein-packed smorgasbord. Fill individual containers with assorted tasty ingredients and sauces for a deliciously healthy picnic lunch.
Ham and Cheese Biscuits
These are the perfect kid's picnic all-rounder. They are super tasty, easy to make and incredibly versatile. Eat them straight as a snack, or turn them into little sandwiches. Kids love them.
Pizza Grilled Cheese Monster Sammie
Bring your picnic sandwiches to life with this Pizza Grilled Cheese Monster Sandwich Idea. Another easy picnic idea that has so many possible variations.
Hawaiian Tortilla Roll Ups for Lunch
Cream cheese, pineapple and ham bundled into tidy, easy to eat Hawaiian pinwheel snacks. Cut them into halves for a larger serve wrap or slice into pinwheels for easy to eat snacks.
Kids Picnic Dessert Ideas
The key to great picnic desserts for kids is nothing too frilly or fancy. Stick to individual serve sweets such as cookies, slices, bars, muffins and balls. Use individual serve containers for desserts like no-bake cheesecakes for easy eating a no mess.
These are some incredibly portable picnic sweet treats kids will love and even some for the grown-ups as well.
Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
Super light and moist, these pumpkin muffins are a deliciously sweet addition to a kids picnic menu, especially a seasonal fall picnic. This recipe is low carb, so grown-ups can sneak one or two guilt-free.
Sweet and Healthy Spinach Banana Muffin Recipe
These kid-friendly muffins are a fun and tasty way to sneak in greens without compromising on taste.
Combining the sweetness of bananas with the nutritious benefits of spinach, they make a perfect picnic treat. Ready in just 35 minutes, these muffins are easy to pack, delicious, and always a hit with the little ones.
Vibrant Red Plaid Gingham Cupcake Baking Cups | Etsy
Give your baking a picnic vibe with these delightful gingham cupcake/muffin liners. They also make great containers for single-serve snacks or candy containers for a kids picnic party.
Jumbo Pumpkin Muffins Recipe
These sweet and velvety jumbo-size pumpkin muffins are a perfect picnic treat for hungry kids, especially for fall picnics.
4 Ingredient Pink Lemonade Mini Pies
You don't get much prettier than these Mini Pink Lemonade Pies. There are only four ingredients, no mixer required, and in 5 minutes, these delightful pies are in the fridge setting.
Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Cupcakes are a fantastic idea for picnics – especially kids picnics where sitting still to eat isn't always a high priority. A single-serve portable alternative to carrot cake, these moist carrot cake cupcakes are slathered in delicious cream cheese icing and lightly spiced with cinnamon and all things nice.
No Bake Chocolate Granola Bars
These no-bake Chocolate Granola Bars are healthy, delicious, and easy to eat, perfect for a kid's picnic. Naturally sweet and chewy, kids will love the chocolate and coconut flavours, and they take less than half an hour to make.
Easy White Chocolate Fudge
Everyone loves fudge, and it doesn't get much simpler than this recipe. This four-ingredient fudge recipe requires very little prep time– whip it up and pop it in the fridge; it's that simple. With or without nut, switch additions to what suits your picnic.
Gingerbread Loaf Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
It doesn't have to be Christmas to enjoy the flavours of gingerbread. This moist gingerbread loaf is topped with lashings of lush cream cheese frosting - a combination all kids will love any time of year.
Mary Berry Fork Biscuits With White Chocolate Chips
Delicious soft and buttery fork biscuits with a chocolate twist is bound to be a picnic winner. Whip these up in under half an hour with only four ingredients. These buttery morsels also have endless easy variations – chocolate, lemon, fruit, vanilla.
Large Plastic Picnic Ant Cupcake & Cake Toppers | Etsy
Create a fun picnic scene with these giant picnic ant cake toppers—a fun addition to cupcakes or a birthday cake for a kids picnic party.
Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispie Treats
Try these dipped in white chocolate with colourful sprinkles for a fun spin on the classic Rice Krispie.
Mini No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Recipe
Mini no-bake cheesecakes make great picnic desserts. Serve them up in individual containers that are easy to transport and easy to eat.
Low Carb Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
A decadent chocolate cake both kids and adults will love. Smothered in chocolate cream cheese frosting, this super moist low carb chocolate cake satisfies any sweet tooth with all-natural sweeteners without guilty carbs.
Homemade Linzer Cookies Recipe
A delicious shortbread style cookie filled with raspberry, you can make these cookies well in advance as they keep well. You can also play with different shapes and fillings.
No Bake Coconut Balls
Coconut Balls are a winner for both grown-ups and kids. Naturally sweet and creamy, these tasty truffles only require four ingredients and are vegan, Keto and allergen friendly. Make this portable sweet treat in under 20 minutes.
Teddy Bear Engraved Junior Rolling Pin for Cookie Embossing | Etsy
What better way to get in a Teddy Bear picnic kind of mood than with teddy bear embossed cookies. It is so easy to do with this gorgeous teddy bear engraved junior rolling pin. Kids will love making cookies with this.
No-Bake Chocolate Chip & Tahini Energy Balls
Energy balls are wonderfully easy and a great sweet snack without all the sugar. These no-bake choc-chip tahini energy balls are a deliciously healthy picnic sweet treat that only takes 15 minutes to make.
Unique Brownie Recipes for Your Next Picnic
Brownies are always a winner, no matter the occasion. We've rounded up an assortment of brownie recipes catering to every kind of brownie lover - gooey, crunchy, cakey, crackly and even crispy; they're all there.
Cocoa Peanut Butter Fat Bombs
Another easy sweet treat without all the extra sugar. Kids will love these Cocoa Peanut Butter Fat bombs as much as grown-ups.
Rainbow Frosted Grapes
Take grapes and jello crystals, and you have a colourful and fun addition to a kids picnic menu. These Frosted Grapes are so easy to make the kids could do it by themselves.
Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips Recipe
A great way to incorporate fruit into your picnic menu. Kids will love this take on fruit salad with the addition of easy to make home made cinnamon tortilla chips.
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Sticks
For a different take on chocolate chip cookies, try cookie sticks. These are so easy, you don't even have to portion your cookie dough, just press it into a pan and cook.
Chocolate Popcorn Bars
There is a lot of delicious things happening with these easy no-bake Chocolate Popcorn Bars. Creamy, crunchy, fluffy, salty & sweet. Whip these up in around 15 minutes and leave to set. It's that easy.
10 Scrumptious Picnic Cookie Ideas
Cookies are always a picnic go-to, especially homemade cookies. We've rounded up a bunch of great cookie recipes in case you run out of inspiration.