Our 14 Best Indoor Picnic Recipes So You Can Pretend It's Summer All Year Long

Accompany these recipes with a basket and a blanket for the ultimate picnic in your living room

By SAVEUR Editors
March 8, 2018

Just because it's cold or raining outside doesn't mean your picnic dreams have to be ruined. Grab a blanket and a picnic basket and set up camp in your living room. You can make all the traditional foods, like pimento cheese sandwiches, pasta salad and bite-sized hors d'oeuvres. Finish the meal with a few desserts, like chocolate and peanut butter buckeyes or chocolate chip cookies. Keep it authentic and try not to make anything that requires heat (but, obviously you have the luxury of your oven being in the next room if you're craving a warm finger food). With our best indoor picnic recipes, you can spice up a winter day or a rainy summer one without letting the weather get you down.

Sausage and Arugula Pasta Salad

Sausage and Arugula Pasta Salad
Pasta salads are essential summer food: they travel well; they're easy to adapt to whatever produce you have on-hand; and they're simple to make in large portions, making them perfect dishes to carry to parties, picnics, and barbecues. Get the recipe for Sausage and Arugula Pasta Salad »Farideh Sadeghin

Pappardelle with Mixed Mushrooms, Ricotta, and Walnuts

Pappardelle with Mixed Mushrooms, Ricotta, and Walnuts
A mix of sautéed mushrooms, toasted walnuts, ricotta, thyme, honey, and pappardelle, this pasta dish needs only a green salad on the side. Get the recipe for Pappardelle with Mixed Mushrooms, Ricotta, and Walnuts »Farideh Sadeghin

Jude's Perfect Potato Salad

Jude's Perfect Potato Salad
A healthy dose of celery seeds and sharp Dijon mustard add a kick to this mashed potato and egg salad. Get the recipe for Jude's Perfect Potato Salad »James Oseland

Nut and Cheese Gougères

Pecan gougeres
This recipe is adapted from cookbook author Dorie Greenspan. You can portion and freeze these gougères in advance, then bake them just before guests arrive (you may need to add a few minutes of baking time). This recipe makes soft gougères that are custardy in the center. If you prefer a firmer puff, use 4 eggs. Get the recipe for Nut and Cheese Gougères »Matt Taylor-Gross

Pigs in a Blanket with Herbed Mustard Dipping Sauce

pigs in blanket
The dough, a variation on a Southern-style biscuit dough, is rolled out and folded several times to ensure delicate layers. Leftover dough and scraps can be rolled out again and cut and baked into biscuits. The dough can also be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen until ready to use. Get the recipe for Pigs in a Blanket with Herbed Mustard Dipping Sauce »Matt Taylor-Gross

Deviled Eggs With Crab

Oeufs Mayo with Crab
Chef Yves Camdeborde assembles these haute deviled eggs—the whites marinated in soy sauce and pomegranate vinegar—à la minute at his stand-up bar L'Avant Comptoir de la Mer in Paris, but you can make the filling up to a day in advance and keep it refrigerated. Be sure to drain the whites immediately after 15 minutes of marinating so they don't toughen. Get the recipe for Deviled Eggs With Crab »Matt Taylor-Gross

Grilled Peach with Rosemary, Smoked Country Ham, and Toasted Pistachios

Grilled Peach with Rosemary, Smoked Country Ham, and Toasted Pistachios
Inspired by the classic combination of prosciutto and melon, chef John Karangis of Union Square Events created this elegant summer appetizer that marries the sweetness of smoky grilled peaches with salt-cured Italian ham. When choosing peaches for grilling, be sure to pick fruit that's slightly firmer. If they are labeled "freestone," all the better—the pit will pop out without much struggle. Get the recipe for Grilled Peach with Rosemary, Smoked Country Ham, and Toasted Pistachios »Matt Taylor-Gross

Pimento Cheese Sandwich with Homemade Pickles

Pimento Cheese with Homemade Pickles
"We think about building sandwiches in the way that a chef thinks about building a plate. It's a question of layering textures and flavors and making the food exciting. If you want to bump this up a notch, add a slice or two of bacon, because bacon makes everything better."—John Bates, Noble Sandwich Co., Austin, Texas Get the recipe for Pimento Cheese Sandwich with Homemade Pickles »Joseph De Leo

Ricotta and Honey Sandwich

Ricotta and Honey Sandwich
A dollop of ricotta on earthy-sweet oat bread is delicious; add a drizzle of sourwood honey and it's elevated to the exquisite. (For a bit of sophisticated heat, top with a sprinkle of freshly-crushed red pepper flakes.) Get the recipe for Ricotta and Honey Sandwich »Helen Rosner

Cucumber, Pear, and Sumac–Onion Salad

Cucumber, Pear, and Sumac–Onion Salad
This twist on a classic Israeli salad, in which Asian pear stands in for tomatoes, is a refreshing counterpart to warm, spice-roasted meats like chicken or kebabs. Get the recipe for Cucumber, Pear, and Sumac–Onion Salad »Neal Santos

Peanut Butter Buckeyes

Peanut Butter Buckeyes
These chocolatey confections—popular in the Midwest, especially the Buckeye State, Ohio—are like a Reese's cup with extra filling. Get the recipe for Peanut Butter Buckeyes »Matt Taylor-Gross

Swedish Visiting Cake Bars

swedish visiting cake bars
This recipe, originally for a cake (not bars), was given to me by a Swedish friend who prized it for its flavor, and the fact that it could be made in minutes. I enjoyed it for years before discovering the pleasures of using the recipe to make bar cookies. The crisp, beautiful almond topping was a late and welcome addition as well. Adapted from Dorie's Cookies. Get the recipe for Swedish Visiting Cake Bars »Christina Holmes

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies test the limit of exactly how much chocolate you can possibly pack into one cookie. Made with cocoa powder and more than one type of chocolate chip, this cookie's soft dough benefits from at least 4 hours of refrigeration, allowing the disks to stay thick and chewy when cooked. Plus, the dough will keep frozen for several months, so stash a few in the freezer to throw in the oven whenever you're hit with a craving for chocolate. Test Kitchen Director Farideh Sadeghin developed this recipe based off New York City's famous Levain Bakery. Get the recipe for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies »Farideh Sadeghin

Swedish Cinnamon-and-Cardamom Bread

Swedish Cinnamon-and-Cardamom Bread
Fika means "to drink coffee" in Swedish. But it's more than just that. It's a moment to take a break, chat with friends, and enjoy a pastry—a tradition worth emulating. And one that's charmingly detailed in Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall's upcoming book Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break (Ten Speed Press, April 2015). Get a fikasugen (a fika craving) for proper Swedish coffee snacks like this cinnamon-cardamom bread. The yeasty cardamom-spiced dough is cut into a decorative pattern before baking. Get the recipe for Swedish Cinnamon-and-Cardamom Bread »Romulo Yanes

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