Vegan & vegetarian picnic ideas for a tasty summer spread
Updated 16th Sep 2026
Paper plates and (sun)glasses at the ready! Picnic season (a.k.a. summer) is here! And we’ve a spread of plant-based picnic food to pop in your summer picnic basket. Quick and easy recipes, inspo from around the world, family-friendly plant-based nibbles… look no further. (Well, just a little bit.) And whether you’re heading to the park or the garden, beach or living room, your basket will be bursting with delicious plant-based picnic goodies.
Plant-based picnic recipes made for sharing
Enjoying time together makes picnics so much fun. So sharing platters are a brilliant idea. If you want a posher picnic lunch, tightly wrap your platter in food wrap to transport it. Otherwise, you can simply pop it into a plastic box. Flavour, colour, texture… there’s so much for everyone to enjoy.
The no-cheese crowd-pleaser
Looking for vegan picnic food that everyone can get stuck into? Our Tofu ‘Halloumi’ Sharing Platter is easy to make (but not so easy to resist). Our Extra Firm Plant-Based Tofu is the halloumi-switch hero, accompanied by a colourful spread of fresh, tasty ingredients. Watermelon and asparagus are full of summer flavour, and the pesto hummus dip will keep picnic dunkers happy. Whip this out at your picnic and you’ll be crowned an outdoor summer eating expert.
Summer flavours by the spoonful
Bring the sunshine flavours of North African cuisine to your picnic blanket this summer. Just be sure to make plenty of our plant-based Moroccan Falafels with Rose Harissa Couscous because this vegan dish will have everyone coming back for seconds. Rose harissa has an unmistakable taste, balancing spice and floral flavours. Perfect for dipping, scooping or loading onto plates, this fresh, flavour-packed vegetarian picnic food feels as good as it tastes.
Easy vegan picnic snacks & quick bites
In a hurry? You can pick up a few faves and have a picnic packed up in no time. Just what you need when the weather takes an unexpected turn for the better. With so much deliciousness, your picnic guests are going to need a bigger plate.
Falafel – the ultimate picnic snack
Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside – our Middle Eastern Plant-Based Falafel and Butternut & Red Chilli Falafel Bites are delicious hot or cold for quick vegetarian picnic snacks this summer. These flavour-packed bites are perfect for sharing, dipping, or packing into wraps – a top-tier choice for your summer picnics.
Picnic bowls worth packing
The best thing about Poke and Buddha Bowls is the taste, obvs. The second best thing is how simple yet stunning they are, that you can easily add what you love, that you can make as much or as little as you need, and that they’re great for tofu and falafel lunch ideas. (Which is a lot of ‘best things’ come to think of it.) You could even pop one in your pack up and enjoy a blissful picnic by yourself on your lunch break. (Blanket optional.)
Tuck into a Summer Tofu Poke Bowl
Originating in Hawaii, poke bowls are delicious, colourful with a protein (traditionally fish), veggies, carbohydrate (usually rice) and a sauce or marinade. From this base, there are so many delicious vegan picnic dishes you can create, like our Summer Tofu Poke Bowl. Grapefruit, ginger, garlic, and chilli flakes give our Extra Firm Plant-Based Tofu extra fresh and zingy flavour. And it’s ready to go in 10 minutes! (Just enough time to pack up the picnic bag.)
Build a Buddha bowl with falafel-loads of flavour
Falafel fans are in for a treat with our Vegan Falafel Buddha Bowl with Creamy Avocado Dressing (that’s a magnificent mouthful, even to say!) It takes a bit of time to roast the crispy chickpeas to perfection, but it’s well worth it. You can, of course, make it up in advance too. There’s such an incredible variety of textures, colours and, most of all, flavour.
Poke or Buddha bowl, pack one in your vegan picnic to bowl everybody over.
Bright ideas for veggie sarnies and salads
Sandwiches and salads are classic picnic dishes. But that doesn't mean they have to be dull! Brighten things up with a rainbow of colourful and flavourful foods. As always, it’s totally about the taste. What mouthwatering moments will you enjoy this summer?
Roll on picnic lunch ideas
These Tofu Summer Rolls have an abundance of lip-smacking flavour. Chop up fresh crisp veg, add our aromatic Garlic & Ginger Marinated Tofu Pieces, and wrap in deliciously delicate (or is that delicately delicious?) rice paper. Don’t forget the dipping sauce, and let everyone dip in.
Layer up the flavour
Our Rainbow Reuben Tofu Sandwich is packed fuller than the family calendar at the end of the school year. The tofu gets sliced thinly before marinating, and there’s a quick kraut, Russian dressing, and vegan cheese to get mouths watering to the max. Pile it high and give your jaw muscles a big stretch.
Trust in tofu
You can serve up our Vietnamese Tofu Skewers with a salad, making them perfect for picnics. Or perhaps you could pop them in a picnic wrap. Griddle the tofu and broccoli for those gorgeous chargrilled edges. These are wonderfully versatile, totally vegan, and could take top spot on the ‘what food’s disappearing first?’ sweepstake.
Or try these Tofu Puffs with Miso Ginger Dressing, made with our Extra Firm Plant-Based Tofu for the perfect protein-packed, preppable picnic snack, starter, or salad topper.
Add something extra to your salad
Give your greens a glow-up with protein-packed toppings and bold dressings. This Tofu Caesar Salad is a perfect example – fresh, filling and made for sharing. Prep your BBQ Tofu Rainbow Summer Salad in the airfryer (or the BBQ). It’s brilliantly colourful with tastiness till the last bite. When you pack it up for your picnic, keep the dressing separate. Then drizzle over the salad just before you serve. This could be the first time you see someone lick a paper plate clean.
Sweet vegan picnic treats worth saving room for
Because no picnic is complete without a little something sweet! These vegan picnic snacks double up as desserts and are ideal for sharing (or not).
Chocolatey bites & churro treats
Small but mighty, these sweet treats are perfect picnic picks. Make these rich, fudgy Tofu Brownie Balls or crispy, dunkable Vegan Churros with Chocolate Dipping Sauce, and you’ll be the most popular guest at the picnic.
Creamy, dreamy dessert pots
Take things up a notch with something a little more indulgent. This Vegan White Chocolate Raspberry Crème Brûlée is a showstopper that’s well worth packing.
Get stuck in
Our blog’s bursting with tips and ideas, info and inspiration. It’s all the stuff about plants that we couldn’t wait to share (but didn’t know where else to put!) There’s so much to get your teeth into.
