32+ Beach Picnic Food Ideas for Kids and Adults

Are you headed to the beach this summer? Some fun in the sun and waves is relaxing, but you sure can work up an appetite while you’re there. Instead of packing up your chairs and umbrellas to go to a restaurant or food stand, why don’t you make a few of these Beach Picnic Food Ideas to pack for a delicious lunch instead?

You’ll get to enjoy the beach longer and satisfy your food cravings all at the same time.

Beach Picnic Food Ideas

We’ve got over 30 yummy beach picnic food ideas below that we think you’re going to love. From salty snack mixes to yummy sandwiches to sweet treats, you’ll find everything you need for a memorable meal by the seaside.

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Picnic Lunch Ideas for the Beach

Healthy Fruit Wraps from naturalbeachliving.com: Kids and adults alike will love these yummy and healthy fruit wraps filled with a sweetened cream cheese spread, blueberries, kiwi, and sliced strawberries. You could add a drizzle of honey as well to amp up the sweetness of the fruits.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps from easyfamilyrecipeideas.com: Get all the flavor of chicken wings in a portable, much less messy wrap. Make this picnic lunch idea even easier by purchasing a rotisserie chicken and shredding it rather than cooking chicken breasts yourself. With bottled buffalo wing sauce, onions, tomatoes, and ranch dressing, these wraps come together in just a few minutes.

Turkey Cranberry Sliders from easyfamilyrecipeideas.com: Enjoy a bit of Thanksgiving even in the middle of summer with these easy peasy turkey sliders made with deli turkey, jellied cranberry sauce, and yummy mozzarella cheese. You’ll love every bite of these tasty sandwiches while you’re lounging on the beach.

Picnic Charcuterie Board from aussiehomecook.com: This is the ultimate beach picnic food idea! Add loads of meats, cheeses, crackers, pretzels, nuts, and more into a portable tackle box (or “snackle box”) for a charcuterie board that can go anywhere.

Main Dishes for a Beach Picnic

Chicken Salad with Grapes and Pecans from barleyandsage.com: Ditch ordinary sandwiches and make this gourmet version instead. Hearty chicken salad made with crunchy grapes and pecans is piled high on bakery-fresh bread. Don’t you want to take a big bite right now just looking at that picture?

Shrimp Wanton Cup Appetizers from ourwabisabilife.com: When you’re at the beach, seafood definitely needs to be on the picnic menu. These bite-sized shrimp appetizers are perfect. They’re light, easy to make, and tasty whether they’re served hot or cold.

Chicken Bread from bakecellence.com: If you’ve never tried this before, you’re in for a treat. This dish pairs chicken with fluffy bread, and it’s easier to put together than you think. Slice it up and put it in Tupperware before you head to the beach so you don’t have to fuss with slicing and serving it there.

Cucumber Cream Cheese Sandwich Rolls by christinascucina.com: Want some lighter fare for your beach lunch? Try these sandwich rolls made with fresh cucumbers, cream cheese, and lavash bread. It holds up better than regular bread in the cooler.

Green Goddess Wraps from strengthandsunshine.com: Pack some green goodness into a yummy wrap filled with broccoli, hearts of palm, and lima bean spread. These wraps are perfect for your vegan beach pals, but they’re good enough for everyone to eat.

Beach Picnic Recipes

Air Fryer Bacon Grilled Cheese from airfryeryum.com: Make grilled cheese sandwiches in the air fryer for a quick and easy lunch to take to the beach. All you need is bacon, bread, and your favorite kind of cheese. American, provolone, mozzarella, cheddar, or Monterey Jack are all great choices. Combine cheeses to make them even yummier! You can also use store-bought bacon crumbles if you don’t want to cook up bacon first.

Ham and Cheese Stuffed Bread from veenaazmanov.com: The only thing better than fresh, homemade bread is having that bread stuffed with ham and cheese. Slice it up, put it in an airtight container in your cooler, and enjoy a delicious piece whenever you get hungry at the beach.

Homemade Pretzel Dogs from funmoneymom.com: Hot dogs are wrapped in soft pretzel dough and baked until they’re perfectly golden for the perfect beach meal. Take along some tangy honey mustard sauce (or ketchup for the kids) for dipping. BBQ sauce would be a yummy choice, too.

Easy Beach Picnic Food Ideas

Sweet and Salty Trail Mix from lovebakesgoodcakes.com: Why buy pre-made trail mix when you can make your own at home using only the ingredients you love? This homemade trail mix is chock full of M&Ms, nuts, sunflower seeds, and raisins. Just put all the ingredients in a large zip-top bag, shake, and you’re done!

Sweet and Spicy Homemade Chex Mix from whattheforkfoodblog.com: Yes, it’s another Chex Mix recipe, but that’s because all the different variations are just so tasty. This recipe is sweet with a spicy twist, but you can adjust the heat to your family’s preferences.

Side Dishes for a Beach Picnic

Delicious and fresh Citrus Salad from easyfamilyrecipeideas.com: Enjoy a crunchy, healthy, citrus-y salad at the beach. It’s practically a meal on its own. While this is a winter citrus salad, you can sub the ingredients with seasonal citrus fruits, and it’ll still come out amazing.

Cucumber Boat Snacks from Natural Beach Living: Nothing will get kids more excited about eating at the beach than these fun and yummy cucumber boat snacks! It’s as easy as scooping out the cucumber seeds, adding ranch dressing, and a few carrot slices. Simple and the kids love this finger food shaped like a boat.

Salad Kabobs from sunglowkitchen.com: Don’t want to fuss with a bowl of salad while you’re at the beach? No worries! Put your salad fixings on a skewer instead. These scrumptious salad kabobs are made with baby mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, radishes, olives, cucumber, lettuce, and fresh basil. They’re then brushed with olive oil and drizzled with a flavorful balsamic glaze that brings all the flavors together nicely.

Watermelon Skewers from happykitchen.rocks: Delicious and healthy watermelon is paired with feta and drizzled with a yummy mint pesto. You can leave off the pesto to make them less messy for the beach and serve them with individual mini cups of pesto instead.

Brazilian Cheese Bread from simplelivingrecipes.com: This crave-worthy bread is crunchy outside, cheesy inside, and only takes 25 minutes to make from start to finish. They’re a hit with kids and adults alike and will quickly become one of your favorite appetizers.

Snacks for a Beach Picnic

Sweet and Salty Beach Snack Mix from sustainmycookinghabit.com: The kids’ eyes will light up when you bring out bags of this salty snack mix at the beach. It’s a tasty combination of whale crackers, pretzel Goldfish, Muddy Buddies, Cheerios, and sea animal fruit snacks. The printable labels are fun, too!

Protein Snack Packs from theforkedspoon.com: These protein bowls are basically a mini version of charcuterie, but each person can have their own container. Add fresh veggies, cheese, nuts, meats, and hard-boiled eggs. Hummus on the side is perfect for dipping your veggies in.

Homemade Graham Crackers from servedfromscratch.com: Since kids tend to be pickier eaters, it’s a good idea to take some familiar favorites along for them, like homemade graham crackers. Sure, you could just buy packaged ones from the store, but these are thicker and yummier. They’re also perfect for making S’mores!

S’mores Puppy Chow from 3boysandadog.com: Speaking of S’mores, take a S’mores-flavored snack mix to the beach, and you’ll be everyone’s favorite beach buddy! It gets its chocolate flavor from the hot chocolate mix and powdered sugar. The puppy chow is full of mini marshmallows, chocolate-coated Chex, and Golden Grahams.

Summer Beach Snack Ideas

Seasoned Oyster Crackers from frugalcouponliving.com: Head to the beach with this yummy ranch-flavored snack mix in your bag. It’s super tasty and filling and is great for feeding a large family while you’re enjoying some sand and sun.

Easy Beach-Themed Snack Mix from hunnyimhomediy.com: Here’s another fun beach snack mix with Chex, whale crackers, Goldfish, oyster crackers, Cheerios, and Cheeseballs. Once you’ve gotten all those ingredients together, they’re topped with a tangy garlic sauce and baked in the oven to let the flavors come together and keep the snacks crispy.

Garlic Ranch Pretzels from eatingonadime.com: Ranch-seasoned pretzels are easy to make in less than 30 minutes and are quickly devoured by all who come across them. They hold up very well for picnicking! Enjoy them while you read a good book in your beach chair.

Basic Soft Pretzels from pinchofyum.com: Instead of stopping by the food truck at the beach, bring along your own soft pretzels. Don’t forget some dipping sauces!

Sweet Treats for a Beach Picnic

Fruit Cheesecake Sugar Cookie Cups from funcountrylife.com: You’ll love these yummy fruit cups made with a sugar cookie muffin base and topped with sweetened cream cheese and pieces of fruit. They’ll be a big hit with the kids.

Strawberry Energy Balls from easyfamilyrecipeideas.com: Indulge in something sweet without the guilt. These strawberry energy bites are full of wholesome ingredients like oats, almond flour, peanut butter, honey, and dried strawberries. You can easily adapt this recipe with other dried fruits, too, like apricots or mango.

Blueberry Almond Shortbread Bars from cookiedoughandovenmitt.com: Add blueberry almonds and chewy dried wild blueberries to the batter to make these gorgeous shortbread bars. Once they’re done, they’re drizzled with some melted almond bark for the finishing touch. Slice them up before heading to the beach with these yummy treats.

Easy Desserts for Picnic

Healthy Energy Balls from easilyfamilyrecipeideas.com: These energy balls are chock full of chocolate chips, so they’re sweet and kid-friendly, but they have some good-for-you ingredients in them, too. Change up the flavors when you want by subbing caramel or butterscotch chips for the chocolate ones.

Lemon Bars from amandawilens.com: Lemon-flavored desserts are made for summer. These shortbread bars are topped with soft lemon curd and are extra lemony thanks to the zest. You can make this recipe with any of your favorite citrus fruits like grapefruit, limes, or mandarin oranges.

Healthy Blueberry Muffins from dinneratthezoo.com: Portable and scrumptious blueberry muffins are the perfect beach picnic food. They’re sweet but still relatively healthy, and kids will gobble them up.