8 Perfect Miniature Picnic Foods

When you plan a picnic, it can be a hassle to take along full-sized cakes, pies and tarts. Not only are you lugging it all around (and trying to keep it all in one piece) but you’ll need to take more cutlery, plates and napkins. Summer picnics are all about bite-sized treats and we’ve rounded up 8 of our favourites…

Mini Tomato and Mozzarella Tarts

Forget wedges of cold pizza - for a lighter picnic bite check out these mini tomato and mozzarella tarts created by Holly of the food blog Life in the Lofthouse. They’re made from shop-bought puff pastry and don’t take long to whip up. Make a batch and pack them in your picnic hamper.

Mini Pie Pops

Everything’s better when served on a stick, right? These cute mini pie pops come from the blog Celebrations at Home, where there’s a step by step guide on how to make them. Not just a hit with the kids (we know you want one too), these pie pops are made from shop-bought pastry and you can use whatever filling you like. The idea would also work for savoury pies.

Mini Cheesy Jacket Potatoes

Perfect party food - miniature jackets. Just take 6 new potatoes and parboil until just tender. Then, rub with olive oil and a pinch of salt before being roasting in the oven at 200ºC/gas mark 6 until golden. To make the cheesy topping, mix together 1 beaten egg, a handful of grated Cheddar and 2 tablespoons snipped chives. Once the potatoes are cooked, take them out of the oven and cut a cross in the centre of each one, pushing it up from beneath just like you would for a jacket spud (you might need to use a tea towel to protect your fingers). Spoon the egg mixture into the potato and grill for 5 -7 minutes, until bubbling. Beautiful eaten cold.

Pork and Spinach Mini Lasagnes

Sometimes you want something a bit more substantial at a picnic and these mini pork and spinach lasagnes from the blog The Kitchen and the Camera would be perfect. They’re made in a muffin tin, to help keep their shape and you can use shop-bought lasagne, too. Alicia, the blog’s author, has spiced up the sauce with chilli, rosemary and paprika.

Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes with Pineapple, Lemongrass and Ginger Jam

This beautiful mini lemon bundt cake was created by Dom, of the blog Belleau Kitchen. Refreshing, summery flavours are what you crave at a picnic and they don’t come much more refreshing than this, served with a pineapple, lemongrass and ginger jam. Pack the cakes and then just take along the jar of jam - with a spoon - to serve at the picnic.

Ham, Egg and Spinach Muffins

For a protein-rich snack, just curl 4 ham slices into 4 holes of a muffin tin and beat 2 large eggs. Add 1 tsp finely grated Parmesan to the eggs, along with a few shredded baby spinach leaves, and pour it into the ham cups. Grate a little more Parmesan on top and bake at 200ºC/gas mark 6 for 20 minutes, until cooked through. You could also add other veggies you have on hand like cooked peas or asparagus.

BLT Mini Tarts with Bacon Jam

These miniature tarts - with bacon jam, rocket leaves and tomatoes - are perfectly sized for a picnic. And if you’ve never made bacon jam, it’s easy to do - it gives a smoky sweetness to anything you spread it onto, whether that’s sandwiches, burgers or tarts. These tarts were created by Jackie, from the blog Domestic Fits.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

These are really simple to make and just require four main ingredients. Take a 320g roll of ready-rolled puff pastry and open it out in front of you, widest side facing you. Spread the whole surface of the pastry with butter and then sprinkle over 3 tbsp dark brown sugar, followed by 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Cut the pastry into thirds. Next, roll up the pastry along the longest side of each third and cut into tiny rounds. Brush with beaten egg and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden and risen, in a 200ºC/gas mark 6 oven. When cool drizzle with icing and leave to set.