40 Picnic Party Foods For The Fourth Of July

In our opinion, pasta salad is a summertime must. We have plenty of beloved variations of this staple side dish, but this Italian-inspired recipe is our guaranteed go-to when we need a reliable BBQ or picnic side.

Get the Italian Pasta Salad recipe.

Overlapping the bread slices here means you can fit more onto the sheet pan, and don’t worry—the melty Provolone and pressing these down (sort of like a massive DIY panini press) makes sure they still hold together. You could serve them as full size sandwiches, but we like to slice them up both for more servings and ease of portability.

Get the Sheet-Pan Italian Subs recipe.

Move aside plain ol' pasta salad—orzo is here to shake things up. While we love it in comforting, warming dishes (we're looking at you, creamy Tuscan orz0), it also makes for a great salad base. This easy, fresh recipe is filled with bright Mediterranean flavors and mix-ins, but feel free to swap in and out your faves.

Get the Greek Orzo Salad recipe.

Here's the deal: you're about to stuff an entire s'more into a chocolate chip cookie. Some say it can't be done, but with enough focus, patience, and perseverance, you can succeed in making this extremely indulgent and enormous dessert that literally no one could say no to.

Get the S'mores Stuffed Cookies recipe.

To complete the journey to fried chicken nirvana, we went through 5 whole chickens, 3 gallons of peanut oil, and over 20 iterations of this recipe. The final result is a simple formula: a seasoned buttermilk brine + a dip in batter + a shake in flour + a dunk into a pot of hot oil = the only fried chicken recipe you'll ever need.

Get the Crispy Fried Chicken recipe.

Although these shortcut falafel aren’t as crispy as the classic fried variety, they develop a nice golden crust and contain all the key spices. A zippy roasted pepper salad is the perfect foil, and creamy tahini sauce (aka tarator sauce) ties it all together.

Get the Roasted Vegetable Baked Falafel Sandwiches recipe.

This summery chickpea salad is our forever plus one for cookouts, picnics, and pool parties. Loaded with cucumbers, feta, kalamata olives, and red onion, it's at once refreshing and satisfying.

Get the Mediterranean Chickpea Salad recipe.

Does anything scream summer more than an ice-cold glass of homemade lemonade? While we love adding fruity twists to this warm-weather drink, this recipe is our go-to when we’re looking for simple, classic, and ridiculously refreshing.

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Think of this as a better taco salad (because pasta!), that's perfect for potlucks and BBQS. Trust us, once you add ground beef to pasta salad, you won't be able to stop—it's that good.

Get the Cowboy Pasta Salad recipe.

Watermelon and cucumbers is one of the most refreshing combos of all time. Throw in some mint, red onion, and feta and toss it all with a very simple vinaigrette (just olive oil + red wine vinegar), and you've got yourself a mean summer salad.

Get the Watermelon Feta Salad recipe.

The only thing better than fresh, sweet berries is piling them on angel food cake and shortbread cookies with sweet ricotta or whipped cream. This DIY "starcuterie" board is the ideal sweet treat to round out your 4th of July picnic spread.

Get the Berries & Cream Charcuterie Board recipe.

Fresh tortellini make these the hearty bite-size appetizer of our dreams. If you're not a fan of olives, pepperoncini peppers would be a delicious substitute!

Get the Antipasto Bites recipe.

Lightly coated in a creamy apple cider vinegar dressing and tossed with almonds, carrots, red onions, and bacon, this broccoli salad is loaded with flavor and texture. It's also ready in just around 30 minutes, making it the perfect last-minute addition to any summer picnic.

Get the Broccoli Salad recipe.

Empanadas come in many different forms with many different fillings. They can be baked and filled with beef, or fried and filled with guava and cheese. This version is a flavor bomb, with tender chicken thighs, peppers, and olives, bolstered by tomato paste and paprika. Using store-bought wrappers makes this recipe a cinch. Just fold, pleat, brush with egg wash and bake!

Get the Chicken Empanadas recipe.

Blueberries, peaches, cucumbers, AND feta? You’ll be amazed by how well this combination comes together in salad form (and how well it goes with savory summer faves!).

Get the Blueberry Peach Feta Salad recipe.

The king of sandwiches is the Italian Hero, a sandwich filled to the brim with all manner of cured meat, cheese, and refreshingly crisp vegetables. They’re also the ultimate picnic food, perfect to pair with some salad, chips, and a cold beer.

Get the Vegetarian Italian Sub recipe.

Who doesn't love an ultra-creamy slice of cheesecake? This mini version is super-easy to make (no water bath!), but just as delicious as its full-size counterpart, and much easier to take along with you on a picnic. Feel free to swap out the fruit for whatever you like, pretty much anything goes!

Get the Cheesecake Cupcakes recipe.

Unfortunately, vegans and vegetarians are often left out to dry when it comes to a lot of iconic deli sandwiches. With this recipe, you have a simple, fast, meatless way to satisfy that itch for tuna or curried chicken salad. You can eat this salad as is, but we love it spread on some toasted bread and topped with butter lettuce and juicy tomato slices.

Get the Curried Chickpea Salad recipe.

Strawberry shortcake is cool and all, but we’ve all done that dozens of times—with a dessert board FULL of different fruits and sweet treats you'll have something fresh the whole crowd will love. We paired late-summer cherries and peaches with biscuits and cookies, but have fun with it!

Get the Peach & Cherry Shortcake Dessert Board recipe.

While these are fairly simple to make, there are a few ways you can go wrong when making this staple party appetizer. If you’re looking for a foolproof method to hard boiling and filling your deviled eggs, our best recipe should be your new go-to.

Get the Deviled Eggs recipe.