Whether heading to the park, beach, or backyard, planning your 4th of July picnic dinner for the fireworks show can be so much fun. Here are three quick and easy picnic recipes that everyone will enjoy.
We start our picnic with an easy-to-make Summer Pea Salad. Then, we continue with the versatile Pinwheels filled with your favorite sandwich fixins, we picked our favorites honey roasted turkey, hummus, green leaf lettuce, and roasted red peppers. Finally, to top it off, we end our picnic with Red, White, and Blue Mini Berry Cheesecakes.
Picnic recipes #1
SUMMER PEA SALAD
We changed our eating habits a few years ago and went more Keto, which required us to change from our carb-heavy traditional potato salad. However, we wanted something similar, so we replaced the potatoes with frozen peas and created a new favorite, the Summer Pea Salad.
Ingredients:
- 2 – 12 oz. bags of frozen peas (thawed and drained)
- 6 strips of bacon (cooked and crumbled)
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (cubed or shredded)
- 3 eggs (hard-boiled and diced)
- 1 cup cucumber (diced)
- 1/2 cup red onion (diced)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 TBSP mayo
- 1 tsp dry dill
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine thawed peas (drained of any excess water), crumbled bacon, diced red onions, shredded carrots, cubed cheddar cheese, diced eggs, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
In a separate bowl, mix mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, dry dill, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste. We use Greek yogurt as a healthy alternative, but you can use all mayonnaise if you prefer.
In a large serving bowl, combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until chilled or overnight. Mix well before serving.
Picnic Recipes #2
HONEY ROASTED TURKEY PINWHEELS
You have probably been to a party where they had pinwheel sandwiches, and everyone just devoured them. Here is a quick, easy how-to for your 4th of July picnic basket. The varieties are endless. We have picked one of our favorites, honey-roasted turkey. You can use your favorite lunch meats like roast beef, chicken, ham, or only vegetables. We choose hummus for our condiment, but you can also use cream cheese with herbs, mayonnaise, or even mustard. We added green leaf lettuce and roasted red peppers, but the veggie choices for your pinwheels are endless.
Ingredients:
- 1 pkg. honey roasted turkey (use your favorite lunch meat)
- 1 pkg. of tortillas. (We choose Garden Spinach Herb wraps)
- 1 10 oz. Pkg. hummus (pick your favorite, we used plain)
- 1 jar of roasted red peppers
- 1 head green leaf lettuce (use your favorite salad greens)
Instructions:
Spread hummus over tortilla wrap. Cover with 4 to 6 slices of honey-roasted turkey. Break up green leaf lettuce and place over turkey. Add one roasted red pepper.
Roll the wrap tightly. Cut on an angle into quarters.
Picnic recipes #3
RED, WHITE AND BLUE MINI BERRY CHEESECAKES
Who doesn’t like cheesecake? But taking a regular cheesecake to a picnic can be a challenge. We have the perfect solution. A few years back, we tried making individual mini cheesecakes, and they were the hit of the picnic. So easy and so versatile, the choices for toppings have no limits. Mini cheesecakes are excellent plain or covered in your favorite compote, seasonal fruit, or holiday decorations. Our annual favorite for the 4th of July is Red, White and Blue Mini Berry Cheesecakes.
Ingredients for the crust:
- 3/4 cup Pecan Sandies (crushed to crumbs)
- 1 TBSP sugar
- 3 TBSPS butter (melted)
Ingredients for the filling:
- 2 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese (softened)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions for the crust:
Preheat the oven to 325. Lightly grease ten small (4 oz.) Mason jars and place the jars in a 9 x 13 baking dish.
In a small bowl, combine the Pecan Sandies crumbs, one TBSP sugar, and melted butter and mix well. Divide the crumbs evenly between the jars and press down gently to form a crust. We used our favorite cookies, Pecan Sandies, but you can use graham cracker crumbs or crumble up your favorite cookies like Lorna Doone or Ginger Snaps.
Instructions for cheesecake filling:
With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix well. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon juice.
Fill each jar to about 3/4 full with the cream cheese filling, leaving about 1/4 inch at the top.
Carefully fill the pan with hot water halfway up the jars and place it in the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the tops of the cheesecakes are just set. Take the jars out of the water bath and place them on a wire cooling rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until ready to serve.
Ingredients for compote topping:
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest (finely grated)
- 12 oz. mixed berries, fresh or frozen
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
In a medium pan over medium heat, bring lemon juice and sugar to a boil. Cook, occasionally stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.
Add lemon zest and berries and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to simmer and continue cooking. Stir occasionally, slightly mashing down the berries for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and add vanilla.
Pour sauce into a bowl and cool to room temperature.
When ready to serve, top each chilled mini cheesecake with cooled berry compote and decorate with your favorite fresh fruit and holiday decorations.
And a final thought for your 4th of July picnic dinner, try the perfect pairing for your cheesecake, a dessert wine like a Moscato or Sweet Riesling.
We wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July. Enjoy!