Healthy Vegan Picnic Recipes & Ideas

A versatile side dish to go with grilled meats or poultry. Crispy, crunchy and thoroughly delicious.

Serve this zesty bean and barley soup garnished with chopped fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime, if desired.

Perk up your cheese plate or crudités platter with these crunchy, zesty pickled turnips or try them on a sandwich instead of cucumber pickles.

If you like mild salsa, use banana peppers in this recipe. For a hotter version, try jalapeño or one of the alternate pepper choices.

This simple, fresh-tasting salad adds delicious variety to grilled foods, such as salmon, halibut, chicken or pork. Browning the corn in a skillet gives it a nutty, caramelized flavor that contrasts with the sweetness of the mango.

We love dilly beans, but using a sweet brine and dried chile peppers gives pickled green beans a unique twist.

The yellow vegetables of summer--fresh corn, yellow tomatoes and yellow peppers--make this slightly sweet gazpacho soup recipe a beautiful and delicious alternative to red gazpacho.

This thirst-quenching pink lemonade recipe uses fresh cherries for the pretty pink hue and light flavor. If you like, add a splash of vodka, bourbon or rum to transform this healthy lemonade recipe into a refreshing summer cocktail.

If you prefer, make this salad with broccoli slaw mix instead of the coleslaw mix.

This rice pudding is dairy-free, but the bananas and rice milk make it so creamy and rich-tasting, no one will know the difference.

Tangy pickled beets are a summertime favorite. Try them as a garnish for a Greek salad or as part of a relish tray at your next summer barbecue.

In this easy guacamole recipe, musician Mraz prefers California Hass or Reed avocados because they are the creamiest. Adjust the heat, tang or other flavorings to suit your tastes.

This filling rice casserole, loosely based on paella, features seared corn, roasted peppers, garlic and red onions. If you like, include diced zucchini or chopped green beans as well. A flavorful roasted garlic mayonnaise makes a luxurious topping.

Here's a way to make better-than-store-bought pickles in under an hour. The secret is pouring the hot vinegar mixture over slices of cold, crisp cucumber. These pickles have the perfect balance of sour and sweet--though closer to a “bread and butter” taste, they still satisfy the vinegar-loving pickle crowd. In our humble opinion, there's no reason to ever buy another jar of pickles.

Winter squash becomes tender and sweeter when roasted--a delicious side for a holiday dinner. Look for interesting squash like kabocha or hubbard at your farmers' market and try them in this recipe. Recipe adapted from Alice Waters.

This caponata is a vibrant mixture of fresh vegetables, including eggplant, onion, celery and tomatoes. Olives, capers, basil and pine nuts makes it special. Serve it as a side with fish or as a spread on rustic bread. Prepare it the night before serving if you can; it always tastes better the next day.

A simple dressing of sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard and paprika flavors this rice and lentil salad. It's a great way to use up leftovers.

This delicious guacamole recipe replaces half the amount of high-calorie avocado in a traditional guacamole recipe with a stealth, low-calorie vegetable--zucchini--to cut 100 calories and 6 grams of fat so we can eat more guacamole with fewer calories. We use the microwave to cook the zucchini until it's very tender, but you can steam it on the stovetop if you prefer.

A Mexican-style torta is just like a burrito, except the “wrapper” is a hollowed-out roll instead of a tortilla. Here it's filled with mashed spiced black beans and a quick guacamole. Take this vegetarian version to another level (and add calcium) by melting Monterey Jack cheese onto the bean side of the sandwich. Serve with: Grilled corn on the cob or Spanish rice.

?Dressed with a tangy lemon vinaigrette and fresh mint, this invigorating--and dairy-free--potato salad makes the perfect summer potluck contribution.

A summer pudding is a British warm-weather wonder--not steamed like a sticky pudding but an easy dish that sets up thanks to the pectin in the berries. Be sure to use firm, bakery-quality bread.

This quickly pickled, spicy Italian salad of mixed sliced vegetables is great for an antipasto platter, served with grilled meat or chopped up and put on a sandwich.

Inspired by Spanish pureed gazpachos, this golden-yellow one is based on an idea of Greg Parks's at the Four Columns Inn in Newfane, Vermont.

Long car ride ahead? Resist the urge to pack unhealthy chips and cookies for you and the kids. This healthy vegetable car snack is quick to prepare and can be served up in individual snack bags or pint-size storage containters so it's easier for those backseat folks to enjoy!