Life's a Beach! Here's How to Have a Picnic at One

Planning a beach picnic involves more than throwing on a bathing suit and flip-flops, packing towels, and filling a cooler with deli sandwiches and adult beverages. Sure, there's nothing wrong with going that route, but to make your beach picnic shine, we've put together this checklist for supplies and a special menu featuring delicious seafood salad sandwiches and caprese kebabs.

Beach picnic checklist:

• Picnic basket or market tote
• Large beach blanket and towels
• Cooler filled with ice, bottled water, soda, beer, perhaps a hard seltzer or two, and wine
• Portable speaker (make sure it's charged!) and beach tune playlists
• Beach umbrella and/or tent
• Beach chairs
• A variety of finger foods, such as cheese, fruit, crackers, jams, dips/spreads, honey, baguettes, nuts, olives, cookies, snack mix, bruschetta
• Plates, napkins, glasses, cutlery, a few cutting boards, platters, and small bowls
• Volleyball and net, paddle ball, football, Frisbee
• Beach hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug spray
• Portable grill and charcoal, grilling tools
• Hand wipes, trash bags, recycling bags, paper towels, hand sanitizer, first aid kit

Swim hard, eat light

I love supplementing a beach picnic with lighter fare, including wine and cheese, charcuterie, fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, crackers, dips and spreads, and a baguette, all served on platters and boards. It's an easy way to feed a group of people chilling at the beach. Plus, no cooking is required, which means more time for swimming, relaxing, and having fun.

Two of my favorite recipes to make for a beach picnic are seafood salad sandwiches and caprese kebabs. They're both super delicious and easy to make (and pack!), and they look great displayed on a platter.

Seafood salad sandwiches

The seafood salad is made with wild artisan blue shrimp sautéed in Greek extra virgin olive oil and mixed with fresh lump crabmeat, and then tossed in a light, creamy dressing. It's served on Wolferman's 1910 Original English Muffin Bread; the thickness of each slice makes this the perfect bread for sandwiches that have to hold up in a picnic basket or cooler at the beach.

Seafood Salad Sandwiches

PREP TIME: 15 minutesCOOK TIME: 5 minutesTOTAL TIME: 20 minutes

SERVINGS

The seafood salad is made with wild-caught jumbo shrimp sautéed in garlic & herbs extra-virgin olive oil and mixed with fresh lump crabmeat, all tossed together in a light, creamy dressing. They're served on Wolferman's 1910 Original English muffin bread — it's thick, so it's perfect for making sandwiches that will hold up in the picnic basket or cooler at the beach.

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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Harry & David Garlic & Herbs Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 8 ounces Vital Choice shrimp (tails removed)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 8 ounces lump crabmeat (drained and shell pieces removed)
• 3 tablespoons scallions (sliced thin)
• 3 tablespoons celery stalks (chopped)
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 12 teaspoon salt
• 8 butter lettuce leaves
• 16 slices Wolferman's English muffin bread

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Instructions

1
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp and season with seasoned salt and pepper to taste. Cook shrimp until bright pink and opaque, about 2 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high and add lemon juice. Continue cooking for another minute or two, remove from heat, and set aside to cool.
2
Once cooled, coarsely chop the cooked shrimp into pieces and place in a large mixing bowl with the lump crabmeat.
3
Add the scallions, celery, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, hot sauce, seasoned salt, and additional black pepper to taste. Stir together to combine.
4
Place a lettuce leaf on the bottom of the muffin bread and top with ½ cup seafood salad and another slice of bread. Slice sandwiches in half to serve on a platter.

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Recipe Author: Kristen Hess