The best posh picnic snacks for under £7

As summer hits its stride and mini-heatwaves pepper the forecasts, we’re entering Britain’s peak picnic season, when the nation feels compelled to brave the Great Outdoors and enjoy snacks and cocktails in cans on a blanket.

According to a study by Warburtons, the average person in the UK has at least three picnics a year, with savoury classics dominating picnic baskets such as sandwiches, crisps, and sausage rolls. Research by Aspall Cyder revealed that picnickers will generally spend an average of £25.80 on their al fresco food and drink – with 13 per cent going “all out” and splashing out on more than £40 on food for such occasions.

If you’re looking to fill your tote bags with only elevated picnic snacks, we’ve rated 13 posh classics that are worth shelling out on.

Ortiz sardines, £6.75

Ortiz sardines, £6.75, Perello olives, £3.50, M&S ‘our best-ever sausage roll’, £5, Taiko lightly salted edamame, £2.50, Waitrose spinach falafels, £3.50, Waitrose caramelised onion houmous, £1.85, M&S caramelised onion and chorizo scotch egg, £2, Waitrose crab pâté, £2.40, M&S prosciutto di parma, £3.50, Torres truffle chips, £5.95, M&S marinated slow-roasted tomatoes, £3.90, Seggiano basil grissini breadsticks, £5.80, M&S mini Melton Mowbray pork pies, £3.25

Ortiz Sardines are a favourite due to their buttery flavour and elevated design (Photo: conservasortiz.com)

Buttery, nutritious and packed with flavour, these sardines are worth the extra money you’ll splash out on them. The genius here is the packaging – the design makes you feel like you’re the epitome of high culture and not someone carrying around three wet fish in a tin. Practically, although you are lugging around a tin of oily sardines, that won’t be the case for long – the chances of there being any left over is slim.

Score: 8/10

Perello olives, £3.50

Perello is to olives as Rolex is to watches. You know you’re in safe hands with these olive connoisseurs, who have been in the game since 1964. Go for the spicy version of the classic, where the olives are bobbing in a spicy brine. Fiery, plump and in a higher class of olive than your usual suspects.

Score: 8/10

M&S ‘our best-ever sausage roll’, £5

Unfortunately for M&S, this isn’t a great sausage roll, and it’s difficult to believe that it could be described as their best ever. Admittedly, eating without heating it up probably deducts taste points, but other cold sausage rolls with more complex flavours easily overtake it. Did you know there’s white wine vinegar in it? Even that wasn’t enough to save it, unfortunately.

Score: 4/10

Taiko lightly salted edamame, £2.50

Ortiz sardines, £6.75, Perello olives, £3.50, M&S ‘our best-ever sausage roll’, £5, Taiko lightly salted edamame, £2.50, Waitrose spinach falafels, £3.50, Waitrose caramelised onion houmous, £1.85, M&S caramelised onion and chorizo scotch egg, £2, Waitrose crab pâté, £2.40, M&S prosciutto di parma, £3.50, Torres truffle chips, £5.95, M&S marinated slow-roasted tomatoes, £3.90, Seggiano basil grissini breadsticks, £5.80, M&S mini Melton Mowbray pork pies, £3.25

High in protein and fibre, Taiko edamame are an unlikely but healthy addition to a picnic (Photo: Taiko/Waitrose/Charlie Rushforth)

Not your bog-standard, beige offering. Proteinous, high in fibre, and suitable for the veggies and vegans of the group, these edamames are an unlikely crowd pleaser and a healthy addition to the picnic blanket. Just the right amount of saltiness, highly scoffable and easy to share – although a bit of a nightmare to clean up.

Score: 7/10

Waitrose spinach falafels, £3.50

Although you’d rightly be suspicious of anyone who said that their favourite thing in a picnic was the falafels, these are probably about as good as supermarket falafels go: fluffy, great with houmous, deep green inside. Like much in this list, they would be tastier heated up – but that’s not what you sign up to when you agree to the terms and conditions of a picnic.

Score: 6/10

Waitrose caramelised onion houmous, £1.85

Ortiz sardines, £6.75, Perello olives, £3.50, M&S ‘our best-ever sausage roll’, £5, Taiko lightly salted edamame, £2.50, Waitrose spinach falafels, £3.50, Waitrose caramelised onion houmous, £1.85, M&S caramelised onion and chorizo scotch egg, £2, Waitrose crab pâté, £2.40, M&S prosciutto di parma, £3.50, Torres truffle chips, £5.95, M&S marinated slow-roasted tomatoes, £3.90, Seggiano basil grissini breadsticks, £5.80, M&S mini Melton Mowbray pork pies, £3.25

The caramelised onion flavour elevates this houmous (Photo: Waitrose/Charlie Rushforth)

This is a fabulous houmous. Using the word ‘caramelised’ will always seduce people, but this lives up to the name. The houmous game here is extremely strong, with the onion giving the dip a real edge in a crowded market. This is a real pleasure to dunk a breadstick into.

Score: 9/10

M&S caramelised onion and chorizo scotch egg, £2

This is a superb choice for a picnic, and bound to put a smile on everyone’s face. All the things a scotch egg should be – soft, rich, crumby – a game-changing discovery. Buy at least six because they’re bound to be popular.

Score: 8/10

Waitrose crab pâté, £2.40

Admittedly, not many of your friends will come to a picnic cradling some crab pâté. And there’s a good reason you don’t see it all that often: it’s not worth writing home about. You don’t get anything out of this that you don’t get from a good houmous, and the overbearing fishy flavour is unnecessary, maybe even unwelcome. Plus, you might be hard pushed to finish 115 grams of crab pâté in one picnic, which means that for the rest of the day you’ll be lugging around a half-eaten tub of minced crab in your tote bag.

Score: 4/10

M&S prosciutto di parma, £3.50

Perhaps the godfather of the picnic scene, prosciutto di parma – and certainly this selection from M&S – is the salty treat that could be the first thing at the picnic to be eaten up. This particular batch has been made, rest assured, in Italy, and you can pull and chew at it as you lie on your picnic blanket in the fading sun. Heaven.

Score: 9/10

Torres truffle chips, £5.95

Ortiz sardines, £6.75, Perello olives, £3.50, M&S ‘our best-ever sausage roll’, £5, Taiko lightly salted edamame, £2.50, Waitrose spinach falafels, £3.50, Waitrose caramelised onion houmous, £1.85, M&S caramelised onion and chorizo scotch egg, £2, Waitrose crab pâté, £2.40, M&S prosciutto di parma, £3.50, Torres truffle chips, £5.95, M&S marinated slow-roasted tomatoes, £3.90, Seggiano basil grissini breadsticks, £5.80, M&S mini Melton Mowbray pork pies, £3.25

While Torres black truffle potato chips are a crowd favourite, they are underwhelming (Photo: Torres)

Truffle divides people much like Marmite does; maybe more so. A pungent, divisive flavour – you love it or you don’t. There’s great hype around these particular crisps – which are thick with excellent crunch – but at almost £6 and arguably too salty, they are underwhelming.

Score: 3/10

M&S marinated slow-roasted tomatoes, £3.90

The sundried tomato is a staple that should appear at every picnic, even if only for the vitamin C it brings to the blanket. These flavourful, sharp little treats are wonderful. Where a great many other features of a picnic are either meat, encased in pastry, or both, they’re a breath of fresh air (and nutrition).

Score: 7/10

Seggiano basil grissini breadsticks, £5.80

Another great discovery, these breadsticks might not be a bargain but you do get about 16, which is pretty good going. With a delicate basil flavour, they’re long, pointy, and excellent vessels for the regular picnic dipping favourites.

Score: 9/10

M&S mini Melton Mowbray pork pies, £3.25

Ortiz sardines, £6.75, Perello olives, £3.50, M&S ‘our best-ever sausage roll’, £5, Taiko lightly salted edamame, £2.50, Waitrose spinach falafels, £3.50, Waitrose caramelised onion houmous, £1.85, M&S caramelised onion and chorizo scotch egg, £2, Waitrose crab pâté, £2.40, M&S prosciutto di parma, £3.50, Torres truffle chips, £5.95, M&S marinated slow-roasted tomatoes, £3.90, Seggiano basil grissini breadsticks, £5.80, M&S mini Melton Mowbray pork pies, £3.25

M&S Mini Melton Mowbray Pork Pies are easy to share but relatively flavourless (Photo: M&S)

Perfectly inoffensive, this pack of six little pork pies (a strangely popular British staple). But also somewhat flavourless, they’re extremely hard to get excited by. While perfect for sharing, and offering a denser, more filling punch to the lighter picnic offering, no one would miss them if they were left at home.

Score: 5/10

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