A picnic is one of the simplest pleasures of a British summer, but the food you pack on a Tuesday morning can look very different by one o'clock. Sunshine, a warm car boot and a rucksack that has been sat on by a toddler are no friends to a delicate sandwich. The trick is choosing recipes built for the journey: sturdy, child-friendly and just as good eaten on a windy beach as they are at a kitchen table.

What Makes a Picnic Recipe Travel Well

Before you start cooking, it helps to know what you are asking of your food. A good picnic recipe needs to survive being stacked, jostled and gently warmed for a few hours. That generally means four things.

• It holds its shape. Firm breads, cooled bakes and chunky salads cope far better than anything soft or sloppy.
• It copes with temperature. Anything containing mayonnaise, cooked meat or soft cheese should be kept properly chilled, or left out of the hamper altogether on a hot day.
• It does not leak. Dressings, sauces and juicy fruit are best transported separately and added at the destination.
• Children will actually eat it. Small portions, familiar flavours and food that can be eaten with one hand make a real difference.

Everything below follows those rules, and most of it can be made the evening before or on the morning of your trip.

Sandwiches and Wraps That Stay Fresh

Sliced white bread is the first thing to go soggy, so start with something with more structure. Bagels, soft rolls, baguettes and flatbreads all travel better. If you do use sliced bread, butter both slices right to the edges — the fat acts as a barrier against damp fillings.

Reliable fillings include mature cheddar with a little chutney, grated carrot mixed with hummus, cream cheese with cucumber that has been grated and squeezed dry in a clean tea towel, and cold roast chicken with pesto. Egg mayonnaise and tuna mayonnaise are lovely but need to stay in the cool bag and be eaten by early afternoon.

Wrap each sandwich tightly in baking paper, then again in a layer of cling film or a reusable wrapper, and cut them at the picnic rather than at home. Cut halves dry out quickly, and uncut sandwiches stack neatly without squashing. A labelled sticker or a dab of different coloured icing on each wrapper saves a great deal of "whose is whose?" at the park.

Salads and Sides That Hold Their Shape

Pasta salad is the workhorse of the picnic table. Cook 300g of fusilli or penne until just tender, rinse it briefly in cold water and toss it while still slightly warm with two tablespoons of pesto or a little olive oil. Once cool, stir through sweetcorn, halved cherry tomatoes, diced pepper and a handful of drained tinned beans. Add dressing at home, but keep it light — a dry-ish salad is a happy salad.

New potatoes tossed in olive oil, mustard and chopped chives are another excellent traveller, and cold roasted vegetables with couscous is filling without being heavy. If you are taking coleslaw, carry the dressing in a small jam jar and mix it in when you arrive. Cucumber, celery and sugarsnap peas are all better transported whole and chopped on site with a small knife.

Bakes, Snacks and Finger Food

Finger food disappears fastest with children, so pack plenty. Homemade cheese straws, mini sausage rolls made with ready-rolled puff pastry, and savoury muffins all travel well and taste good at room temperature. A tray of mini frittatas — whisk six eggs with grated cheese, chopped ham and peppers, then bake in a greased muffin tin for around 15 minutes at 180°C — makes a protein-packed alternative to sandwiches and keeps for a day in the fridge.

For sweet things, flapjacks, oat bars, shortbread and plain scones are far more robust than cakes with buttercream. Bake them the day before, let them cool completely on a wire rack, then pack them in a rigid tin with a sheet of baking paper between the layers. Warm baked goods steam in a sealed box and turn soft, so never box them while there is any heat left in them.

Dips, Drinks and Sweet Finishes

Dips encourage children to eat raw vegetables without a murmur. A tub of hummus, a yoghurt-and-mint dip or a simple tzatziki works well with carrot batons, pepper strips and breadsticks. Transport dips in small lidded pots, and keep them upright in a corner of the cool bag.

Drinks are easy to overlook. Freeze a few bottles of water or squash overnight and use them as extra ice packs — they will thaw into cold drinks by lunchtime. A flask of hot tea is a treat on a breezy day, and a large bottle of water with a slice of lemon covers everyone else.

For fruit, choose grapes, apples, satsumas and firm pears. Strawberries and bananas bruise the moment they are stacked, so eat them at home or carry them in a rigid box at the top of the bag.

Packing and Practical Tips

A little planning saves a lot of soggy disappointment. Line your cool bag with a frozen water bottle at the bottom, then heavier items, then anything crushable on top. Keep a small kit with wet wipes, a bin bag, a tea towel, a bottle opener, a little pot of salt and a spare set of cutlery in the boot of the car all summer.

Finally, resist the urge to over-cater. Two well-chosen savoury options, one salad, a dip and something sweet is plenty for most families, and it means less to carry, less to waste and more time actually sitting down together on the grass.