the best dishes for picnics, camping + outdoor entertaining

This post is sponsored by Crate and Barrel

Crate and Barrel has long been our go-to for all things kitchen, dining and entertaining related. We registered for our wedding 14 years ago and still use our original dishes, flatware, kitchen gadgets and more. The quality is great and the designs are classic – two big reasons we keep coming back again and again.

When I was outfitting our teensy Airstream kitchen (here’s a full tour if you’d like to see it) for our road trip, there were a few items on my list and I knew Crate and Barrel would be just the place to find them.

One of our needs were everyday dishes that were super durable, low profile and classic. I had one drawer available for storing 8 dinner plates, 8 salad plates and 8 bowls.

These white melamine dishes are perfect. They are glossy on one side, which makes washing easy (no terrible stains!), they are matte on the back, which keeps them from slipping around. They stack easily for storage and fit like a glove in our drawer.

I have a thing for white dishes. Remember my pretty kitchen back home? All of our everyday dishes are out in the open on display on the shelves and since they are white, they don’t feel too cluttered. White dishes are easy to decorate with and they make a great canvas for pretty food, too. I’m a fan.

Another essential for our traveling kitchen were these clear acrylic glasses. I bought one for each of us, they stack up nicely, are thick and work great for camping/picnicing/outdoor entertaining.  We also grabbed two of these acrylic stemless wine glasses.

See that cute little metal cup in the cherry bowl? I’ve been wanting them for forever. I bought a stack to bring with us in the trailer and they are the cutest multi-purpose cups.

We’ve used them for holding cherry pits and pistachio shells, filling with ranch for veggies and peanut butter for dipping apples in and, of course, as the perfect container for corralling legos.

All trip long we’ve had breakfast, lunch and dinner – inside and out – on these great dishes.

And once we’re back home, I’m sure they will stay on steady rotation for everyday snacks and outdoor entertaining.

So if you’re searching for the best dishes for picnics, camping and outdoor bbq’s, may I recommend:

dinner plate | salad plate | bowl | condiment cup | acrylic cup | stemless wine glass

If you’re looking for something fancier than melamine, Crate and Barrel is a great resource for classic white porcelain dinnerware. These are our everyday dishes at home, my sisters both have these, and I also love the organic texture of these dishes (see the full collection of dinnerware here).