Food to Take on a Pontoon When You Don’t Have a Grill
There is a wealth of information available online about cooking on your pontoon, using a grill or BBQ. But what happens when you don’t have a grill on board? Bretz Capital Sports Sales has compiled some great ideas for you that are both tasty and convenient!
Here are some ideas that we hope will give you some inspiration if you are looking for pontoon boat food ideas for a party, picnic, or just a day’s fishing on the lakes. Whether it’s a snack idea, something for a lunch or dinner, or party food, you should find something interesting below you can try for yourself:
Ideas That are Fast & Easy
Cooler Corn
We love this! It’s so simple yet effective and you can do it before you leave your house really quickly. All you do is buy a cooler, throw the corn in and cover it with boiling water. Then close the cooler box back up.
We suggest bringing some spray butter with you to avoid any messes and make sure you bring some tongs because the water is still going to be hot! You can take this approach for a big party of people as well.
Want a more in-depth guide to making cooler corn? Delishably has an awesome step-by-step guide on making this tasty treat!
Cooler or Hot Dogs with Steamed Buns
You can use exactly the same idea with hot dogs! Before you leave for the day, quickly boil up some hot dogs, then throw them into a smaller cooler with boiling water covering them. They will remain warm and cooked for hours and can be eaten at any point during the day.
Candy, Popcorn & Trail Mix Containers
Fill plastic containers (that have lids) with snacks like trail mix, popcorn and even M&Ms.
Trail Mix
Trail mix is a tasty and healthy pontoon boat snack!
The food contents can also be poured out into semi-wet hands without making the rest of the dry goods soggy. This snack idea never fails. Simple, easy, and quick.
Sliced Fruit and Veggies
Fruit will help to keep you hydrated on hot days and it’s easy to pack! We always slice ours up before we leave land and also bring along some sort of dip. Make sure you wrap it up in aluminum foil and keep in a small cooler box!
Chicken Salad on Wheat Thins
We recommend making this prior to leaving dry land and bringing it out once everyone is hungry.
How to make it: Get a couple of cans of shredded white chicken, slice some grapes, chop up some almonds, dice celery, grab a bag of cranberries, chop some scallions, add garlic salt and some mayo to moisten it up! Spread it on wheat thins for an amazing pontoon boat snack!
Walking Tacos
This is an easy, delicious, and portable idea! Simply make your taco meat mix up the night before and then put it into a sealed container. When on your pontoon, open up a bag of Doritos and crush them up a little. Then you can add the meat as well as some lettuce, onions, and cheese to tacos in the Doritos bag. Give the bag a good shake and you’re ready to eat!
Grilled Chicken and Steak Sliced Wraps
This is one of our favorites. All you do is marinate some chicken the night before, then grill it up in the morning at home before you go on your boat trip. Alternatively, you can use thin steak slices, these work just as well.
You can then make some really tasty wraps with lettuce, onions, peppers, salsa, black beans, sour cream, avocados, and virtually anything else you can imagine!
Tips on Keeping Your Food Safe to Eat
If you don’t have a portable refrigerator, here are some great tips on keeping your food safe to eat:
Pack & Store
By far the best way to ensure that you keep your food safely stored when boating is to only pack stuff that doesn’t need to be kept cold in a refrigeration unit.
If you also want to keep your tummy full for a long day on the water, it is essential that you think about foods that are high in protein and have whole grains in them!
Peanut butter sandwiches are great as they need to be kept cool AND pack protein and whole grains.
Similarly, fruit is also great! In particular, bring some apples and oranges. They contain higher than average amounts of fiber like whole grains do, keeping you and your passengers feeling full for longer.
Keep Your Food Cool
Much of the food ideas listed in this guide need to be kept cool, ideally refrigerated. So what can we do?
A portable cooler box will help! Use a cooler box with ice packs, so you can pack your food with the peace of mind in knowing it will keep safe for hours.
If you don’t have ice packs, then a simple solution such as a frozen water bottle can work just as well when thrown into the cooler box.
If you’re looking for a good cooler, we suggest CORDOVA! The Side Kick 20Q is the perfect portable cooler for your needs!
Keep Your Food Away from Water
It’s important to protect your food and snacks from the water. Why? Because fish, and freshwater, in particular, can have bacteria in them which could be very bad for you if ingested.
Pack everything into sealed plastic containers, reusable Ziplock bags, or at the very least very tightly wrapped aluminum foil.
Where you store the food on your pontoon boat is also really important! Have it stashed somewhere away from the sun and water. If you are fishing then you don’t want the food to be close to the area where you are pulling fish out onto the deck.
When it comes to eating your snacks, always wash your hands before handling the food. Those anti-bacterial hand wipes work perfectly for this, as you want to avoid cross-contamination at all costs!
We hope this helped you get an idea of how to stay full while you’re having fun on the water!
Looking for a new pontoon to cruise around in this summer? Bretz Capital Sports Sales has an amazing inventory of new and used boats!
