• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Kiersten Hickman

Food Writer & Photographer

Main navigation

  • About
  • Newsletter
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Sides
    • Desserts
    • Snacks
    • Drinks
    • Sourdough
  • Blog
    • Meal Plans
    • Cooking Tips
    • Sustainability
    • Wellness
    • Life
  • Portfolio
    • Food Writing & Reporting
    • Recipe Development & Tutorials
    • Food Photography
  • Contact
  • August 7, 2020

    9 Easy Camping Meal Ideas

    Meal Planning, Recipes, Travel

    There are certainly different variations of camping. You have the intense hikers who eat freeze-dried meals. You have campers that build a fire every night and rely on that for their meals. And then you have us—the people who kind of did the fire thing but also relied on a propane stove to cook. So. if you plan on camping like me, here are a few of my favorite camping meal ideas.

    camping meal ideas

    Because we rented a camper van, we were able to have both a propane stove and a small fridge. This made traveling a lot easier because we didn’t have to worry about keeping our food chilled on ice for the duration of our trip. Just the beer.

    I feel like a lot of our meals looked the same! Fried eggs in the morning, sandwiches or hot dogs in the afternoon, and something fun in the cast-iron skillet or a foil pack meal over the fire for dinner. And yet, that didn’t stop me from snapping a few photos on our recent camping trip. You know me, I love to share what I’m eating.


    If you plan on camping any time soon (and I mean the kind of camping where you drive up to a campground and don’t leave for a few days), you should just invest in a propane stove. They’re actually pretty cheap! Just don’t forget to buy some propane to go with it.

    For utensils, I brought a wooden spoon (for stirring/sautéing), a metal spatula (for flipping pancakes and burgers), a small serrated knife (chopping and spreading, and works for a lot of different things), tongs (for hot dogs), and aluminum foil for those foil pack meals!

    And a cast-iron skillet. You know me, I’m always cooking with this thing.

    Let’s get to those camping meal ideas.

    eggs and banana bread with jam and coffee on a picnic table

    Fried eggs & banana bread


    Fried eggs were a breakfast staple while we were camping, but I knew it wouldn’t feel like enough each morning. So I also prepped a banana bread that we could enjoy for the week. And we brought jam.

    nachos in a cast iron skillet at night while camping on a picnic table

    Skillet nachos

    We made this on our first night camping, and it was the absolute best way to kick off the trip. We used leftover taco meat from the night before (we brought up the rest of the cooked meat in a reusable silicone bag), heated it up with some chopped tomatoes, then mixed it together with chips and shredded taco cheese. To get the cheese melty on top, I covered it with aluminum foil for a few minutes.

    toasted salami grilled cheese sandwich in the woods

    Toasted sandwiches

    Sandwiches are obviously easy to throw together while camping, but after a hike, I’m always craving greasy food. So I liked throwing my salami-and-cheese sandwich on the cast-iron skillet and toasting it up. You can do this with any combination of bread, cheese, and meat that you desire. And hot dog relish, because it’s currently my favorite condiment and pretty much the only one you need to take camping.

    blueberry pancakes on a table outside with coffee

    Blueberry pancakes

    I know blueberry is pretty specific, but we went blueberry picking on our trip, so how could you not throw them in some pancakes in the morning? I brought a pre-made buttermilk pancake mix with me that only needed an egg and some water to make the batter at the campsite. Here’s a similar kind, you just need to add water to it.

    leftover pancakes with fried eggs and blueberries on a picnic table

    Fried eggs on pancakes with fruit

    Need to use up leftover pancakes? Throw an egg on it! I still put some maple syrup on top because I’m a huge fan of the sweet-and-savory combo.

    Oatmeal raisin cookies

    I’m still perfecting this recipe, but I brought a batch of these bad boys with us to snack on. We ate quite a few of them on our long drives, and enjoyed them in the afternoon as we set up camp. Or in the morning while reading the paper with a cup of coffee. They really work for any type of day.

    Why oatmeal raisin? Because chocolate chips melt! Think about the heat, you don’t want to bring anything with you that will melt at camp. Not fun to deal with.

    grilling kielbasa foil packs outside
    close up of kielbasa foil pack dinner

    Foil pack dinners

    If you’re not doing a few foil pack meals while you’re camping, then you’re not doing it right. This kielbasa foil pack meal was one of our favorites.

    fresh baked donuts with fried eggs on a picnic table with coffee

    More eggs…but with donuts.

    If you’re near a local bakery, take advantage of it. Eggs can get kind of boring real quick for some people (not me, I eat them every day because I’m obsessed), so if you need to change it up at your campsite, grab some local baked goods. These donuts were from Hole in One Bakery in Cape Cod and by far one of my favorite donut shops.

    s'mores near a camping light at night

    S’mores

    Saw that one coming, didn’t you? Make sure you can keep your chocolate cold somehow, or you’ll regret it. Or, if you’re not a big s’mores person, just roast marshmallows and eat a bunch of those for dessert. I mean, you’re camping, you do you.

    Any of you camping soon? Comment below and let me know any of your questions! I’m no expert, but I’m happy to help you out with planning some of your meals.

    Don’t worry, more to come on this subject. But for now, sign up for my newsletter so you can get the latest updates from me!

    Share this:

    • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
    • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
    • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
    • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

    You might also like

    • scooping out spoonful of chia seed pudding

      What to Cook: Meal Plan #1

    • cheap meals with five ingredients

      Cheap Meals with Five Ingredients (or Less!)

    • Oven Baked Fries

    camping, camping recipes

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
    To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

    Hi, I’m Kiersten!

    I’m a food writer & photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. This blog is a place where I share a bit of my life behind the scenes. And all the things I love to cook. More on me >>

      Let’s connect!

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Looking for a recipe?

    My Instagram

    • To me, prepping meals makes eating healthier *so* much easier during the week, and I
    • An easy salad you can meal prep—one of my new favorites! This salad was featured in my cooking series with @eatthisnotthat, and I
    • Want to simplify cooking in 2021? Tired of settling for *another* night of frozen pizza or takeout? Same, which is why I developed a full meal plan for January 2021—and I
    • Family is all about trying your recipes multiple times before you get it right I
    • 2020 sucked...but I admit, being at home did force me to create my own fun, which involved trying all kinds of new recipes for my blog. And after looking at the data, there were quite a few recipes that my readers loved this year. So, I
    • A prosecco for the rest of us! Like this post if you get my reference. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I
    • New profile pic ✨ Today is the LAST video in my holiday cooking series with @eatthisnotthat and there
    • Every moment is the perfect charcuterie moment—especially around the holidays. ✨ Here’s a board I threw together this weekend loosely using my cheese board formula...with a whole lotta extra sweets. It’s the holidays, after all!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Gouda wheel⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Goat cheese with herbs⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Brie wedges⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Red wine cheese⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Pepperoni slices⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Summer sausage slices⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * French baguette slices⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Wheat Thins⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Triscuits⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Apple slices⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Peanut brittle⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Grapes⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Dark chocolate stars⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Dried apricots⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Raspberries⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * White chocolate-covered pretzels⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Chocolate covered peanuts⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Mini dill pickles⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * Kalamata olives⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ *
    • I know cookies are always the holiday dessert of choice, but who doesn
    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Archives

    logo
    Food Advertisements by
    • To me, prepping meals makes eating healthier *so* much easier during the week, and I
    • An easy salad you can meal prep—one of my new favorites! This salad was featured in my cooking series with
    • Want to simplify cooking in 2021? Tired of settling for *another* night of frozen pizza or takeout? Same, which is
    • Family is all about trying your recipes multiple times before you get it right I
    • 2020 sucked...but I admit, being at home did force me to create my own fun, which involved trying all kinds
    • A prosecco for the rest of us! Like this post if you get my reference. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I
    • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • FREE cookbook!
    • Easy Eats
    • FAQ

    hello@kierstenhickman.com

    Kiersten Hickman © 2021 - DESIGNED BY HERPARK STUDIO