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.
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.
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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.
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
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!
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