The Ultimate Guide For Preparing Easy Camping Meals

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Camping meals that are delicious, and affordable however tricky especially if you are new to camping.

If you don’t know the latest hacks that can help simplify your meal planning and packing regime for the week this recipe guide will help you.

Find loads of camping recipes below so you can prepare before you leave on camping trip.

CAMPING FOOD MADE SIMPLE AND AFFORDABLE

The meaning of ‘going to camp‘ differs for everyone, but as soon as camping season is open for business, it’s full speed ahead, and we know FOOD is on the MENU.

Enjoying the great outdoors is a passion for many people with or without a tent, camper van or cabin and little to no cooking appliances.

The Ultimate Camping Food

What constitutes the ultimate camping food?

Well, I had a chance to speak to seasoned campers, which included my sister, in-laws and many CBB readers who jumped at the opportunity to share their camping food stories with me.

I was amazed at what recipes people were willing to make on a campfire and just how vital the BBQ is when one is cooking away from home.

Although some campers might have a microwave stashed away for many, there is no room in the camping space for such kitchen tools.

Roughing it in the woods and enjoying nature is what Camping is all about.

The most crucial camping tools for the rugged campers are cast iron everything, tin foil and knowing how to start a campfire to cook your food.

If you have a Dutch oven to use when camping, it’s essential to make sure that you are using the correct temperature before starting your meal.

Check out this informative Dutch Oven Temperature Chart for more info because it doesn’t hurt to know how to use cooking tools efficiently.

Good camping food means you will have to plan before heading off for the weekend or even the entire season.

This might mean you prep meals in advance, such as mini quiches or casseroles that only need heating up over the fire or grill.

I’ve been told that some of the best camping food comes from trial and error, just like any kitchen meal, but sharing ideas has been a tradition in my wife’s family over the past 20 years.

You’d be amazed at what you can cook over a campfire. Have you considered campfire nachos?

I’d eat them!

How about traditional S’mores but in the form of a dip made in a cast-iron pan?

So many camping food ideas come to mind, and today I hope to inspire and bring to life some of your traditions for campers who want to add to their camping meal plan.

What I do for a week of back country camping is, I put the cooler in the freezer & then add one meal at a time in reverse order.

The first day we usually have chili (frozen in jars) – at the top. And then we work our way down. We stop at a store to buy fresh fruit & veg & ice eventually but most of it is frozen or in the second Non cooler food storage box.

I have found triple layer tinfoil let’s you bake almost anything between the coals – hobo packs (with mushrooms & corn on the cob in addition to regular potatoes, onions, carrots), home made calzones, burritos, even small frozen casseroles. – Faith L.

I’ll be upfront and say that I’ve never gone camping as I was a wandering traveller in my 20s which took me worldwide.

The closest I’ve been to camping was when we hosted a German student, and the organization held a campfire dinner that consisted of hot dogs on giant stainless skewers and S’mores for dessert.

That was the first time I had ever heard of them or eaten them. I’m not going to lie; S’mores are delicious.

Who doesn’t like chocolate, graham and marshmallow?

Moving forward, both my parents and sister have campers and set out once a year to a local camp-site where they’ve built friendships and laid down some roots.

They know the area, and the kids are comfortable there, and it’s still a frugal way for the family to get away without breaking the budget.

The most significant investment was the upfront costs of buying the camper, which transitioned into purchasing an SUV to tow it around.

They have no complaints and look forward to packing up as often as they can during the UK summer months.

Since we’ve been married, we haven’t been camping; however, Mrs. CBB’s siblings continue to camp to escape the hectic city life.

“It was nice to leave everything behind for a couple of days just to be with friends and family and enjoy bonfires and laughter,” Mrs. CBB started doing in her teens.

Camping was not typical of my wife’s background as camping meant in the backyard with a BBQ and sleeping in your bed.

Road Trips and Food

Going on road trips and renting an inexpensive hotel or motel for the family became a family vacation tradition.

Related: Food to bring on a road trip to a theme park and hotel stay

“Most often, we would go to Niagara Falls and stay at a Motel just off the strip, which is still operational today.”

There were no fancy hotels with swimming pools in their budget because the money they saved for holidays went sightseeing and eating out.

They weren’t the family who would pack food to go because on holiday; they wanted to enjoy the not-so-common lifestyle they didn’t have back home.

It wasn’t until Mrs. CBB’s sister’s boyfriend introduced the family to a local campground where his family had camped for years.

Although very hesitant, her father purchased a camper that he would tow with his truck.

There was an adjustment period but camping became a yearly ritual for the family until he started to get very ill.

He then sold the camper and resolved to camping in the back garden or go to local beaches in the surrounding area.

I did manage to chat with my family members for this blog post about camping food recipes because I wanted to know what people needed to stock up on before setting off.

Not all camping areas have full grocery stores available, and when they do, you will pay higher prices, especially in a remote location.

“It’s advisable to stock up on your kitchen essentials before you go camping,” my sister-in-law stresses because you want to stretch your money for the entire camping season.

The last thing you want to become is a lazy camper, which can be far more expensive unless you start hunting your food.

We all know that won’t happen for the average campers who would rather be part of the woods and not own them.

You should know how to build a fire just in case you find yourself in an emergency. Think Tom Hanks, Wilson and the movie Cast Away.

You never know, so having basic skill knowledge in the woods could benefit you.

How to build a campfire the right way

I remember crossing over to Manitoulin Island with my family back a few years ago, and it looked like an abandoned village, at least the part we drove through.

The area is where everyone went camping, but we didn’t see much of that.

I admit I was lost, but we did manage to stumble upon a petrol station out of the cowboy era and a local grocery store.

I realized that these small grocery stores earn profit from boosting the prices of everyday items.

Often, you’ll find the higher-end grocery stores in smaller towns for that reason.

If I remember correctly, Foodland came with a high price tag for groceries.

Related: Canada’s Most Expensive Grocery Stores

Sure, like every other grocery store, there will be sales, but with fewer options to shop elsewhere.

It’s the take it or leaves it type of grocery shopping trip.

Camping Food Ideas

Freeze Dried Camping food; dehydrated camping food is also a popular idea for campers who want to bring along foods they can keep in advance.

If you are in a tent, you likely won’t have a freezer to keep stuff cold, but coolers filled with ice packs and cubes work perfectly fine but don’t last long.

You’d have to keep filling them up as the ice melted.

Freeze-dried and dehydrated foods are outstanding as they last longer and are portable.

I would freeze hubby’s stuff too and all the frozen stuff went into one cooler that he was to open once a day to take out that day’s food to thaw. Things stayed frozen fairly well.

Christine W.

Canadian Beef Jerky is the perfect snack to bring along camping for times when you’re sitting around enjoying a beer or beverage of choice and want something to nibble on.

There are so many camping snacks, but today I’m picking my favourites and those reasonably priced for Canadians looking to save money while enjoying their camping trip.

Campfire Food recipes also include cultural dishes.

S’mores, hotdogs, butter tarts, marshmallows, pancakes and beavertails are all Canadian food.

Now for the Filipino side, pork and chicken barbecue skewers, grilled corn and a host of other goodies.

When we go camping, it’s like a Fiesta every meal. Strange, but loads of fun!

Mona M. Facebook

Sample Camping Meals Menu

Breakfast

• Juice, Coffee, Tea, Milk etc.
• Campfire Pancakes with Pure Canadian Maple Syrup (Sugar-Free Syrup) and Butter Mini Dollar Pancakes. Keto Pancakes for those who are gluten-free.
• Fresh Fruits or Dried Fruits or Homemade Granola or Granola Bars

Lunch

• Grilled Ham and Cheese Campfire Sandwiches
• Pickles and olives or a Charcuterie Board
• A hot bowl of tomato soup
• Beverage of choice

I love camping and I guess I would bring a casserole of homemade lasagna!! With a side of beer sounds fantastic. – Laura N

Grilled Stuffed Peppers – Keto or Low Carb

Grilled Stuffed Peppers

Camping Dinner

• Beans and Weenies
• Campfire Donuts
• Beverages of choice

Campfire Beans and Weenies

Campfire Beans and Weenies

Campfire Donuts

Campfire Donuts

Add any snacks that appeal to you!

Camping Snacks

• Campfire Nachos
• Chips, including Nacho chips
• Trail Mix and Mixed Nuts or Nuts and Bolts
• Breakfast bars
• Protein bars
• Beef Jerky
• Dried fruits
• Marshmallows

We would always roast marshmallows on sticks and try not to catch them on fire. I would usually burn my marshmallows black, lol

Colleen

• Cookies
• Fresh fruits (watermelon, apples, oranges and pears are great options)
  Popcorn
• Rice Cakes
• Crackers
• Hard cheeses

Junk! Lots and lots of JUNK!– Jo Anne B

You can’t go camping without hot dogs and all the S’mores ingredients.

Pioneer woman puts her snores ingredients into a split banana then wraps with foil.

It looked delicious and I want to try it this summer. We used to take those Jiffy Pop popcorn pans camping.

– Donna P.

Toddler Trail Mix Camping Treat

• Toddler Trail Mix

Camping Breakfast Ideas

• Quesadillas are the ultimate breakfast, lunch or dinner for me and are super easy to fill, wrap and cook over a cacampfireInstant oatmeal or anything that you can add hot water.

BBQ Breakfast Scrambler Perfect For Camping

BBQ Breakfast Scrambler

Camping French Toast

Camping French Toast is the perfect start to the morning, especially when it looks like this beauty from This Little Piglet.

Campfire Breakfast Burger

Campfire Breakfast Burger, which is perfect for making in your muffin tin

Campfire Bacon

You have to check out this Campfire Bacon and how easy it is to make!

Easy Camping Lunch Ideas

If you have a Dutch oven to use when camping, it’s essential to make sure that you are using the correct temperature before starting your meal.

Check out this informative Dutch Oven Temperature Chart for more info because it doesn’t hurt to know how to use cooking tools efficiently.

Hotdogs wrapped in crescent roll dough on a stick is an excellent idea for lunch because the dough is portable in the tube it comes in and inexpensive.

Simply wrap your hotdog with crescent dough, put it on your skewer and hang out by the fire pit. Just try not to burn it like you would a marshmallow.

Subscribe To the Canadian Budget Binder And Get My Exclusive CBB Emergency Binder FREE!

Mac and Cheese Or Instant Soups

• Instant soup, Asian Instant Soup, Mac n cheese

I like to bring things pre-made or pre-assembled. Some of our favourites are bacon/egg/cheese wraps, farmer sausage perogie casserole, bacon wrapped cheese stuffed hot dogs, meatballs, marinated steak and then of course all the salads.

For special campfire stuff we have a pie maker that offerss endless possibilities such as grilled pizza sandwiches, grilled peanut butter and jam, pie filling pockets etc.

Banana boats and campfire popcorn are good too! Nachos with beef and cheese and all the toppings. Mmm, I’m hungry now! – Samantha J.

This Mini Corn Dog muffin is ideal for adding to your camping food ideas, especially since it is simple enough to make and the cornbread mix is simple to prep ahead.

Hot Ham and Cheese Campfire Sandwiches

Hot Ham and Cheese campfire sandwiches will always be a hit, even for the kids.

Camping Dinner Ideas For The Whole Family

Camping meals can be as busy as you want them to be or as simple as these recipes I’ve chosen below.

Hawaiian Chicken Kebab

Hawaiian Chicken kebab

My contribution would be beans from the can. When we camped with the children they loved to have hot dogs with a can of beans warmed over the fire.– Bonnie B

Camping Mac n Cheese

Camping Mac n Cheese

My husband would take the ingredients for spaghetti, chili, hot dogs and hamburgers when he went camping.

Spaghetti was the first night and those leftovers rolled into chili and so on with him. – Christine W.

Adobo is a must have as there’s no need for refrigeration. Best eaten a day after cooking.

Pork and chicken barbecue on skewers are also great marinated at least overnight.

Rice is always on hand. Usually made into garlic fired rice for breakfast.

There’s an assortment of pork sausages, pork and chicken sweet meats (Tocino) and fried beef tapa (similar to jerky).

This is just a few of the kinds of food we bring for camping. Mona

Campfire Potatoes

Campfire Potatoes

Grilled Campfire Brussels with Whole Grain Mustard

Grilled Campfire Brussels with Whole Grain Mustard

One-Pot Beef Stroganoff

One-Pot Beef Stroganoff

Grilled Halloumi Tacos Low-Carb Keto

Grilled Halloumi Tacos Low-Carb

Camping Dessert Ideas

Bush Pie

Bush pies have been a family favorite ever since I was a kid. Simple in design, “pie irons” allow you to make a toasted sandwich over a campfire by encapsulating the ingredients between two pieces of bread*.

The variety of bush pie ingredients is only limited by the imagination.

Bush Pie is a must with a campfire heck, and we even make it when we have a fire in our fire pit.- Colleen K.

Black Forest Bush Pie

S’mores Dip In Cones

Camping food- can’t forget the S’more cones– Patricia L.

Hip to Save has some delicious-looking Campfire S’mores too.

Camping Banana Boats

Campfire Banana Boats

Campfire Cinnamon Roll-Ups

Campfire Cinnamon Roll-ups

Camping Beverage Ideas

• Alcohol, if permitted, Camping Sangria
• Juice boxes, Pop, Water
• Tea and Instant coffee (perhaps a kettle if you aren’t interested in waiting for a campfire or your brew)
• Milk and other dairies if you have a refrigerator

Camping Food List

When creating your camping food list, only take the items you will use; otherwise, you will be taking up valuable space for other things you need.

Always consider that there may be an emergency where you will need extra food, or you decide to stay a bit longer.

In these instances, packing a bit more of what you will use doesn’t hurt if it costs more at a local grocery shop where you are camping.

Another thing to consider is where you will be storing your items. If a cooler is all you have, you may want to consider other methods for preparing food in advance.

Note: Read my Ultimate Costco Canada Keto Products Guide to see what products you can find at Costco for your camping trip.

Having an available refrigerator and freezer opens up more variety for your camping food list.

1. Eggs, powdered eggs or dehydrated eggs
2. Bacon
3. Sliced bread or bread-making ingredients
4. Cereal, instant oatmeal, cream of wheat
5. Pancake mix
6. Muffins
7. Cookies
8. Chocolate spread
9. Nut butter
10. Honey
11. Salsa
12. Snack bars and cakes
13. Pickles or other pickled items
14. Olives
15. Cheese, cream cheese, Cheese Whiz etc.
16. Bagels, Wraps, Tortillas, Pita bread, croissants
17. Hot Dogs
18. Beans, Beans and more beans canned or dry
19. Broths
20. Flour, Almond flour, coconut flour, Almond meal etc.
21. Dehydrated meats
22. Sausages
23. Steak
24. Chicken
25. Canned Chicken or Ham
26. Fish, Canned tuna and salmon
27. Marshmallows
28. Chocolate
29. Graham Crackers
30. Ice-cream cones
31. Apples, Watermelon, Oranges, pears etc.
32. Canned fruits
33. Yogurts and Cheese
34. Variety of vegetables carrots, celery, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, potatoes
35. Pie filling
36. Peanut Butter
37. Jams and Jelly
38. Condiments- Mayo, Ketchup, Relish, Mustard, BBQ sauce, Hot sauce etc.
39. Health Foods
40. Coffee Whitener
41. Pasta
42. Pasta sauce
43. Chilli
44. Milk/Cream/powdered milk/evaporated milk
45. Instant noodles, pasta, soup etc.
46. Canned tomatoes and tomato paste
47. Water
48. Cocoa, Instant hot chocolate
49. Fats- Butter, Oil, Lard, Coconut oil etc.
50. Syrups
51. Snack items

Camping Bits n Bobs

You will need to stock your camp kitchen essentials before heading off to camp, and REI Co-op has an exclusive list that I’ve chosen to share with you.

• Baking and eating utensils including a muffin pan, loaf pan, baking sheet etc.
• Cast Iron Toast Bread Baker Sandwich Maker double Maker
• Firestarter, logs, sticks *just in case.
• Cups, bowls, mugs, dishes, pots and cast-iron pans galore
• Lodge 10-1/4-Inch Logic Pre-Seasoned SkilletCamp Chef True Seasoned 14-Inch Cast Iron Pizza Pan
• Camp Chef CIBP9 Home Seasoned Cast Iron Bread Pan (Black)
• Geen-Coller Outdoor Camping Cooking Survival Pot Water Tea Coffee Kettle
• Old Mountain 78235 Cast Iron Ol’ Iron Kettle

Campfire foods I love are smokies on a stick, pizza sandwiches made with the sandwich makers you can buy for campfires.

I put pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese in mine, also good with cherry or apple pie filling.

Tammy B

Camping Pancake Mix Hack

Plenty of campers have hacked the system and know of ways you can create delicious food without all the fuss.

Using tinfoil is not only one popular method to cook potatoes but so is cracking eggs before you leave home and securing them in a container.

Pinterest Pin- Pancake Mix Hack in a ketchup bottle

My daughter’s favourites are pizza sandwiches, dough boys, and tacos in a bag. She also likes banana boats. Girl Guide camp food is quite good.– Susan D.

I’m more than sure that all of you have other camping food ideas and hacks that you would love to share with the CBB community, so please take a moment to leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

Mr.CBB

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