You need easy meals you can make ahead for your camping trip. Here are 22 no-nonsense, low-mess meals you can serve in flash while camping. If you’re like me, then you don’t want to spend your whole trip to the campsite cooking and cleaning. You want to be outside and relaxing in nature.
Shrimp Boil Foil Packets
Put what you want in a packet: cooked shrimp, corn, squash, tomatoes, whatever you like with your shrimp. Keep cold until you want to serve it, then pop it on the grill or over the fire.
Campfire Nachos
Use a separated food container or bento box to put together all of the toppings you want for your nachos. Bring along a bag of tortilla chips and plenty of aluminum foil. It’s a ready-made nacho meal. Just assemble. wrap in foil and melt heat over the fire or on the grill.
Campfire Pizza
Same as above, bring your pizza ingredients in a separated container. Bring along a pack of flour tortillas for your crust. It’s a quick way to make “homemade” pizza on the fly at camp.
Summer Veggie Pasta
Wash and slice the veggies you want for your stir fry. Preboil your pasta and quick cool. To serve, toss your veggies with oil and salt, wrap in foil and cook over the fire or grill. Heat pasta with oil over fire or grill and toss everything together.
Hot Dog (or Not Dog) Night
This is a great meal for a summer night. Hot dogs or meatless links cook easily over the fire. Bring along some buns and condiment packets and you have hot dog night.
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Put the cheese sandwiches together ahead of time, spread butter on the outsides of the top and bottom slice. Wrap in foil. Pull out when you want them and heat over the fire on the grill for a quick lunch, dinner or snack.
Easy Egg Casserole
Combine eggs, cheese and any other ingredients in a casserole dish. Bake and cool. Slice into squares and wrap in foil for the camping trip.
Ham And Cheese Rolls
Create rolls using ham and cheese in tortillas. Slice into small pieces, but wrap together as a log. Chill and serve as needed.
Peanut Butter and Jelly
You don’t need a recipe for these, but don’t underestimate their value when camping! They can be breakfast, lunch, dinner or midnight snack.
Homemade Trail Mix
Ingredients: dried fruit, chocolate chips, raisins, cashews, almonds, dried cranberries. Mix it all up and divide into individual reusable plastic bags.
Rice and Veggies
Cook up your own rice and freeze it in single servings or get some quick-boil packets to boil on the go. Creat a veggie pack (see Stir-Fried Veggie recipe above.) When ready, just heat up at the campsite.
Breakfast Sandwiches
Bring along some pre-cooked breakfast sausage, English muffins and cheddar cheese. Put together as a sandwich, wrap and keep cold. You can heat at the campsite and even add a quickly-cooked egg before serving.
Soup
Make up a batch of your favorite soup at home and freeze in individual serving size cups. Keep cold until you are ready to serve, then just heat up in a camping pot or mug.
Italian Meatball Sandwich
Assembe the sandwich at home. Make your meatballs and let them cool. Put them onto a sliced Italian roll with a smear of tomato sauce, dash of basil and slice of mozzarella. Wrap in foil and heat and serve on-site.
Oatmeal Cups
Prepare individual servings of oatmeal in reusable containers. Add dried fruit, brown sugar and any other dry ingredient. Keep this in your dry storage and add hot water when ready to eat.
Breakfast Burritos
Prepare these in advance at home with a tortilla, scrambled egg and cheese. Roll into a wrap and wrap in foil. Heat to serve when ready.
Cinnamon Sugar Toast
Any toast makes a really quick snack or breakfast. Toast is underrated! Make sure you bring a campfire toaster. You can make PB&J toast or PB and honey, too.
Caprese Pasta Salad
Toss up spiral pasta, grape tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and cubes of mozzarella with olive oil and a dash of salt. Store in individual containers and chill until needed.
Black Bean Cowgirl Salad
Make ahead a salad of black beans, diced tomato, corn, cilantro and diced avocado. Toss with olive oil, cumin, salt and lime juice. Chill in individual containers and serve cold on-site or add to a tortilla with cheddar cheese and warm over the grill or fire.
Campfire Quesadillas
Put cheddar cheese and monterey jack into a folded flour tortilla and sprinkle the outside with olive oil or cooking spray. Then wrap in foil and heat over the fire to eat.
Bacon-Turkey-Avocado Club
Put these ingredients into a bento box so the lettuce doesn’t make the sandwich soggy or assemble everything but the lettuce and add that later. Either toast the bread and then add the ingredients or put it all together and crisp over the fire.
Campsite Crudite
Crudite is just a fancy word for “veggie tray.” Slice up all your favorite veggies and pack into individual containers or baggies. Put your favorite dip into small salad dressing containers and have a fresh, refreshing pick-me-up any time of day.
Camping Meals Are Easy If You Plan Ahead!
With a little planning and owrk before you hit the road, you can have plenty of great meals on-hand and ready to serve.