11 of the Best Camping Meals for Less Stress

Are you planning a camping trip but unsure of what to make for meals? Look no further! I’ve compiled a list of the 11 most delicious, easy, and best camping meals that will allow you to focus on more family time and less on meal prep. And by easy, I mean EXTREMELY EASY. They’re simple to make and require minimal prep and clean-up, so you can spend more time enjoying the great outdoors. So, fire up the camp stove or set up the grill and get ready for some simple, but tasty meals that will make your camping experience even more enjoyable.

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Factors to consider when choosing camping meals

Before we dive into the meal ideas, let’s discuss some factors to consider when choosing camping meals. First and foremost, you want to choose meals that are easy to prepare and require minimal ingredients and cookware. You also want to choose meals that are hearty and filling, as camping can be physically demanding. Additionally, it’s important to choose meals that can be cooked over a campfire or on a portable camping stove, as you won’t have access to a full kitchen. Be sure to find out what cooking equipment is available at your site – Is there a fire pit? Does it have a grate/grill? Are you only allowed to do charcoal briquets? The campsite amenities will play a big role in what equipment you will bring and the meals you will plan to eat.

Another important factor to consider is the climate and environment of your camping trip. If you’re camping in a hot and humid area, you’ll want to choose meals that won’t spoil quickly or require refrigeration. You can bring cold items in a cooler, but I wouldn’t count on keeping any leftovers. Likewise, if you’re camping in a cooler climate, you might want to choose meals that are warm and comforting.

For me, the main factors in feeding myself and our family on a camping trip are:

Will it get eaten?
How long will it take to prep and cook?
How hard is clean up?

If my kids will eat it, I can make it in under 30 minutes, and I have very few to no dishes to clean, that indeed is one of the best camping meals I could make.

Meal preparation tips for camping

Preparing meals while camping can be challenging, but with a little planning and preparation, it can be a fun and rewarding experience. Here are some tips to help you prepare meals while camping:

Pre-chop your ingredients: Before you leave for your camping trip, pre-chop your vegetables and meats so that they’re ready to use. This will save you time and hassle when it comes to meal preparation.
Use foil and skewers: Foil and skewers are essential tools for camping cooking. You can wrap your meals in foil and cook them over the fire or on a camping stove, or you can skewer your meats and vegetables and cook them over the fire.
Plan your meals in advance: Before you leave for your camping trip, plan out your meals in advance and make a grocery list. This will help you avoid over-packing and ensure that you have all the ingredients you need.
Bring non-perishable foods: Non-perishable foods like canned beans, freeze-dried foods, and soups are great options for camping meals. They don’t require refrigeration and can be easily heated up over a fire or camping -stove.

Tools for cooking at camp

When it comes to cooking while camping, you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment. However, there are a few kitchen tools that you might want to bring with you to make things easier. These include:

Cooler: I try to bring as many shelf-stable food items as possible, but a cooler is very handy for those few refrigerated items you need to bring. You don’t need anything fancy, but if your trip is going to be several days, make sure you have the ability to purchase ice nearby or get a more heavy-duty cooler that will keep things cooler longer.
Portable camping stove: A portable camping stove is great for cooking while camping. It allows you to cook your meals quickly and efficiently, is easy to transport, and mimics cooking on the stove at home.
Cast iron skillet: A cast iron skillet is a versatile tool that can be used to cook a variety of meals over the fire or camping stove.
Camping Pot: Great for warming soups and sauces or boiling water
Foil and skewers: As mentioned earlier, foil and skewers are essential tools for camping cooking. They can be used to wrap meals in foil or skewer meats and vegetables.
Jetboil: Our friends introduced this handy tool to us and I love how quickly it can boil water for a warm drink or to add to instant foods like ramen and oatmeal or individually portioned macaroni and cheese.
Reusable Tablecloth: Having a reusable tablecloth makes prep, meal time, and cleanup much easier. Simply wipe it down between uses. Don’t forget to get tablecloth clamps to help keep it in place.
Pro Tip: National Park table tops can be very thick. Keep that in consideration when purchasing clamps.

Camping meal ideas for breakfast

Before we dive into the best camping meals for breakfast, please be aware: These ideas are meant to be quick, simple, and kid-friendly. They are not gourmet meals and will not earn you any Michelin stars. These meals are easy to prepare and require minimal ingredients and cookware.

1. Campfire Omelet

When I first had this as a middle schooler, I thought it was magic. I didn’t even really like eggs all that much, but eating this on a camping trip opened my eyes and fed my belly. I especially like that these don’t carry a strong “eggy” flavor as well.

Equipment:

Freezer Quart-sized Ziploc bags
Pot to boil water
Tongs

Ingredients:

Eggs
Shredded cheese
Diced ham
Chopped peppers and onions
Bacon bits
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Crack 2-3 eggs into a Ziploc bag and add your favorite omelet toppings like cheese, ham, and vegetables.
Pro Tip: Chop all the toppings at home and bring them with you in your cooler. You can even freeze the items to stay cooler longer before use. Just make sure you pull them out in time to defrost if they are still frozen.
Place the bag in a pot of boiling water and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Use tongs to retrieve the bag.

2. Pancakes

Mix up some pancake batter and cook them on a cast iron skillet over the fire or on a camping stove. A little obvious, but hopefully the following tips will make it as easy as possible!

Equipment:

Blender Bottle or bowl and fork
Camping Stove or Cast Iron Skillet
Spatula

Ingredients:

Just add water pancake mix. We like to do a combination of Krusteaz and Kodiak Cakes
Butter or Oil
Water
Toppings: Syrup, butter, jam, peanut butter, Nutella

Directions:

Pre-measure your pancake mix into a pancake shaker bottle before leaving. If you are making a large batch or don’t have a bottle, simply store it in a plastic container.
Measure out the water to add based on mix instructions.
Pro Tip: I almost always eyeball it. In this case, I’d try to be a little more exact because I won’t have any extra mix to add if it gets too watery.
Cook on a heated pan with butter or oil to prevent sticking.
Top with syrup, butter, jam, peanut butter, or my favorite – Nutella
Pro Tip: Get travel-sized butter or jams and shelf-stable syrup to avoid needing refrigeration.

3. Oatmeal

Hearty, customizable, and delicious, oatmeal is a perfect way to start your day while camping. Bring prepackaged instant oatmeal packets for an even easier meal.

Equipment:

Jet Boil or pot for water
Heat safe bowl or mug

Ingredients:

Water
Oatmeal of your choice
Mix-ins: Brown sugar, cinnamon, nuts, dried cranberries

Directions:

Heat the water to boiling
Add to oatmeal and follow specific preparation instructions
Add your favorite mix-ins

4. Muffins, Pastries, Bagels

Simple, premade, and a crowd pleaser. I’m always popular when I bring Costco double chocolate muffins, and I’m good with that. Bagels and cream cheese are a personal favorite, especially if I top it with some lunch meat, avocado, or Everything But the Bagel seasoning. To add some protein bring along some hard-boiled eggs to eat with them.

Best camping meals for lunch

Oftentimes we aren’t at our campsites for lunch. Try some of these super simple ideas for an on-the-go meal.

5. Sandwiches and Wraps

Pack some bread, deli meat, cheese, and vegetables for a quick and easy lunch. Save your mini packets of mayo and mustard, then bring them camping to add some flavor to your sandwiches.

6. Soups

Heat some canned soup over the fire or camping stove for a warm and comforting lunch. Or bring ramen noodles, instant macaroni and cheese, or just-add-water types of soups or pasta and heat water up using your Jetboil. You can bring the Jetboil along with you for the day so you don’t have to return back to camp for lunch.

7. Homemade Lunchables

Bring a variety of crackers, cut-up lunch meat, and then fold cheese slices into fourths. Use these to mix and match a tasty and protein-rich lunch that kids and adults are sure to enjoy.

Pro Tip: Carrots, apples, cheese sticks, jerky, fruit leather, trail mix, and granola bars make an easy grab-and-go snack to eat between meals and with your lunch. Make sure to bring plenty – especially with kids.

Best camping meals for dinner

Now, let’s dive into the main event – dinner! These meals are sure to satisfy your hunger and impress your fellow campers.

8. Loaded Baked Potatoes

Equipment:

Foil
Heat safe tongs
Knife

Ingredients:

Russet or Yukon Potatoes
Butter
Salt and pepper
Shredded cheese
Bacon bits
Sour cream
Green onions, sliced
Canned chili

Directions:

1. Preheat the grill or campfire.

2. Pierce the potatoes with a fork and wrap them in foil.

3. Place the foil-wrapped potatoes on the grill or campfire and cook for 30-45 minutes, or until they’re cooked through.

4. Cut open the potatoes and top with butter, salt, and pepper.

5. Add your preferred toppings.

Pro Tip: Because the potatoes take a while to cook, get started on dinner early. No one wants to wait 45 minutes for their potato to bake when they are hangry. So when you get back to camp for the evening, make your fire, get those potatoes prepped and cooking, and then play some games, read, or take a rest.

9. Campfire Quesadillas

These are so fast, inexpensive, and delicious. Plus, each person can customize their own.

Equipment:

Aluminum Foil
Heat safe tongs

Ingredients:

Burrito-sized tortillas
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or your preferred flavor)
Additional fillings: pre-cooked grilled chicken, black beans, onions
Toppings: Sour cream, salsa, guacamole

Directions:

1. Prepare your quesadillas with your desired fillings

2. Wrap tightly in foil with 2-3 layers

3. Place on the fire grate

4. Flip after about 3 minutes

5. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes

6. Remove with tongs, add toppings, and enjoy

10. Grilled Hot Dogs

Nothing says camping like hot dogs over the fire. Bring precooked dogs and your favorite toppings and you are only a few minutes away from dinner!

Equipment:

Fire safe skewers

Ingredients:

Hot dogs
Hot dog buns
Ketchup
Mustard
Relish

Instructions:

1. Preheat the grill or campfire.

2. Grill the hot dogs for 3-4 minutes, or until they’re heated through.

Pro Tip: Toast the hot dog buns over the fire or camping stove if you’re feeling fancy.

3. Serve with ketchup, mustard, and relish.

11. Taco Soup

While you can bring fresh ingredients to prep this meal, I suggest grabbing canned goods to have a comforting meal in much less time. Play around with spices as you like, but I shared the basics to help you get started.

Equipment:

Pot
Can Opener
Heat safe bowls
Ladle

Ingredients:

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes (try fire-roasted tomatoes or tomatoes with green chilis for extra flavor)
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 (14oz) can broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable)
2 tsp cumin
1 TBSP Diced onion (dried)
1 tsp Minced garlic (dried)
Chili powder (up to 1 TBSP depending on your spice preference)
Salt and Pepper
1 can cooked chicken for extra protein if desired
Toppings: Sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits, tortilla chips

Directions

Mix all ingredients in the camp pot.
Cook until warm.
Add toppings and enjoy.

Best Camping Desserts

You can’t go camping without treats. I mean you can, but what kind of camping would that be? So for a bonus #12 and #13, here are some of our favorite easy camping desserts:

12. S’mores/Roasted Starburst

I’m sure you’ve heard of or tried these treats before, but read on for additional ideas to make dessert simple, tasty, and fun.

Equipment

Roasting Sticks
Baby Wipes (for cleaning up the stickiness everywhere)

Ingredients:

Graham Crackers
Pro Tip: Try fudge-striped cookies, chocolate chip cookies, or Oreos instead of graham crackers to mix things up
Chocolate: traditional chocolate bar, cookies, and cream bar, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Ghirardelli squares
Marshmallows
Regular sized Starburst

Directions:

Prepare your layers before roasting your mallow. That way you aren’t holding a hot, pointy object with a slowly falling sticky mess on the end while trying to open a Hershey bar wrapper and break a graham cracker in half. I feel like I have to relearn this almost every year. PLAN AHEAD.
Roast your marshmallow.
Pro Tip: Don’t let anyone tell you how to roast your mallow unless you want their advice. People have strong opinions on the correct method of marshmallow roasting. If you burn it and don’t like it, wait for it to cool a little and pick off the burnt part. Please don’t burn yourself. It is hot – you just took it out of a flaming fire.

Assemble the s’more and eat.
Clean your hands, mouth, and probably hair with a baby wipe, and then start again.
For Starburst, just unwrapped the candy, place it on your stick, hold it over the flame for a minute or less, allow it to cool, and enjoy.
Pro Tip: Make sure to hold your stick pointed slightly up in the fire. If you point it down, the Starburst or marshmallows might slip off into the fire.

13. Campfire Pies

Another campfire treat to try if you are sick of s’mores or want something new, campfire pies are made by cooking some premade dough into a cylinder shape, filling it with pie filling, and topping it with whipped cream. While you can try to make your own special roasting stick with a wad of tin foil, I do recommend buying or making a Wolf ’em stick for the greatest ease.

Equipment:

Wolf ’em stick

Ingredients:

Canned crescent roll or biscuit dough
Canned pie filling and/or pudding cups
Whipped cream

Directions:

Take one triangle of the crescent dough or about half of a biscuit circle and wrap it around the end of the Wolf ’em stick.
Cook over the fire until done. Be patient. If you stick it right into the hottest part, you might end up with a crispy outside and an uncooked inside.
Remove the cooked dough from the stick and add filling and toppings.

Easy Meals, Less Stress, Happy Bellies

If you’re looking for places to take your family camping, check out my Yellowstone and Bryce Canyon guides. Each covers the basics to make your next family trip a great one – from accommodations (including camping), sites and hikes, and tips for engaging kids.

Also, my truly favorite camping meals? Take out pizza or burgers on the way to the campsite!

Camping meals don’t have to be difficult. With a little planning and preparation, you can enjoy delicious and easy meals that will make your camping experience even more enjoyable. These easy camping meal ideas are sure to satisfy your hunger and impress your fellow campers. So, get your wood and matches, or fire up the camp stove and get ready for some mouth-watering meals that will make your camping adventures memorable.