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Camping meals need to make the whole family happy. There isn’t an unlimited supply of food for them to just make something else if they don’t like the dinner plan.
Cereal doesn’t cut it when you have been outside playing all day.
Peanut butter and jelly will only go so far. I personally could eat it every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But the family would probably mutiny.
Planning Your Family Meals
It isn’t always easy to sit down and plan what you are going to make while you are out camping for 3-5 days. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
That is a lot of food to plan for. Multiply that by 3-5 family members and their likes and dislikes and you might want to just serve peanut butter and jelly.
Having a meal plan in advance will help you to grab all the food you need to pack, the kitchen gadgets and supplies you need to make enough meals to keep everyone fed and still have fun.
Easy Camping Meals
Pack your cooler with the ingredients to make these delicious camping meals. They are fast, family-friendly, and most of them are easy to clean up too.
Playing outside will make everyone ravenous. Having a great meal that is quick and easy to make will get them fed and back out playing. That's what camping is all about, right?!
Breakfast Camping Meals
Breakfast meals that you can make ahead for your camping trip. Easy meals that will feed the whole family. Breakfast will give you the energy to spend the day outside playing!
Pancakes are a great camping meal. All on their own. Dress them up with all sorts of variations. These grilled peaches and pecans make your pancakes seem fancy (even if you are eating out in the wilds).
Pulled pork can be a breakfast, lunch, or dinner food. Make it in the dutch oven for dinner and then use it for breakfast sandwiches the next morning. Serve it up on an English muffin with cheese that you cook in foil on the campfire. Easy to cook. Easy to clean up!
Omelet in a bag has been around for a while. If you don't like the idea of cooking in a plastic bag (it creeps me out a little) you can just make regular omelets. There is also an alternative way to make it in a brown bag (check out the recipe below).
You can also try egg and ham cups in disposable muffin tins baked on the campfire.
Banana bread is always a treat for breakfast (or snacks). Follow this recipe to learn how to bake banana bread in your dutch oven. It is a great way to use up any camp bananas that are starting to go bad.
French toast is a great alternative to pancakes (no batter needed). Cook them in foil to make clean up faster. Toss on some fresh fruit and peanut butter and you will have a well-rounded breakfast.
I love oatmeal. In any form. Old fashioned oats. Steel-cut oats. And even overnight oats. These are great when you are in a hurry or don't want to take the time to boil oatmeal that needs to cook longer than 20 minutes.
This is another camping meal that can be made for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Baked potatoes are great when they are leftovers. Make-ahead meals for camping are fantastic. These baked potatoes and other combinations are something you can make at home and then eat while you are outside playing!
I love this idea for a clean and easy breakfast. No plastic makes me love it even more! And there is bacon. You can't go wrong when bacon is involved. Serve these up with some leftover baked potatoes or some campfire baked bread and the meal will be so filling that you can play all day without eating until dinner!
Camping Lunches
Pack a quick lunch or bake one on the fire. After playing all morning, everyone will be super hungry and ready for another meal. Make something ahead of time and eat it cold or cook something yummy on the fire.
Walking tacos, taco in a bag, or nachos. Whatever you want to call them, this camping meal is easy to make and easy to clean up. Kids love having their own bag of chips to eat almost as much as they love tacos.
This meal is great for a camping lunch or dinner. Don't be surprised if it becomes a family favorite and they request it EVERY time you go out.
It is a really quick and easy camping hack for a meal.
Pizza is the other food that is a family favorite. Making pizza boats, pizza pockets, or little mini pizzas on bannock bread is sure to please the whole crew.
Pack your favorite toppings and bake your pizza in a pie iron in the fire, tin foil, or the dutch oven.
My kids have always loved quesadillas. Camping doesn't change that. As they have grown up they are great at making their own and adding other ingredients besides just cheese.
Philly cheesesteak is a great way to get a quick lunch made. Throw in some peppers and mushrooms for some added color and nutrients.
Bonus: use the leftover steak from dinner the night before. Slice it up and toss it in a tortilla for a quick and easy lunch (or dinner).
Turkey avocado pitas are another one of those lunches that you can easily pack in your backpack. Take lunch with you while you go exploring.
Use a mayo and mustard packet (no-fridge needed foods) from your backpack, a few slices of turkey, an avocado, and pre-made pitas.
We took this lunch with us everywhere one summer. They were our go-to meal when we were packing up for our outside adventures!
Nachos are a great lunch or dinner. They are even better when you make them over a grill or campfire. Choose your favorite toppings. Grab the cheese and chips. Don't forget the salsa and sour cream.
Make these yummy nachos for lunch or dinner. Don't count on leftovers, but if you do have them you can eat them for a snack too!
Camping Dinners
You can always pack hotdogs and burgers for a camping dinner. What about all the other fun dishes you can make. Try some fish tacos or a foil meal. Beans and rice in a Brazillian dish will make the whole family happy. Try one of these yummy dinner recipes for your next camping meal.
You can bring the fish or you can catch the fish. The kids might think that the experience is way more fun if you actually caught the fish.
It took us a while to figure out what all the "fish taco" craze was about. Now that we have finally tried fish tacos, it has become a regular meal in our rotation. Camping meals are no exception. If we like a dish, we take it with us on the go!
Foil is like a magic ingredient in a lot of different camping recipes. Toss the ingredients in foil. Wrap it up. Set it in a hotbed of coals and wait for it to cook. Camping meals cooked this way are fast, easy to clean up, and taste so good!
Our favorite is steak cut into small pieces, peppers, onions, and cubed potatoes. We even pack this and taken it in our backpacks when we ride dirt bikes.
If you haven't tried dutch oven cooking, a stew or soup is a great recipe to start with.
Stew is a "camping meal" all by itself. Perfect as a lunch or dinner.
You can even eat the leftovers for breakfast. Why not?! Throw an over-easy egg on top and it will carry you over until dinner!
There are so many dutch oven recipes that you could try while you are out camping. Enchiladas after a hard day of exploring are a great camp meal.
Especially with a side of beans and rice.
You could also just turn the whole thing into a one-pot wonder (less camp clean up that way) and cook it like a casserole.
Kebabs take some prep. You could skewer everything at home in the kitchen and then grill them when you get to camp.
Another way to do it is to let the kids make their own. They will love having their own unique kabob and participating in the process of making dinner!
Camp beans. You can't go camping and not eat beans right?
Beans, burger, and bacon all on a biscuit. There should be a joke or a pun in there somewhere.
A classic trail food.
Since beans are a great camping food, along with rice, we have started to make a Brazillian dish when we are out adventuring (and even at home).
A yummy combination of beans, rice, meat, and seasonings.
This is another great meal that you can eat at any time of day. Make a huge pot and have leftovers to use at the next meal or when one of the kids says they are hungry.
Favorite Foods
This is just a small list of foods that you could add to your list for camping. There are still the classic foods to pack as well.
Hot dogs and burgers always make great camping food. S’mores for dessert are never a bad idea. There are a number of ways to dress these up as well.
We didn’t even talk about tomato soup and grilled cheese. Regular sandwiches and chips. The list could just go on and on!
Which foods do you pack for every camping trip? Do you have a family favorite that goes on the menu every time you camp?
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