Easy snacks to take on camping trips
Dehydrated foods
These are easy to take when camping. You don’t have to worry about them spoiling. You can just take a few packs of your favorite dehydrated foods and toss them in your backpack ready to eat at any time.
Mixed nuts and bars
Classic camping food to bring with you. These are easy to eat while hiking and it doesn’t poke a hole in your backpack.
Instant noodles
Instant food is easy to make as most of the time it only requires you to add hot water for a meal to be ready
Instant mac n’ cheese
Just add hot water and you can eat mac n’ cheese while enjoying the experience of being in nature.
Dried fruits
These are packed with nutrients and you don’t have to worry about spoiling. Dried fruits are convenient because you can do without the messy prep process of washing, peeling, slicing, dicing, etc. that you have to do with fresh fruits.
Instant coffee or tea
Coffee and tea lovers can’t bring their french press or espresso machine with them during camping. Enjoy your preferred drink without the hassle of equipment by using instant coffee or tea bags, all you need is some hot water and your mug.
Bread
Make your own sandwiches during your camping trip and bring bread along with a variety of sandwich ingredients. This snack is easy to make and full of carbohydrates for energy.
Frozen fruits
If you don’t like the taste of dried fruit, you can pre-freeze fresh fruit at least a day before your camping trip and keep them in a cooler with ice, and mix them with your oatmeal or pancakes.
Easy breakfasts for your camping trips
Omelets
Omelets are easy breakfast food that you can make even without much cooking experience.
Pancake
Pancakes are easy to make breakfast food and you can make them savory or sweet according to your preference. If bringing all the ingredients is a hassle, you can:
- Premix them at home then add the wet ingredients on the day of cooking
- Bring boxes of pancake mix, these usually need just water and/or eggs
French toast
This breakfast food needs only five ingredients: milk, eggs, cinnamon, sugar, and bread. Make a mixture of the first four ingredients and soak a piece of bread in it, then fry these in a pan.
Chilaquiles
This dish can be a snack or a meal. It’s easy to make and it is a crowd favorite. Get the recipe for Chilaquiles here.
Bacon and eggs
This is an easy-to-store-and-make dish that is perfect for those mornings when you don’t feel like making an effort to cook.
Oatmeal
You can make oatmeal in two easy ways:
- Bring quick cook oats and just add hot water
- Make overnight oats, it will be ready for eating when breakfast time rolls up.
Yogurt
Buy individual packages of yogurt to reduce your cleanup process and put these in your cooler with some ice. Remember that yogurt spoils easily so eat them as soon as possible.
Breakfast burritos
Pre-make your burritos and freeze them before you go on your camping trip. When you are ready to eat them, you can just throw them over your camping stove or frying pan to heat.
Easy lunches for your camping trips
Meat, cheese, and veggie sandwich
Sandwiches are easy to make, you can even let your fellow campers customize their sandwiches by bringing a variety of fillings. Prepare the fillings at home and put them in your cooler to avoid spoiling.
Grilled cheese sandwiches
These are convenient because it has minimal ingredients and it’s quite easy to make.
However, if you can’t bring a big grill then you can only make one or two at a time (depending on how big your pan is). If so, this may be suited for one or two people and not a big group.
Pigs in a blanket
Pre freeze hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls. When cooking them at camp you can roast pigs in a blanket in the fire on a roasting stick.
Easy dinners for your camping trips
Tacos
When making tacos:
- Wash and chop all the veggies that you want to put in
- Marinate your meat the night before, that way you can just throw it on the grill to cook
- Buy snack-size taco bags, You can use these to eat out of.
Pizza
For pizza buy pre-made pizza crusts and put them in an iron skillet, assemble desire toppings, and cover with the lid.
Soup
This can be pre-made at your home and frozen in storage bags. Put the bags in your cooler for easy storage. When reheating the soup take it out of the bag and into a pot.
Burger
As with sandwich fillings, wash and cut what you want to put in your burger at home, marinate the meat and throw it on the grill or pan to cook.
Sausage and potatoes
Even a meal as simple as sausage and potatoes can be tasty when cooked while on a camping trip. Don’t forget to bring your preferred seasonings and spices for an enjoyable meal.
Chicken enchiladas
Prepare these before your trip like the breakfast burritos and just reheat them on the pan before you eat.
BBQ pork and chicken
Marinate your meat the night before and put it in your cooler.
Curry
Curries can be premade and frozen in storage bags. Let it thaw in the cooler and heat in a pan when you’re ready to eat.
Pasta
No one likes soggy pasta noodles so premake and freeze your pasta sauce. Then cook your noodles onsite and reheat the sauce.
Camp cooking tips for beginners
Cook what you like to cook
You don’t need to cook elaborate or even different dishes when camping. Stick to your favorite foods.
Bring a lot of food
Camping activities allow you to burn a lot of energy so bring a lot of food to replenish that energy.
Keep your cold foods cold
Frozen food needs to be at a certain temperature before spoiling, to prevent that, buy a good cooler that keeps your food cold for longer.
Always bring aluminum foil
There are a lot of uses for aluminum foil in camp cooking: keeping food warm, covering food, or even as a makeshift cooking pan.
Bring snacks
Going on camping activities can make one hungry, make sure to pack easy-to-carry snacks.
Bring clean water
Clean water is not always available when camping. Make sure to pack a few gallons of clean water for your trip.
Chop meat before going camping
Minimize your prep time by chopping meat and freezing it before going on your trip.
Plan your meals before going camping
Make a meal plan for your trip. This helps you:
- Avoid wondering what to eat
- Bring the correct amount of supplies
- Know when to eat certain types of food that spoil easily
