Looking for quick and easy camping food ideas to try on your next trip? Something that requires no effort yet tastes great? So, this list is for you!
We looked through our recipe catalog to pick our Favorite quick and easy camping dinners. All of the recipes below utilize only one piece of equipment (pot, pan, foil packet, pie iron, etc.), include quick-cooking ingredients, and include items that may be prepared ahead of time at home, saving you time at the campground!
Our Best Easy Camping Meals to Make Camp Cooking A Breeze
Chorizo and Eggs
- Ingredients: chorizo, eggs, green onion, shredded cheese, and optional corn tortillas.
- Steps: Choose between uncooked Mexican chorizo (found among raw meats) or cured Spanish chorizo (found near salami). Brown the Mexican chorizo, or slice and brown the Spanish chorizo. Add your eggs and scramble them together. If you want to tone down the spiciness, top it with green onion and grated cheese. If you wish to add some filling, serve with corn tortillas.
Oatmeal
- To reduce additional sugar, we prepare our own quick-cook oats in bulk every few months. Here’s our recipe. If you don’t want to fuss with boiling water in the morning, you can make overnight oats instead; here’s a wonderful recipe.
- Steps: To make quick-cooked oats, just boil ½ cup of water, stir it into the oats, and let settle for a few minutes. The overnight oats are ready to eat!
- Making toast in a cast iron skillet with a little butter or cooking spray is a great addition! Also, bring some oatmeal toppings such as nuts, berries, or dried fruit.
Corned Beef Hash and Eggs
- Ingredients: corned beef hash and eggs.
- Steps: Pour a can of corned beef hash into a cast iron pan and cook over low heat until browned and crispy. When the hash is nearly done to your satisfaction, add as many eggs as your party feels comfortable with. Scramble them in, allow them to cook through, and enjoy.
Breakfast Scrambler
- Ingredients:hash browns, eggs, shredded cheese, and optional add-ins like onions, peppers, bacon or sausage, spinach, mushrooms, etc.
- Steps:Begin with either dried or frozen hash browns, and cook them in the cast iron according to package guidelines (or shred actual potatoes if desired!). Add chopped onion, bacon pieces, or precooked crumbled bacon. Add in any additional vegetables your crew enjoys. Crack your eggs into the pan, scramble them, and when done, top with your Favorite cheese.
- We usually prepare bacon at home before going camping, or if time is of the essence, we use crumbled bacon bits.
ONE POT CAMPING MEALS FOR LUNCH
Mac & Cheese
- This one-pot camping supper may be made as simple or sophisticated as desired! Grab a box of Kraft Mac N Cheese (don’t forget to bring your milk and butter!), then slice and add a pre-cooked kielbasa sausage.
- Try our Favorite camping mac and cheese recipe, which can be found here. With this dish, we frequently pre-cook the noodles at home and always prepare the macaroni seasoning ahead of time.
Vegetable, Sausage, and Lentil Soup
- Ingredients: 1-pound Italian sausage, 1 finely diced onion, 1 stick celery, 2-3 sliced carrots, around 2 cups cubed butternut squash, ½ cubed zucchini, 1 cup green lentils, 3.5 cups chicken stock, 2 Tbsp chopped parsley, 1 tsp Italian spice, and ⅛ tsp black pepper.
- Steps: Cut sausage into bite-sized pieces and brown in pan. Once browned, put aside and remove any extra fat from the pan. Add the vegetables and lentils. Bring all of the ingredients to a boil in broth. Simmer for around 20 minutes (or until the vegetables are almost done). Return the sausage to the pan, season, and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Adding thick bread to this dish might enhance its flavour.
Pasta salad
- Ingredients:16 oz rotini pasta, 1 bottle Italian salad dressing, 6 chopped tomatoes, 4-6 chopped green onions, 1 can sliced black olives, 1-1.5 cups grated parmesan cheese, and 1 Tbsp Italian spice. Optional protein: pre-cooked cubed chicken, pepperoni.
- Steps:Cook pasta according to package guidelines. Drain any liquid before mixing with the Italian dressing. Combine the vegetables, cheese, spices, and optional protein. Mix thoroughly, cover, and let cool before serving.
Tuna Mac
- Ingredients: packaged mac and cheese (with optional milk or butter), can of tuna, salt, and pepper.
- Steps: Follow package directions to cook your Favorite mac and cheese. Drain and add a can of tuna. Season to taste.
CAMPING MEALS FOR DINNER
Stir Fry
- Ingredients:A Stir fry recipe requires a sauce kit (available in grocery store freezer aisles) and pre-cooked cubed chicken or other protein.
- Steps:If you didn’t prepare your chicken before leaving for camp, cube it and cook it thoroughly. Set aside and heat the supplied stir fry kit according to the instructions. Add the chicken back in at the end of the cooking time.
Chicken Alfredo
- Ingredients: 4 Tbsp olive oil (split), 1.5 pounds diced chicken breast, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1-quart low sodium chicken broth, 2 cups heavy cream, 1 pound penne pasta, 4 cups shredded parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste.
- Steps: • Cube the chicken breast and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken in olive oil (it will continue to cook as you add other ingredients). Sauté with minced garlic and extra olive oil. Combine the chicken stock, heavy cream, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and uncooked pasta. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cover. Simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until the pasta is soft. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Parmesan cheese. The sauce will continue to thicken.
Madras Lentils
- Ingredients:Tasty Bite Entrees Madras Lentils Package* and naan or another flatbread.
- Steps:We just tried one flavour of Tasty Bite Entrees (madras lentils) and it was delicious! To cook the food, boil the pouch in water. When served with flatbread prepared in a cast iron pan, it is a surprisingly hearty and easy supper.
BBQ Chicken and Potatoes
- Ingredients: 3 chicken breasts, ½ package bacon, 4 small potatoes cut, 1 red onion diced, ½ pound butter, and 1 bottle barbeque sauce.
- Steps: Cut the chicken breasts into strips and slice the bacon into tiny pieces. Cook both meats in the cast iron, stirring to brown all sides. Mix in the cut potatoes, chopped red onion, butter, and barbecue sauce. Cover with the prepared cover and bake in your Dutch oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes over low heat before testing for doneness. Continue to cook in 5-minute intervals until the chicken and potatoes are done.
There you have it: 12 quick one-pot camping dinners! We hope you find this list helpful, and that you have some wonderful meals while out on your next camping trip.
