Simple Camping for the Real Foodie

Try this easy camping menu for a short camping trip, plus all of my best tips and tricks for picking the easiest meals for camping and how to enjoy the great outdoors without a lot of gear or too much fuss!

Going camping is a lot like Christmas shopping.

You start with a list, check it twice, and check items off as they are completed, and when you’re done, you go back through and make doubly sure you didn’t miss anything!

At least that’s how I feel when I get ready for a camping trip with my family. Although I prefer to keep our camping food super simple, I enjoy camping in a cabin. Some would call it “glamping,” although if that were the case, a one-room cabin with one electric plug would most certainly be a low rung on that multi-tiered ladder!

Regardless of whether you camp or glamp, planning your easy camping menu is still the same: Make a list. Pack your stuff. Eat real food. Have a great time!

EASY CAMPING MENU

What are easy meals to take camping?

To keep our camping trips uncomplicated and not have to pack too many foods that are required to be kept on ice (which we’d have to pay for), I stick with simple camping meals.

Here’s an example of my real food easy camping menu…

Easy Camping Foods for Breakfast: Nitrate-free bacon and Whole-Grain Biscuits on the griddle for a delicious breakfast sandwich; fresh strawberries, blueberries, and watermelon; coffee and water. Bagels and cream cheese are another easy camping breakfast.

Super Easy Camping Lunch: Peanut butter (here’s my Homemade Nut Butter recipe) sandwiches on Whole-Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread; apples; raisins; pretzels; trail-mix; water.

Easy Camping Menu for Dinner: Skip the hot dogs and enjoy BBQ chicken or steak with Homemade BBQ Sauce; campfire potatoes (or sweet potatoes); side dishes of grilled corn on the cob and onions/peppers (wrap in foil packs). Grill the potatoes on the campfire. A vegetarian option can be black bean burgers rather than meat if you prefer.

Camping Dessert: Lots of s’mores! The ultimate camping comfort food!

For many more ideas for simple camping food, check out this post on Easy Camping Meals, with ideas for 10 meals to rotate for longer camping adventures! Including one pot meals and easy camping dinners!

PLANNING EASY CAMPING MEAL IDEAS

Remember, there was a lot of reasoning behind this menu…keep it simple! Think about camping food ideas that your family likes to eat. Choose easy camping meal ideas that will allow you to save as much space as possible.

• We could have had French toast or pancakes… but then we’d have to bring eggs, maple syrup, and milk.
• Or we could have done an egg scramble or a breakfast burrito with hash browns on the cast iron skillet… but then we’d have to bring eggs and worry about them breaking.
• We could have done yogurt with granola in mason jars… but then I’m packing more glass and something else that requires a cooler and ice.

Of course, there are endless options, but in the end, simplicity and the lack of refrigeration win out!

10 LESSONS LEARNED WITH SIMPLE CAMPING FOOD

We’ve gone camping as a family many times. These are my best tips for simple camping food!

1. Bacon is awesome. It’s also a big treat in our house, so you can only imagine how amazingly delicious it is to enjoy bacon for breakfast for three straight days! Sausage is a good backup, too. Prep into patties before heading out for easy cooking.
2. Biscuits can be cooked on a griddle – and they’re good! Before we leave, I like to mix up three batches of Whole Wheat Dinner Biscuits through cutting in the butter and put each in its own quart-sized bag. When you’re camping, just add water a little at a time. Butter doesn’t require refrigeration, so these didn’t have to go in a cooler. Plus, the empty bags doubled as storage containers for our lunch sandwiches later that day.
3. Squishy foods should be eaten at camp. Fresh fruit makes for an easy breakfast, but it’s difficult to hike with berries, bananas, and watermelon. In order not to have to bring storage containers for these foods (which means carrying around in a backpack AND washing later in the day), we only eat them at camp.
4. Plan for simple, travel-friendly foods on hikes. Our sandwiches do not have jelly for a reason (one less thing to bring, plus the jars are glass). We also don’t care for packing deli meats and cheese on a trail. Apples, raisins, and pretzels are easy to transport and can be stored in baggies (which can be reused) rather than containers. We bring two big stainless steel travel mugs filled with water (we fill them up at home before we leave to conserve the water we’d have to buy on arrival) on the hike, and everyone drinks water.
5. Don’t skimp on dinner. Cooking on the grill or over an open fire is fun. Plus, after a full day of hiking and sightseeing, campers are hungry! We serve the same veggies both days, with chicken on the first night and steak on the second (both portions of meat came from my freezer, so no additional expense).
6. Eat s’mores. And lots of them! Whether you make your own graham crackers and marshmallows is up to you. Frankly, I don’t. There isn’t really time, plus this is a vacation for me too! There’s already enough to do just to get ready for the trip, and making every single thing from scratch isn’t always gonna happen.
7. Pack condiments. Our local dollar store has those black and white salt & pepper shaker combinations for $1. We pack that, plus butter and Homemade BBQ Sauce from home. Those condiments alone can cover nearly all of our seasoning needs.
8. Pack coconut oil. Coconut oil is so versatile – it gives us fat for cooking (for the foil packets) and moisture for our skin. Bringing a jar of this means no need for olive oil, which means less to pack.
9. Freeze your meat before you leave. All of our meat – bacon, chicken, and steak – is frozen when we leave. Those act like ice packs for other items in the cooler, and we simply pull out what we need for dinner at breakfast. No ice needed, and everything is cold enough to avoid spoilage.
10. Don’t pack junk food. Since you’re not in your kitchen, you only have access to what you bring. If you don’t bring junk food, no one can eat it!

3 TIPS FOR BASIC FOOD GEAR FOR SIMPLE CAMPING MEALS

So far, the ingredients for the easy camping menu are pretty simple, but what about the tools to make the simple camping meals?

1. My “to pack” list first started with our menu plan and the utensils needed to accomplish that. Then I pack three items that ultimately make the trip successful: a griddle, a coffee pot, and an extension cord.
2. We brought the cast iron skillet (we have this one), but ended up using the small grill and the griddle for all of our cooking. The extension cord was so long that we weren’t cooking bacon inside the cabin (brilliant!), and seriously, what good is a vacation if you can’t take your time drinking a hot cup of coffee in the morning? Just don’t forget the coffee, coffee filters, coffee mugs, and creamer!
3. Another smart packing move was bringing our large cutting board and two dinner knives, sharpened before we left. I quartered a large watermelon before we left the house to make it easy for transport, but the cutting board came in handy for slicing and serving. We also used it for cutting onions and peppers, our steak, as a hot plate, and as a general clean working surface.

4 CONSIDERATIONS TO MAKE CAMPING DINNER IDEAS EASY

1. Know your camping conditions before you leave. Call ahead regarding electricity, small grills, and fire pits. Make sure you’re equipped to deal with the appropriate cooking situation: Do you need a grate for the fire? Coals for a grill? Lighter fluid? Old newspaper? A lighter? Or a camp stove?
2. Don’t forget the cooking accessories. Cast iron skillets get hot; you’ll need oven mitts. Biscuits need to be flipped, marshmallows need sticks, and foil packets need foil.
3. Reuse what you can and go disposable when it counts. Washing dishes isn’t very easy with a spigot (note to bring a bucket, soap, and sponge if you need to wash anything!), so we only washed what we had to: cups, all utensils, and cookware. We brought disposable plates to make the load a bit easier. Pick and choose what you’re willing to wash, but don’t burden your vacation with washing dishes (times three meals, every day!).
4. Dress your table. Picnic tables are dirty, and the long boards make it easy for things to slip into the cracks. Invest in a $1 plastic tablecloth and a set of clips to make dining at the table easy and pleasurable.

Bonus tip: Don’t forget to set yourself up for the next camping trip! When we get home, I take all the non-perishable camping items (foil, Ziploc bags, marshmallow sticks, etc.) and put them in a plastic storage bin. Our packing list and meal plan go in that box, too. That way, we’ll be one step ahead of the game for the next trip!

EASY MEALS TO MAKE WHILE CAMPING TO FIT WITH YOUR FOOD GOALS

Most of the ideas for easy meals to make while camping will fit in naturally with tracking your macros, so that you can still stay on track with your food priorities and goals.

Don’t be scared of carbohydrates! Eating biscuits, oatmeal, or bread made with whole grains while camping is a great way to fuel your body with complex carbs. Pair them with protein to keep your blood sugar stable and keep you going all day long.

Speaking of protein, especially after a full day of hiking, swimming, and outdoor activities, you’ll want plenty! I chose these simple camping meals with that in mind. We need protein for energy! Beef sticks or packs of tuna are great nonperishable snacks if you need a protein boost midday.

Even while camping, we want to fill our plates with plenty of produce, and sticking with simple veggie sides is an easy way to do that. Salads, coleslaw, and grilled veggies are delicious and filling. Berries or watermelon can be quick and easy sides as well, for natural sweetness and hydration.

Remember that while camping, getting close enough is good enough, so don’t stress about having a s’more for a treat, or if your macros don’t quite match up with your goals. Balance making memories and enjoying your time together with eating well!

MORE HELPFUL POSTS FOR CAMPING

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• 24+ Best Hiking Snacks
• Homemade Bug Spray
• DIY After Sun Spray
• Homemade Citronella Candles
• DIY Sunscreen