Camping Food Ideas:
Good Easy Food To Take Camping

When you are packing your food for camping, there are a number of things to keep in mind.

• You want meal preparation to be quick and easy.

• You want the food to be nourishing and filling. Everyone works up a big appetite when camping!

• You need food that is easy to pack and that travels well.
  
  Click here for hints about packing liquids and spreads.
  
  
• Unless you are camping in an RV that has an oven or a microwave, you need food that can be cooked on a stovetop or over a fire.

• You want to use a minimal number of pots, pans and utensils. No one wants to spend a vacation washing more dishes than absolutely necessary!

Fortunately, there are lots of healthy and delicious camping food ideas that don't take a lot of time and effort to prepare.

• cereal with milk

• granola with yogurt

• French toast Click here to learn how to make French toast.
  
  
• pancakes with bacon Click here to learn how to make delicious pancakes from scratch.
  
  
• muffins with fruit Click here for some healthy muffin recipes.
  
  
• oatmeal

Lunch is an informal affair when we go camping. I like to put a variety of options on the picnic table and let the hungry campers help themselves!

• spreads
  • peanut butter
  • cream cheese
  • vegetable pâté
  • hummus Click here to make this great lunch for camping spread.
  
  
  
• breads

  (pita bread or bagels pack better than a loaf of bread, and stay fresh longer)

• crackers

• tinned fish (sardines and oysters)

• cheese

• fresh fruits
  • apples
  • oranges
  • grapes
  • berries
  • melon

• fresh vegetables
  • carrot sticks
  • cucumber slices
  • radishes
  • cherry tomatoes
  • bell pepper slices

• finger foods
  
  
  • Baked Tofu
  • hard-boiled eggs

• salads
  • lettuce salad
  • Taco Salad
  • Mandarin Black Bean Salad
  • Quinoa Salad
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Dinner
  
  
  • Pasta
    

    This is probably already on your list of camping food ideas! It's easy to cook, is liked by almost everyone, comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, and can be served up in many ways:

    • a can or jar of pasta sauce over spaghetti (If you want to get fancy, cook up some fresh veggies and add them to the sauce.)

    • angelhair pasta served with butter, garlic and freshly grated Parmesan

    • linguine with pesto sauce
      
      
    • Pasta with Marinated Artichoke Hearts
    
    
    
  • One-Pot Meals

    What could be better than a complete meal cooked in just one pot?

    • Balsamic Black Beans with tortilla chips and salsa
      
      
    • Macaroni with Tuna and Veggies
    
    
    
  • Tin Foil dinners
    

    A foil packet filled with tasty ingredients and cooked in the coals of your campfire is a classic camping meal.
    
    Click here to learn how to make tin foil dinners.
    
    

  • Dutch Oven Dinners

    You may be surprised by the delectable things you can cook up in a Dutch oven! (I was!)
    
    Click here for some great Dutch oven campfire recipes.
    
    

  • Fish
    
    
    
    • Steamed Citrus Fish can be cooked on a stovetop or over the campfire.
    
    
    

  • A potato baked in the coals is a camping classic.
    
    Click here to learn how to bake a potato in a campfire.
    
    
    
  • Hamburgers

    Cooked on a grill over the fire, these are a special treat.
    
    Click here for helpful hints about campfire cooking.
    
    

  • Hot dogs (or chicken dogs or veggie dogs)

    These are fun to cook over a campfire. Don't forget the marshmallow roasting sticks! They work just fine for hot dogs too. And don't forget the mustard, relish and ketchup!

  
  
  

  Click here for more easy camping recipes.

  
  
  
  Desserts

  • How about making homemade ice cream with an ice cream maker ball?
  
  
  
  Drinks

  The healthiest drink, of course, is water. However, you can't be sure of finding tasty water wherever you go. I always pack a bottle of lemon juice or lime juice when we go camping. If the water at our campground doesn't taste great, a squirt of juice usually makes it drinkable.

  Don't forget the hot drinks! A cup of hot chocolate or tea around the campfire is one of camping's pleasures!
  
  

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  For a more complete list of the food I always pack to take camping, see my camping food list.
  
  

  Remember - you are going on holiday! Use my camping food ideas and add your own - but always keep the food simple. After all, everything tastes wonderful when you eat it outdoors!
  
  

  Return from Camping Food Ideas to Complete Family Camping Guide.

  
  
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  SBI!