Top 10 camping meals to make on your next trip

What comes to mind when you think of camping meals? It’s probably sausages and bread, bacon and eggs, or maybe a marshmallow or two. Cooking in a camp kitchen can seem intimidating, and you might not know where to start, but once you look into it, there’s actually tonnes of stuff that’s super easy and fun to make while camping.

We spent a year travelling around Australia and played around with lots of camp meals. And I’m here to tell you, there’s more to camp food than sausages!

Breakfast camping meals

Chocolate oats

This is porridge on another level. It’s an easy camping meal to make, light, delicious and can be adjusted to suit your taste. It can be cooked hot in the morning over the stove, or soaked overnight as ‘overnight oats’.

Mix together oats, chia seeds, sultanas, cocoa powder, cinnamon and sugar. It’s up to you what ratio to use, but I’d advise you to go heavy on the oats and lighter on the sugar. If you’re doing overnight oats, combine the ingredients in a jar, cover with milk, stir together and let set. If you’re cooking in the morning, add water and bring to a boil while stirring. Top up with some milk and serve when it gets to the consistency you like. Delish!

Banana pancakes

Pancakes are my favourite breakfast at home or at the campground. It seems elaborate, but it’s super simple.

Mix 1 mashed banana, 1 egg, ¼ cup sugar and 1 cup self-raising flour together. Slowly add milk until you have the desired consistency. It’s one mixing bowl, one pan, and easy to feed the masses. More people? Just double the recipe. You can add berries, choc chips, cut fruit, maple syrup, yogurt or even bacon on top of this versatile camping meal.

Lunch camping meals

Wraps

Forget sandwiches; wraps are a camper’s best friend. From brekkie wraps with bacon, eggs and halloumi, to delicious salad-packed lunch wraps, to Mexican bean wraps with guac for dinner. The camping meal options are endless. Regardless of what you plan on putting in them, always make sure you put wraps in your camping food bucket. They’re easy to pack, won’t get squashed, and are so versatile it’s insane.

My lunchtime wrap go-to is mayo, pickles, cheese, salami, tomato, cucumber, sprouts, grated carrot, beetroot, pineapple and sweet chilli sauce.

Fritters

Fritters are basically a pancake without sugar. I usually make mine with corn or zucchini, and they’re a great brekky, lunch, dinner or snack. It’s also great because most of the ingredients are non-perishable, making it an ideal meal for camping.

Mix 1 egg, 1 can of corn kernels, 1 can of creamed corn and 1 cup of self-raising flour in a bowl. Slowly add milk until you reach the desired consistency. Spoon small amounts into a shallow layer of oil in a hot pan, and flip once the bottom begins to brown. Serve them with pickles and mayo or alongside veg or salad to make it a whole meal.

Dinner camping meals

Miso soup

This camping meal is the perfect one-pot meal to hydrate you, fill you up and get in a whole bunch of veggies. Really, the only thing you absolutely need is miso paste and water, but the extra spices, veg and noodles turn it into a whole delicious meal.

Fry up onion, garlic and a little chilli and curry paste (optional) in a large pan. Add mushrooms and saute for a few minutes. Add 500ml of water per person to the pot. Stir in miso paste to taste. Add chopped veggies (carrots, zucchini, capsicum, and beans are all good options). Add in 1 round of egg noodles per person and simmer for 3 minutes. Add in chopped green Asian veg like bok choy.

If you like, add in sweet chilli, stock or sweet soy sauce to taste.  Serve in big bowls, and enjoy!

Mushroom pumpkin pasta

Another one-pot camping meal to fuel your soul and your camping adventures.

Fry onion, garlic and mushrooms in a large pot. Add chopped pumpkin cubes and fry off for 5 minutes. Pour in 1 packet of pasta (any kind will do, but I love penne) and mix together. Add equal parts stock/water and cream (coconut or regular cream is fine) until the liquid barely covers the pasta and pumpkin. Add some paprika, salt, pepper and mixed herbs if you have them. Allow it to come to a boil with the lid on.

Cook until the pasta is cooked, the sauce thickens, and the pumpkin starts to disintegrate, making sure to stir regularly so the pasta cooks evenly. You can add some cheese on top to make it extra delicious.

Dessert camping meals

Jaffles

Jaffles are the ultimate camping meal. Normally, you’ll see them full of cheese, tomatoes or baked beans. But my favourite jaffle is a dessert one.

Place two slices of bread on each side of your open jaffle iron. Lay your chosen dessert ingredients on the bread. Chocolate, banana, and berries are my go-to. Close the jaffle, squish the bread tightly together and cook over hot coals until you see the bread in the jaffle turn a toasty brown colour. Be careful not to burn it!

No cooking required

Rice paper rolls

This meal is easy, fresh, quick and the perfect summer camping meal to share with friends. I love spreading everything out on a picnic blanket or central table and letting everyone just make their own.

Soak rice noodles in water (boiling if possible) until soft, then drain and chop them into manageable lengths. Chop fresh ingredients for the filling. Mango, cucumber, capsicum, carrot, avocado, tofu and shallots are all perfect for this. For the dipping sauce, mix 2 tbsp of peanut butter, half a lime, and a tsp of soy sauce. Add warm water to achieve your preferred consistency.

To make the rolls, submerge a rice paper roll completely in water for a couple of seconds, then place it on a plate or board. Add ingredients and sauce in the middle. Tuck in the sides, then roll into a roll and enjoy.

Camping meals on the coals

Slow cooked Beef Stew

If you have the luxury of a good campfire with solid coals, camp cooking tools like a camp oven and welders gloves, and plenty of time up your sleeve, slow-cooked beef stew is a great way to bring the campsite alive.

For this camping meal, start by heating oil in your camp oven over hot coals. Add in 1kg of cubed chuck steak and fry until brown on all sides. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft. Add 3 tbsp of tomato paste and stir until meat is coated. Sprinkle over 2 tbsp of plain flour and cook until absorbed and well coated. Slowly stir in beef stock until it covers the meat, then add salt, pepper, mixed herbs and paprika to taste. You can also add a can of tomatoes here. Cook covered for at least 1 hour. You’ll need to manage your coals so the heat stays even.

Once the beef starts to pull apart, add in chopped carrots, and potatoes and cook for another 20 minutes. You can add in extra veg towards the end and any extra seasoning to taste. Serve on its own with a dollop of sour cream, with pasta, gnocchi or some rice.

Veg on the coals

When you’re camping, water is sometimes scarce or difficult to come by. Cooking your veggies wrapped in foil straight on the coals is the perfect option for a camping meal with limited water supply.

This works super well with potatoes, pumpkin, corn, even carrots, capsicum and zucchini. Tear off some foil, place your veg in the middle, sprinkle in some seasoning and some butter if you have it, then wrap up the foil so the veg is sealed in. Place the package on the coals and rotate occasionally until cooked through.

Pssst. If you really want to level up your campfire recipes, check out Fire to Fork!