Our favorite camping meals
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I come from a long line of amazing Italian cooks. My mom is fantastic, and growing up, we lived next door to my maternal grandmother (below, left) and great-aunt (below, right). To say they were “good cooks” would be like saying the Grand Canyon is “pretty.” They were flat-out amazing in the kitchen. We grew up on fresh pasta, soups made from scratch, homemade pizza, fried dough, and just about every delectable entree, dessert, and snack you could think of. For more than two decades, they ran a pizza shop in my hometown of Danbury, Connecticut (called, ever so creatively, “The Pizza Shop”). Needless to say, I think I was in high school before I ever had take-out pizza. And we never, ever had pasta sauce from a jar. I’d like to think I inherited some of the cooking genes, but I know what I like to cook and what I don’t. I’m great with appetizers and side dishes; for holidays, I’m usually in charge of those. I make a great chocolate chip cookie (I’ll credit my years of working at Mrs. Fields Cookies for that) and a pretty good banana bread. And when it comes to Italian, I think I can hold my own.
While I like to cook, I don’t love to cook. I’m not a fancy eater, and while I do enjoy making homemade pasta now and again, I was recently telling my mom how, at 45, I’m a little bit ashamed to admit all the things I’ve never actually made myself: turkey (or a roast chicken, for that matter), pot roast, lobster, homemade pie crust (I can’t recall ever making a pie, if I’m being honest!), and so, so much more. I love reading cookbooks and thinking about cooking; the disconnect comes in actually doing it.
But camp cooking? I’m all about simple, fast, easy, and damn delicious (I’m trusting G with that verdict). I’m not trying to be an outdoor gourmand, nor do I get worked up about having meals that are healthy or “clean” when we’re camping. Nope, comfort food all the way. So, after close to 30 nights of camping this summer, I figured I’d offer a round-up of my favorite recipes to make while camping. Enjoy!
A note on preparation: I’m a planner, and I make a lot of lists. I like to know what we’re eating, which night, and what I need to prepare ahead of time or what I need to pack for when we get there. My go-tos are a mix of make/prepare ahead of time and cooking at the site.
Breakfast
This one’s easy; while I love breakfast foods, we don’t usually eat a big, prepared breakfasts. When we camped last summer, we got in the habit of eating one or two slices of really good bread (our favorite: wild blueberry granola from When Pigs Fly Bakery in Maine) topped with either peanut butter and/or Casco Bay Creamery cinnamon butter and/or Stonewall Kitchen’s Wild Maine Blueberry Jam. This summer, we weren’t traveling/shopping at the bakery, so I started packing homemade banana bread for our weekends. I also made a batch of blueberry muffins to take another weekend. A cup of coffee (black, iced) and a slice of banana bread or a muffin, and I’m good to go. G, for his part, isn’t a huge breakfast eater, so he often grabs just an apple or a slice of bread with peanut butter or jam. I did try making oatmeal one weekend, and I realize that no matter how many times I try to love it, I’m just not a hot oatmeal kind of girl. Now, cold overnight oats? Absolutely (and we did make/take jars of overnight oats one weekend to enjoy).
When it comes to coffee, I’ve been lazy. I bought an Aeropress with my REI dividend, but I haven’t yet used it. Don’t judge me, but I’ve been using Swift Cup instant coffee (the Mainstay Blend is my go-to)—and it’s actually quite good—I promise! My goal for the winter/next year is to start using the Aeropress.
As for my banana bread, I use the recipe from the cookbook I’ve had for 20+ years—ever since I got married—The Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook, the one with the red and white cover that looks like a tablecloth. The recipe is simple, and since I’ve made more than a dozen loaves since the pandemic started, I practically have it memorized.
Some day, I’ll make one of those camp breakfasts that always sound (and smell so good)—eggs, bacon, maybe even pancakes. But you know what? I rarely make those kinds of breakfasts at home, so what are the chances I’ll do it while camping? My daily breakfasts are typically coffee and a protein smoothie—strictly utilitarian!
Lunch
We typically don’t eat a lunch when we’re camping—at least not a formal one. We tend to snack a bit. Apples, cheese, pretzels, peanut butter, trail mix. Once in a while, I’ll make a peanut butter and jelly rollup or peanut butter/banana rollup in a tortilla, but often, I’ll just snack. I have been known to polish off most of a bag of goldfish (the original flavor)—not something I’m necessarily proud of, but still…
Dinner
The tried and true: Sandwiches
I love sandwiches. As in, when my mom asks me what I want for family dinner on my birthday, I’ll say either sandwiches OR her famous stuffed pizza (which is basically two doughs stuffed with deli meat—yup, a huge hot sandwich). So it’s no wonder that our go-to while camping is, you guessed it, some sort of sandwich. So, here are a few different takes on the creation.
Pie iron sandwiches: Honestly, I feel like the pie iron creations could be their own blog post. We LOVE cooking in our pie irons, and our favorites are grilled cheese and buffalo chicken pockets.
For the grilled cheese, we experiment with different cheeses and breads, but we’re big fans of the When Pigs Fly sourdough (each slice is the perfect size for the pie irons). We use three slices of cheese, usually two slices of American and one slice of cheddar in the middle. We’ve found the American cheese melts a bit better than others.
For the buffalo chicken sandwiches, we use two small tortillas and a buffalo chicken mixture that I prepare ahead of time at home. I make chicken using our Instant Pot, shred it, add some Frank’s Red Hot buffalo sauce and some blue cheese dressing and mix that up. Sometimes, I sprinkle in some shredded cheese. Other times, I put a slice of cheese on top of the mixture inside the tortillas. Then, I carefully fold the rounded edges of the tortilla to create a seal, and pop those irons closed and onto the fire. A few minutes on either side, and voila! Warning: check the pie irons frequently. We’ve burned our share of sandwiches.
Sliders: I had seen a video on my social media feed about sliders prepared a few different ways. Since buffalo chicken is one of my all-time favorite foods, we decided on buffalo chicken sliders for one of our camping dinners. The plan was easy enough: I prepped the chicken mixture ahead of time, heated it up over the fire in a small cast iron pan, then spooned the mixture onto King’s Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (so good!). Then, I wrapped those up in foil and placed the packet on the fire for a few minutes. Mmmm, tasty.
Classic deil sandwich: Our last weekend of camping snuck up on me, and I hadn’t prepped any meals ahead of time or given much thought to what we’d be eating. We had two leftover pretzel rolls from making sandwiches for dinner a day or two before and leftover deli meat, so we packaged that all up, packaged lettuce, pickles, and condiments, and enjoyed a no-fuss, no-cook dinner. That night’s dinner ended up being a great decision, as campfires weren’t permitted until after 7p due to the state’s drought conditions. Since the sun would have already set by then (and we typically eat on the earlier side), we didn’t have to rely on the fire or eat in the dark! Sandwiches for the win!
Flatbreads: One of the more difficult new realities of the pandemic has been having to figure out what we’re going to eat each night for dinner. I can’t remember a time when I’ve had to make dinner every. single. night (I know, I know, that sounds really privileged and pretentious). For my entire career, I’ve counted on being out during the week at least once or twice—whether teaching a night class as an adjunct or attending a game or event at school, I usually missed dinner at least once a week. My job the past two years had me out late three weeknights, and often “dinner” meant snacking or having a plate of cheese/veggies/crackers when I got home. Sometimes, I skipped dinner altogether because I would be so tired and not feel like whipping something up so late. G and I typically ordered takeout or went out to eat at least once on the weekends (sometimes twice). On Sundays, we had family dinner at my mom’s, so you get the picture—it’s been YEARS since we’ve had a regular, normal dinner schedule. And then, the pandemic. Suddenly, I’m trying to think of every recipe I’ve ever made, digging back through the archives of my mind and our marriage, when we didn’t have enough money to eat out a lot and when cooking at home seemed like the “adult” thing to do. Needless to say, I quickly ran out of new ideas, and we ended up settling into a bit of a routine. I could count on flatbreads weekly. We love the Stonefire toaster-size naan flatbreads. They’re easy, fast, and super simple. We experimented a bit with toppings, but the most common: either buffalo chicken and cheese (of course!) or cheese, fresh basil, and olive oil. Flatbreads ended up being perfect for camping as well—minimal (if any) prep, fast cooktime, easy cleanup. I use our Lodge cast iron tray, set that over the fire atop the grate, let it heat up, and then set the flatbreads on there (trying to avoid direct/high flames) for a few minutes, or until the cheese melts. So far, crisp (but not burnt) crusts!
Mac and cheese
I wanted to switch things up a bit and stumbled across a post on Pinterest titled “Mac and Cheese for Camping” from the blog Lauren’s Latest. I’ve made homemade mac and cheese before (I love Ina Garten’s recipe), but I wanted to see if I could find a recipe specific for the campfire. I was initially skeptical—store-bought Alfredo sauce?? But let me tell you, it was fantastic. The recipe made enough for two batches, so I froze one to bring on another camping weekend. I’ll definitely be making more of this recipe in the future, and I’ll probably experiment with some add-ins like broccoli or bacon or lobster (mmm, lobster mac and cheese—one of our favorites).
Tacos/Nachos/Quesadillas
We love tacos, nachos, and quesadillas, and honestly, few dinners are easier (or more delicious). The great thing here is you can have one option one night and use the same items for one or more additional nights without having to pack or prep different items for different meals. Throw a package of tortillas in the supplies, warm them over the fire, pack the fixings and toppings, and there you go. We’ve had tacos with sautéed peppers and onions; another time, we added sausage to the mix. I’ve prepped and pre-made a mix of black beans, green onions, black olives, corn, and spices. That topping is great for nachos and great to use as a filling for tacos or quesadillas. We’ve even used it as a filling between two tortillas in the pie irons. Sure, there’s more packing of supplies involved with the various toppings or fillings, but knowing the same ingredients work for multiple meals is a win-win.
Hot dogs
We only made hot dogs (turkey dogs) twice this summer, but there’s something about hot dogs cooked on skewers over a campfire that just screams summer and makes me feel like a little kid.
Desserts
Ah, what’s camping without some treats? S’mores make the list, of course. But I’ve also made fruit crisps (strawberry, blueberry, and apple—separately, of course) during camp weekends. I’ll make the crisp topping ahead of time (back to The Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook for the topping recipe) and cut up the fruit. Then, at the campsite, I’ll mix the fruit with a little sugar and, in the case of apple crisp, cinnamon, and then assemble. Then, I’ll cut up some butter (I love Kate’s sea salted butter) and sprinkle the butter crumbles on top. Then, it’s a matter of covering with foil and setting it atop the fire. I’ve used both small aluminum pans to cook in (great to use for berry-based crisps, as we can just toss the foil container instead of worrying about trying to clean it. I’ve also used (and love) our mini cast iron pans from Lodge. I’d like to say I’ve figured out how long it takes to cook these over the fire, but I haven’t. I peel back the foil and take a peek, but mostly, I just wait until I hear the concoction boiling. Note: it’s always good to put a layer of foil below the pans—especially with the blueberry and strawberry crisps—to avoid a mess if the mix bubbles over!
Last but definitely not least, I can’t forget cinnamon rolls! Yes, they’re typically for breakfast (right??), but they also make a fantastic dessert. We’ve made them on skewers and in the pie irons, and while G’s first try in the pie irons was a fail (think hockey puck), we’ve figured out the trick (open and check often!!). Our favorite brands: Trader Joe’s and Annie’s.
Sides, beverages, and other goodies
One of our favorite make-ahead sides is homemade pasta (macaroni) salad. I don’t really have a recipe that I use. I just boil some small shells or elbow macaroni, drain, and toss with some mayo, celery, cheese, sliced gherkins, black olives, and—wait for it—smoked paprika. What’s great is that pasta salad goes with just about everything!
If you follow the blog, you’ll see chips as a common “side.” They’re my downfall/weakness, so I rarely keep chips in the house (with the exception of tortilla chips). When camping, however, they’re our treat. If I’m buying chips from a grocery store, I’ll usually default to the mini bags of UTZ originals. BUT, if we’re at a market that sells Fox Family Potato Chips, then you’d better believe that we’re getting those. Both the plain and the salt and pepper are delicious.
This summer, we also entertained ourselves by making Jiffy Pop over the fire. Yes, we are a middle-aged couple without kids. And yes, watching the silver dome expand is just as magical to us as it is for kids.
Finally, beverages. G and I no longer drink, but we still love the taste of craft beer. About a year and a half ago, I learned about Athletic Brewing Company, which brews non-alcoholic craft beer. We love it. I prefer the Run Wild IPA and the All Out Stout, while G really enjoys the Cerveza Athletica. We also love packing root beer on camping trips—our favorites are Maine Root root beer (their sarsaparilla is great too!) and the root and birch beers from nearby Squamscot Beverages.
Well, that about does it for our food options when we camp. Sure, we could be healthier, but we could also be way worse (I can rationalize anything, trust me). If there’s a camping recipe that’s become your go-to or favorite, I’d love to hear about it!