Planning food for camping

[Anonymous]

Rookie camper here. Heading out for a 2 day trip (car camping) and would love some ideas for food.

I'm willing to do whatever prep is required at home to make things easier.

[Anonymous]

Camp stove or fire?

[Anonymous]

Easy-ish cooking in the campfire: loaded nachos in a cast iron pot, hot dogs, cheese sandwiches in a pie iron, instant noodles made with boiling water (or instant soup, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, or anything else that comes in individual cups).

We also go a looooong way with cheese and crackers, sliced fruit and veggies, chips, salsa, and jarred queso, bread and Brie, and chunky salads prepped ahead of time (village salad, fruit salad, edamame salad). I also love to make filling dips (hummus, edamame hummus, herb yogurt, etc.) and those make veggies, crackers, and chips into a more filling meal/snack.

So, for a two day trip, I’d plan one or two meals on the camp fire just for the novelty of it, and then the rest cut up finger foods out of the cooler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Easy-ish cooking in the campfire: loaded nachos in a cast iron pot, hot dogs, cheese sandwiches in a pie iron, instant noodles made with boiling water (or instant soup, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, or anything else that comes in individual cups).

We also go a looooong way with cheese and crackers, sliced fruit and veggies, chips, salsa, and jarred queso, bread and Brie, and chunky salads prepped ahead of time (village salad, fruit salad, edamame salad). I also love to make filling dips (hummus, edamame hummus, herb yogurt, etc.) and those make veggies, crackers, and chips into a more filling meal/snack.

So, for a two day trip, I’d plan one or two meals on the camp fire just for the novelty of it, and then the rest cut up finger foods out of the cooler.

Forgot to include foil packets in my list of campfire foods. We don’t eat meat, so we just do potatoes, tomatoes, red peppers, and feta (with olive oil and s&p).

[Anonymous]

I pre-wrap breakfast tacos in foils and warm them up for breakfast. Bring pre-cooked and pre-seasoned baby back ribs and wrap them in foil and reheat them. Both are delicious and simple.

[Anonymous]

Cooking on a camp stove is much, much easier than campfire cooking. Limit cooking over the campfire until you’re used to it. It’s very easy to undercook or overcook.

I also don’t love outdoor food prep & cooking with the dirt and bugs, so I do as much as possible at home and stack containers of prepared foods in the cooler. Here are my favorites that involve minimal outdoor cooking.

Breakfast
- Eggs & bacon
- Bagels & cream cheese
- Pancakes
- Oatmeal
- Donuts

Lunch
- Pasta salad
- Sandwiches
- Charcuterie board
- 7-layer dip

Dinner
- Hot dogs & baked beans
- Chili
- Quesadillas

Dessert
- S’mores
- Banana pudding

[Anonymous]

I don't really cook on car camping trips
It's mostly cut-up veggies and whatever can be cooked in the fire pit.
So, hotdogs/sausages grilled over fire (kids love to do their own on sticks/telescopic forks like that https://www.rei.com/product/183932/coghlans-telescoping-fork?CAWELAID=120217890010692229&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=102333396673&CATCI=pla-431773631715&cm_mmc=PLA_Google%7C21700000001700551_1839320001%7C92700053582135798%7CTOF%7C71700000066695699&gclid=CjwKCAjw9uKIBhA8EiwAYPUS3Gmu7AUbCCvH19ApsR4nEhgODex_pb1vM4ZiZKS4p8-mIy3DXfB0QhoCjeIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Add potatoes/corn - wrapped in foil and buried in hot coal, and some veggies as a side.
Cut-up watermelon and s'mores for desert (same forks for marshmallow)
Breakfast is usually instant oatmeal and fried eggs - we do take small camp stove.

[Anonymous]

For me, cooking over the campfire is half the fun, and the kids are always impressed . Last time we went I marinated steak at home to cook the first night, and barbecued chicken legs for the second night. Bring a meat thermometer, and choose things that have a little flexibility, like the steak - be anywhere from medium rare to medium well, and dark meat chicken stays tender for a while after it’s cooked, so you can err on the side of overcooked. Who wouldn’t do pork, or white meat chicken, which might dry out. Also, potatoes in foil in the coals. Are use my cast-iron pan on the fire in the morning for bacon and eggs, or I find that breakfast sausage or sausage patties do nicely on the grill. We usually do sandwiches for lunch, and plenty of fruit.

[Anonymous]

We do a lot of camping - just returned from a three week trip where all but 4 nights were camping. We keep breakfast simple - cereal, bagels and the occasional pop tart. Lunch is generally sandwiches or we eat out depending on the days activity. Dinner is more of a challenge.

In the beginning, I bring a few things from home already prepared - chicken strips marinating for fajitas, flank steak marinating to throw on grill, cut up carrots & celery.

Meals - we tend to rotate between these five: brats/hot dogs, hamburgers, tacos/fajitas, pasta (tortellini and sauce), and quesadillas with any left overs. But, we are usually camping where there are not good grocery stores - just camping ones so we have to make do.

Hot pockets are awesome if you are just going a day or two - make a big fire and then in the coals put aluminum foil packet with protein, onions, mushrooms, peppers, whatever. Add cheese for the last 5 minutes.

S'mores for dessert. Lots of fruit.

[Anonymous]

We do pizza our first night- make dough at home before leaving and cook in cast iron pan over the fire.

Second night is usually hot dogs or bean burritos.

Both days served with cut up vegetables and fruit salad or watermelon that gets eaten while campfire gets going.

Breakfast is instant oatmeal. Lunch is often wraps purchased at Trader Joe’s or something else equally lazy that does not require heat.

We rarely camp more than Friday evening to Sunday morning. We have a camp stove but kids prefer dinner cooked over the fire. If the site had electricity, we boil water with an electric kettle and leave the camp stove at home.

[Anonymous]

Breakfast: coffee and yoghurt
Lunch: apple, hot dogs or apple and sandwich
Dinner:. One hot meal of meat, potatoes and veggies
Dessert: Skip most of the time

[Anonymous]

We also do a lot of cereal and sandwiches. We also cook meats and baked potatoes in the fire (burgers, hot dogs on sticks, chicken, Cornish game hens).

Sometimes I’ll make beef cubes and noodles with gravy using a camp stove.

We have a sandwich pie maker which we use for grilled sandwiches. And sometimes we’ll make bisquick biscuits and cook them over sticks and fill with butter and jelly. S’mores are a favorite though I personally don’t like them.

[Anonymous]

Oh man. Packing up entire meals worth of food for several days for several people sounds like a total PIA. Trying to understand how camping is fun. I’d live on Rx bars, apples, yogurt, potatoes and s’mores if I went camping.

Speaking of potatoes, wrap single potatoes in foil and throw into the fire once it burns down to almost morning. In the morning they will be crispy and caramelized on outside and warm and delicious on inside

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh man. Packing up entire meals worth of food for several days for several people sounds like a total PIA. Trying to understand how camping is fun. I’d live on Rx bars, apples, yogurt, potatoes and s’mores if I went camping.

Nothing wrong with that either!

[Anonymous]

Will you have electricity? A griddle is a great help.