9 Tips for Creating Stress-Free Camping Meals
Getting ready to go camping? In charge of all the camping food?
Read on for 9 tips on simplifying all things related to planning and preparing meals while camping!
1. Think Before Starting to Plan Your Camping Meals
For some, camping is all about spending hours creating new gourmet meals, and the complicated process of (successfully) doing that brings great satisfaction.
For others, camping is more about spending hours adventuring or relaxing, and quickly pulling meals together (that can still be yummy and healthy) is the goal.
So, know yourself and the atmosphere of the camping trip, and plan camping meals that make sense for you! A few considerations before jumping into camping meal planning:
All things take longer when cooking in the great outdoors, including the dreaded clean up.
Are there certain foods that match with the weather, like soups for cold evenings or cold pasta salads for a humid lunchtime meal?
If you’re feeding kiddos, simpler and faster is usually the name of the game.
Is this an on-the-go camping trip where you won’t have much time to dedicate towards meal prep? Or do you just want a lot of time to sit around and relax instead of cook?
Or will cooking outdoors be one of your main activities you look forward to and have time for?
What’s your heat source for cooking and is it dependable?
Do you need to pack any specialty kitchen tools into your camp kitchen for a more elaborate meal?
Having thought through a few things like this can help you quickly create a camping menu!
2. Stick With at Least Some Easy Camping Meals
Even if you do love to cook outdoors and will have the time, we do not recommend that every one of your camping meals be a giant pain in the arse.
We keep most camping meals pretty simple, but still like to eat relatively healthy. To make it onto our camping meal plan, it's got to be a pretty easy meal, have only a few moving parts, require little prep work (or be able to be prepared beforehand at home), and create very few dirty dishes.
So for Tip Number 2, we recommend you use ideas from this post - Don’t Ever Stress About Camping Meals Again [60 Easy Camping Foods] - to fill in your camping meal plan. If you’ve got kids, you’ll also want to head over to this post - 35 Fun and Easy Camping Meals for Kids. And don’t forget about snacks, this post has Over 30 of our favorite camping snacks you can easily make or buy!
3. Use a camping Meal Plan Template
Now that you’ve got an idea of what you want your camping meals to look like, use our camping meal plan template to get organized and plan each meal in detail. Include everything needed for each meal, plus snacks, dessert, and drinks.
Your detailed plan will also serve as a packing list when loading up.
Note! Be sure to include everything you’ll need to bring for a delicious cup of camping coffee so you don’t end up packing only coffee grounds!
4. Double a Recipe at Home for an Easy Make Ahead Camping Meal
Here’s an easy way to create a make ahead camping meal with no extra work!
When making dinner during the work week, pick one of the meals you want to eat while camping that weekend. Prepare and cook a double portion of it, and either refrigerate or freeze the extra portion.
You’ll have dinner made for that weeknight, and a premade meal ready to bring camping. When your camping weekend rolls around, all you’ll have to do is load up the leftovers to be reheated at the campsite.
5. Do All Camping Meal Prep at Home
Don’t skip this step! Doing all possible camping meal prep at home before leaving is the best thing you can do to minimize your kitchen duties while camping. Not only will you have your meal prep done, you’ll also be eliminating a lot of camp kitchen clean up (which is never fun to do!).
So pull that camping meal plan back out and fill in the ‘to-do’ column.
Scanning over each meal, jot down anything you can do at home in the days before leaving that will help expedite the actual cooking when at the campsite.
Here are some examples:
Slice the onion, tomato, peppers, etc
Cook bacon or breakfast sausage
Cook, cut, and/or marinate meat
Wash all fruits and veggies
Cook rice or pasta
Cut up ingredients to go in Ziploc omelets (add eggs just before leaving)
Premix any dry ingredients or seasonings. Also use a sharpie on the bag to record what wet ingredients need to be added when cooking
Make and freeze any meals if applicable
Pro Tip: Rather than tackling all camping meal prep the morning you leave for camping, try having your to-do list out to reference throughout the week so you can remember to do a little bit at a time.
For example, you might cook the bacon at home during dinner one night if you’re already paying attention to chicken cooking on the stove top. Or you could go ahead and finish slicing the onion if you’ve already got it out for a different meal or recipe.
6. Freeze Some Camping Meals Ahead
Freeze anything freezable ahead of time to extend the life of everything in your cooler or camping fridge. This tip is especially helpful if using a cooler for the weekend.
It might not be wise to freeze your first evening’s meal though, as it likely won’t be thawed out when you’re ready for it!
7. Organize Your Camping Food
Pack your cooler or fridge in a way that makes sense so you aren’t pawing through it like a crazy person every time you open it up.
Things you know you’re eating last go on the bottom
Condiments or bottles in one area
Small Rubbermaid with a lid for all things related to sandwiches (meat, cheese, sliced tomato and onion, etc)
Protective egg case
First night’s meal on the top
Second cooler for drinks
Dry foods together in a tote, or organized in like-item bags (camping snacks, ingredients for cooking, etc)
Having your food organized will save you time and potential frustration while camping. It’s also more likely the food in your cooler will stay fresh longer if you aren’t holding it open for extended periods of time in search of something.
8. Bring Your Camping Meal Plan Along
That detailed camping meal plan template you filled out? After using it to help you plan and pack up, bring it with you to keep in your camp kitchen.
It is such a time saver to be able to consult a piece of paper when listing snack or drink options to family members, or to glance at it to recall what’s for dinner before throwing open the cooler or camping fridge.
9. Have a Complete Camp Kitchen Box Permanently Packed
Getting ready to go camping can be much less of a chore if you have many of your things permanently packed, including everything needed for cooking delicious camping meals!
Whether tent camping or truck bed camping, we’ve always had a camp kitchen box or drawer that is full of everything we need for cooking and it’s always ready to go.
This post - How to Set Up a Portable Camping Kitchen Box Today - can help you get everything you’ll need in your camp kitchen gathered and organized. Never be burdened by packing up a camp kitchen again! Woo hoo!
Hopefully these nine tips can help you get organized for quick, easy, and healthy camping meals, allowing you to spend less time preparing food, cooking food, and cleaning up food - and more time enjoying the outdoors!
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