Planning a camping trip for the family? These camping meal prep ideas will save you time and make meals fuss-free, so you can enjoy more time with your loved ones.
If you’re looking for good meal prep containers, check out Bayco’s glass meal prep containers that are super easy to clean and Rubbermaid’s brilliant food storage containers from Amazon.
And don’t forget to use a meal planner to make meal prep even easier and more organized.
17 Best Camping Meal Prep Ideas
1. Walking Tacos
Who says you can’t have tacos when you’re camping? This recipe is super easy and won’t make a mess.
Instead of a taco shell, you add all of your fillings (meat, sour cream, toppings, etc.) into a small bag of chips, stir and eat. The chip bag serves as the container for your meal. Just grab a fork and dig in.
The one-ounce bags of chips are perfect for this recipe.
Add whatever fillings you want. Everyone can customize their walking taco to their liking, and you can either cook everything ahead of time or over the fire.
2. Breakfast Burritos
Looking for a quick and easy camp breakfast? These make-ahead breakfast burritos are perfect. They’re oh-so simple, and you can customize them however you want to match your tastes.
The classic choices are:
- Eggs
- Potatoes
- Breakfast sausage
But you can also add:
- Bacon
- Cheese
- Peppers
- Onions
You can easily make this a vegetarian burrito by skipping the meat and loading up on veggies. To really save on time, fill and wrap the burritos up in foil so that you only have to heat them up over the fire in the morning.
3. Make-Ahead Chicken Kabobs
If you’re looking for simple camping meal prep, it doesn’t get much better than kabobs. You can prep them ahead of time and cook them right over the fire without any fuss.
All you need are a few simple ingredients:
- Chicken
- Peppers
- Onions
And you can easily swap or add veggies or other ingredients as long as they’ll stay on the skewers. You can even use different meats or skip the meat entirely.
Just make sure you bring along a campfire grill grate for easy cooking and turning over the fire.
Related: 18 Energizing Breakfasts with 30 Grams of Protein to Fuel Your Morning
4. Foil Pack Barbecue Chicken and Potatoes
Foil pack meals are perfect for cooking over the fire, and they’re easy to prep ahead of time. Just make sure that you’re using heavy aluminum foil, so you don’t have to worry about your packs falling apart.
You’ll need just a few ingredients for this one:
- Chicken breast
- BBQ seasoning and sauce
- Potatoes
- Onion
- Your favorite spices
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Bacon
Pack all of the ingredients into a little foil pack, and cook over the fire for 40-45 minutes.
5. Pancakes
Pancakes are perfect for camp breakfasts because they’re so quick and easy to make – especially if you prepare the batter ahead of time.
All you need are a few simple ingredients:
- Eggs
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Sugar
- Milk
- Butter
Mix the batter and pour it into a gallon Ziploc bag. Freeze the bag flat, so it’s easy to pack into your cooler.
6. Campfire Pizza Log
Pizza is always a crowd pleaser, and it’s surprisingly easy to transform this meal into a campfire-friendly one.
Just roll out the dough (make your own or buy it from the store) into a rectangle and add sauce and your favorite toppings. Then, starting at one end, roll the dough up (like if you were making cinnamon rolls). Pinch the edges to seal everything up.
You can prep your pizza log the night before and keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to pack up the cooler and head out. Just wrap the log in foil and cook over the fire for an easy but satisfying camp dinner.
If you want to make your own dough, here’s a great tutorial.
7. Campfire Sandwiches
Sandwiches are the ultimate on-the-go food, but you can take this meal up a notch by heating it up over the campfire. These hot sandwiches are easily one of the quickest camping meal prep ideas, and everyone will love them – even the kids.
You can use whatever deli meats you want for your sandwiches, but make sure you add some gooey cheese and use delicious bread. Croissants are perfect, but so are brioche rolls. You can use hamburger buns, too. Regular sandwich bread will work in a pinch, but it’s not ideal.
Ham, turkey, chicken and bacon are great choices.
If you’re vegetarian, load up on the sliced veggies and add a slice of high-quality cheese.
Prep your sandwiches the night before, wrap them in foil and heat them up over the fire for a quick and easy meal.
Related: 20 Easy High Protein Salads for Meal Prep
8. Campfire Naan Pizza
Here’s another take on campfire pizza that’s even easier than the pizza log – Naan bread pizza. It doesn’t get easier than this campfire meal.
Just use Naan bread in place of traditional pizza crust. It’s easy to pack up and doesn’t need refrigeration. Chop up your toppings, pack up some mozzarella cheese and put your sauce in a Ziploc bag.
When you’re ready to cook, just load up the Naan bread with sauce, toppings and cheese, and cook over the fire.
9. Campfire Spaghetti Bake
Want a satisfying meal that’s a crowd pleaser and easy to make? This campfire spaghetti bake is perfect.
You can do most of the prepping at home and just assemble it at camp. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Spaghetti
- Marinara sauce (homemade or store bought)
- Premade meatballs
- Mozzarella cheese
Cook the spaghetti at home, and once the noodles have cooled, store them in a Ziploc bag. Bring along the jar of sauce, bag of cheese and bag of meatballs. All that’s left is to assemble it in a foil pan for easy cooking.
10. Campfire Mac & Cheese
Mac and cheese is always a family-favorite meal, and it’s easier than you think to cook it over the campfire.
This simple recipe changes things up and uses Alfredo sauce for convenience and easy cooking over the campfire.
You’ll also need elbow macaroni, shredded cheddar cheese, grated parmesan, shredded mozzarella cheese and milk.
You can cook your macaroni and assemble the ingredients (once everything is cool) ahead of time, so all you have to do is warm it up over the fire. Use aluminum foil pans for easy cooking and serving.
11. Campfire Cinnamon Roll-Ups
You can’t have a camping trip without dessert, and this one is both super-simple and delicious. All you need is a package of crescent rolls, some sugar and some cinnamon.
Just wrap the crescent rolls around the skewer, dip each one in the cinnamon/sugar mix, and cook over the fire.
12. S’Mores Cones
S’mores are a classic campfire food, but this recipe takes it to the next level. Toss all of the classic s’mores ingredients – marshmallows and chocolate chips – into a waffle cone. Wrap the cones in foil and cook over the fire. Just like that, you have a really quick and easy dessert for your camping trip.
13. Pierogi Foil Packs
Want something a little fancier for your camping meal prep? These pierogi foil packs are perfect. You can pack them up ahead of time, and cook them right over the fire.
This recipe adds snap peas, sweet peppers, onions and chicken sausage into the mix. You can skip the meat if you want, or choose whatever other toppings you want to add.
Don’t forget to use heavy-duty aluminum foil for your packs.
14. Cheesy Bacon Campfire Potatoes
Potatoes, bacon and cheese are the ultimate comfort food, which makes this combo perfect for campfire cooking. All you need are a few simple ingredients:
- Potatoes
- Cooked bacon
- Shredded cheese
- Butter
Mix the potatoes and butter with your favorite seasonings. Place a serving of potatoes onto the middle of a piece of aluminum foil. Top with the cheese and bacon, and wrap it all up. You can do this ahead of time, so your potatoes just have to be warmed up over the fire.
15. Egg McMuffin
An egg McMuffin is so simple to make. You’ll need English muffins, slices of cheese, eggs and butter. Simply add one egg per muffin, cook over the fire in a cast iron pot and remove when thoroughly cooked through.
Place the egg between the English muffin, add cheese and heat until the cheese is melted.
Add butter to the pan to prevent the muffin from sticking and to add flavor. You can also add sausage or bacon if you like.
16. Nachos
Nachos can be an entire meal, and they’re so simple to make. You’ll only need:
- Foil pan (with cover or use foil)
- Tortilla chips
- Beans
- Taco seasoning
- Chilis
- Tomatoes
- Cheese
You can add in ground meat if you like, too. Mix the ingredients together, place the tortillas on the bottom of the pan and load the ingredients on top of the chips. Sprinkle cheese on top of the tortillas, too. Bake for 25 minutes and allow to cool for 10 – 15 minutes.
Related: 21 Best Protein Lunchables for Adults
17. Campfire Grilled Cheese
Grilled cheese requires little camping meal prep and is one of the top choices for a simple yet delicious food idea when camping. If you’re bringing kids along for your outing, they’re sure to love this meal.
You’ll need just a few items:
- Bread
- Butter
- Cheese (of your liking)
- Cast-iron pan
A lot of camping supply stores sell cast iron grilled cheese pans, which will make this meal even easier to prepare. Heat the pan, add in the butter, bread and cheese. You can add parchment paper to prevent the sandwich from sticking to the pan.
Cook for a few minutes on each side until the bread is a golden color and add more butter if flipping in a traditional pan. The key? You want the cheese to be melty.
Printable Meal Planner
Looking for a meal planner to organize your recipes? Download our free printable binder by clicking below:
