Finally! Summer is here and we can start planning BBQs and camping trips. What’s the hardest part about planning a camping trip? Figuring out what to eat. Don’t worry – I’ve got you covered. I have 21+ delicious camping food ideas for every meal that the whole family will love.
The 21+ Best Camping Food Ideas for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Outdoors
1. Pie Iron Sausage & Egg Hobo Pies
Pie irons are perfect for camping. They create the most amazing sandwiches, and this recipe creates the ultimate camp breakfast. Add breakfast sausage, egg and cheese on your favorite bread.
Place your sandwich in the pie iron and cook it over the fire for a tasty way to start your day.
Feel free to use whatever ingredients you want in your sandwich, like bacon or veggie sausage.
2. Caprese Gnocchi Foil Packs
Gnocchi for camp dinner? Sign me up! I love this recipe because it’s super easy and you can cook it right over the fire. Just load the ingredients up into an aluminum foil packet, and you’re ready to go.
Pair your gnocchi with tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil. Add a little balsamic vinegar for a kick of flavor.
Make sure you use shelf-stable gnocchi that doesn’t require refrigeration.
Related: 17+ Genius Camping Snacks You’ll Regret Not Bringing
3. Campfire Frittata
A delicious campfire frittata is the perfect way to start your day, and you can feed the whole family from just a single skillet. You’ll need to wait until the fire dies down so that you can cook over the leftover charcoal.
This frittata is loaded with flavor – broccoli, onion, garlic, cheese and about a dozen eggs. It takes just 10-15 minutes to cook, so you’re ready to get going in no time.
Don’t forget to pack your cast iron skillet for this recipe!
4. Garlic Steak and Potato Foil Packets
Who knew camping food could be so tasty? Tender sirloin steak cooked over the fire with potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, onion and aromatic herbs.
Be sure to chop all of your ingredients into bite-sized pieces for quick and even cooking.
Create a foil packet for each family member, and you can easily feed a crowd.
5. Campfire Pizza
What’s the best way to celebrate a camping trip? Pizza! Pizza cooked over the fire is hard to beat. Use store bought dough (or make your own) and pack all of the toppings everyone will want.
I recommend using shredded cheese (fresh mozzarella is too moist for campfire pizza). For toppings, you can use pepperoni, peppers, olives, tomatoes — whatever you want. Keep it light, as heavy ingredients like sausage may make it harder to cook your pizzas evenly.
6. Campfire Spaghetti Bake
Spaghetti bake is perfect for camping trips with the family. This is easily our kids’ favorite dinner when we plan weekend getaways.
And it couldn’t be easier to make. You just need to do a little prep work first by cooking your meatballs and spaghetti noodles first. Pre-made freezer meatballs will work well if you don’t have time to cook them yourself.
Just layer your ingredients in a 9×13 foil tray, cover with foil and bake over the campfire for 30 minutes. We like to top our bake with mozzarella cheese, but you can skip this if you want.
7. Campfire Cinnamon Rolls
Looking for something easy for breakfast? These campfire cinnamon rolls are cooked inside of an orange peel. You need just two ingredients for this – cinnamon roll dough and oranges.
Easy! Just wrap in foil and cook over the fire. Kids will love eating these, and you can even take them on the go if you have a busy day ahead.
8. French Dip Sandwiches
Slice a large baguette and make a mixture of butter, gravy mix, minced garlic, onion powder and Worcestershire sauce. Between your slices of bread, add your cheese and roast beef in each alternating slice.
Brush the top with the butter mixture, grill until toasted and eat.
9. Sweet Potatoes and Chili
Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite camping food ideas because they stay good for so long. Hearty and filling, you’ll cook the potato, slice it lengthwise and fill the middle with olive oil, onion, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, salt and kidney beans.
You’ll need a can of beer for the tomato paste and beans that you’ll simmer before adding all of the ingredients to the potato.
10. Blueberry Breakfast Quesadilla
Three ingredients are all you need for these breakfast quesadillas. You’ll need large tortillas, cream cheese spread (ideally, with cinnamon) and frozen blueberries. Spray a nonstick cooking spray on the skillet, spread your cream cheese on the tortilla and place blueberries inside.
Fold the tortilla, place it on the skillet and cook until your blueberries are warm and soft.
11. Cast Iron Brats with Peppers and Onions
You’ll put your cast-iron skillet to work with this recipe. Preheat your skillet and add in a tablespoon of olive oil, onions, peppers and spices. Once your peppers soften, you’ll put in your bratwurst so that all of the ingredients meld together.
Stir occasionally and cook for about fifteen minutes until the bratwurst is cooked thoroughly.
Remove from the skillet and add to your toasted bun. Add any condiments that you wish to the top before serving.
12. Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs
Delicious kebabs like these are always a fan favorite on camping trips. “Satisfying” is an understatement, and you’ll make 9 to 10 kebabs at once. You’ll need quite a few ingredients for the marinade, such as brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, pineapple juice, olive oil, rice vinegar, sesame oil and spices.
Your kebab will have layers of chicken breast, cubed pineapple, green peppers and red onion.
Use a gallon size resealable bag for your marinade. Add your chicken chunks, shake the bag well and then add the cubes on your skewers before cooking over the fire.
13. Jalapeno Popper Dogs
Hot dogs are an iconic camping food, and this is a very similar variation of the hotdogs that you would normally cook on the BBQ. Slice the hot dogs lengthwise and put shredded cheddar cheese in the middle.
Cut a jalapeno lengthwise on one side and then place the hot dog in between the jalapeno.
Place over the campfire, put in a bun and then eat with condiments of your choice.
Related: What to Wear Camping: 12+ Outfit Ideas That Are Cute & Functional
14. Steak Kabobs
Kabobs are always tasty and a welcomed treat around the campfire. You can marinate the steak ahead of time and keep it in a cooler. Marinate in Montreal steak marinade and cut into chunks to put on your kabobs.
Assemble your kabob with steak chunks, red, green and yellow bell peppers, zucchini, small button mushrooms and large red onion.
Add some Italian salad dressing on top when you’re done for full measure.
15. Cucumber Caprese Salad
Caprese salad is a break from some of the delicious grilled options on the list. You’ll assemble your salad with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dried oregano and basil, pepper, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onion and mozzarella cheese.
It’s as easy as assembling the salad and tossing it well before serving.
16. French Toast Sticks
Kids and adults alike will love the sweet flavor of these French toast sticks. You can add raspberries, blackberries or blueberries if you like at the end and top with a maple syrup of your choosing.
You’ll make your French toast out of Texas toast, cinnamon, eggs, milk and a few other ingredients.
Obviously, due to the eggs and milk, you’ll need to bring a cooler filled with ice with you.
17. Sausage Pierogi Foil Packets
Pierogies are dough-filled delights, and I’ve never thought about grilling them until I saw this recipe. You’ll make your own foil packets that you fill with frozen pierogies, salt and pepper, yellow onion and sausage rings.
Butter will also be added to your foil packet, and the author provides a bunch of topping ideas:
- Crumbled bacon
- Sauteed onions
- Green onions
- Sour cream
But with pierogies, they’re frozen, so you’ll need to cook them quickly when arriving at your campground.
18. Make-Ahead Pizza
Pizza as camping food is always a treat, but instead of the usual flat pizza, you’ll be making bread instead. You can make the dough ahead of time or buy pizza dough from the grocery store. You’ll then make a pizza loaf that’s filled with pizza sauce, oregano, garlic powder, basil, pepperoni and mozzarella.
Brush the top with butter and cook until the cheese is gooey and the dough is cooked through.
19. Bacon Ranch Foil Potatoes
Gold potatoes, garlic, jalapenos, onion, red pepper, ranch dip mix, olive oil, bacon, shredded cheese, salt and pepper, parsley and sour cream (if you like) are all you need for this recipe.
Add all of your ingredients together, except the cheese, and combine well.
Roll out three pieces of foil, spray with a non-stick spray and evenly distribute the mixture on the foil pieces. Fold the foil into packets and place them over medium heat. Open the package after all of the ingredients are tender, sprinkle in your cheese and grill for a few minutes more until the cheese is melted thoroughly.
Related: 17+ Best Camping Meal Prep Ideas
20. Walking Tacos
Tacos while sitting next to your friends and family in nature is a brilliant idea. You’ll need quite a few ingredients:
- Cilantro
- Lettuce
- Kidney beans
- Red onion
- White ground turkey
- Taco seasoning
- Olive oil
- Salad dressing
- Tomatoes
- Corn chip bags
You’ll need a camping skillet for this recipe and a meat thermometer will help, too. The trick is using the meat thermometer to ensure that the ground turkey is perfectly cooked, which should take 15 minutes or so.
21. Breakfast Foil Packets
After a night around the campfire and sleeping under the stars, you’ll want something good to eat in the morning. Foil packets mix all of your favorite breakfast goodies into one neat packet:
- Sausage
- Hom fries
- Eggs
- Onions and pepper
Add some seasoning on top for good measure. We’ll make this simple. Roll out foil, add your ingredients, fold the foil up and place it over the fire. Add your egg last, after the potatoes and veggies are nice and tender.
22. Campfire Pizza Sandwiches
Campfire pizzas are easy to make with the help of some English muffins. You’ll start with an English muffin with sauce and mozzarella cheese in the middle. And while easy and self-explanatory to make, the trick is to use a pie iron that sits right above your campfire.
You can also swap out the muffins for mini bagels or something similar.
