Camping Recipes (our tried and true favorites!)

A lot of the recipes that we make at home we also make when we go camping. The best camping recipes are easy ones that are made in one pot, cook quickly, and require little prep.

We usually camp in the summer when it's hot and dry and fire restrictions are in place. That means we often cook on the camp stove. But when we're able to have a campfire, we take full advantage because campfires are AWESOME! A camping trip isn't complete without roasting hot dogs over the fire. We love kicking them up a notch with some caramelized onions – you'll find that recipe here. But even basic, fire-cooked dogs are delicious.

When we go camping for multiple days, we always add a few vegetarian recipes to the menu. With only a cooler to keep things cold, meat doesn't last as long when you're camping; so it's a good idea to have some vegetarian meals to eat at the end of your camping trip.

Below you'll find all of our favorite easy camping recipes from camping breakfasts, lunch, dinner, desserts, snacks, and even a few drinks that we like to whip up at the campsite.

Favorite breakfast camping recipes

Homemade Breakfast Sausage Patties Recipe

Homemade breakfast sausage patties are easy to make, perfectly seasoned, and are way better than anything store-bought. Bonus that they are made without any special equipment and they freeze beautifully for quick weekday breakfasts. 

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These are easy to make while camping as the prep only involves mixing ground pork with spices. To make it even easier, you can portion the spices in a container at home. Or you can even mix the meat and spices so that they're ready to be cooked fresh after you crawl out of your tent in the morning. Add some fried eggs and a piece of toast and you've got a camping meal to remember!

Chorizo Scrambled Eggs (you can skip the pesto or use store-bought)

Chorizo Shakshuka (a family favorite!)

Apple Pancakes – mix all the dry ingredients in a bag at home. Then when you're at the campsite, mix in the eggs, milk, oil, and apple. Easy!

The easiest camping breakfasts

Making a few breakfast snacks before you head out on your camping trip will help make mornings run smoother. Some of our favorites to pack along are our healthy breakfast cookies, vanilla almond granola, and our egg sausage breakfast muffins. These are especially great options if you have a busy day of hiking, fishing, or exploring planned and don't want to spend a lot of time cooking and cleaning up at your campsite.

Camping recipes for lunch

Best Bacon Sandwich Recipe

If you're looking for the best bacon sandwich, look no further. Lightly pan-toasted bread, crispy slices of bacon, sweet caramelized onions, smoky chipotle mayo, thin slices of tomatoes, and a little arugula come together to make one irresistible sandwich.

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Sandwiches make a great lunch whether you're at home or camping. This bacon sandwich is a real splurge. We slather toasted bread with chipotle mayo (bring a store-bought jar) then top it with caramelized onions, crispy bacon, tomatoes, and arugula. It's like a BLT but so much better. And if you're making bacon for breakfast, cook a few extra strips to make lunch even easier to make.

Camping lunches are usually simple for us. A sandwich, maybe some hummus we made at home (or bought in the store) and veggies, and a cookie to wash it all down. Tell us that you camp with cookies, too.

If you're glamping, make a batch of our gazpacho at home and pack it in your cooler. Then a delicious lunch is as simple as pouring yourself a bowl. We've brought this soup along on several camping trips and it's a welcome lunch on a hot day.

Here are a few other handheld camping recipes that we like to eat for lunch:

• Grilled Cheese and Apple Sandwich with Sriracha Butter
• Roast Beef Sandwich
• Chicken Salad Sandwich
• BBQ Chicken Quesadilla
• Chili Dogs – this is our go-to when we've cooked a pot of chili the night before!

Dinner Camping Recipes

Fajita Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe

Life is just better when your dinner tastes this good! It is simply impossible to not love life with a plate of fajita stuffed chicken breast in front of you – it's a pick-me-up, feel good dinner. Chicken breasts are stuffed with peppers, onions, and spicy habanero jack cheese then rubbed with chili powder and grilled or pan-fried until juicy, cheesy, and delicious.

4.98 stars (36 ratings)

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There's something about Tex-Mex flavors that go so well with camping. These chicken breasts are seasoned with fajita seasoning and then stuffed with peppers, onions, and cheese. You can cook them on a grill, over the fire, or in a pan on your camp stove.

Tacos are another favorite camping dinner for us. These grilled fish tacos are perfect for the first night of your camping trip. (Fish doesn't last as long as other meat so make sure you eat it on the first or second day of your trip.) And these buffalo chicken tacos and steak tacos taste extra good when made at your campsite.

Stir-fries are another winning camp recipe. We like to make our ground beef stir fry or our pork chop stir fry. If you'd like, you can mix the sauce at home and bring it along in a mason jar.

And no camping trip is complete without camping hot dogs with caramelized onions!

Vegetarian camping recipes

Black Bean Veggie Burger Recipe

These black bean veggie burgers are by far the best. They're hearty, flavorful, and loaded with nutritious ingredients like black beans, rolled oats, carrots, sunflower seeds, almonds, and eggs. They're easy to make, they freeze well, and they're ready in just 20 minutes!

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When we're camping for more than 3 days, we always plan to eat vegetarian meals for the last days of our trip. It's hard to keep meat properly cold in a cooler for many days so we eat it first just to be safe.

One of our favorite vegetarian camping recipes is our black bean veggie burgers. Because they have a pretty long list of (kitchen-staple) ingredients, we mix them at home and pack them along in a bag. They're more delicate than a meat burger so we form them at the campsite and cook them in a pan on the camp stove.

A few of our other favorite meat-free camping recipes are:

• Soy Ginger Noodles
• Chickpea Harissa Soup
• Coconut Red Lentil Peanut Soup
• Sweet Potato Chickpea Chili
• Thai Peanut Curry

Easy camping side dishes

If you need a side to go with dinner, keep it simple and choose cooler-friendly, heartier vegetables. For us, our creamy cucumber salad is a camping staple. But we also love our tomato cucumber salad, Greek salad, or sauteed green beans with garlic.

Dutch Oven Camping Recipes

Mexican Quinoa Soup Recipe

This hearty, one-pot Mexican quinoa soup is comfort in a bowl. It's fresh and flavorful and jam-packed with protein. Add your favorite toppings like this sliced jalapeños, avocado, sour cream, crispy tortilla strips, or avocado for extra nutrition, flavor, and fun!

4.88 stars (24 ratings)

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Pretty much all of our dutch oven camping recipes are soups and chilis. It's easy to put your dutch oven over the fire or use your camp stove. When we make this Mexican quinoa chili while camping, we bring along a can of corn rather than using frozen corn.

Here are a few of our other favorite dutch oven recipes for camping:

• Best Steak Chili – this one takes a while to cook so is perfect for those days that you want to hang out around the fire.
• Easy Turkey Chili
• Hamburger Soup
• Italian Sausage Soup

Camping desserts

Miso Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

These miso chocolate chip cookies are a fantastic treat. They're salty-sweet cookies with slightly crispy edges and a super soft center. White miso adds a savory element that is absolutely delicious.

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Before heading out on a camping trip, we'll usually make a pit stop at the bakery for some cookies. Or if we're feeling it, we'll make a batch of homemade cookies like these miso chocolate chip cookies before we head out on the road.

When we're feeling adventurous, we'll make our amaretto peach cobbler in a dutch oven. Simply add the tapioca-covered peaches to a buttered dutch oven, pour the amaretto over the top, then dot with the cobbler topping. Cover the dutch oven and let it cook for about 25-30 minutes.

• Pound Cake and Berry Campfire Skillet
• No-Bake Apple Bourbon Cobbler
• Campfire S'mores Nachos

Campsite cocktails

Fresh Mint Mojitos Recipe

Use up that fresh garden mint in this oh-so refreshing classic mint mojito recipe. The bright, fresh flavors of fresh lime juice are lightly sweetened with sugar, then topped with white rum, and a splash of soda. It's an easy-to-make and much-loved summer cocktail that's perfect for sipping on hot days, or anytime!

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If you're fixing a drink at the campsite, keep it simple. Mojitos are perfect as you simply muddle the ingredients in a glass and then top it with some soda water.

A mezcal negroni and tequila negroni are other favorites of ours. Sometimes we make a batch ahead of time so all that we have to do is pour a glass when we want one. But making them fresh only involves 3 ingredients and none of them need to be refrigerated. Simply pour over ice and sip!

A fizzy lime margarita or a pink lemonade margarita are two other camping cocktails that we love to make. If you have a plastic pitcher, pack it along and make your drinks in that. Extras can stay in your cooler and be enjoyed all weekend long!