Camp Cooking
These guides aim to add variety and complexity to our campout meals. The following recipes are sorted by super easy, easy, medium, and hard. Many require at-home prep. It can be skipped, but often means more to carry, more food waste, or longer prep time at camp. Don’t let the extra work discourage you from a great meal! Also, feel free to just use these as inspiration and start making your own creative recipes.
Note on dutch ovens: on recipes that require dutch ovens, you will also need hot pads, charcoal and a chimney, and serving utensils. The troop has charcoal, chimneys, and the ovens themselves for you use.
Backpacking Breakfast
The classics
Oatmeal- try spicing it up with dried fruit, nuts, shredded coconut, or chocolate chips
Bagels- cream cheese isn't the only option! try peanut butter, nutella, or even something like chicken salad
Some of these next ones might not be what you’re used to, but they’re light, tasty, and full of fuel for your hike!
granola/cereal
difficulty: super easy
Equipment:
Ingredients:
powdered milk
cereal or granola (granola with protein is way better than froot loops, but I can't stop you)
dried fruit (optional)
At camp:
mix up powdered milk (I like to do so in a ziploc and hope it doesn't leak) then serve (important to put milk in bowl before adding granola)
Breakfast “pizza”
Difficulty: super easy
Equipment: stove and pan (optional)
Ingredients: Tortillas Toppings of your choice, like PB & bananas/jelly Nutella and strawberries (can be dried) Cream cheese and blueberries Whatever you want!
At camp: Spread your “sauce” of choice and add toppings. Optional: fold into a hexagon and toast on a pan
Backpacking Cheesy Grits
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: pan and stove or jetboil
Ingredients: Instant grits Bacon bits Goldfish (trust me) or just shredded cheese
At camp: Cook grits according to package. Crumble up goldfish (or sprinkle cheese) on top and add bacon bits
Apple Pie Rice
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: pot and stove or jetboil
Ingredients (for 4 people): 1 cup instant rice 4 Tbsp dried apples 2 tsp ground cinnamon 4 pinch of ginger 4 Tbsp chopped pecans 4 Tbsp powdered milk 4 tsp brown sugar Honey
At home: Put all ingredients into ziploc baggie except for the honey pouch
At camp: Boil enough water to cover the rice Add water to a cup with your mix Stir and let it stand until the rice is soft Stir, top it with honey and enjoy!
Blueberry quinoa bowl
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: pot and stove
Ingredients: 1 cup quinoa (make sure to buy instant version) ½ cup Tbsp dried blueberries 2 tsp ground cinnamon 4 Tbsp brown sugar 2 cup water
At home: mix all ingredients in a ziploc bag (not water).
At camp: Add water and contents of bag to a pot Bring it to boil and stir Reduce the flame and simmer for 5 minutes Turn off the heat and let it stand for another 5 minutes
Or make your own variations on a breakfast bowl, keeping things like rice, grits, and quinoa in mind
Backpacking Dinners
Pita and chicken wraps
Difficulty: super easy
Equipment: pan and stove
Ingredients:
Pita bread or naan
Precooked chicken
Tzatziki sauce
Red Peppers and lettuce
At home: Slice veggies into small pieces
At camp: Heat up chicken in pan. To serve, spread tzatziki on the bread, and put chicken and veggies on top. Eat like a wrap or a taco
Easy Jambalaya (few ingredients!)
Difficulty: super easy
Equipment: pot and stove
Ingredients:
Jambalaya mix (ex: ZATARAIN'S)
Hot dogs and/or chicken
At Camp: prepare rice according to box directions, cut up hot dogs into round disks and add. Cooking is about 20 mins.
Note: You can spice it up with peppers, fresh tomatoes, and green onions
Thai peanut Ramen
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: pot and stove
Ingredients:
Ramen noodles
Green onions and crushed peanuts (optional)
sauce: 6 tbsp peanut butter 4 tbsp soy sauce 2 tsp sesame oil 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
At home:
Stir sauce ingredients together and store in plastic bottle
At camp:
Prepare noodles according to directions on the packet (without the seasoning). Stir in the peanut sauce
Other ramen ideas:
Cook normally and add in
- Chicken
- tofu
- Mushrooms
- Green onions
- Soy sauce
- spinach
- The options are endless!
Camp pizza
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: stove and pan or fire
Ingredients:
tortilla or naan/flatbread/pita
pizza sauce
shredded cheese
preferred toppings (examples: italian seasoning, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, etc.)
At home:
chop vegetables (if applicable). If sauce is in glass bottle, transfer into better container (plastic water bottle works great)
At camp): (If using a stove, skip this step) On the side of the fire pit, make a small stove by making a “table” of stones, with a flat rock on top. Light fire underneath, and wait until the rock is hot. Place flatbread or tortilla on the rock or pan and wait until it is warm. Add sauce, cheese, and toppings, and cook until cheese is melted and toppings are warm.
Backpacking Thanksgiving Feast
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: stove and pot or JetBoil, bowls (can be mess kits)
Ingredients:
Instant mashed potatoes
Stuffing mix
Gravy packet (turkey is nice)
Precooked chicken
Dried cranberries
At camp: Bring 2 cups water to a boil. In one bowl, mix the potatoes and 1 cup boiling water. In a second bowl, mix the stuffing, cranberries, and ½ cup boiling water. Stir and let rehydrate for a few minutes. In the meantime, add the gravy packet to the remaining ½ cup water and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add the chicken and cook over low heat until the chicken has warmed through.
Easy meat and Potatoes
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: stove and pot
Ingredients:
Instant mashed potatoes
Hot dog or sausage
Chopped up chives (optional)
At camp:
Cut up meat into disks, fry on bottom of pot. Transfer to bowl or mess kit and prepare potatoes. Add meat back in and serve with chives if desired
Spiced up Quesadillas
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: pan and stove, bowls (or mess kits)
Ingredients:
Tortillas
Precooked chicken
Shredded cheese
Taco seasoning
Onions
Peppers
Olive oil
At home:
chop up peppers and onions, store in a ziploc
At camp:
Add about a tablespoon of oil into the pan and add in onions. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in peppers and cook for a few minutes. Move to bowl. In a bowl, combine water, taco seasoning, and the chicken and mix. Move to pan and cook until seasoning gets thicker and coats chicken. Move chicken back into bowl and start to assemble and cook the quesadillas (self explanatory?)
Fajitas
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: pan and stove
Ingredients: Precooked chicken
Tortillas
Cheese (optional)
onion
bell peppers (red, yellow, green or orange)
3 tablespoons olive oil
spices:
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cumin optional
salt to taste
At home:
Mix all spices together, store in an old spice jar or medicine container. Chop up onion and peppers
At camp:
Add about a tablespoon of oil into the pan and add in onions. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in peppers and cook for a few minutes. Finally add in chicken and spices and stir until the chicken is hot and the veggies are tender. Serve in tortillas and cheese if desired.
Quinoa Curry
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: stove and pot
Ingredients:
Quinoa
Curry powder
Dried cranberries
Bit of olive oil
Chicken packets
At camp:
In pot, combine water (about 2 cups per 1 cup couscous), cranberries, curry powder, and oil. Bring to a boil. Add the quinoa. Depending on the variety of Quinoa, it may take 10 to 15 minutes to cook. Cook until the outer shells of the grains have cracked open. To speed up the cook time, soak the quinoa beforehand. Once cooked, stir in chicken and cook until warm.
Backpacking Desserts
Pop Tarts
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: stove and pan
Ingredients: Pop Tarts of choice
At camp:
Heat in pan with small amount of cooking oil. Heat until gooey. Eat.
Crepes
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: stove and pan
Ingredients:
Shake and pour
Pinch of sugar (optional)
Toppings of choice (like nutella, dried fruit, chocolate chips, powdered sugar, jam, etc.)
At camp:
Prepare shake and pour, with sugar if desired and with more water than directed, so it’s a lot thinner. Cook up and serve with toppings
Backpacking Apple Crisp
(I made this on a freezing trip and it was so good)
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: stove and pot
Ingredients:
1 ½ cup (1 oz) freeze-dried apples
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
⅓ cup granola
At home:
Add spices and sugar to apples and store in a ziploc
At camp:
Empty the apple mix into your cookpot. Add about 3 oz water to the pot and stir. Light your stove, then cook over a medium-low flame until the apples have softened, the sugar dissolves, and the liquid thickens a bit, stirring often and adding more water if needed. Once the apple mixture is ready, remove the pot from the heat and sprinkle the granola on top
Pineapple upside down “cake”
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: Pot and stove
Ingredients:
½ cup dried pineapple
2 Tbsp Jell-O Brand vanilla instant pudding mix
2 Tbsp instant dry milk powder
Crushed graham crackers
At camp:
Rehydrate dried pineapple with ½ cup water in pot. Light stove and warm for ten-ish minutes over low flame until warm. Combine powdered milk with ½ cup cold water in a separate pot or cup and stir until mixed. Add instant pudding mix and stir briskly until smooth. Pudding will set in about five minutes. (you could use just water for a less good result, but start with ¼ cup water and slowly add more until desired consistency) When pudding sets, cover with graham crackers. Spoon the warm pineapple over the angel food cake. Pour any remaining juice over the cake as well.
Mud Pie
Difficulty: super easy
Equipment:
bowl
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp JELL-O brand instant chocolate pudding
2 Tbsp powdered milk
Toppings like:
½ cup crushed Oreos (or cookie of your choice)
¼ cup peanuts, mixed nuts, or granola
Handful of chocolate chips
Gummy worms?
At camp: Combine powdered milk with ½ cup cold water in pot or cup and stir until mixed. (you could use just water for a less good result, but start with ¼ cup water and slowly add more until desired consistency) Add instant pudding mix and stir briskly until smooth. Pudding will set in about five minutes. After pudding sets, stir in all your goodies.
Or just make pudding, flavors and toppings of your choosing
Backpacking Fondue
Difficulty: moderate
See this page for the recipe, instructions, ingredients, etc.
Car Camping Breakfast
Note: you can choose to eat backpacking breakfasts if in a hurry!
The Classics (we don't always have to do this)
Shake and Pour (at least top with fruit/syrup-comes in little containers)
Bacon
Oatmeal (you can top with things like dried fruit, nuts, shredded coconut, peanut butter, and chocolate chips)
Sausage, Egg, Cheese Sandwiches
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: pan and stove
Ingredients:
English muffins or bagels
Eggs
Precooked frozen sausage
Sliced cheese
At camp: Reheat sausages and fry up eggs. Toast bread in pan for a few seconds (optional). Assemble sandwich. You could also use bacon.
Bacon, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Burritos
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: pan and stove
Ingredients:
Tortilla
Bacon
Egg
cheese
Salsa (optional)
At camp:
Cook up bacon and scramble eggs. Place in tortilla with cheese.
Hot dog Hash
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: pan and stove
Ingredients:
Frozen potatoes o’brian (or chopped up potatoes, onions, and peppers)
Hot dogs or other precooked sausage
Cheese
oil
At camp:
Toss potato mix and cut up dogs into pan with some oil and stir until crispy and hot. Serve with cheese
Dutch Oven Cinnamon rolls
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: dutch oven
Ingredients:
Premade cinnamon rolls
At camp:
Place rolls in dutch oven on foil with 7 coals on the bottom and 16 on the top. Cook for about 30-45 minutes, or until golden brown. Mix and add icing.
French Toast
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: stove and pan
Ingredients:
Bread
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
At home:
Measure out and combine sugar and cinnamon
At camp:
Whisk together the eggs then add the milk, sugar, and spices. Coat bread in the mixture and fry until golden brown and crispy (about 2-3 minutes)
Stuffed French Toast sticks
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: stove and pan
Ingredients:
Sliced bread
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
⅓ cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Fillings like Cream cheese, Canned pie filling, Dried fruit, Peanut butter
At home:
Combine cinnamon and sugar, place in ziploc
At camp:
Cut off crusts (optional) and roll out bread with Nalgene or other bottle (or the rolling pin you always take camping). Coat one side of bread with a spread and add whatever fillings. Roll up. In a bowl, mix egg and water. Dip in your roll and fry in pan with butter. When cooked, toss in ziploc with cinnamon sugar mix.
Apple Cinnamon pancakes
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: pan and stove
Ingredients:
Shake and pour
Dried apples
Cinnamon
Brown sugar
Honey (optional)
At home:
Chop up apples and combine with cinnamon and brown sugar
At camp: Add apple mixture to shake and pour mix and add water. Cook and serve with honey (optional)
Car Camping Dinners
You can also eat all the backpacking meals!
The Classics
Pasta- you can always add chicken, meatballs, or even beef jerky for protein. You can also add veggies, olives, cheese, etc. They make little packets to make pesto sauce.
Mac and Cheese- Even adding your own shredded cheese really bumps up the meal. But you can also add proteins, broccoli, or turn it into a chili mac.
Classic hot dogs
Difficulty: super easy
Equipment: fire and sticks
Ingredients:
Precooked hot dogs
Buns
Condiments of choice
At camp:
Find good roasting sticks, spear the dogs and roast them on the fire. Add buns and condiments
Baked Potato packs
Difficulty: super easy (easy cleanup too!)
Equipment: fire, tin foil
Ingredients:
Potatoes
Olive oil
onion (optional)
Bacon or bacon bits
Shredded Cheese
Salt and pepper
Sour cream
Canned chili (adds complexity)
At home: Cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes and dice onion (could be at camp)
At Camp:
If using chili, heat it up on the stove. Toss potatoes and onion with oil, salt and pepper and portion into individual foil “packets” and add bacon. Place in fire for about 25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Serve with sour cream, cheese, and chili as desired.
Walking Tacos or Frito Pie
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: pan and stove
Ingredients:
Ground beef or turkey (even impossible meat)
Onion
Taco seasoning
1 bag fritos per person
Toppings of choice (like cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, etc.)
At camp:
In a pan, brown beef or turkey over medium heat and drain the fat. Dice the onion and to the meat and sauté for a couple of minutes until soft. Add the taco seasoning along with 1/2 cup of water and simmer until water is absorbed. Crush your chips with your hands and open your bag. Add your beef mixture and whatever toppings you desire.
Vegetarian Chili
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: pot and stove, can opener
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can red beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed Note: you can use whatever beans you like
1 cup water or broth
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
Salt and pepper and any spices you like
Cheese and sour cream (optional)
At home: dice veggies (can be done at camp)
At camp:
Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the onion, a few pinches of salt and pepper, and stir. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes, then add the red pepper. Stir and cook until soft, 5 to 8 minutes, turning the heat down as needed. Add the tomatoes, beans, and water. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chili has thickened. Serve with cheese and/or sour cream if desired.
Shepherd's pie
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: pan and pot
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef or turkey (or precooked hamburger patties)
½ cup chicken broth or water
Instant gravy mix
Instant potato mix
Frozen veggie mix
Butter (optional, but recommended)
At camp: in a pot, prepare mashed potatoes to package directions, add butter if desired. In pan, cook ground meat or reheat the burger patties, breaking into small chunks. Add gravy mix, broth/water, and veggie mix. Serve the potatoes on top of the meat mixture.
Stir fry
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: stove, pan, pot
Ingredients:
Stir fry veggie mix (or chop up onions, peppers, broccoli, carrots, etc.)
Pre-made Stir fry sauce (if you can’t find, there are plenty of recipes online)
Minute rice
Precooked chicken
Sesame or olive oil
At camp: prepare minute rice according to package. Heat up oil in pan and add in veggie mix. Stir often and cook until they soften, roughly 5 mins. Add in chicken and sauce, depending on how “wet” you want it. When chicken is hot and veggies tender, serve on the rice.
Gnocchi Chicken and Dumplings
Difficulty: Medium
Equipment: stove and pot
Ingredients:
Frozen veggie mix (pre-diced)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chicken broth (can use water, would not be as good)
1 (10.5-ounce) can Cream of chicken soup
can or pouches of chicken
1 pound shelf-stable potato gnocchi
Salt and pepper (technically optional)
At home: Measure out olive oil and chicken broth (and even soup) and put in smaller containers At camp: Stir together chicken broth and soup in a pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for about 5 mins. Add in chicken, veggies, and gnocchi, and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until gnocchi is tender
Beef Stroganoff
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: pot and stove
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
½ pound ground beef/impossible meat (or precooked hamburger patties)
2 cups sliced baby mushrooms
Salt and pepper
1 can (10 ounces) cream of mushroom soup, or cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
4 cups cooked egg noodles
At home:
cook your noodles (saves a lot of time at camp) At camp: Heat olive oil in pot set over medium heat. To the hot oil, add the onions and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the ground beef and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic. Season mixture with salt and pepper and continue to cook until meat is browned and mushrooms have started to soften; about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the cream of soup; cook for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in the sour cream; continue to stir until smooth and heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and taste for salt and pepper; adjust to taste. Stir in the cooked noodles.
One Pot Chili Mac
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: pot and stove
Ingredients:
1 pound 90-93% lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 cups beef broth
15 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
15 ounce can tomato sauce
Taco seasoning
8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni about 2 cups
For serving: shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, etc.
At camp:
Add the ground beef and onion to a large soup pot and place it over medium-high heat. Break the beef apart with a wooden spoon. Cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beef is browned and the onions are soft. Add the broth, diced tomatoes (with their juices), tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, sugar, and pepper to the beef. Stir well. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Add the macaroni. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 12 minutes. Serve topped with shredded cheddar, sour cream, etc.
Dutch oven enchiladas
Difficulty: hard (but worth it!)
Equipment: dutch oven
Ingredients:
oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 red onion, sliced into thin half-moons
14 oz can enchilada sauce
cheese
Canned black beans
flour tortillas
At camp: Prepare your coals or get your campfire going so that you'll have embers to cook with. Over medium heat, heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Add the peppers and saute for a few minutes until they are starting to soften. Add the onions and saute until the onions are soft and translucent and the peppers are soft. Remove from heat and transfer the vegetables to a plate or bowl. Add 1/2 cup enchilada sauce to coat the bottom of the Dutch oven. To build the enchiladas, place onions and peppers in a line the center of a flour tortilla. Add a few spoonfuls of black beans and top with cheese. Roll the tortilla around the fillings, then place the enchilada, seam side down, into the Dutch oven. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. This recipe will make 4-6 enchiladas depending on the size of your Dutch oven. Cover the enchiladas with the remaining sauce and cheese. Place the lid on top. Return the Dutch oven to your campfire. Place it over indirect heat (the grill grate over the campfire works great) and stack 14-16 coals on the lid. Cook about 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
Car Camping Desserts
For something Low Effort, you can use Backpacking Desserts or just make S'mores
Banana boats
Difficulty: super easy
Equipment: fire, foil
Ingredients:
Choose a flavor combo or make up your own.
CLASSIC S’MORES: Banana + Milk Chocolate + Mini Marshmallows + Crumbled Graham Crackers
STRAWBERRY HAZELNUT: Banana + Strawberries + Nutella + Chopped Hazelnuts
SAMOAS: Banana + Chocolate Chips + Caramel Sauce + Toasted Coconut
DULCE DE LECHE: Banana + Chocolate + Dulce de Leche sauce + Coconut shreds
PB & C: Banana + Peanut Butter + Chocolate Chips
HONEY GINGER: Banana + Honey + Candied Ginger + White or Dark Chocolate
BANANA SPLIT: Banana + Milk Chocolate + Marshmallows + Cherries
PECAN PRALINE: Banana + Pralines + Dark Chocolate
At camp:
Take a banana with its peel still on and cut it down the middle (along the concave side). Not all the way through, but until the tip of your knife just grazes the peel on the other side. Pull the peel and banana slightly apart. Stuff the chocolate and mini marshmallows (or other fillings, see above) into the center of the banana. Wrap the banana in foil. Place on a campfire or grill (not too hot) until fillings have melted and banana has warmed through, about 10 minutes. Unwrap banana and top with crushed graham cracker. Enjoy!
Dessert Burittos
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: foil, fire
Ingredients:
tortillas
pie filling - blueberry, cherry, apple, ... or nutella, pb, etc.
chocolate chips
mini-marshmallows
At camp:
Place ingredients inside tortilla and fold. Wrap foil around tortilla and place on grill above fire or on ash around edge of fire. Wait for the ingredients to melt.
Rice Krispie Treats
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: pot and stove, parchment paper
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
1 package (10 oz., about 40) Marshmallows OR 5-1/2 cups Miniature Marshmallows OR 1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow crème
6 cups Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® cereal
At camp:
In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add cereal. Spread out parchment paper, and with a spatula or hands sprayed with pam, slop it on and shape it. Let cool. To eat, give up on manners and just kind of rip chunks and eat with your hands
Dutch Oven Chocolate cake
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: dutch oven
Ingredients:
Devil's Food Cake Mix
Can of Lemon-Lime Soda
Mini Marshmallows
Chocolate Chips
At camp: Create hot coals for the dutch oven and Line the dutch oven with foil and spray with cooking spray. Mix the cake mix and soda together. Fold the chocolate chips and mini marshmallows into the batter. Spread the batter into the dutch oven. Place lid on dutch oven, cover with coals, and bake for 24-30 minutes depending on your heat.
“Dump” Cake
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: dutch oven, foil
Ingredients:
Can of cherry pie filling (or flavor of your choice)
Yellow Cake Mix
Can of Lemon-Lime Soda
optional: Chopped Pecans
At camp:
Line the Dutch oven with foil and some cooking spray. Dump the pie filling into the bottom of the Dutch oven. Mix the cake mix and soda together in another bowl. Spread the cake batter over the cherry filling. Place lid on the Dutch oven. Place 8 coals under the oven and 17 on the lid. Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on your heat.
By Callum Capoor Last updated 8/14/23
