Camping Cooking Ideas – Tips To Make Sure You Don’t Go Hungry

Hi everyone – today I’m going to be discussing camping cooking ideas.

To some, perhaps, the thought of eating at camp brings up notions of eating cold beans out of tin cans… This, however, couldn’t be further from the truth.

Nothing is more exciting than the thought of a tasty, hot breakfast to give you the strength to tackle the day ahead or a delicious hot meal after a long, energetic day of activities.

Preparing Ahead

It’s important to prepare in advance.

You don’t want to be turning up to camp empty-handed, otherwise you really will be living off the earth, Bear Grylls style!

So there’s 2 categories of things that you will need to take with you:

• Cooking utensils/equipment
• Ingredients

Cooking Utensils/Equipment

Below is a basic list of cooking utensils and equipment that should be sufficient for anything you want to whip up at camp.

Cookware

• Cast iron is best
• A couple of good sized pots
• Fry pans/skillets (no plastic handles)

• Billycan
• Dutch oven – this will allow you to increase your menu options. With a dutch oven you can bake lasagna, cook stews and lots more.
• Cast iron griddle

Equipment

• Campfire grill – get it here
• Tongs
• Can opener
• Wooden spoons
• Spatula
• Metal skewers
• Heat resistant gloves/hot pad
• Knives
• Chopping board
• Scissors
• Ladle
• Cheese grater
• Water container (to bring water from a water supply on the campsite)
• Camping kettle
• Reusable food containers
• Cool box
• Table cloth
• Bin bags
• Washing up items
• Washing-up bowl
• Washing-up liquid
• Sponges
• Metal strainer
• Tea towels

Dinnerware

• Go for dedicated camping dishes, made out of enamel, stainless steel or plastic
• Plate
• Bowl
• Cup (that can handle hot drinks)
• Tablespoon
• Teapsoon
• Fork
• Knife

Tips

Cover the outside of the cooking pot in washing up liquid – this will prevent it going black when cooking in a fire.

Click here to get your camping cooking utensils.

Ingredients

What you take with you really depends on what you are planning to cook – but there are some basic ingredients that you should always have, that will allow you to cook up a variety of dishes…

Condiments/Cooking Essentials

• Salt
• Pepper
• Soya sauce
• Ketchup
• Mustard
• Mayonnaise
• Hot sauce
• Oil
• Sugar/honey

Dairy

• Butter
• Milk
• Cheese

Vegetables/Salads

• Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Carrots
• Peppers
• Onions
• Garlic
• Potatoes
• Fruits
• Nuts

Other Items

• Beef
• Chicken
• Eggs
• Tortillas
• Bread
• Noodles
• Beans
• Pancake mix
• Cereal/granola
• Marshmallows
• Greek yoghurt
• Chocolate

Drinks

• Coffee
• Tea
• Squash
• Hot chocolate

A Few Recipe Ideas

Below are some ideas for breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Breakfast

Turkey rashers (also known as turkey bacon) with scrambled eggs and toast

• Fry the turkey rashers in a skillet, using about 1 tps of oil until slightly crispy.
• Scrambled eggs can be cooked in the same skillet after frying the turkey rashers or you could use a second skillet for this.
• Use a fork to hold the bread close to the fire, don’t hold it in the flames as the toast will go black. A minute or two for each side should give you a nice toasted bread slice.
• Add your sauces and you’ve got yourself and nice, tasty, filling breakfast!

Lunch

Tacos

• You will need the following ingredients – the amounts you need really depends on how many you’re cooking for.
• The following amounts are for about 5 adult
  • 10 Taco shells
  • 1kg beef mince
  • 2 tps olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 1 pack of passata
  • Taco seasoning
  • Sliced jalapenos
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Grated cheddar cheese
  • Salsa

• Method
  • Finely chop the onion.
  • Heat the oil in a pot over the campfire and add the chopped onion, beef and taco seasoning.
  • Stir intermittently until the beef is cooked.
  • Add 500g of passata and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
  • Place the taco shells on a griddle and heat over the fire for 3-4 minutes until crisp.
  • Add the beef mixture into the taco shells and add jalapenos, lettuce, cheese and salsa as required.

Dinner

Chilli Bake

• The following amounts are for 5 adults

• • • 500g macaroni pasta
    • 1 can chilli
    • Corn chips
    • Grated cheese

• Method
  • Boil the pasta in 5 litres of water in a large skillet for 10 minutes, until almost all the water has evaporated and the pasta is cooked.
  • Add chilli to skillet and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Remove from the fire and top with corn chips and cheese.

So, Where Will Your Tastebuds Take You?

There are literally hundreds of tasty dishes that can be made at camp.

Think about the types of things you can cook on a barbeque… the concept’s the same, you’re cooking on a fire. So, if you have the right tools to cook with and the right ingredients, then you can put together some very tasty cuisine!

I hope you have found this post useful.

You can get a great range of camping cooking utensils and equipment from Amazon UK.

If you have any questions or comments, then please leave them below and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Happy camp cooking!

Mohammad