A Day of Camping Meals

Camping meals can be a lot of fun – they often take a little extra creativity and lots of team work. And, in my experience, everything tastes better when you’re camping! There are millions of options for what to cook and how to cook it, but here are a few of our favorite meals, from the start of the day all the way until dessert around the campfire in the evening.

Breakfast

My favorite meal of the day! As we often camp with only one burner, our first priority is usually to boil water. That way there’s tea and coffee available to enjoy even while we’re preparing the food. I like my coffee hot, strong and as soon as possible!

Our usual breakfast includes eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, miniature bananas, and bread. Either fry or scramble the eggs, balancing people’s preferences with whatever’s easiest. Once the eggs are done, set them aside with a lid on top to keep them as warm as possible and use the same pan to fry up mushrooms, followed by tomatoes. Finally, cut the miniature bananas in half and put them on the frying pan. By this point, the pan will often be a bit of a mess, but that’s okay. The fried banana adds just the right amount of sweetness to balance all the savory. Once they’re are a little brown and crispy on one side, load up your plate with a little bit of everything! It’s also always nice to add a thick piece of bread to this meal.

Note: You can do all this over a fire, but I prefer bringing a burner because it takes much less time!

Lunch & Snacks

Camping lunches are often what we like to call “grazing lunches”. Some people feel like a snack around 10, so they open up a bag of crisps, someone else eats an apple with some peanut butter around 11, and so on. Our go-to for these type of lunches is crisps, fruits, vegetables (like carrots and cucumbers) with hummus, and sausages or hot dogs that can be cooked over the fire or on the burner. If you enjoy the smoky flavor, it’s definitely worth cooking them over the fire! You can bring buns, mustard, ketchup, chopped onions and cheese if you really want to make this a feast!

Dinner

This dinner is simple and comforting, with very little prep, but it’s the kind of meal that slowly comes together and fills the whole space with warmth. Slice up some bok choy, onions, mushrooms, carrots, spring onions, or any vegetables you have on hand. Get a burner going and place a pot of water on to boil. Once the water is ready, add your noodles and, in the last few minutes, gently lower in a couple of eggs for a soft boil.

While the noodles cook, let the vegetables soften in a pan with a little oil. Add garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili flakes, or whatever seasonings feel right for the evening. Toss the noodles into the vegetables, slice the soft boiled eggs in half, and place them on top just before serving.

It’s the kind of dinner that feels cozy without asking much from you.

Dessert

For dessert, keep things just as simple and comforting. Place a banana in a small pan or foil tray and top it with chocolate, peanut butter, crushed biscuits, or anything sweet you have around. Set it gently over the burner on low heat and let everything slowly melt together. Since nothing really needs cooking, it only takes a few minutes for it to become warm, soft, and perfectly gooey.

Enjoy it while curled up nearby, still full from noodles and bok choy, sharing slow conversations, listening to the quiet sounds of the night, and letting the evening stretch a little longer.