Cooking on a camping trip can be a great time for bringing everyone together and sharing a yummy meal, but it can also be a hassle in terms of planning and transporting everything you need. The convenience of shouting the family a pub feed can seem enticing, but that adds up quickly and isn’t very smart if you’re wanting to save money for activities on your trip. So, to help you ease the burden of meal planning this family holiday, we have put together 10 quick and easy tasty recipes for you to try.
1. Campfire Dutch oven nachos
There is almost nothing better than ending a big day out at the beach or the bush kicking back with a cold drink, and a big plate of cheesy, smoky campfire nachos. For this recipe, you will need a well-tended to campfire and a Dutch oven or a cast iron skillet.
Ingredients: Your basic nacho ingredients are needed here.
- – Avocados
- – Your choice of shredded cheese
- – Corn chips
- – Salsa or canned tomato sauce
- – Sour cream for garnish
- – Onions
- – Ground beef or chicken if preferred
- – Black beans
- – Coriander for garnish
Now the method is pretty straightforward here, all you need to do is build your nachos from the ground up, layering everything as you go. To ensure everything is soft and combined well, it is recommended to cook all your veggies prior to constructing your Mexican feast. Start with a layer of chips, then cheese, then your fillings, and repeat. Simple as that! Once you’re done layering all your ingredients pop a lid on, chuck it on the fire and let it all get friendly in the pot. The end result is a cheesy, crunchy flavour bomb.
2. Sausage and Egg breakfast muffins
These brekky muffins are similar to a certain fast food chain breakfast item, meaning they will be a hit with kids, however, these hearty and tasty muffins will give you and your family a great kickstart to the day. These are quick and convenient as they can be made many at once or stagger according to people’s wake-up times. All your ingredients are easily found at the supermarket, which means less prep time!
Ingredients:
- – Sausage patty
- – Sliced cheese
- – A fried egg
- – English muffins
- – Sauce of choice
Whack the sausage patty and eggs in a pan and cook over the camp stove or fire (dealers’ choice). Cooking these two together saves cleaning up multiple pans. Add a slice of cheese to your sausage patty once flipped and let it melt, whilst these are cooking pop your muffins on to toast. Once everything is finished cooking assemble your brekky muffins and enjoy! A quick and easy start to the day to please the hungry masses.
3. Dutch oven mac and cheese
Quick, easy, and ever so tasty, this one-pot wonder is sure to be a hit among the whole family! Loaded with cheesy, buttery goodness, this comfort meal will make the campsite feel like a home away from home.
Ingredients:
- – 2 cups elbow macaroni
- – 2 cups water
- – 2 tablespoons butter
- – ¼ teaspoon salt
- – 4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- – 1-2 tablespoons mustard
– ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Make sure your campfire is rearing to go for this recipe. Add the elbow macaroni, water, butter, and salt to a 4-qt Dutch oven. Cover and place on top of a small bed of coals or embers. Place 10-15 coals on top of the Dutch oven. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the pasta is tender and most (but not all) of the liquid has been absorbed. Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the campfire and set aside the lid. Stir in the shredded cheese, mustard, and garlic powder, and add more salt if needed.
This recipe allows you to make lots at once and depending on how many mouths you plan to feed, you might have some leftovers for the next day’s lunch.
4. Campfire baked sweet potatoes
A campfire classic! Baked potatoes are a crowd favourite and so easy to do. This recipe can be customised with whatever toppings you would like, for now, we will recommend the classic combo of sour cream, bacon, cheese, and chives.
Ingredients:
- – Sweet potatoes
- – Chopped chives (can be dried to save time)
- – Sour cream
- – Shredded cheese
– Diced bacon (store-bought works just fine)
Start by wrapping your potatoes in alfoil and tossing them into the embers of your campfire. These will take around 30 mins or so. While the potatoes are cooking, chop up your bacon, or add pre-diced bacon into a pan to cook. Store-bought diced bacon can save a whole lot of time and cleaning. Chop up your chives for garnish and grab your sour cream and cheese from the fridge. When your potatoes are done, carefully retrieve them from the fire and slice them down the middle. Add your toppings (we suggest adding your cheese in first and leaving it to melt a bit inside the potato) and enjoy!
5. Grilled fish tacos with corn salsa
Picture this, you take the kids out in the morning for a fishing day at the beach. It’s the middle of Aussie summer and the day is growing hotter by the second, as you start to become disheartened over catching nothing but seaweed all day, you suddenly feel a tug on your line. You start to fight with the monster you’ve got on, an epic battle between man and fish and finally, you pull it up to reveal a massive barramundi! Dinner is served! These barramundi tacos are a great dinner meal for those warm summer nights. Plus, you get bragging rights about catching dinner.
Grilling your fish is much easier and takes less time to prep than battering it. And it tastes just as good whilst also being a healthier alternative.
Ingredients:
- – Fish of your choice
- – Lime
- – Spice seasoning of your choice (we suggest a Mexican spice rub)
- – Canned corn kernels
- – Red onion
- – Tortillas
– Coriander for seasoning
Start by prepping your fish. Once prepped rub your spice mix into the fish, squeeze over half a lime, and let it marinate for around 10 mins. Whilst the fish is marinating you can start to make the corn salsa. Drain and wash your corn kernels, and finely chop up your red onion and coriander. Place your corn, onion, and coriander in a bowl and squeeze in half a lime. When 10 mins is up whack your fish on the grill over your campfire or camp stove. Cook until tender flipping once after 3 mins then leaving again for 2. Remove from the heat and let it rest. Warm your tortillas over the fire and then you’re ready to assemble! Enjoy your grilled fish with a heaping of the fresh corn salsa and brag about your fishing skills.
6. Campfire banana boats
These campfire desserts are a classic camping dessert and a favourite among many. These sweet treats are a perfect way to end the day and satisfy that sugar craving. Quick and easy, you only need 3 ingredients. Something sweet, something melty and something crunchy. There are so many ways to do these, the flavour combinations are endless! Smores, strawberry hazelnut, caramel, peanut butter and chocolate the list goes on! We will highlight some of our favourite combos but the method is pretty straightforward just rinse and repeat with whatever topping you prefer.
Ingredients for Strawberry Hazelnut Banana Boat:
- – Banana
- – Strawberries
- – Nutella
– Chopped Hazelnuts
Take your banana with the peel still on and slice down the middle, make sure not to go all the way through! Pull the peel and banana slightly apart so all your filling can fit in. Stuff the Nutella chopped strawberries into the centre of your banana. Wrap it in alfoil and place it on the campfire coals until the fillings have all combined into a big melty yummy mess, and the banana has warmed through (around 10 mins). Unwrap the banana and add the chopped hazelnuts. Grab a spoon and stuff your face!
Other flavour combos:
SAMOAS: Banana + Chocolate Chips + Caramel Sauce + Toasted Coconut
DULCE DE LECHE: Banana + Chocolate + Dulce de Leche sauce + Coconut shreds
VEGAN: Banana + Dark Chocolate + Dandies Mini Marshmallows
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
CLASSIC S’MORES: Banana + Milk Chocolate + Mini Marshmallows + Crumbled Graham Crackers
7. Chickpea breakfast hash
A tasty alternative to the classic potato hash, this chickpea hash will last a while longer than its potato cousin, as the chickpeas won’t go mushy when kept in a container. Meaning you can cook it for brekky but grab it again for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients:
- – Canned chickpeas
- – Red onion
- – Green capsicum
- – Cumin
- – Garam masala
- – Coriander
- – Zucchini
Heat oil in your skillet over your campfire or stove, add the chopped onions, capsicum, and zucchini, and cook until softened (about 5 mins). Drain and add your chickpeas to the veggie mix, add spices to taste, and cook until the chickpeas are cooked through (around 10 mins). Enjoy on toast or with some poached or fried eggs for a bit more sustenance! Have a hearty and healthy start to your day.
8. Mediterranean chicken skewers
These skewers are so tasty and easy to prep! All you need to do is chop your ingredients into chunks, skewer them, and place them over the fire. These are great for big groups or picky eaters, as they’re customisable and can virtually be made with anything. For the marinade, to save time and money a store-bought marinade works just as well as a freshly made one. So we suggest taking this route if you’re cooking on a budget.
Ingredients:
- – Chicken breast chopped into chunks
- – Sliced red onion
- – Sliced Zucchini
- – Sliced red and green capsicum
Quick tip: To save time when cooking, bring along some pre-marinated chicken. This will save you waiting for it to marinade the day of. Build your skewers by threading each chopped veggie on top of one another then add a piece of chicken, repeat until the skewer is full with space at each end to hold. Brush with some oil and grill over the fire on a rack, turning occasionally so they cook evenly. Once all the ingredients are cooked, take off the heat and enjoy! Some tzatziki goes great as a dipping sauce.
9. One pot cheesy broccoli orzo
This one-pot pasta dish is so hearty and easy to cook. There’s so straining needed, how good!
Ingredients:
- – Head of broccoli
- – Orzo pasta
- – Dried spices (thyme, basil, garlic powder)
- – Chili flakes
- – Shredded cheese
- – Pine nuts
- – Sundried tomatoes
- – Olive oil
Prepare your broccoli by washing and chopping it into smaller trees. Add the broccoli, water, orzo, oil, and all the spices into your pot. Bring to a low boil and cook for 5 mins until the pasta is tender. Reduce the heat and add the cheese, sundried tomatoes, and pine nuts, combine until the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper, and enjoy!
10. Blueberry skillet pancakes
Who doesn’t love blueberry pancakes! Take this Sunday morning staple on the road with you by prepping these in your campfire skillet. Any day that starts with pancakes is a good one. For this recipe, we will be using store-bought pancake mix for simplicity.
Ingredients:
- – Pancake mix
- – Blueberries
- – Maple syrup
- – 1 Lemon
- – Fresh cream or butter to taste
Melt some butter in your skillet over the fire. Shake up your pancake mix and add to your buttered skillet and add a few blueberries directly onto the pancake. Cook the pancake on one side until small bubbles start to form then flip. Cook until golden. Repeat with the rest of your batter until you have a good stack going on. To serve add whatever topping you would like! Personally, I think blueberry pancakes go well with some fresh cream or butter and maple syrup to tie it all in. Squeeze a drizzle of lemon juice over the top to brighten everything up. Take a seat around the fire with your stack of fresh pancakes and enjoy a lazy morning with your buddies.
We hope you have found some inspiration from this list of quick and easy camping meals. There’s plenty here that the whole family will love, even those picky eaters. Don’t be scared to try something new!
Happy camping and escape with confidence!
