Choose your favorite easy camping meals for dinner from this top 10 list, plus plenty of easy side dish ideas. Enjoy delicious, satisfying meals with these camping food ideas for your next trip!<\/p>\n
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\n<\/picture>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nMy husband and I have been taking our kids camping since they could barely walk. We\u2019re not experts by any means, but I shared all of our tips for creating an easy camping menu here<\/a>, and it\u2019s still one of the most popular meal plans on my blog to this day!<\/p>\n A few years ago, we took the kids on an EIGHT-WEEK road trip to hike the National Parks. We camped the whole way in basic cabins and ate out only THREE times! (Two dinners while driving on the first leg of the trip, and one dinner as we headed back home.)<\/p>\n Because we had electricity available at most places, I took my Instant Pot<\/a> with me to help make cooking at camp more manageable and to keep costs down on eating out. Not only is eating out expensive, but because we were pretty far away from towns, it was a lot of driving and gas just to get to a restaurant!<\/p>\n Normally, when I make a meal plan<\/a>, I assign certain meals to certain days.<\/p>\n But because there was so much uncertainty on this trip\u2026 we didn\u2019t know what time we\u2019d be back to camp, and we weren\u2019t sure what items grocery stores would have\u2026 I chose to make a meal list of camping food ideas instead.<\/p>\n This easy camping meals list was a lifesaver!<\/p>\n An easy camping meals list is simply a list of meals you want to make for the week.<\/strong><\/p>\n Instead of assigning a certain meal to a certain day, you choose a meal from your list of camping food recipes, rather than following a specific menu.<\/p>\n The only catch is making sure you 1) have everything you need to make all the meals on the list, and 2) your meal list should only include meals you actually have time to make!<\/p>\n For this trip, I made a list of 10 meals to rotate through as we traveled. We\u2019re going way beyond hot dogs on sticks and a can of baked beans in the fire here! But these are still EASY camping cooking ideas.<\/p>\n As I was planning our easy camping meals, these 10 are what I thought would be the best simple camping food ideas.<\/p>\n Some people like to make one pot pasta dishes over the fire or make kabobs with skewers to grill, but I tried to keep things as simple and streamlined as possible, using the same prepping and cooking methods for most of our meals.<\/p>\n For the same reasons I didn\u2019t assign camping food recipes to specific days, I also didn\u2019t assign side dishes to meals.<\/p>\n We needed to eat leftovers quickly, since we only had a cooler and sometimes a mini fridge to keep food cold. Food waste is also responsible for up to 40% of your grocery budget<\/a>, so eating leftovers is key to saving money!<\/p>\n I stuck with keeping my favorite camping food ideas for sides as easy as possible, which means we went with veggies pretty much all the time.<\/p>\n The tail end of our trip included visiting friends in Missouri, family in Chicago, and friends in Michigan. At each stop, everyone asked us the same two questions:<\/p>\n The second question cracked me up because I had no idea that anyone would wonder for EIGHT WEEKS whether or not my easy camping meals were going okay! (It did make me feel special, though. \u2665)<\/p>\n The answer to the second question is YES!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Our first stop was the Grand Canyon, and by the time we left there and got to Arches National Park, we knew what meals worked best and which ones were too much work, given small counters, mini-fridges, tiny sinks, no ovens, no stoves, and no grills. (The accommodations were different at each campsite.)<\/p>\n I think I would add simple tacos to our family camping trip. Taco meat with ground beef or turkey is easy to make, and all the typical toppings are easy to pack. Avocado or guacamole, cheddar cheese, salsa, tomatoes, tortillas, etc. Those toppings are also amazing on chili, which would be another great addition to the next camping trip!<\/p>\n We made these easy meal ideas for camping dinners<\/strong> most often:<\/p>\n The best side dishes <\/strong>were also easy camping recipes:<\/p>\n Breakfasts <\/strong>were also easy camping foods (are you seeing a trend here?):<\/p>\n I would also put breakfast burritos or breakfast sandwiches filled with black beans, eggs, bacon, or sausages on the menu. They would be easy to pack ahead and eat on the first part of the trip.<\/p>\n Official lunches<\/strong> were nearly non-existent, with plenty of salty snacks<\/a> like trail-mix on the trail and ice cream afterwards, but we made sure to keep apples, cucumbers, Homemade Hummus<\/a>, and carrots on hand when we had a mini fridge to satisfy those mid-afternoon cravings.<\/p>\n If we needed additional lunch ideas, I would prep pasta salads, crackers and hummus, salami, tortilla chips, lots of veggies, and a few cookies!<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget dessert! <\/strong>We also made s\u2019mores almost every night, despite fire bans (hello microwave!) and charcoal grills that got cold (hello toaster oven!). Camping just isn\u2019t right without marshmallows and chocolate!<\/p>\n Most of these easy camping meals will fit in naturally with tracking your macros, so that you can still stay on track with your food priorities and goals.<\/p>\n Especially after a full day of hiking<\/a>, swimming, and outdoor activities, you\u2019ll want plenty of protein. I chose these camping food recipes with that in mind. We need protein for energy!<\/p>\n Even while camping, we want to fill our plates with plenty of produce, and sticking with simple veggie sides is an easy way to do that. Salads, coleslaw, and grilled veggies are delicious and filling. Berries or watermelon can be quick and easy sides as well, for natural sweetness and hydration.<\/p>\n Remember that while on a camping trip, getting close enough is good enough, so don\u2019t stress if your macros don\u2019t quite match up with your goals. Balance making memories and enjoying your time together with eating well!<\/p>\n A lot of this will depend on what your campsite has available (electricity, grills, grates for the fire, etc.). A cast-iron skillet, utensils for serving and eating, and a knife and cutting board are all helpful. Read my Easy Camping Menu post<\/a> for all of my best tips for putting together your camping meal ideas, including tips on what tools to bring.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Grilled meats with veggie sides are great meals for camping, as are aluminum foil packets that you can cook everything at once over the fire or grill. Or try some of the easy camping meals from the list above!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Planning easy camping meals is kind of like regular meal planning, but taking it a step further. If you struggle with meal planning, read my post here on how to make meal planning work for you<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you prefer to have meal plans made for you, take a look at 30 Minute Dinners<\/a>. It contains every meal plan I\u2019ve ever made (250+!), comes with step-by-step cooking instructions, shopping lists, meal prep, and everything can be customized to fit smaller\/bigger families as well as your own family-favorite recipes!<\/p>\n Sign up for my FREE Fight Inflation Workshop<\/strong>\u00a0and learn simple strategies to save money, even with rising food costs!\n\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nEASY CAMPING MEALS LIST<\/h2>\n
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HERE ARE THE 10 EASY CAMPING MEALS I PICKED TO ROTATE THROUGH:<\/h2>\n
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EASY CAMPING FOOD IDEAS FOR SIDES<\/h2>\n
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SIMPLE CAMPING FOOD RECIPES: WHAT WORKED (AND WHAT DIDN\u2019T)<\/h2>\n
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FAVORITE EASY MEAL IDEAS FOR CAMPING<\/h2>\n
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ENJOYING EASY CAMPING MEALS WHILE MACRO TRACKING<\/h2>\n
FAQS FOR CAMPING RECIPE IDEAS<\/h2>\n
What tools do I need to make easy camping recipe ideas?<\/h3>\n
What are the easiest meals for camping?<\/h3>\n
MORE ON MEAL PLANNING<\/h2>\n
MORE HELPFUL POSTS FOR CAMPING<\/h2>\n
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Fight Inflation Workshop<\/h4>\n
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