Family Camping Meals

Camping season is in full swing, and sometimes it is so hard to come up with family camping meal ideas. We’ve asked our families what their favourite camping meals are, and have some great ideas for your next family camping trip! Here are our favourite family camping meals – camping recipes by families, for families.

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Family Camping Meals

Camp Kitchen Gear

Any good meal starts with good camp kitchen gear. You do have a few options – you can cook over your fire, over a portable stove or grill, or if you have a trailer you have a few additional options. Here are some of our favourite grills and stoves:

Family Camping Recipes

Wild Pancakes

Ingredients: 

  • 200g Self Raising Flour
  • 1 Egg
  • 30g Sugar
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (optional)
  • 300ml  Milk (works well with coconut milk too)

Instructions:

Whisk all together, it should be a custard like consistency. Sometimes I don’t add all the milk. Pop in a flask and cook in the hills or whilst camping! Serve with freshly picked blackberries or other fruit you can take from home, plus yoghurt, honey/syrup or simply enjoy by themselves.

Submitted by @kippdee.family

Why do you like this meal? “It can be prepped at home, its super simple and who doesn’t like pancakes!”

Baby-Friendly Pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 Banana, mashed
  • 2 Eggs, whisked
  • 2 Tablespoons Rolled Oats (better if they are ground in a blender a little)

Instructions:

Mix all of the above together then pop in a flask and cook while on the trail or while camping.

Submitted by @kippdee.family

Why do you like this meal? “Baby-friendly, healthy, easy and quick”

Almond Joy Oatmeal

Ingredients:

  • Oatmeal-1/2 cup
  • 1 Cup Water or Milk of choice (I use almond milk or oat milk) (but for backpacking powdered milk works great to have it pre made just add water)
  • Pinch of Salt (optional)
  • 1 Tbsp. Shredded Coconut
  • 1 Tbsp of Nutella. Mix and enjoy. I use the small Nutella packs that come with pretzels for on the trail.
  • You can add almond flakes, chia seeds, and ground flax for added nutrition.

Submitted by @stonefieldstables

Why do you like this meal? “Easy to pre mix and pack for backpacking and packs a punch of extra calories (you can add a lot to it without changing the amazing creamy taste) for long trail days-tastes like desert “

Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients: 

  • Bacon
  • Eggs
  • Milk
  • Tomatoes (or salsa)
  • Shredded Cheese
  • Tortillas

Instructions:

Cook bacon over fire, set aside Make scrambled eggs, add diced tomatoes and shredded cheese. Build your wrap with a tortilla, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Voila! Quick easy camp breakfast.

Submitted by @just.jesii 

Why do you like this meal? Quick, easy, kids love it! And you can eat it with your hands! 

Camp Nachos

Ingredients:

  • Nacho chips
  • Shredded cheese
  • Black beans, canned
  • Diced tomatoes or salsa
  • Guacamole or avocado
  • Onions optional

Instructions:
Line the pan with foil for easy clean up. Lay a generous covering of chips down. Next, pour black beans on (strain the juice out of the can) followed by cheese and tomatoes. Cover with lid and cook for just a few minutes over camp stove or fire. Bottom chips may get a little toasty so try to prevent burning! Add avocado after and eat right off the foil!

Submitted by @rachelandroamin

Why do you like this meal?  “Almost no clean up required, minimal ingredients that can be pre-prepped, and quick cook time!”

Bushman Pizza

Ingredients:

  • Two slices of bread
  • Butter
  • Pizza sauce
  • cheese
  • Your favourite pizza toppings

Instructions:

Butter bread and place one piece butter side down in bushman pie maker. Add pizza sauce, cheese, and your pizza toppings. Place other slice of bread on top and use a knife to hold in place to close pie maker. Cook until bread is nicely toasted and comes off pie maker easily. Cut off any burnt edges and allow to cool before eating.

Submitted by @jes.at.her.best

Why do you like meal? “We always made it as kids and it brings back great memories. Plus everyone can make it their own way.

Tacos In A Bag

Ingredients:

  • Small bag of chips (we prefer sun chips)
  • Ground burger cooked in Taco seasoning
  • Any cut up veggies you prefer (peppers, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, basically anything you’d put in taco salad)
  • Shredded cheese
  • Zesty Italian salad dressing

Instructions:

Open chip bag and crush slightly. Add salad ingredients, meat and cheese mix. Add dressing. Mix again And enjoy.

Submitted by @kailacourt

Why do you like this meal? “Super easy hardly any dishes and super easy to prep everything ahead of time.”

Pizza Pies

Ingredients

  • Bread
  • Butter
  • Pizza Sauce
  • Pizza Toppings/Fillings (pepperoni, ham, pineapple, cheese, tomatoes…)
  • Campfire Pie Iron

Instructions:

1. Butter the outside of two pieces of bread 2. Place the one piece of bread butter side down against each side of the cast iron pie maker. 3. Place fillings onto one piece of bread. 4. Carefully close the pie iron, being sure that the other piece of bread covers the fillings too. 5. Cook over campfire rotating to cook both sides. 6. Carefully open up the pie iron on a rock or solid surface and use a butter knife to get the pizza pie out! 7. The pizza pie will be very hot inside so be careful when eating: cut in half to open and let out steam or let it cool for a bit first. Enjoy!

Submitted by @methodsofamountainmom @aliphoto11

Why do you like this meal? “We love these because you can modify them in so many ways! Fill with pie filling instead and have desert! Use different cheeses and have a supreme grill cheese sandwich. You can even use chocolate and marshmallows for a bread s’more!”

Baked S'mores Banana Boats

Original recipe link: https://www.hy-vee.com/recipes-ideas/recipes/baked-smores-banana-boats

Ingredients: 

  • 1 Banana
  • 1 Tbsp Milk Chocolate Chips
  • 1 Tbsp Miniature Marshmallows
  • 1 Tbsp Graham Crackers, crushed

Instructions: 

Start fire. Make a deep lengthwise slit in each banana to within 1/2 inch of ends. Place banana in heavy foil, slit side up. Open slit; fill with chocolate chips, marshmallows, and graham crackers. Wrap banana with foil; fold foil ends to seal. Place on warm coals or racks of fire (or bbq racks). Bake for 5 to 6 minutes or until toppings are slightly melted. Carefully open packet; cool slightly.

We can’t wait for you to try these family camping meals on your next family camping trip! We hope these recipes become some of your families favourites, like they’ve become our explorer family’s! Happy Camping!

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