Camp Cooking: Easy Meal Plan and Camp Kitchen Checklist
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Camp food doesn't have to be hot dogs every night. Plan simple meals, prep at home, keep the cooler cold, and cook on a stove or over coals.
Plan your meals
- Write out every meal and snack, then build your grocery list from it. Use the grocery list to keep track.
- Prep at home: chop vegetables, mix marinades, crack eggs into a bottle, and pre-cook anything slow.
- Eat the most perishable food first and save shelf-stable meals for the last day.
Easy camp meal ideas
| Meal | Ideas |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Breakfast burritos (prep at home, warm in foil), oatmeal with fruit and nuts, pancakes from a shaker-bottle mix. |
| Lunch | Wraps, sandwiches, cheese and crackers, cold pasta salad. |
| Dinner | Foil packet chicken or sausage with vegetables, tacos, one-pot pasta, chili, or steaks over the coals. See the grilling guides. |
| Snacks | Trail mix, jerky, fruit, granola bars, s'mores. |
Cooler food safety
- Keep cold food at 40°F or below. Put a thermometer in the cooler.
- Pre-chill the cooler and food. Block ice lasts longer than cubes. Frozen water bottles double as drinking water.
- Use one cooler for drinks (opened often) and one for food. Keep it in the shade.
- Pack raw meat sealed, at the bottom, so it can't drip on other food.
- Cook meat to safe temperatures: 165°F for chicken, 160°F for ground beef, 145°F for whole cuts of beef and pork with a rest.
Stove and campfire tips
- A camp stove is faster and works when fires are banned. Check fire restrictions before you go.
- Cook over coals, not flames. Let the fire burn down for 30 to 45 minutes first.
- Use existing fire rings, keep fires small, and drown them with water and stir until cold to the touch.
- In bear country, cook and store food well away from your tent.
Cast iron skillet
Works on a stove, a grill grate or right on the coals.
Shop cast iron skillet on Amazon ↗Two-burner camp stove
Cook breakfast and coffee at the same time.
Shop two-burner camp stove on Amazon ↗Shop links go to Amazon search results so you can compare brands and prices. Vosemo may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
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