Best Food For Camping No Cooking

Best Canned Food For Camping

Here is a camping food list of canned goods, staples, and fresh foods that do not need cooling that you can get to be used in food prep and recipes. Some of these have a long shelf life and can be used on multiple outings.

• Soy or Almond Milk
• Packaged, Canned, or Fresh Fruits
• Canned and Fresh Vegetables
• Canned Meats & Fish

Chickpea Scrambled Eggs

Gluten-Free Pancakes

Top these Buckwheat Pancakes with berries and maple syrup for a healthy start to your day. These are easy to make on a Blackstone or griddle.

image credit: A Sweet Alternative

DIY Instant Oatmeal

Make your own Instant Oatmeal ahead of time and cook by adding water when camping. Place the jar half full of rolled oats and layer any desired add-ons and cinnamon. Fill the jar with boiling hot water and let it sit with the lid on for about 30 minutes. Remove the lid, stir in fruit, and enjoy! This is such an easy breakfast idea.

Best Dinners For Car Camping

While I prioritize quick, no-cook foods for breakfast and lunch while camping, dinner is a different story. Dinner is a great excuse to gather around with your friends and family and enjoy a delicious meal in the great outdoors. The first step in planning your camp dinners is to decide how youll cook. If youre dreaming of cooking over the campfire, be sure to check for fire bans in the area before planning your menu. Cooking over the fire can be fun, but its also tricky. If you dont have experience cooking with fire, opt for hard-to-ruin foods like hot dogs on a stick or tin foil packets filled with veggies like potatoes and squash.

Some Breakfast Meal Ideas When You Dont Have A Fridge Or Cooler:

Toasted bacon and tomato sandwiches: Precook the bacon at home, you can even slice up the tomato if you like make some toast over the fire. And, if you search around I bet you can even find some small (ketchup-packet-sized packages of mayo to bring along. If not, just use butter. Yum!

Scrambled eggs with add-ins: Find yourself some powdered eggs. I prefer to scramble these. Some great no cooler necessary add-ins are dried herbs like basil, parsley, dill crumbled jerky or pre-cooked bacon, chopped tomato and peppers, cubed cured salami, even some torn up corn tortillas would be great too!

Fresh Fruit and Granola: Open up a can of peaches and dump on some of your favourite granola. I prefer to make my own granola so I can pack it full of dried nuts, seeds, raisins, and leave out the sugar and excess oils.

Oatmeal: You have a variety of oatmeal options for camping. You could slow cook some regular oatmeal over the fire or boil yourself some water and make up some instant oatmeal. Again, I like to make my own camping instant oatmeal so I can add more nuts, seeds, and dried fruit.

Apple Campfire Pies: We love these on a cold slow camping morning! Our favourite breakfast combo is apple pie filling with cinnamon raisin bread in the pie iron. Heres the recipe for ours here!

Pancakes: Bring along powdered pancake mix and add in the water and oil at the campground. If you plan ahead you could even bring along some berries or mash a few bananas into the mix before cooking.

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Tuna Salad With Onion And Corn

This is one of my favorite sandwiches to make. I love tuna fish with onions and corn, sometimes I will add peppers in there to spice things up. I grew up eating tuna on brown bread, or whole wheat bread.

Plus canned tuna can be easily transported pre-mixed or still in the can. Healthy fats and great flavors. What could be better?

No Cook Camping Meals

When it comes to what food to take camping, no cooking ideas should be considered. Why? First, you dont have to spend all your time cooking on site. Secondly, they make great back up meals for when you cant start your fire and cook a meal the way you intended.

Want more camp trip planning tips and tricks? I offer 50 easy ideas here.

These are easy to prepare meal ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. These will give you more time to focus on what really matters: having fun!

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Easy Black Bean Salad

The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

With protein-packed beans, sweet corn, juicy tomatoes, and creamy avocado in a zesty lime vinaigrette, this picnic-ready bean salad is a tasty vegetarian lunch that packs well for taking on family vacations. You can also enjoy it for a light vegetarian lunch or barbecue side dish, with no cooking required. You can use canned or frozen corn in place of the cobs for easy prep.

Loaded Sweet Potato Breakfast

Ill call this a heavy brunch loaded with sweet potato, peanut butter or any nut butter of your choice.

Using a fork, poke holes on the top of the sweet potato, you can microwave it on high for 10 minutes before you set out or until the potato can be easily pierced with a knife.

Slice the sweet potato in half , and spread peanut butter on each side, top up with almonds, dried berries and drizzle with honey.

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These Camping Food Ideas Will Make Your Day

3-Ingredient Protein Pancakes

All you need are bananas, eggs, and your favorite protein powder to make these quick and healthy pancakes. They’re super customizable, meaning you can top yours with anything from a chocolate smiley face to a blueberry heart, or do a different topping every day.

Campfire Peach Cobbler

If you never thought canned peaches and refrigerated biscuit dough could make you sing, you underestimated canned peaches and refrigerated biscuit dough. When dusted with cinnamon sugar and cooked over the fire, they’re sweet, buttery, and the perfect vehicle for copious amounts of whipped cream.

One-Skillet Beef Stroganoff

If you’re camping but still want a hearty meal that tastes just like Grandma used to make, turn to this simplified beef stroganoff. It’s the most high-effort recipe on this list, but it only requires one skillet. The minimal advance prep will go a long way in this camping meal idea.

Vegan Bacon-Loaded Potato Skins

If you love loaded potatoes but have dietary restrictions, or you’re trying to keep to healthier recipes), then this vegan dish is going to make your day! Spicy cashew cream sauce provides the creaminess and flavor of cheese, and don’t even get us started on how much we love the shiitake mushroom “bacon.” Prep the night before to make assembling a breeze.

Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Superfood Egg Sandwich

Homemade Oven Beef Jerky

Keto Cheesy Brussels Sprouts

Asparagus and Goat Cheese Frittata

Campfire Chilaquiles

Biscuits and Gravy

No Cooking Dinner Ideas

Dinner Ideas: Many of the easy camping meals youd serve for lunch are good for dinner too. Here I am going to add a few more no onsite cooking ideas, but also a few that require boiling water or reheating to serve. I like options and hope you are finding plenty of them here.

• Cold fried chicken I think fried chicken tastes just as good cold as it does hot. I almost always add a hearty splash of Cholula or Franks Hot Sauce too. This is best to eat the 1st or 2nd night.
• Leftovers Whatever youd eat at home as a cold leftover can be enjoyed outdoors camping too. Its also a good way to clean at the home fridge and prevent things from going bad. Weve enjoyed leftover fried rice, chicken and soba noodles with peanut sauce, pizza, rotisserie chicken, etc.
• Ramen Noodles My kids would live off of these if I let them. But seriously, ramen instant noodles are a super easy meal that just requires to boil water.
• Miso soup There are some really good instant miso soup products available. My favorite for camping is Tsubi Soup because it comes in a dehydrated cube with freeze-dried vegetables. Spicy Red Miso is my favorite.
• Canned meals These are pre-cooked foods that are canned for easy transport. You could eat these cold, but I dont recommend it. Just reheat on a camp stove or over a fire.
• Canned soup is the classic go-to
• Corned beef hash
• Canned beans Anyone for Beanie Weenies?

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Quick And Easy Creamy Coleslaw

The Spruce

A packaged shredded cabbage mixture makes it a snap to assemble a big bowl of coleslaw for serving with fish or grilled meats, or topping burgers and sloppy Joes. The simple, creamy dressing is made with mayonnaise, cider vinegar, sugar, and celery seed for a slaw with sweetness and tang.

What Should I Make For Dinner When Camping

What should you make? I’m not sure. I’m happy to tell you that the possibilities for what you can make are limitless. And you don’t need to have a fire going to make something delicious happen!

Check out these no-cook camping meals below for some of my favorite options, as well as everything you need to put them together.

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No Stove And No Cooler Ideas:

Want to go even more minimalist? Below are some tips on how to ditch both your stove and cooler.

Buy Heartier Fruit

While produce like berries and tomatoes might need refrigeration to last more than one or two days, fruits like bananas, oranges, pineapple, apricots, apples, dates, and mangoes can go without refrigeration.

Also Buy Heartier Vegetables

As for vegetables, opt for carrots, beets, cabbage, onions, and peppers. Greens like lettuce and spinach become wilted quite fast without refrigeration. However, collard greens and kale are great replacements that are significantly sturdier in terms of refrigeration.

Ditch the Dairy

The main source of refrigeration is typically dairy products like milk and cheese. Replace dairy milk with almond or coconut milk which does not need refrigeration. If you must eat cheese, try options such as aged parmesan, which can go longer without refrigeration.

Make Smaller Portions

Another primary use of refrigeration comes from leftover storage. Instead of making large portions to save for later, make only what you can eat in order to avoid having to deal with leftovers.

Adjust Your Eggs

Many of the breakfast ideas on this list call for pre-hard boiled eggs. However, boiled eggs definitely require a cooler. Therefore, if you decide to ditch your cooler, you might think about ditching your eggs as well. However, the above mentioned recipes can be equally delicious without them.

Choose Your Meat Wisely

Camping Food Ideas That Require No Refrigeration

Most people automatically think about packing the cooler when they start planning their camping trip and camping meals. Just think if you didnt have to worry about lugging huge coolers or cramming one more item in your RV fridge? My solution choose more camping foods that require no refrigeration! Read on for tons of camping food ideas that wont need a refrigerator or cooler.

Okay, before you think Im crazy, I am not saying that you should NOT take a cooler or any perishable camping food. I just know what a pain it is to take more than one cooler and keep if full of ice , Even if you have the luxury of a refrigerator in your camper, it can be hard to find enough room in it if you are camping for a long time and/or have a big family.

Taking these camping food items that dont need to be refrigerated or kept cool will make your camping trip easier and easier means more fun! Some of these suggestions will be no brainers, but hopefully youll find some ideas for your camping meals.

I wasnt sure if it would be easier for you if I listed foods by meals or by categories/type. Since many foods can be ate at different meals, I decided to try to list the foods together by type as best as I could. Plus Ive added some camping meals ideas in my list!

This post contains affiliate links. You can read the full disclosure here.

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Shrimp Boil Foil Packs

The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

Wrap up a great family day with a celebratory, shrimp boil. All you need to make this classic, low-country boil are a handful of ingredients, aluminum foil, and a campfire or gas burner. It’s easy to make, fun to eat, and loaded with plenty of down-home flavor. Serve it with bottled cocktail sauce, or go wild with a generous drizzle of melted butter.

Side Dishes For Camping

Create some tasty food to accompany main dishes out of food that does not need refrigeration. There are so many great food options on this list.

This refreshing Cucumber & Bean Salad with red onion goes together quickly.

image credit: Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen

Mango Pico De Gallo

This tasty Mango Salsa is easy to prep out at the campsite!

Orzo Pasta Salad

We love orzo, so cant wait to make this Orzo Pasta Salad with Black Beans & Corn.

image credit: Vanilla Bean Cuisine

Three Bean Salad

Three Bean Salad is the perfect side for any main dish!

image credit: Fresh Coast Eats

Fruit Salad

Create a Fruit Salad with your favorite fruits. Yummy, yummy!

Grilled Veggie Skewers

Grilled Vegetable Skewers are made with your favorite veggies with garlic and fresh herb sauce.

image credit: The Forked Spoon

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Tortilla Chips And Dip

If youre looking for a delicious and easy no-cook camping meal, look no further than tortilla chips and dip. This savory combo is perfect for any camping trip nothing can beat its convenience.

Simply pack a bag of tortilla chips and your favorite dip in your cooler, and youre good to go. No cooking or cleanup is required! Not to mention, tortilla chips and dip are the perfect portable snack. Theyre lightweight and easy to store, so you can take them wherever you go. Remember that tortilla chips and dip are must-haves for your camping love.

A General Note About Our Familys Eating Habits

Im increasingly thankful for the fact that no one in our household has any food sensitivities or allergies. I know thats not the case for many families. Also, we dont have any restricted foods or special diet requirements.

When I plan our meals, I aim to have at least one of each of three main categories: protein , carbohydrates , and fruit or vegetables. Our no cook camping meals follow this same framework.

Kids need all of these food categories, and each of my kids eats some foods from each category. Of course not all my kids eat the same foods, but theres a pretty good overlap.

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Non Refrigerated Breakfast Camping Meals

• Oatmeal – Add nuts and dried fruit to make this non refrigerated camping meal go further.

• Cereal or Granola Bars

• Pancakes – Dont forget the syrup! Adding banana slices or mini chocolate chips will spruce these up.

• Omelets – Using powdered eggs, bacon bits, and veggies.

• Precooked Bacon and Powdered Eggs

• Breakfast Potatoes – Instant hashbrowns* , seasoned diced potatoes, or maybe a can of corned beef hash

• Breakfast Essentials Drink Mix and Fruit

• Toast – We love camping toast made in our cast iron pan! Add peanut butter and maybe cinnamon or sliced banana on top.

• Naan – Add peanut butter and honey, or try nutella with sliced fresh fruit

Packing List For Cooking While Camping

Start with this thorough list of everything but the food youll need to cook while camping and customize it to fit your meals.

• Foldable camp table
• Bear canister or rope to hang food
• Bottle opener and corkscrew
• Measuring spoons/cup
• French press or coffee percolator
• Salt and pepper
• Extra reusable zip top bags for storage

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Who Knew It Could Be So Delicious To Make Easy Camping Food

Caprese Chicken Foil Packets

This camping recipe only requires a few minutes, which makes it the perfect dinner after a hike or while the rest of the fam is telling scary stories around the fire. Not only is it bursting with flavors of cheese, pesto, and tomatoes, but there’s basically no cleanup required. Big thumbs up from us.

Cast Iron Pizza

Store-bought dough is going to help you save a ton of time one making this pizza recipe. You can cut the slices as big or small as you and the fam want, and with lots of cheese and veggies, this pie will bring a smile to everyone’s faces!

Ridiculously Easy Instant Pot Tuscan White Bean Soup

Hot soup is one of the best camping dinners because it’s filling, and it’ll keep you warm after the sun goes down! This one is chock full of carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and kale. It also calls for sausage but you could easily leave that out to turn it into a meat-free dish. Make it beforehand with your Instant Pot or use a big pot over the campfire.

Chicken + Broccoli Foil Dinner

Foil dinners are a camping staple because you can just throw them on the fire and let them cook while you’re playing cards, telling stories, or catching up on your latest read. This camping recipe is totally customizable, so pick soy sauce for an Asian flavor or go with hot sauce. You can also swap the chicken and broccoli for different meats and veggies until you find your favorite!

+ Easy No Cook Camping Meals: Perfect For Lazy Campers

Whats your favorite way to cook your camping food? If your answer is none these no cook camping meals are perfect for you! If youre dealing with fire restrictions or just feeling lazy, these no-cook food ideas and recipes will satisfy your hunger and taste buds!

This is a great food list of items to take camping, no cooking required!

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