Wrapped Warm Camping Sandwiches
The easiest meal EVER. Make sandwiches with meat and cheese, then wrap them in foil. Next, put them on the grill until the cheese melts. It will take you about 5 minutes flat from start to ready to eat!
There are so many variations you can make with this brilliant camping food idea. One of our favorites is this cheesy ham and pineapple sandwichmake this on your next camping trip!
Camping Meals For Kids Some Tasty Meal Ideas
When camping or hiking with kids, meal prep has to allow quick cooking time and the least mess possible.
You have to consider the nutrition value and energy output too what foods yield high energy, is packed with protein and isnt sugar heavy? Do you have some creative camping recipes on your mind already?
Here are some delicious camping meals for kids also suitable for family trips that may even encourage active meal prep participation. You want to have an easy camping experience, right?
Let’s get started with our camping meal plan.
Vegetarian Boston Baked Beans With Molasses
The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger
Homemade vegetarian baked beans are a great and traditional addition to a picnic, outdoor vegetarian or vegan barbecue, or to bring to any summer potluck. Plus, this recipe is easy to make in large quantities and just about everybody will love these sweet baked beans, even kids! Turn this one pot dinner into a meat lover’s party by stirring in pulled pork or chicken, if desired.
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Dutch Oven Dutch Baby
If you own a dutch oven this is a must-make. This dutch baby is smothered in berries and will be devoured as soon as the family smells the delicious fragrance. If you are not aware, a dutch baby is also called a german pancake. They are very delicious and offer a certain amount of sweetness. The berries on top make this a home run.
French Fries On The Grill With Cheese And Bacon
The Spruce / Ahlam Raffii
With a pouch of frozen fries, prepared bacon bits, American cheese, and a bit of butter, you’ve got the makings of a crave-worthy lunch, hearty side dish or snack. You’ll use aluminum foil to create packets for the ingredients, which can then sit on the grill and steam to cheesy, potatoey perfection.
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Quick And Tasty Camping Food Ideas
As much as we all love the wild vistas, the geological marvels, and the hiking, swimming, and paddling of a camping trip, a whole lot of the joy of camping centers on food, right? Its a cliché that grub tastes better outdoors, but darn it its a fact, too. Just like back home, though, its easy to become bored with your campsite cuisineor, if youre new to roughing it, it’s hard to know what camping meals to make in the first place.
Well, thats where Mountain House comes into the picture. First off, our freeze-dried meals make scrumptious entrees that require no more prep work than boiling waterabsolutely ideal for both car-camping and backpacking. Weve been feeding campers since the 1960s, and our products boast a longer shelf life than any of our competitors 30 years from the date of manufacture!
But we also want to inspire you more generally in the campsite-cooking department, which is why weve compiled this list of camping food ideas from some standout authorities. Read on and get ready to work up an appetite!
Made-from-scratch pancakes for camp breakfast! Just add the dry ingredients to a mason jar to create a pre-made pancake mix and then add the appropriate amount of eggs and milk to two more jars and youre all set! A great idea were all the way behind!
Upgraded Mountain House Breakfast Skillet
Dessert After Dinner Can Be A Rule Worth Breaking
Ill leave you with this last little secret that will ultimately make you queen or king of the camp kitchen. When youve promised your children Smores around the campfire and they fall asleep before it happens only to wake up in tears and agony at the thought of waiting one more whole day before they can relish in the goodness that is gooey marshmallow and chocolate on top of graham cracker, I give you Smores Cakes. Pancake, chocolate and marshmallow done. You will be a hero forever.
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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?
Creative Summer Camp Activities From Natural Beach Living
Our ice cube painting activity is so much fun for summertime. Its a neat way for kids to paint to produce pretty watercolor-style designs. Use watercolor paper for best results, but if you dont have any, white cardstock works fine, too.
Kids can really put their thinking caps on to figure out how to free the toy dinosaurs from the frozen eggs. They can hold them between their hands, chisel at them tools, put them in the sun, use warm water, or whatever they can think of to speed up the process!
Experiment with sound by making a colorful water xylophone. Youll need glasses that are around the same shape, size, and thickness, as well as water and food coloring if you want to add color. Youll also need something to tap against the glasses, like a spoon, fork, or metal chopstick. Add water to varying levels, arranging them from most to least-filled, and see if you can ring out a little tune.
Learn about ocean creatures with this fun activity with sea animal toys frozen in ice. Like the dino activity above, let kids experiment with a different way to melt the ice to see who can get theirs out first.
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Take The Opportunity To Explore New Meals
The nuance of cooking a meal over an open flame can open up possibilities for trying new dishes especially if you have a picky eater in your family.
Just think, a busy day exploring nature elicits a deeper appreciation for a hot cooked meal! Weve experienced this time and time again with our own kids they are much more grateful for a warm meal and deep nourishment.
Looking forward to experiences outside of their normal routine, outdoor cooking for kids means the opportunity for acceptance of new ingredients and flavors.
Easy Camping Food Ideas Even Picky Eaters Will Love
Its camping season, which means its time to arm you with a ton of genius camping tips as well as fun camping games to go with these yummy campfire meals I know will make even the pickiest eaters, happy and satisfied!
These arent your ordinary hot dogs and hamburgers Nope. These are easy camping meals for family I know your kids will devour and I promise you, dont require a ton of time to prep or cook on your campfire.
My family loves to camp in the Summer, but pulling together camping food wasnt my strong suit.
Last year with a handful of campsite reservations booked, I googled best camping food and armed with a ton of recipes, we taste tested a bunch of easy camping food ideas to make sure they lived up to the hype.
With three little kids and one husband who has strong opinions about his food, we weeded through a lot of camping recipes to come up with this list of 30 best breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert ideas for camping I feel confident we can rotate through, without getting bored or tired of the same ol choices.
Only planning a simple backyard camp out or staycation this year?
No worries, even if you dont want to track into the great outdoors, these camping meals can work for the grill or fire pit you have in your backyard too.
We cook all of our camping meals on this portable camping stove with a pre-seasoned cast-iron skillet we keep in our camping bin, and really love it!
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Gooey Chocolate Skillet Cake
Break away from the norm of smores for dessert. Instead, make this delectable dish from Willow Bird Baking that will surely put your kids through a serious sugar rush Essentially, its a really big brownie with nutty frosting goodness.
I suggest making this the first night at camp so you can pair it with some vanilla ice cream Top it all off with some caramel sauce and this dessert is complete.
Theres no need for individual plates. Stick the skillet in the middle of the picnic table, give spoons to the hungry hippos, and dive in.
Grilled Ham And Cheese Sandwich
Why its a great camp meal: This is a kid favorite. Its easy to make and can very easily be made with cheese or veggie sandwich. Just adjust the recipe if you need too.
Ingredients:
- Sliced meat: Ham, turkey, roast beef etc.
- Sliced Cheese or cheese alternative
How to make it: Use your bread and butter as the base of your sandwich. Layer your choice of meats and cheese on top and enjoy! I like to put lettuce and tomato on mine for a slightly healthier camping sandwich.
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Creamy Camp Mac & Cheese
A classic whether youre at home or under the trees, you can never go wrong with macaroni and cheese. The recipe from Laurens Latest is ideal for cooking up at a campsite. And honestly, its just as tasty for adults youll be looking forward to it as much as your kiddos are come dinnertime.
If poor weather is in the forecast, this meal will cure any rainy-day blues and satisfy even the moodiest of kiddos. Its also a good meal to make if your kid is complaining about sore feet or bug bites a huge plate of macaroni and cheese is enough to make even grumpy kids a bit happier after a long day.
Grilled Pigs In A Blanket
Maybe its the name. Maybe its the hot dogs. But our kids love pigs in a blanket. And it makes for a good camping meal because it changes up your standard grilled hot dog. If you are staying longer than a day or two, youll probably be eating a lot of grilled hot dogs.
The Dyrt has 8 ways you can make them .
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Dinner Recipes For Campfire Cooking
At the end of a long day in the great outdoors, a hearty meal cooked over a fire will top off your kids camping experience. Bring them along for the prep, the cooking techniques, and the culinary uniqueness of open flame meals.
12. Sausage & Veggie Foil Packs
Real food ingredients, aluminum foil, and a campfire is all you need for these flavorful Sausage and Veggie Foil Pack meals! Have your kids wrap their own ingredients, and scout out a good spot in the firepit to place the pack for cooking magic.
13. Seared Sausage with Cabbage & Pink Lady Apples
This beautiful Seared Sausage with Cabbage and Pink Lady Apples dish is perfect for your favorite cast iron skillet, or camping Dutch oven. The combination of sweet apples and deeply colored cabbage compliments the sausage to warm any belly.
14. Grilled Sausage Kabobs
Colorful veggies provide healthy fiber for kids, and quality sausage means protein and fat to keep them satiated and nourished. These Grilled Sausage Kabobs with Zucchini and Peppers are perfect for the camp grill and perfect for kids who like to gnaw food off a stick.
15. Apple Cheddar Burgers with Caramelized Onions
A good burger and a grill rack are two peas in a pod! This Apple Cheddar Burger with Caramelized Onions recipe from Fresh Off The Grid solidifies this pairing. With or without a bun, these burgers are sure to put a smile on your familys face.
16. Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
17. Fiery Campfire Veggies
18. Turkey Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Ideas For Summer Camp Activities
Summer Would You Rather Questions from confessionsofparenting.com: Would you rather swim in the ocean or swim in a pool? Would you rather get stung by a bee or get bitten by a mosquito? Youll find these questions and more in this fun and easy printable game for kids of all ages.
Summer Escape Room from teachingideas.ca: Escape rooms are super popular, and this is a fun summer-themed version thats perfect for kids. There are six clues that the kids will work together to solve to escape.
Glow in the Dark Bowling from craftsbyamanda.com: A few rounds of glow-in-the-dark bowling will have the kids pumped! Add glow sticks to empty water bottles, refill them with water, and get a glow-in-the-dark ball to get things rolling. This is a terrific activity for any age from toddler to teen!
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Up Your Camping Meals This Season
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Lets face it: When youre out adventuring with your family, the last thing you want to do is worry about whats for dinner.
And we bet even your kids are getting tired of the hot-dog-over-the-fire routine.
So keep it simple and keep it tasty, friends.
If youre looking to kick things up a notch, dont be afraid to go gourmet on your next camping adventure.
Weve got some easy but insanely delicious camping recipes that are sure to impress your friends or that you can keep on hand to spoil yourself every once and a while.
Fun Camping Meals For Kids That Will Have Them Begging For More
Posted by: 50 Campfires in Camp Cooking, Lunch & Dinner
Camping with kids is hard enough. When you throw cooking into the mix it can make it even more challenging because you dont have all of the conveniences of home. Our advice is to get a Rubbermaid tub , buy some gear that will last, and fill up the tub so its always ready to go. You dont have to spend a crazy amount of money filling up your camp box either. If youre just getting started, or need to upgrade a few items, youll be happy with the gear below.
Get a good propane stove. Its hard to go wrong with a basic Coleman two-burner propane stove. For 40 bucks youll have something that will last until your kids are out camping on their own.
Its nice to have dishes in the camp box. Yes, paper plates work great. The problem is that you end up doubling them up so theyre not flimsy and it just contributes to more waste. Stansport makes a great enamel camping tableware set for 14 bucks. Think about it. Thats about how much you spend on paper plates, plastic silverware and red solo cups from one trip alone.
Now onto 19 Fun Camping Meals For Kids That Will Have Them Begging For More!
1. Potato Boats
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Patty Melt Burgers With Chili Cheese Fries
A summer cookout staple: burgers and fries. We make ours with bread instead of buns because bread can be used for a wider range of food. Bring along some pre-assembled burger patties along with your preferred toppings. This is also a chance for you to get fancy: avocado, basil. Who said camping had to be unhealthy? Well were about to get a little comfort food-y because we serve it with some foil packet chili cheese fries.
You take some foil and spray it up real good with your cooking oil. Toss some fries in, fold it all up, and cook. After the fries have cooked, you can pour on some chili and cheese and cook for a bit longer. Then boom! They are ripe for the picking. Of course, you can see the full run down here from The Kitchen Magpie, which is where we got the recipe. Bonus tip: bring along some pickled jalapenos and after you separate yours from the kids, throw a few on there.
Campfire Smoked Tuna Dip
The Spruce/Todd Coleman
You don’t technically need a campfire to make this delectable tuna dip snack, but it’s definitely best done outdoors. Kids will love watching you perform the magic trick of “cooking” canned, oil-packed right in the can, with Greek yogurt and paprika to turn it into a dip. Plate it with crackers or veggie sticks to hold the family over until dinner.
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