Your camping adventures are about to become epic!
There’s something about cooking in nature. It simply hits different to cook your favorite recipes over fire, doesn’t it? As idyllic as it sounds, camping cooking requires some skill, but no worries, we’re here to help. Here are our best tips for making camping meals. Let’s dive in.
What to Consider Before You Start Campsite Cooking
Before you set off for your trip, you should plan out your camping menu. That means taking into account people in your camping party, your cooking equipment, the length of your trip, and other things. Here are some questions you should ask yourself before you walk out the door:
How Long Will Your Camping Trip Be?
Whether you’re going away for a weekend or you’re planning a longer adventure will influence how much food you will need. To keep everyone’s belly full, you should bring enough food for three camping meals a day and some snacks for every day of your trip.
Secondly, don’t forget about water. Bring 2 liters of water for each camper each day. As you will most certainly be active and having fun, you’ll surely need to stay hydrated.
How Many People Are Coming to Your Camping Trip?
Consider the size of your camping party and keep in mind that an average person consumes around 1.5 kg of food a day.
Does Anyone Have Diet Restrictions?
Plan around any dietary restrictions your family and friends might have. You wouldn’t want your camping trip to be cut short because of an allergic reaction, would you?
Do You Have Camping Cooking Equipment?
Do you own a propane stove or a portable grill you can cook on, or will you rely on a campfire? Your meals will depend on the cooking method you choose.
A propane stove is great for one-pot meals such as pastas, soups, and chilies.
Grill is great for all kinds of goodies, such as burgers, meat and veggie skewers, souvlaki, corn on the cob, and hot dogs.
And lastly, open fire is great for the good old roasting stick recipes or tin foil dinners. Just wrap your veggies and meat with a little oil and spices in two layers of aluminum foil and place them on hot coals to cook to perfection.
Regardless of the cooking method you might need certain essentials to whip up your camping feast. Here’s a short list to guide you:
- Pot and pan
- Cutting board
- Knife (with plastic cover)
- Plates or bowls
- Eating utensils
- Lighter
- Roasting stick
- Tin foil
- Tongs
- Basic seasonings
- Oil
How to Prevent My Food from Spoiling while Camping?
Here are a short camping meals guide to keeping your food fresh throughout your camping trip:
- Use a cooler for perishable foods: A tip we already discussed but an especially important one, so here it goes again
- Freeze whatever you can: Items such as bread, meat, and even cheese freeze very well.
- Don’t store food in your car: During sunny days cars easily overheat so make sure to take your cooler and any other heat sensitive foods out of your car.
- Don’t leave your cooler in the sun: Find a shade and keep the ice from melting and frozen food from thawing.
What exactly can I cook while camping?
You should keep in mind that cooking while camping is more challenging than cooking at home, so stick to techniques and recipes you’re familiar with. It’ll give you more confidence to try out new stuff down the road.
Enjoy Your Meals Surrounded by Nature
There you go! That’s our wisdom. Feel free to take this guide and go make the best camping meals of your life.
