In this post I’ll share my family’s go-to camping weekend menu including breakfasts, a lunch, dinners and snacks. These meals are easy to prep ahead of time for less work at the campground. And of course there’s a few treats! You’ll also find a good balance of protein and fiber including a variety of fruits and veggies too.
It’s camping season!
While my family doesn’t tend to do a lot of camping (for Colorado standards at least), it’s something we try to do at least 1-2 times per summer. I appreciate the time away from screens for both our kids and us. And I have come to really appreciate long stretches of time outdoors in nature so much more as an adult.
If you like to get away for the occasional camping trip and you’re anything like me, you love a well-thought out food menu. We aren’t just winging it over here! I’m not above a hot dog cooked over the fire but I also love to include a few interesting things.
We generally follow this exact menu every time we camp which makes it simple to grab everything from the store, so I wanted to share the full plan and shopping list with you!
Don’t miss the free printable at the end so you’ll have this ready to go the next time you go camping.
Dinner #1: Taco Salad or Bowl
We usually arrive at the campground and get checked-in around 3-4pm on a Friday, so as soon as we finish unpacking we get this meal going. It’s basically a big plate or bowl of your favorite taco fixings and is very easy to customize for each person. I pre-cook taco meat and drain/rinse a can of black beans so I don’t have to pack a strainer.
Favorite taco salad mix-ins:
- tortilla chips for the base (walking tacos if you assemble right in mini bags of chips!)
- small container of pre-washed lettuce
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
- guacamole (I love the Whole Foods store-bought option for this)
- jarred pickled jalapeรฑos
- tomatoes and/or your favorite salsa (we love this fresh salsa)
Breakfast #1: Scrambled Eggs & Bacon
We have this Jetboil cooking system (we purchased at a discount during the REI anniversary sale). It’s great for cooking breakfast and we can also use it to heat up any of our prepped-ahead items or boil water. There’s something about eggs and bacon when camping. It just tastes better in the woods!
I made mini banana bread loaves ahead of time and froze them, so these were thawed and ready to eat by our first morning. You could also make muffins or oat bites. Or pick up pastries from a local bakery on the way!
Buying pre-cut fruit or washing/chopping/pitting it ahead of time is a must for camping. You can just pull out containers and theres’s no need to use that precious water for rinsing.
Lunch: Campfire Pizzas
I don’t have a photo of these handy but we love using pie irons to make pizzas over the fire. I’m sure if you’re reading this post, you know what these are. You sandwich the “toppings” inside two pieces of bread, butter the outsides, clamp it together in the iron and then cook it over the fire. The outside gets crispy and the inside is perfectly melted. Delicious!
Technically a classic white bread works the best for these (skip the nice sourdough here). I use this Dave’s Killer Bread. The filling is always simple: pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, thin pepperoni. You don’t want to overfill these so it’s not the time to get fancy!
Favorite Healthyish Camping Snacks
Do the snacks ever get completely put away when camping? I admittedly over buy snacks because I like having options and always want to be prepared for a hike. For our most recent camping trip we actually snacked in lieu of lunch on Saturday and it worked fine thanks to a bigger breakfast and some heartier snack options.
Snack Ideas:
- pretzel thins + hummus (this preserved lemon hummus is great)
- pre-cut veggies
- fruit: pitted cherries, washed grapes and berries, pre-cut watermelon, bananas, apples
- tortilla chips + guacamole (store-bought or made at home)
- nuts
- peanut butter
- cheese cubes
- salami
Dinner #2: Hot Dogs + Salad Kit + Fruit
My kids love hot dogs and it certainly doesn’t get any easier! You can use the charcoal grill that some campsites have, or just thread them onto your mallow roasting sticks and cook them right over the campfire (our preferred option). You can also do a chicken sausage.
Of course I like to elevate these a bit! We go for the dogs from Teton Waters Ranch on pretzel buns with a few interesting toppings if possible. Sadly I wasn’t able to find this fun topping at the grocery store this time! A corn salsa or street corn is always great too.
A salad kit that you can shake up right in the clamshell container is an easy way to add a vegetable without any extra dishes required. And of course you need some fruit and good potato chips on the side.
Sweet Things
I don’t have a photo but obviously s’mores are a non-negotiable! I tend to mix things up with the flavors (because I can’t just do anything the traditional way ๐). Try cinnamon graham crackers and a couple of interesting chocolates. White chocolate peanut butter cups are the move in my opinion.
I also like this trail mix and it would be easy to make it at home, which I think I’ll do next! That way you can put whatever you like in there and make a huge batch.
Breakfast #2: Oatmeal Cups + Peanut Butter
I bought those little instant oatmeal cups on a whim last summer when we camped and my boys mentioned them so many times after that, I had to add them to our permanent rotation. These work great as a final morning breakfast because they’re quick to make and eat while packing everything up, and there’s no clean-up of course. Plus it’s something that we don’t normally buy at home so they feel a little novel. Add a spoonful of peanut butter for extra staying power and everyone is happy and full for the car ride home.
I like Purely Elizabeth and those come in several flavors. I also like Bob’s Red Mill, especially because they have an unsweetened option (pictured below). I knew my kids wouldn’t choose that one but I loved it! The chia/flax is nice.
Coffee
Lastly, we definitely want coffee when we camp and I’m still loving my Yeti pour over. If you’ve never tried a pour over, it’s fast and convenient to make a single cup but even more importantly, it’s really delicious and smooth-tasting. While it wasn’t specifically gifted to me for camping, it works so well for it. I prefer this over a French press!
An even easier option for coffee is bottled cold brew that you can serve over ice, if you like to drink it that way. If you’re camping in the peak of summer heat I’d highly recommend!
More camping favorites:
- Favorite shoes
- Smartwool socks
- Cooler
- CeraVe face wipes (aka my camping skincare “routine”)
- Book light
Let me know if you love to camp and if you’ll be making of these meals this summer! Cheers!
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