Easy Camping Meals with Kids
Does planning meals for camping stress you out? You know the time spent together in the tent and around the fire is worth it, but what do you take for meals? What all do you need? And will it be easy enough with kids? Rest assured! Camping in ‘the wild’ is not the same as the comforts of your kitchen, but cooking easy, kid-friendly camping meals is absolutely possible and feasible.
Having a list of quick and easy camping meals tucked into your camping storage is so nice for your next camping trip. Add to it as new ideas come across your path. And of course, nix the ones that weren’t your family favorites. Soon you’ll have an arsenal of camping-friendly, kid-friendly recipes that makes prepping and planning for camping a breeze.
1. Tin Foil Hash
Mix together vegetables and protein in tin foil and season with your favorite seasonings. Throw over the fire and cook until tender and meat is no longer pink.
For example, cubed chicken and sliced bell peppers with a fajita seasoning.
Or potatoes, ground beef, and cheddar cheese for a cheeseburger hash.
Check out this recipe with sausage, potatoes, and carrots.
2. Eggs & Bacon
Bacon and eggs are a staple food for us, both at home and while camping. Eggs are nutritious and almost always a crowd pleaser, and who can resist bacon? Especially when cooked over a fire!
Cook the bacon first and leave some of the grease in the pan for the eggs. It works as a lubricant (instead of needing oil or butter) and gives the eggs a nice, bacon-y flavor. Scramble the eggs in the bacon grease, and add your favorite cheese on top.
3. Mini Pizzas
Use your bread of choice like flat bread, English muffins, or even wraps for a really thin pizza. Lay bread on skillet at low heat and top with sauce, cheese, and pizza toppings.
If you have mountain pie makers, mini pizzas work really in those too. Open the griddle handles, place a piece of bread on each side, and top with sauce and cheese. Mountain pie makers work especially well if your kids are older and enjoy making their own food. If you are preparing all the food solo, mountain pie makers seem to be a bit more time consuming.
4. Walking Tacos or Taco Salad
Taco salad is a favorite, staple dish at our home. And it’s easy enough to do camping, although perhaps with leaving a few toppings behind.
Meat for the tacos can be made ahead of time and placed in a bag for easy transport. Brown ground beef or chicken with onions in skillet and season with Taco seasoning.
Walking Tacos are made with individual Doritos bags which makes clean up a breeze! Small Doritos bags are opened, and topped with meat, lettuce, cheese, salsa, and any other toppings you chose to pack 🙂
Taco Salad can be just as easy to make while camping, however a little trickier for real little ones. Lettuce, chips, meat and toppings are piled onto a plate and enjoyed!
5. Chili Sausage Dogs
Premade chili is one of my favorite things to make ahead of time, and simply warm up over the fire. So easy! Reheat the chili over a cast iron, while you make hotdogs or sausages over the fire. Then, add cheese on top of the Chili dogs for a delicious, yummy meal.
6. Cheeseburgers
Possibly the most iconic camping meal, cheeseburgers are an easy, quick way to get dinner served around the fire. Grill those patties up, season away, place melty cheese on top, and dinner for the family is served. Don’t forget your favorite condiments like mayo, mustard, ketchup, and pickles.
7. Tuna Pasta
Pasta is a great meal to make while camping because it is quick and simple. Boil water, add pasta, and have dinner ready in less than 30 minutes. Pasta can go a thousand different ways, but an easy way for camping is Tuna Pasta. Add the tuna to cooked pasta and season with salt and pepper. Parmesian cheese and parsley are amazing add-ons if the camping coolers allow room! If not, no worries. The tuna and pasta are delicious as is.
8. Quesidillas
A super easy, delicious, very kid-friendly meal, is quesidillas! Wraps and cheese is as easy as it gets, although adding a protein and some veg makes it a well-rounded meal. Ground beef or chicken can be prepared ahead of time, and quickly warmed up over the skillet.
Place the wrap in the skillet and cover with cheese. Add meat on top, more cheese, and then the final wrap. Make sure your heat is at a low temp so the cheese can melt before the wrap burns on the bottom. When your bottom wrap is crispy golden, flip the whole quesdilla in the pan to brown the other side. *I often use a lid to help ‘flip’ the quesidilla, makes it much easier.
When browned on both sides, and cheese is melted inside, remove from heat and cut into 6 or 8 pieces. Salsa and sour cream are fun additions.
Conclusion:
Don’t feel overwhelmed by the prep and planning of camping meals. Have a list of “easy camping meals with kids” stored in your camping container, so you always have a resource to go to. You don’t need all the fancy ingredients, and latest gadgets, you can make delicious meals with tin foil, a cast iron, and basic staples you already have in your kitchen. Have easy camping meals with kids at your finger tips, and get off to your adventures sooner.
Get out, go adventure.