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I didn’t grow up camping; it’s my partner, Jeff, who is the outdoorsman. But I’ve joined him on more than a decade’s worth of camping trips now, from a weekend of car camping on a beach tent site to a week paddling the Allagash Wilderness Waterway carrying everything we need in our canoe. Jeff does most of the cooking on-site, while I like to prepare as much as I can ahead of time. When putting together this collection, I thought of him and my friend Anna Hezel, author of Tin to Table and cofounder of Best Food Blog, whose pictures of her campsite meals I’ve ogled and admired for years. I asked them both what makes a great camping recipe.
“I find the cooking prep for camping almost as fun as the actual campfire cooking,” Anna told me. “I love any recipe where you can do the messy stuff ahead of time (washing and cutting herbs and veggies, etc).” Some of her favorite camping recipes are for paella or stew: You can quickly build a flavorful broth, then add whatever meat, seafood, or vegetables you want. “The most fun campfire cooking involves stirring with one hand and drinking a beer with the other,” she said.
Jeff is all strategy. The first night’s meal can be made ahead of time, then reheated with fresh ingredients. The meals that follow “get progressively simpler or pantry-reliant the more nights you are out.” He urges meals that offer easy cleanup (as the primary campsite dishwasher, I second this): recipes that require only one pot, food that can be consumed in hand, meals “that are easy to eat in a camp chair around the fire. Bonus for things that you cook on the fire.”
For me, it’s all about managing food safety: The best camping recipes are ones that have ingredients that don’t need to be refrigerated (or kept cold in the fast-melting ice of our cooler). In addition to our hand-me-down red Igloo, we always bring a camp stove, skillet, stockpot, cutting board, and chef's knife (wrapped in a dish towel and secured with rubber bands).
Camping is a lot of work, but there’s nothing better than nursing a cold drink or slow-toasting a marshmallow next to a fire on a clear, cool night. Here are some of our favorite recipes to make on your next camping trip.
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Lemon-Stuffed Grilled Branzino
Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless,
A prototypical first-night-of-camping recipe: Cook the fish right away! (Unless you are on a fishing trip, and you are catching your dinner yourself.) Boston-based restaurateur Barbara Lynch stuffs whole branzino with lemon and herbs, then grills it until the skin crisps and the flesh is tender and aromatic.
Skillet Chicken and Chorizo Paella
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Missie Crawford
A la Anna Hezel’s picturesque campsite dinners, this cast-iron skillet paella layers seared chorizo, saffron, and paprika into a one-pan dinner that goes straight from camp stove to picnic table.
Steak, Potato, and Chorizo Kebabs with Red Pepper Mayo
Skirt steak, baby potatoes, and Spanish chorizo share skewers with olives and onions for a smoky, flavor-packed grill-friendly dish. If you are using bamboo or wood skewers, don’t forget to soak them before loading them up and throwing them on the fire.
Short Rib Chili
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Tyna Hoang / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
I am a big believer in first-night chili, which I make the night before along with a mess of corn bread (see below). This is an especially good move if you are arriving at your campsite in the afternoon or evening, and time is short to set up camp and prepare dinner before the sun sets. This recipe simmers tender chunks of short rib with chiles, red wine, and tomato to make a rich, meaty, beanless chili. Chili con Tofu is another great option.
Buttermilk Cornbread
If you are going to make chili, you should also make cornbread. This golden, skillet-baked cornbread recipe from food writer and editor Josh Miller yields a salty crust and tender crumb.
Salted Caramel S'mores
For truly next-level s’mores, try making your own graham crackers — and gooey salted caramel — ahead of time. It’s hard to improve on the perfection of a simple s’more, but we think the extra effort here is worth it.
French Press Brewed Coffee
Matt Taylor-Gross / French Press from HAY
Now that you’ve managed to crawl out of your sleeping bag, it’s time for coffee. A French press (you boil the water in a covered stockpot) makes for a reliable and delicious cup of camp coffee. We like bringing our Moka pot or old-school percolator, too.
Homemade Pancakes
Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Annie Probst / Prop Styling by Breanna Ghazali
At least one of your camping breakfasts should be a leftovers scramble, but we like to save that for the last day. Celebrate your first morning in the open air with homemade pancakes. (You’ve mixed the dry ingredients ahead of time, natch.)
Steel-Cut Oatmeal with Soy Milk
John Kernick
If it’s too cold or too rainy to do a full pancake breakfast, a quick homemade oatmeal is a great — and just as delicious — backup. As with the pancakes, do yourself the favor of prepping the dry ingredients at home.
Almond Maple Granola
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne
Make at home, then serve this big-batch granola over milk or yogurt, or bring it with you on a hike (along with plenty of water and fresh fruit). Oats, almonds, dried fruit, and maple syrup make this granola a welcome snack (or meal) any time of day.
Pan Bagnat (Niçoise Salad Sandwich)
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Hope you packed a can opener. Make this crunchy and fresh Niçoise salad-style tuna sandwich for all your outdoor adventures. This pan bagnat layers tuna, olives, and anchovies into ciabatta soaked with briny dressing: picnic-ready and packed with flavor.
Fruit-and-Nut Trail Mix
Lucy Schaeffer
Another option for a hikeable snack is this make-ahead trail mix from chef Jeremy Sewall of Lineage in Brookline, Massachusetts. This roasted mix of dried fruit and nuts is salty-sweet, endlessly portable, and needs no refrigeration.
Brown Sugar Granola Biscotti
Stephanie Shih
Food writer and chef Marcia Kiesel always makes these cookies to bring on camping trips. They’re great for a quick no-cook breakfast and as an on-the-go hiking snack.
Campfire Lamb Peka
Up and down the western Balkans, you’ll find meat prepared “under the bell,” or using a special pot called a peka. Here, food writer Andrea Slonecker has modified the traditional preparation for a dutch oven, and this recipe can be made over an open fire or on a charcoal grill. Cooking takes a few hours, so this is a great recipe to tackle on your second day at your campsite: while you still have enough ice in your cooler to keep the meat cool, but enough time to make this delicious, low-and-slow dish.
Sausage Mixed Grill
Con Poulos
If you’re looking for a quick dinner option, opt for this grill-friendly meal. Buy shelf-stable sausage, like kielbasa, to free up cooler space. (Kielbasa and Sauerkraut is another good option.)
Pantry Puttanesca Pasta
This refrigeration-free meal is ideal for a third, fourth, or even fifth night camping. Tinned fish, olives, and capers make a fast, briny pasta dish, spiced up with plenty of red pepper flakes and whatever fresh herbs you have to spare.
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Getty Images
Lest we forget the vegetables, this recipe for corn on the cob is a great, easy, and delicious option for a campsite grill. With slight modifications, it’ll work for a campfire, too: just wrap the cobs in aluminum foil.
Grill-Baked Potatoes with Chive Butter
Marcus Nilsson
Another foil-friendly recipe, these baked potatoes can cook on the grill or in the campfire. Layer with a chive and sour cream butter for extra-indulgent flavor.
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