Looking for camping food ideas that are easy to make and delicious? Whether you’re a seasoned camper or a newbie, having a well-planned camping food list can help you pack smarter and ensure you have everything you need to create real meals that are tasty and nutritious while on the go. See our helpful guide to camping food ideas, complete with a downloadable shopping list to elevate your next outdoor adventure.
Easy Camping Food Ideas Australia: 7 Day Camping Menu
Planning your camping meals ahead of time can make your outdoor adventure even more enjoyable. See our top picks for the best camping food ideas, from quick and simple meals to more gourmet options, including variations for vegan and vegetarian meals. So, get ready to explore with Road Trips Australia without sacrificing good food!
All you need for Camping Food Ideas!
Tips for Packing Food for Travel and Camping
So, packing food for your trip means you are preparing to depart on your adventure! Further, you want to make sure your food is packed well to avoid damage and easy to move from point A to point B. Plastic storage containers are great for food storage. Containers are ideal for protecting food during travel and protection from weather elements and animals (if kept outside while camping). You can also write the box’s contents with a whiteboard marker for easy recognition of the contents while being easy to move from home to vehicle, camp, and back again. Even if you have an RV (Recreational Vehicle), the right-sized container for food storage is useful.
Next, having a dedicated camping or travelling food box with essentials like flour, dried herbs and spices, salt and pepper, stock cubes, cooking oil, tea, coffee, and sugar is handy. The food box can be packed with canned food, noodles, pasta and muesli. When departing on your trip pack the fresh ingredients in your fridge or esky.
Pack your car fridge or esky for cold food with heavy items at the bottom, like drinks and meat, with light salad and vegetable items on the top. Pack beverages in the fridge daily so they don’t take up valuable food space. Further, don’t put things in the fridge or esky that don’t need to be refrigerated, for example, apples and water.
Camping Food Ideas Australia: Your Next Adventure Awaits
From camp snacks to easy camping meals with a hint of gourmet. Real food, with recipes that are adaptable to the ingredients you have (or don’t have) while camping or on a driving holiday. After all, meals are essential to a camping experience, so look at our list to inspire good eating wherever your location in the outdoors.
Fruit and Vegetables:
Start with staple fruit and vegetables, ideally fruit that doesn’t need refrigeration or cooling:
- Apples, pears, oranges, mandarins, bananas. Dried or canned fruit can be added as a nonperishable backup.
- Potatoes, carrots (baby carrots are a great road trip snack also)
- Salad bags like mixed salad leaves, slaw kits, and stir fry kits from the salad section of your supermarket are an easy base for meals and pack well into a fridge or esky.
- Cabbage can replace lettuce, as it has a longer life and is more robust. Thinly sliced cabbage with salad dressing is a fast and easy salad!
Easy Camping Snacks:
Enjoy quality time outdoors with shared afternoon snacks:
- Cheese and crackers.
- Fruit, baby carrots, cut vegetable sticks with dip.
- Corn chips and dip.
- Cheese and fruit platter with crackers.
- Trail mix.
- Pop corn / potato chips.
Be prepared for your next outdoor adventure with these easy camping meal ideas!
Easy Camping Breakfast Ideas:
See these suggestions for easy camping breakfast ideas. Be prepared with easy breakfast ingredients for travel days, as well as ingredients for a relaxed cooked breakfast on in-camp days.
- Muesli, cereal, fruit, yoghurt, breakfast bar (fast breakfast on the go)
- Rice cakes or Cruskits are a good replacement for toast on the go. Top with peanut butter, avocado or jam!
- Pancakes: Top with your choice of fruit, yogurt, bacon, maple syrup, and berries.
- Banana French toast. Recipe here.
- Omelet spinach wraps.
- Bacon and egg wraps or rolls.
- Noodle Omelette. 4 Step recipe here.
Easy Camping Lunch Ideas:
Lunch can be enjoyed on a scenic roadside stop, at camp or a packed lunch for day hiking or sightseeing. If travelling through a town, it’s nice to have a break from food preparation, support a local business, and enjoy a pub lunch.
- Salad and cold meat wraps or rolls.
- Noodle cups.
- Ham cheese/cheese tomato pesto toasties (toast them at a park with a gas BBQ or on your gas stove).
- Sausage sizzle.
- Support a local business with a pub or cafe lunch!
Easy Camping Dinner Recipes:
Discover these simple, delicious and easy camping meal ideas. These recipes are adaptable to various ingredients, some with vegan alternatives.
- Burgers. You can’t beat a burger for a tasty easy meal in the outdoors. Burger recipe here.
- 3 ingredient grilled chicken thigh, and slaw salad. 3 ingredient recipe here.
- Noodle bowls. No cook noodle bowl recipe here.
- Pan Pizza. Add the toppings you like on a pita bread – NO OVEN NEEDED!. Pan pizza recipe here.
- Packed pesto pasta salad. Pasta salad recipe here.
- Hot plate stir fry. Stir fry recipe here.
- Camp Oven Roast Lamb.
See the downloadable camping food shopping list!
Easy Camping Dessert Ideas:
After a day full of adventure, finish off with dessert. Enjoy your sweet treat your unique surroundings, perhaps by the camp fire, under the open sky with shooting stars!
- Smores. Are the BEST, see our s’mores recipe here.
- Large choc chip biscuits are a nice camp fire treat. If you have ice-cream, make a biscuit ice-cream sandwich!
- Chocolate mousse. (store bought tubs).
- Home made brownie. A great make ahead camping treat.
Downloadable Camping Food Shopping List:
This shopping list supports the 7-day meal plan listed above. You can choose three meals and shop accordingly if you have limited space.
| Fruit / veg: – Apples, oranges, bananas, pears – Blueberries or strawberries (for breakfast) – Mixed salad bag, baby spinach bag, – Slaw kit x 2, stir fry veg bag. – Capsicum (for pizza and pasta salad) – Cherry tomatoes (for pasta salad and pizza) – Baby carrots (for roast lamb + snacks) – Small potatoes + sweet potato (for roast lamb) Meat: – Chicken thighs (for BBQ chicken thigh) – Bacon (for breakfast) – Shaved ham (for lunch wraps and pizza) – Mince or burger patties (for burgers) – Diced chicken or beef mince (for stir fry) – Salmon cans (for lunch sandwiches/wraps) – Eggs Dairy / dairy alternative: – Milk or almond, oat, milk – Cheese slices/block cheese – Mozzarella or vegan cheese (for pizza) – Natural yoghurt tub (for breakfast) – Chocolate mousse tubs – Ice cream (if freezer onboard) Bread / cereals: – Pita/roti bread / flatbread (for pizza) – Wraps / sandwichthins / English muffins / bread (for breakfast and lunch) – Rolls (for burgers) – Pasta (for pasta salad) – Muesli / cereal – Chock chip cookies (bakery) | Snacks: – Ritz crackers (for Smores) – Rice cakes or cruskits (for toast replacement) – Corn chips / popcorn / chips – Muesli bars – Dried fruit / nuts – Marshmallows and chocolate block Pantry: – Canned fruit – Canned pineapple (for pizza) – Canned corn – Pancake mix – Noodle cups – Rice noodles (for noodle bowls) – Pizza sauce – Pesto sauce (for pasta salad) – Aioli or good relish (for lunch wraps and burgers) – Chang’s sesame noodle dressing (for noodle bowl) – Soy sauce (for noodle bowl) – Ground coffee/coffee/tea – Salt/pepper/meat seasoning – Cordial or preferred drink Other: – Sunscreen – Repellant – Mozzy coils – Lighter – Rubbish bags – Alfoil – Dishwashing liquid + hand soap |
Now, you have a comprehensive guide to camping food ideas. With everything from camping snacks to easy camping dinners, you can even finish off with a sweet treat to enjoy by the campfire! Now you know how to enjoy outdoor adventures without sacrificing good food. Further, we have created a camping checklist so packing is stress-free and easy, as well as a guide to camping cookware and camping kitchen utensils. So start looking for your next epic road trip with Road Trips Australia – travel made easy!
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