Avoid Campground Cooking with These 12 Premade Camping Meals

The Dyrt

Camping gives us the opportunity to trade the chaos of work, errands, and traffic for a weekend under starry skies in the presence of good friends or family.

Getting everything together for your trip to the woods can be a lot of work, however, especially when preparing meals for your people. To make things easier, we’ve rounded up 12 premade camping meals for you to prepare at home and reheat on a campfire with your best pals. Leave the ramen at home and try these delicious breakfasts, lunches, and dinners that will leave everyone in your group happy, full, and impressed with surprisingly gourmet meals.

Premade Camping Meals For A Painless Weekend Trip

These delectable premade camping meals leave you with one less step while in the beautiful backcountry of your choice. You can make these meals the week before your trip, so there’s more time to be enchanted under massive redwood trees or enjoy a hike under the warm southwest desert sun.

Breakfasts

1. Breakfast Burritos

A true classic and an easy premade camping meal option. No one can resist the delectable southwest stylings of a breakfast burrito, warmed on the campfire to start the day.

At Home:

To prepare at home, cook up your favorite meat and veggie ingredients like eggs, bacon, sausage, peppers and mushrooms. Then add the ingredients to a tortilla of your choice. Add cheese to top. Roll the tortillas in in your preferred style and wrap them in tin foil. Keep them in the fridge or freezer until you leave for your trip.

At Camp:

Throw the foil packages on the campfire when you’re ready to eat, or take them out of the foil and fry on either side. Make sure to bring hot sauce for guests who like an extra kick, or taco seasoning to add some flavor if desired.

2. Pancakes

Pancakes are a must-have at the campsite and pair well with scrambled eggs and sausage. Making the batter ahead of time gives you the chance to enjoy a fresh homemade batter, rather than a store-bought brand with questionable ingredients.

At Home:

Mix together 1 ½ cups flour, 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp sugar. Then pour in 1 ¼ cups milk, 1 egg and 3 tbsp melted butter and mix until smooth.

Store batter in enclosed a water bottle in the fridge until ready to head out on your adventure.

At Camp:

Simply pour mixture on campfire griddle when you’re ready to start the day and enjoy fresh hot cakes.

3. Overnight Oats

Overnight oats are a staple among premade camping meals. There are dozens of overnight oat recipes around the internet, you’ll just have to do some research on which flavor combinations you like. We’ve listed some of the basics to make the base, but the fruits and spices are up to you.

At Home:

Simply combine your favorite overnight oats ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate overnight. Typically, you’ll start with old fashioned oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, honey and vanilla. After that, the toppings are up to you; some popular flavors are apple pie and banana nutella. For inspiration, check out this list of 15 overnight oats recipes.

At Camp:

Either eat them cold or warm them over the fire in a camping stove. They are delicious either way and an excellent way to start the day with a high-protein meal.

4. Banana Bread

This banana bread recipe is simple, but will leave your friends raving while enjoying a fresh slice paired with a cup of joe at the campsite.

At Home:

Ingredients:

2-3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup of butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

Start preparing your banana bread by preheating the oven to 350°F, then grease a 4×8-inch loaf pan. Whip the butter and sugar until smooth and beat in the eggs, followed by bananas. Mix in the flour and baking soda. Pour this batter into greased loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, inserting a tester until it comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes, then remove loaf from pan to cool completely.

Store your bread in an easily portable container and put in the fridge until you are ready for your trip.

At Camp:

Eat the bread cold or throw on the campfire grill for a toasty treat.

Want an adventure of your own? Find free camping near you

Did you know that almost all states in the US have free camping?

Although, some of it is not-so-great and can be hard to find.

There is an easier way:

Hand-picked free campsites
Pre-saved to your phone
The best in all 50 states

It’s the only hand-picked list of 5,000 free camping locations that you will find anywhere.

It comes with a bunch of other features like last-minute camping texts, offline maps, etc.

You can check it out for free today by starting a free 7-day trial. After the 7-day trial, the membership is just $35.99 for a full year of access — well worth it if you camp more than 2 times per year.

Lunches

5. Peanut Butter and Banana Rolls

These wraps are a classic, and easy to throw in your day pack if you spend lunch on the trail rather than at the campsite. They can be a premade camping meal at home, but are incredibly easy to prepare at the campsite as well.

At Home:

Use a whole wheat tortilla and spread on peanut butter, other nut butter, on the tortilla and add sliced banana. Feel free to add chocolate chips or nutella or replace the banana with your favorite fruit jam.

At Camp:

If you and your party decide to eat them at the campsite, warm them up on the campfire grill in tin foil so they are toasty and extra tasty.

6. Instant Noodle Cups

Surprisingly, ramen noodles are a fantastic premade camping meal to enjoy mid-day. They fill you up, but aren’t too heavy, so you can continue being active in the outdoors soon after eating them. Save some time and make these instant noodle cups in mason jars for your friends or family ahead of time. When you’re ready to eat them, just pour in hot water and they are ready to go!

At Home:

Ingredients (with options):

1-3 teaspoons flavor base: soup stock paste (like Better Than Bouillon), miso paste, curry paste
1-3 teaspoons flavoring extras: chili-garlic sauce, soy sauce or tamari, coconut milk, sesame oil, Sriracha or other hot sauce
1/4-1/2 cup filler ingredients: frozen corn, frozen carrots, frozen peas, diced tofu, cooked meat, dried or thinly sliced mushrooms, thinly sliced spinach or other hearty greens, kimchi, soft-boiled or hard-boiled egg
3/4-1 cup noodles: cooked udon, cooked yakisoba or ramen, cooked soba noodles, cooked spaghetti or fettuccine, cooked rice noodles, cooked shirataki noodles, dry vermicelli or maifun noodles
1/4-1/2 cup fresh ingredients: fresh herbs, sliced green onions, bean sprouts, sliced lime or lemon

Place the flavor base and flavor extras in the bottom of a glass mason jar, then top the base and extras with the filler ingredients. Add the noodles and finish with the fresh ingredients. Seal the jar and refrigerate your noodles until it’s time to leave for your trip.

At Camp:

All you have to do at camp is pour hot water in each mason jar and your cup of noodles is ready to go!

7. Pasta Salad

Pasta salad serves as a fantastic and filling camp lunch, but can also be a side dish depending on the daily activities of your camping lifestyle. There are hundreds of pasta salad variations, but our favorite is this Tuscan Pasta Salad from The Recipe Critic:

At Home:

Ingredients:

16 ounces bowtie pasta, cooked and drained in cold water
1 7-ounce jar sun-dried tomatoes in oil drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 6.5 ounce can sliced olives
1 cup spinach
1/4 cup basil chopped
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Dressing: 3/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 2 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon dry oregano, 1 teaspoon dry basil, 1 clove garlic black pepper to taste

Cook the bowtie pasta. When the pasta is finished, combine it with sun dried tomatoes, bell peppers, olives, spinach, basil, and parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Toss until combined.

To make the dressing, whisk olive oil, vinegar, water, salt, sugar, oregano, basil, garlic and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Store the dressing separately from pasta so the pasta doesn’t get soggy before camping.

At Camp:

Add the dressing and enjoy cold.

8. BBQ Black Bean Tacos

A vegetarian’s delight, these tacos are filing, protein-rich, and delicious. Burgers and hot dogs get old, so try something different, but equally as tasty. This premade camping meals is simple and easy to prep. Don’t forget the homemade pear or peach habañero sauce to pair.

At Home:

Ingredients for 6 tacos:

2 1/2 cups cooked black beans
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt & black pepper
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
6 small flour tortillas

Add black beans to a mixing bowl and add the paprika, chili powder and cumin as well as salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and mash the beans a bit. Add the corn and grated cheese and mix once again. Add the filling to each of the 6 tortillas. Then wrap the tacos in aluminum foil or beeswax wrap and store in the fridge until your trip.

At Camp:

Cook tacos on a campfire grill over the campfire. The tortillas can burn easily on the bottoms, so be conscious of how long they are on the grill. Cook for just a few minutes, until the bean mixture is hot and the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Dinners

9. Chili

This dinner classic will sustain your camping guests after a long day of camping and hiking activities. Lots of people have their favorite chili recipe, so feel free to add any changes to our recipe. This heat-and-serve solution and premade camping meal is simple, but tasty.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup onion
2 cups of diced tomatoes
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
2 cups of kidney beans
2 tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheddar cheese

At Home:

Cook the beef and onion in skillet until meat is cooked and the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans and chili powder and mix. Add salt and pepper as you like and reduce to a simmer. Cover and keep heat on low for 20 minutes. Store in fridge until you leave!

At Camp:

Warm your chili in a cast iron pot over your campfire grill and keep everyone happy with this comfort food favorite.

10. Kabob Skewers

Kabobs are a lot of fun at the campground and very easy to make at home. There are so many different kinds of kabobs, but our favorite is this unique Mediterranean spin from The Road Map. These Italian Prosciutto Skewers are simple, yet gushing with flavor. Campers looking for a gourmet premade meal can assemble ingredients on a skewer at home, and store in the fridge for transit to the campsite.

At Home:

Ingredients:
Prosciutto
Mozzarella in balls
Cherry Tomatoes
Basil

Add tomatoes to skewer, then add mozzarella, wrapping the prosciutto around the mozarella. Create this formation until you have as much food on each skewer as you’d like.

At Camp:

Grill kabobs over the fire until the tomatoes blister. Add a bit of olive oil, salt, and paprika to taste.

11. Mac and Cheese

This delicious recipe from Lauren’s Latest is mouth-watering. Make sure to store the mac and cheese in individual pie tins, which will make it easier to bring this premade camping meal to the campsite

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
8 oz prepared Alfredo sauce {just over half a jar}
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4-1/2 cup half and half or whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste

At Home:

Cook the pasta according to package directions, then drain and rinse in cold water. Stir in alfredo sauce into the cooked pasta with the three cheeses and enough milk so that your mac and cheese doesn’t dry out while it’s staying cool. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Divide between four mini aluminum pie tins sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and store in the fridge until it’s time to leave.

At Camp:

Prepare your fire, but let it burn down to coals before cooking the mac and cheese. Place a cooking rack 2-3 inches above the coals. Then, put each pie tin filled with mac and cheese on top of the rack. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until it is hot and serve when ready.

12. Margherita Campfire Pizza

This classic is one of the most shareable premade camping meals. We recommend making a few different pizzas with different toppings to suit your party’s food preferences and dietary needs. Keep the pizza in the freezer until you leave, then put it in the cooler until it’s ready to cook over the fire.

At Home:

Prepare ingredients on pizza dough and store for later. These pizzas are so much fun to cook over the campfire, so you’ll want to leave them raw until they’re ready to cook.

Ingredients for Margherita pizza:

Store-bought premade pizza dough
Tomato sauce
1 Tomato
2 cups Mozzarella cheese
Basil

At Camp:

Oil a cast iron pan, baking sheet or pizza stone, and place the premade pizza in it and out over the fire. Cover and cook until the bottom has brown toppings are warm. Remove and enjoy!

This article was brought to you by Morsel Spork.