From breakfast and camp breads to cheesy appetizers; to elevated favorites like burgers, pizzas, pastas, stews, steaks and kabobs; to catch-and-cook seafood—and of course, the perfect sides, condiments and desserts—we’re sharing our favorite recipes to take camping.
It is no lie: Everything tastes better outdoors.
That doesn’t mean we’re going to be eating hot dogs the entire trip—though no offense to hot dogs and they do, in fact, taste better cooked over a campfire. But we love a variety of good food. We love it everywhere we go, and a camping trip is no exception.
Here’s the thing about camping: At any given campground there are some silent but fierce competitions that include everyone—whether they know it or not. One is a visual contest and you can watch it as it happens: Camping gear aficionados walking the roundabout way to the restrooms while scoping out everyone’s gear. We’ve got skin in the game in the camp kitchen category but not too much. We all know the true winners are the sorcerers creating delicious foraged meals over an open fire with some sticks, never mind the gear. And we’re going to need some cast-iron accouterments (at the very least).
The other contest—the one we’re in it to win it—is an olfactory one. With a mind to privacy it’s hard to see or taste what everyone’s cooking but, boy, can we smell it. And one of our favorite fragrances (nose-to-nose with the smell of cinnamon pretzels at the airport and bread baking in the oven) is the divine aroma of an amazing dish cooked over a smoky campfire. We will go the distance to make sure that the smells (and tastes) coming from our camp kitchen are intoxicating.
Starting with breakfast and camp breads and marching on to cheesy appetizers and elevated favorites such as burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, pastas, stews, steaks, kabobs and roasts, we also include catch-and-cook seafood recipes in case our camping trip is also a fishing or clamming trip. And of course, we can’t forget the perfect sides and sauces to accompany our every meal and the best desserts to end them. Just keep scrolling for our favorite recipes to take camping.
Well-fed campers make the happiest of campers.
And we wish you happy camping!
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We all know that the early riser responsible for perfuming the air with the hunger-inducing smell of sizzling bacon or sausages wins breakfast. You won day one, along with some well-deserved stink-eye, so what’s your plan for day two? We’ve got some ideas.
This surprisingly easy recipe even includes a simple pizza dough made onsite, and the kiddos can help with the making. Get creative with the toppings and don’t be afraid to work in any leftovers from the previous day.
Recipe from Edible Michiana
You’ll want to prepare and pack the homemade chicken sausage (though store-bought is an option) in advance. Want to make it even more simple? Also prepare the potato hash in advance so that all you have to do come breakfast time is heat everything with the eggs in a cast-iron pan.
Recipe from Edible Ojai & Ventura County
You may have limited room in your cooler or you may be thinking of what to eat towards the end of your camping trip. You need recipes that include only ingredients that can be stored without refrigeration for at least four days. Edible New Mexico’s Cast-iron Chilaquiles is a simplified version that’s still rich and flavorful. Or try Edible San Luis Obispo’s Open Fire Cast Iron Shakshuka for a deeply tangy, earthy and smoky concoction with yolky eggs that is simply divine with grilled crusty bread. Want to add cheese? Hard, aged and low-moisture cheeses can be safely unrefrigerated for several days, especially if they are whole, vacuum-sealed or waxed. Or make this shelf-stable homestead feta cheese.
Image: Cast-Iron Chilaquiles, Edible New Mexico
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Campfire baking may be the ultimate outdoor cooking project but these recipes make it easy. An obvious choice for breakfast, these breads also make an excellent snack or side for lunch or dinner. They will keep in an airtight container for a few days so you can game-plan how to enjoy them the next day.
An even easier version of the tried-and-true Australian campfire classic—a big bowl and several sticks are all of the equipment you need and the kids can get involved in the making. Prepare and pack your favorite sweet (honey, Nutella or jam, for example) or savory (triple cream cheese, ham and cheese, etc.) filling.
Recipe from the Hungry Campers Cookbook
The official state bread of Texas, this flatbread was a staple for cattle herders in South Texas and Mexico. It is delicious freshly baked with loads of butter and honey (or jam), then save the remainder to serve as a side or to fill as a sandwich.
Recipe from Edible Rio Grande Valley
Hot just-baked biscuits at the campsite? With a cast-iron Dutch oven, you’ll be baking these buttermilk biscuits over a campfire in no time.
Recipe adapted from the Dutch Oven & Cast Iron Cooking cookbook
The perfect sidekick for just about any dish—but especially chili—this cheesy, buttery cornbread with a bit of a kick also makes an excellent snack that you can carry with you on any outing.
Recipe from Edible Vancouver Island
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Luxurious and indulgent, these easy-to-make sweet-savory dishes double as appetizers and dessert for your next camping trip.
Double or triple cream cheeses are fire-melted with fresh fruit, preserves or honey for an elevated take on the cheese board served fireside. Grab some parchment for Edible Bozeman’s Melted Triple Cream Cheese with Rosemary, Grapes, and Honeycomb; a cedar plank for Edible Sacramento’s Cedar Plank Brie With Roasted Grapes And Preserves; or some fig leaves for Edible Marin & Wine Country’s Fire-Melted Honey and Lavender Triple Crème Cheese with Crostini. Serve with grilled crusty bread or artisanal crackers. You’ll never leave for a camping trip without a double or triple cream cheese wheel ever again.
Image: Melted Triple Cream Cheese, Edible Bozeman
Grilled fruits paired with salty-tangy-creamy cheeses are the cheat code for an easy yet elegant appetizer or dessert and luckily for us, with the warm weather comes a bountiful variety of sweet fruits, including our favorite stone fruits. About now is when you’ll start seeing blushing ripe apricots for Edible Maine’s Grilled Apricots with Chevre and Honey. And bookmark Edible Boston’s Grilled Peaches with Feta and Ginger Honey for when peaches hit peak.
Image: Grilled Peaches with Feta and Ginger Honey, Edible Boston
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There’s nothing typical about these typically fast-food eats.
From stuffed blue cheeseburgers to shrimp and spiced cauliflower burgers, there are hearty options to satisfy every eater. Make and freeze the patties in advance of the trip so all that’s left to do onsite is cooking and assembly.
Recipes from Edible Communities
Image: Stuffed Blue Cheeseburgers, Edible Atlanta
Layered with robust flavors, crusty slices of bread are grilled then slathered with a homemade charred kale pesto to sandwich slices of salty and buttery grilled halloumi cheese.
Recipe from Edible Maine
A popular Israeli anytime street food that was originally a breakfast tradition brought to Israel by generations of Jewish Iraqis, this pita sandwich is stuffed with hard-boiled eggs, fried eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, parsley and topped with a tahini sauce. Prepare hard-boiled eggs in advance of your trip to make this even easier to prepare.
Recipe from Edible San Diego
Meaty, hearty and comforting, Edible Bozeman’s Bison Sloppy Joes are our go-to please-everybody recipe for feeding a lot of people quickly. And these Carne Asada Sandwiches from the Little Local Southwest Cookbook is how the carne asada we grill for dinner (leftovers are a must) gets repurposed for a quick lunch the next day.
Image: Bison Sloppy Joes, Edible Bozeman
Pack up everyone’s favorite toppings for a personalized pizza camping party with Edible Northeast Florida’s Pizza on the Grill or Edible Southeastern Massachusetts’s Summer Garden Flatbread Pizza recipes. You can also make the dough in advance and pack it up for your trip (kept refrigerated no more than three days in advance of eating) but you’ll need to account for at least an hour for the dough to come to rest at room temperature before cooking. You can also make the dough on site but account for 45 minutes of rising time.
Image: Pizza on the Grill, Edible Northeast Florida
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If your camping trip is also your fishing (or clamming, or shrimping) trip: Tight lines! We have got some fun ideas for your catch.
These recipes deliver the taste of the sea straight to your taste buds. Edible Vancouver Island’s “Jiffy” BBQ Clams are a delicious, easy and customizable way to enjoy fresh shellfish right at your campsite—and leave no dishes to be washed! And if you’re willing to share a little bit of white wine with your recipe, try Edible Delmarva’s Assateague Campfire Clams. Both recipes will work with clams or mussels, but if opting for clams, just be sure to allow for enough time for a good freshwater soak to get rid of the grit.
Image: “Jiffy” BBQ Clams, Edible Vancouver Island
Early (or late) in the camping season when the evenings are chilly, there is nothing more comforting than a hearty bowl of chowder or stew. Smoky and rich, Edible Michiana’s Panfish Chowder is everything you want from a chowder. Or if you prefer a tomato-base stew, this Easy Fish and Vegetable Stew from the Hungry Campers Cookbook is a simple and delicious recipe that’s hard to mess up. You can use almost any fish for either of these recipes except for super oily fishes such as mackerel.
Image: Panfish Chowder, Edible Michiana
We love dishes that go big on presentation and flavor while small on effort, and this recipe delivers. The whole snapper, scaled and gutted, is rubbed with oil and seasonings, wrapped in banana leaves then placed on the grill.
Recipe from Edible Sarasota
Mild, flaky and delicate, trout is simply best freshly caught and cooked over a campfire. Edible Vancouver Island’s Salt-baked Trout will result in the most straightforward and delicately moist and flavorful bite of fish you’ve ever tasted, but for a different take on day two also try the Cutthroat Trout in a Spinach Cream Sauce. The homemade dressing in The Blue Food Cookbook’s Campfire-Style Trout with Bacon and Italian Dressing flatters every seafood dish you can think of. If you’re roughing it (or just showing off), skip the pan and weave a cooking platform out of branches for Edible New Mexico’s Campfire Trout.
Image: Salt-baked Trout, Edible Vancouver Island
The flavor of wild-caught salmon shines in Edible Sea to Sky’s Alice’s Campfire Salmon enhanced simply with a four-ingredient sweet-and-savory sauce. And inspired by the land and the water, Edible Alaska’s Alder Skewered Salmon with Hot Spruce Drizzle is everything camping food should be—from the alder twigs gathered from the forest floor to the freshly caught wild salmon and the spruce tips foraged for the syrup.
Image: Alice’s Campfire Salmon, Edible Sea to Sky
An herby Italian-style salsa verde adds brightness to delicately sweet shrimp in Edible Atlanta’s Grilled Shrimp Spiedini with Salsa Verde. Or try Edible Sarasota’s Lemongrass-Lime Shrimp Skewers with an Asian-inspired marinade that’s slightly sweet and layered with the bright and slightly gingery flavors of lemongrass.
Image: Shrimp Spiedini, Edible Atlanta
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The best way to transport your proteins is frozen, so plan ahead and do the prep work (including cutting) before freezing—and if the recipe calls for marinating, marinate per the instructions before freezing.
As simple as a marinade can get, this one calls for just two ingredients to bring on the sweet heat: your favorite hot sauce and pure dark maple syrup.
Recipe from Edible OKC
Robust and beefy with meaty texture, you can’t go wrong with sirloin for beef kabobs. Shared by Edible Philly, Betty’s Beef Kabobs from the White Dog Cafe Cookbook is an heirloom recipe from a local legend, our definition of tried-and-true. For an herby sauce with some heat, Edible Vermont’s Sirloin–Eggplant–Onion Kabobs include a parsley pesto inspired by the Argentinian chimichurri sauce.
Image: Betty’s Beef Kabobs, Edible Philly
Pack your Dutch oven for this lasagna recipe that you can cook over the fire. Just because you’re camping doesn’t mean you can’t have pasta night.
Recipe from Dutch Oven & Cast Iron Cooking
A perfectly seared steak is one of the highlights of grilling over a fire and simple is best when it comes to steak. Ribeye is the star in Edible Denver’s Savory Campfire Steak with a pinch of seasoning and a little TLC. Go big or go home with Edible Sarasota’s Tomahawk that is basted with butter and bacon fat with an herb brush, or for something more approachable we love this Flank Steak with Corn Salsa with a homemade spice blend. For a little more oomf for your steak, grill a red onion alongside your steak for Edible Marin & Wine Country’s Grilled Hanger Steak with Grilled Red Onion Raita.
Image: Tomahawk, Edible Sarasota
This one will take a bit of dedicated time (two and half hours worth, to be exact) and a cast-iron Dutch oven but it’s the perfect recipe—and the perfect excuse—for enjoying a lazy day at the campsite.
Recipe from Edible Dallas & Fort Worth
Not anybody who tried these recipes. The apple cider vinegar adds tang and works as a tenderizer in this juicy and delicious Tangy Tender Grilled Chicken. A marinade made of yogurt and warm spices tenderizes and gives Indian-inspired flavor to Edible Dallas & Fort Worth’s Chicken Tikka Skewers. Brightly herbaceous with a bit of a kick, Edible Sarasota’s Chimichurri Chicken Skewers only requires marinating for 30 minutes but you’ll want to pre-make the marinade while you have access to a food processor or blender.
Image: Chicken Tikka Skewers, Edible Dallas & Fort Worth
Crusty, smoky and intensely flavorful, these fatty ribs are first cooked low and slow to tenderize the meat then finished on the grill to caramelize the lamb’s savory juices. This one will require some preparation in advance so you can just simply finish the ribs over the campfire but these exquisite ribs will make your best camping meal yet.
Recipe from Edible Marin & Wine Country
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Whether you’re vegetarian, a vegetable lover on a break from proteins or your plans to catch and cook went sideways, dig into these recipes chock-full of vegetables.
For Edible Northeast Florida’s Eggplant Parmesan Kebabs, skewers of eggplant, bread and tomatoes are brushed with your favorite pesto sauce and grilled, then the ingredients are removed from the skewers and tossed with cubes of mozzarella cheese. These Barbecued Mushrooms with Rosemary, Garlic, and Soy Butter from Grill Smoke BBQ prove that mushrooms are the real king of the grill. Or gather your favorite seasonal vegetables for Edible Denver’s Simple Grilled Veggies cooked in a foil packet.
Image: Eggplant Parmesan Kebabs, Edible Northeast Florida
There is a lot to love about this recipe for the classic Italian dish, the first being that it is delicious with lots of savory wood-smoked flavor. Also important is that none of the ingredients require refrigeration. And it is ready to serve almost as quickly as the dried pasta can cook. Need more reasons? How about its versatility? Leave off the parmesan cheese for a vegan dish and use a wheat-free pasta to make it gluten-free. You can also bulk up this dish with hearty vegetables or additional proteins.
Recipe from Edible Alaska
Campfire charred vegetables come together with a package of Mexican veggie ground round and homemade spice mix for a hot bowl of comfort on chilly camp days. Serve with avocado, cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream and a hefty piece of the camp cornbread shared earlier in this roundup.
Recipe from Edible Vancouver Island
The quickest and easiest of ways to feed (or fend off) a hungry crowd. Simply sauté your favorite vegetables in your cast-iron pan with a pinch of spices, spoon them onto warmed tortillas and top them with queso fresco, a squeeze of lime and cilantro. Add some salsa or your favorite bottled hot sauce for some heat. To bulk up this dish, try adding hard-boiled eggs cut into wedges.
Recipe from Edible Dallas & Fort Worth
Hiking through the backcountry? Food doesn’t have to be bland. Dry and freeze dried ingredients are not only lighter to carry, but they enable us to make a variety of flavorful one-pot meals like this one.
Recipe from Edible Alaska
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Elevate your meals with the perfect sauces, condiments and sides.
For some of us, a good salsa is a must-have condiment for any camping trip—they truly go with almost anything. This Raw Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde Cruda) from Eat Mexico is our go-to for a fresh, tart and spicy version. (If you prefer, the acid and spice can be toned down with the addition of avocado when blending.) Or try the Nixtaco Salsas shared by Edible Sacramento for two salsa varieties: a Salsa Negra that’s deeply smoky and the Habanero Pepita Salsa for a spicy and acidic salsa balanced by the nuttiness of the pepitas.
Image: Raw Tomatillo Salsa, Eat Mexico
Another handy condiment is a signature barbecue sauce. And when we’re out camping, we like them sweet with a good dose of heat or tang. Beyond their obvious purpose we often find ourselves reaching for the jar to use as a dip, slather onto pizzas, sandwiches and quesadillas, and more.
Recipes from Edible Communities
Image: Apricot Barbecue Sauce with Gochujang, Edible Philly
Tacos and nachos are go-to dishes when we’re out camping and these quick pickles elevate our game big time. If you’re like us and hot carrots are your jam, try Edible Sarasota’s Pickled Jalapeños and Carrots. If not, complete your campout taco bar with Edible South Florida’s Quick Pickled Red Onions or Edible Madison’s Quick-Pickled Jalapeños.
Image: Pickled Jalapeños and Carrots, Edible Sarasota
We love a versatile utility player. And these two utility recipes work as a side, a dip or a topping—and they’re excellent at buying us time against the hungry horde while dinner is on the fire. Edible Phoenix’s Barrio Cafe Guacamole comes together quickly so you can whip it up onsite and serve it up fresh. You’ll want to make Edible Dallas & Fort Worth’s Texas Caviar in advance as it does require cooking up the peas (or beans) and making the vinaigrette before assembling. For a bigger party, we make both.
Image: Barrio Cafe Guacamole, Edible Phoenix
A partly pick-your-own salad. We don’t usually pack a whole lotta leafy greens (except arugula is a must) on our camping trips so a salad is not often on the menu. But what if you could forage for that salad? Cue dandelion greens. Yes, that pesky “weed”. Dandelion greens are not only edible, they are highly nutritious and delicious—and every part of the plant, from the root all the way up to the bud, can be eaten. While you’re out camping, away from areas treated with herbicides and pesticides, pick the main greens for this salad.
Recipe from Edible Michiana
Corn season is synonymous with grilling season which is synonymous with peak camping season—making grilled corn an inevitably welcome addition to our camping meals. Go south of the border with this simple Mexican Street Corn with a recipe for homemade Mexican crema. Or for Italian-inspired flavors, go for this Grilled Corn with Smoky Aioli that blends mayonnaise, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, garlic, basil and sweet paprika.
Recipes from Edible Sarasota
Considered a delicacy in Native American and Mexican cuisines, nopales have a slightly crunchy and tender texture when grilled with a delicately grassy, slightly tangy and citrusy flavor that play the perfect side for grilled meats and are a great addition to salads or combined with other grilled vegetables. If you can forage for them, perfect. If not, you will likely find them at your nearest Mexican grocery store.
Recipe from New Native Kitchen, shared by Edible Phoenix
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Tradition demands a certain amount of predictability. So yes, there will be s’mores—loads of s’mores. But there will also be grilled fruits, cobblers, pies, brownies, dessert skewers and even cake!
There is no campfire treat more classic than a s’more and we know how to take them to the next level. For the real-deal marshmallows, make Edible Santa Barbara’s Homemade Marshmallows using real marshmallow root. If you can’t source the root but you’re still determined to make the ultimate from-scratch s’mores, Edible Vancouver Island’s Homemade S’mores include recipes for marshmallows (the now-conventional kind without marshmallow root) and homemade graham crackers to make ahead. Want something outside the box? Forget marshmallows with Edible Port City’s Melted Brie, Date and Nutella S’mores. And for kicks, find out what marshmallows reveal about personality with this fun illustration.
Image: Homemade S’mores, Edible Vancouver Island
When peaches are in season and the fire’s on, roasted and grilled peaches are sure to be on the menu. Like a mouthful of pie filling, Edible Boston’s Honey Roasted Peaches are roasted in a foil packet with honey, brown sugar, butter and warm spices and then sprinkled with nuts. Edible Sarasota’s Grilled Peach & Angel Food Cake Skewers with Honeyed Mascarpone are made easy by pre-making the honeyed mascarpone cheese, leaving only the assembly of the skewers.
Image: Honey Roasted Peaches, Edible Boston
Edible Denver’s Palisade Peach Skillet Cobbler is surprisingly easy to make and you won’t need to pack a dozen ingredients (though biscuit mix is one). Peaches make a brilliant cobbler in the summer but other seasonal fruits such as berries or apples in the fall work too. And if you go camping often and you have yet to add a cast-iron pie iron to your camp kitchen, these Campfire Fruit Pies from Dutch Oven & Cast Iron Cooking will tempt you to make the investment (you can even make paninis with them)—and you won’t be sorry!
Image: Palisade Peach Skillet Cobbler, Edible Denver
Brownies on the grill? It’s simple to make and the only equipment you need is a cast-iron pan, a mixing bowl and whisk (though a spoon or fork will do). You may not be able to serve this a la mode but a premade mascarpone whip or pistachio cream will work beautifully. And if there’s ever an occasion for canned whipped cream, it’s a camping trip.
Recipe from Edible Northeast Florida
Sweet dates become almost fudge-like as they caramelize on the grill and are the perfect match for the salty made-for-grilling halloumi cheese. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with pistachios to complete this sweet-savory dessert kebab.
Recipe from Edible San Diego
This elevated THC-infused chocolate lava cake is not for everybody, but if it’s for you, this cake goes all out so make sure you set aside some time before your trip to make most of the components in advance. Frozen THC-infused ganache balls are dropped into “Sea Smoke” malty chocolate cake batter, baked, then topped with marshmallow fluff. You can pre-make the cake (up through the baking) and prepare the marshmallow fluff in advance. At your campfire, reheat the lava cakes wrapped in foil or on the grill then pipe the marshmallow fluff on top. Pack a culinary torch to toast the marshmallow.
Recipe from Edible Maine
Want a drink with perfect camping vibes? Roast marshmallows on a stick and use them to create an edible drinking vessel for your beverage of choice (such as Baileys Irish Cream). For the kiddos, go untipsy and fill them with (not too) hot chocolate.
Recipe from Edible Vancouver Island
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Top image: From Edible Vancouver Island’s Chilly Day Chili, Photo by Lindsay Derer
