Whether you are headed out for a weekend camping trip or choosing to go hiking for a day or two in the backcountry, bringing along what you would consider gourmet food doesn’t have to be difficult. Typically when you think about camping trips, you often think about junk food items like hot dogs, hamburgers, and easy to grab salty snacks and although these are tasty and delicious, they aren’t necessarily healthy. Rather, spruce up the food spotlight with some of these amazing pre-cook and non-cook meal options!
No-Cook Recipe Options for Your Camping Adventure!
Not everyone enjoys sitting down and cooking an entire meal after a day venturing around the camp doing outdoor activities like swimming, hiking, and canoeing. For those who do not want to make a complicated meal while out and about camping, bring along some of the below no-cook meals! Keep in mind though, you will still need some cooking tools like a can opener, tin foil, a cooler, ice, utensils, a cutting board, and some resealable bags (think freezer bags). Let’s break these down by mealtime!
- Breakfast Options: whether you are the type of person who doesn’t want to eat in the morning or someone who just wants to get on with the activities of the day, the following meals are a great way to start the day.
- Fruit Salad With Nuts: this is a healthy way to begin the day. Just throw together some of your favourite seasonal fruits and add in some nuts! This isn’t a crazy filling breakfast but it sure is delicious and healthy.
- Breakfast Salad: this is as simple as adding in some beans, corn, carrots, and greens and then add in some eggs. If you do want the eggs, make sure to boil them prior to leaving for the trip!
- Cereal With Fruit: again this isn’t as filling as some breakfasts, but add in some fruits to make it more flavourful!
- Peanut Butter and Bananas: this is a great way to get a little bit of protein, potassium, and carbohydrates to set yourself up for the day. It’s quick and very easy to put together!
- Lunch Options: if you are looking for lunch that you can take with you while out and about away from the campsite, then you’re in luck!
- Sandwiches: grab some bread, add in some vegetables, cheese, meat and enjoy on the go! If you are a vegetarian, try using vegetables, tomato, olive oil and your favorite toppings instead of meat!
- Bean Salad: if you are planning on doing extraneous activities, create up a bean salad as this has lots of fun protein to keep you going! Take your favorite beans, add in some spices, add in some green onions, peppers, and tomatoes!
- Tuna Salad: this is very easy to make, has a ton of versatility to it as you can add in pasta, vegetables and more and it can be eaten with bread or crackers!
- Dinner Options: these options are perfect for those who don’t want to wait for their food to heat up after a long day.
- Pitas/wraps: these are incredibly easy to make and only require a few ingredients to be filling. Add in some roasted turkey, roasted beef, chicken and choose to load it up with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cheese, vegetables, and your favorite sauce.
- Dinner Spreads: take options like salsa, guacamole, and bean dips and pair them with sliced vegetables, dipping chips, and shredded lettuce and cheese.
- Cold Pasta: if you want a heavier meal, try cooking up some pasta, adding in some celery, onions, and peppers and mixing it with your favorite sauce. You could even add in meats like chicken and tuna to add some protein or opt for some beans.
Campfire Cook-Out Meal Ideas: Yes, You Can Eat Gourmet Style!
If you enjoy cooking even while camping, then check out the following recipes for some gourmet meal options!
- Breakfast options: campfire scrambled eggs with clarified butter and water. Although this is a simple meal that isn’t always considered gourmet, when done with the right amount of spices and over the fire, these eggs can really come to life. Or, if you would rather go for something a bit sweeter, you could do campfire toasted cinnamon rolls or even granola over the fire which requires maple syrup, vegetable oil, rolled oats and almonds or pecans. If you prefer something a little saltier, you can make bacon and cheese pull-apart(s) or a potato, egg and bacon scramble!
- Lunch options: for lunch, you could try making some chili dogs, which will require chili, barbecue sauce, hot dogs, onions, cheese, and hot dog buns. If you would prefer to add in some potato to your lunch, go with a double baked potato and add some cooked ham, bacon, and cheddar cheese on top. If you really wanted some fries to spruce up your hamburgers, try making some grilled sweet potato fries with olive oil, garlic, and chili powder.
- Dinner options: if you are feeling some pizza and have access to a dutch oven, you can make dutch oven pizza rather quickly and easily. All you require is some dough, pepperoni, tomato sauce, a little bit of oil, and cheese! Other options include casseroles as these are very filling and make a lot per serving, or you could go for a lighter meal like quesadillas!
The great thing about campfire cooking is that you can get creative regardless of what types of tools you have available to you! Don’t have a dutch oven, make a pizza over the fire with a pan and grill rack! Don’t like chili hot dogs, swap out the chili for a sweeter sauce! If you are willing to put in the cooking work, you can truly make some delicious gourmet meals without any issues. The key thing here is to remember that cooking on an open fire is going to bring out a flavor you’ve never had before in these traditional meals, which is what is going to make them taste all the more amazing!