I love cooking and eating outdoors. Certain aspects of life slow down a bit when you’re spending time in the wild. Building a fire, prepping for meals, wandering aimlessly around camp, time just seems to stand still at camp. Personally, I use this slow time to cook delicious meals that the crew will remember, and talk about, for a while. But planning meals for a camping trip can feel overwhelming. What food should you bring for a 3-day trip? How do you keep things simple yet delicious? I’ve got you covered with this complete 3-day camping food list and meal plan. Eating is essential. So, stick around for this one.
Table Of Contents
Camping Cooking Essentials
Before diving into the meal plan, let’s simplify the outdoor cooking experience. I love cooking over an open flame on the campfire, but the truth is it can be unpredictable. Also, if you are cooking for more people than yourself and maybe a companion, an open fire pit can be difficult to manage and hot, particularly in the summer. A good tent stove can be a game-changer for the backcountry chef. They provide consistent, direct heat for cooking delicious meals even in bad weather.
The best part is that modern tent stoves are lightweight, efficient, and can turn your ordinary camping trip into a gourmet dining experience. Whether you’re heating water in the pitch black predawn for morning coffee, or simmering a 2-hour stew, a quality tent stove is worth its weight in gold.
What You’ll Need
Before I get to the downright tasty recipes, here are some items to consider keeping in your Camping Kitchen. I keep a semi-waterproof hard case full of all my kitchen essentials. When the trip is on, the kitchen and tent stove are ready to go.
- Tent stove or portable camping stove
- One medium-large pot with lid
- One large 2” skillet or sauté pan
- One large 14’ Dutch Oven (optional)
- Spatula and serving spoons (multiple spoons)
- Sharp knife and medium-sized cutting board
- Aluminum foil
- Reusable plates, bowls, and utensils
- Insulated mugs (coffee/cocoa/soup/stew)
- Dishwashing supplies (biodegradable soap, basin, scrubber)
Keeping these goods in your supplies will ensure that no matter what you’re cooking, you’ll always be prepared. Depending on the size of your group you may consider a smaller/larger pot and sauté pan, but I’ll leave that up to your discretion.
Camping Meal Planning
It’s important to consider the types of activities you and the crew have planned during the trip. My rule of thumb is that I’ll cook everyone a hearty breakfast and a killer dinner. Lunch, you grab from the designated cooler. For that, I keep a stash of easy-to-grab, on-the-go snacks that are nutrient-dense and don’t result in a lot of waste. Here are some tasty items to consider:
- Granola bars
- Fresh fruit (apples, pears, bananas, oranges all travel well)
- Yogurt cups (eat them first)
- Trail mix
- String cheese
- Packable veggies (carrots, celery sticks, avocado)
- Tuna pouches
- Tortillas or packaged crackers
A little trick I’ll tell you to increase calories and flavor: spoon the humus into a sandwich bag before you leave home or hit the trail. When you stop for lunch, snip off the corner of the bag and squeeze out the humus like a pastry funnel. Spread the flavor, and don’t forget to share.
The Most Important Meal of the Day
Breakfast, Day 1
If you arrive at camp the night before, I imagine you were up in the dark hours arranging camp and situating your gear. I like to get everything squared away for the morning or the night before. That first morning in camp, I like to make a statement. For this meal, I’m going to use the 14” Dutch Oven. All the magic happens in one pan, and there is too much flavor to track. Here’s an ingredient list:
- 6-8 russet potatoes, peeled, sliced
- 1 lb. thick-cut peppered bacon (my favorite)
- 12 large eggs
- 3+ cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- One large onion, julienned
- 2 red & 2 green bell peppers
- Garlic, salt, pepper
Get a morning fire going and get your Dutch Oven in there with half a stick of butter. Combine all the ingredients and half the cheese and mix until everything is evenly distributed. Keep it hot on the coals with the lid on for 25-30 minutes. When you open the top, the smell alone will have camp drooling. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. When the cheese is melted, it’s ready to serve. I like to serve it with salsa, as hot as you can stand it. A simple, one-pot meal that will keep the crew going all day.
Breakfast, Day 2
On day 2, I like to get going fast and early. On the second day, everyone in camp knows the score, and they have their adventure planned out. What we’re looking for is some protein and fats to get us going quickly and some carbs to keep us rocking all day. For this breakfast, I get the tent stove going and start grinding out linked sausage. At another station, I prepare for One-Eyed Jacks (some people call them Toad in the Hole).
Hole out the center of the bread with a cookie cutter and save the circle piece. Crack an egg into the center and fry it up over-easy. Toast the circular slice and serve it all together. Voilà: One-eyed Jacks. Serve them with the sausage and your team is going to be pumped. Here’s an ingredient list:
- Eggs (consider the size of your group for two eggs/person
- Sausage links (3-4 per person)
- Toast (I like wheat, two slices per person)
One-eyed jacks are a fun meal everyone in camp will steal and try at home. It’s okay. Let them have this one.
Day 3 Breakfast:
The last day. There is always that longing for more time in the wild, more time to explore, more time away. I try to encourage everyone to wait until after breakfast to break camp. I send them off on one last adventure super early and come home to one last good meal together. They will be stoked to put off the packing chores and leave you some time to prep.
For this one, it’s not difficult and it’s fun and delicious. I must thank my grandma for this as it was the practice in our family summer camps. At home, before shipping off to camp, prep everything for an extravagant omelet bar. It’s so simple, yet so brilliant. Of course, you should prepare whatever you want, but here are some ingredients to consider:
- Eggs (duh, and plenty of them)
- Ham
- Bacon
- Sausage
- Chorizo
- Smoked Salmon
- Onion
- Red/green/yellow bell peppers
- Tomatoes (and Sun-dried tomatoes)
- mushrooms
- Spinach
- Avocado
- Artichoke hearts
- Olives
- Jalapenos
- Green Chilis
- Cheddar
- Swiss
- Feta cheese
- Goat cheese
This is just to name a few. My Grandma B used to keep a chalkboard at camp and suggest pairings for the omelets. Sun-dried tomatoes/olives/artichoke hearts/feta for a Mediterranean Delight. Or corn, black beans, jalapenos, and green chilis for the Taste of New Mexico. Set everything up in a line and let the people make their own omelet. The DIY Omelet experience is the only way to close out camp.
Ring the Dinner Bell
In considering a 3-day camping food list, remember that two of those meals are highly important dinner meals. It’s the meal that everyone looks forward to after a long day on the trails or chugging up a stream with a fly rod. Keep in mind, with any of the meals or ingredients on this list, feel free to prep at home. If you don’t want to break down 10 bell peppers for omelets the morning of, then do it at home and throw them in a plastic bag. Same goes for some side items for dinner.
For these two meals, I’ll make a camping food list and from that, you can mix and match to create your own meals. Some people might not like corn on the cob with steak. Others might want some mixed veggies in a bowl as opposed to a burrito. The options are limitless with this list of ingredients. So here’s what’s cooking:
Protein:
- Marinated Flank Steak: These can be grilled and served separately for personal steaks, or cut into slices and used in a burrito or fajita bowl.
- BBQ Chicken: Marinate some bone-in chicken thighs (they’re cheaper, too!) in your favorite barbecue sauce. Eat them whole or throw them in a bowl.
- Tilapia or Cod: Not everyone prefers red meat or chicken, so keep some fish on hand for some optional fish tacos, or a perfectly grilled piece of cod.
Veggies:
- Corn on the Cob: Pre-wrap it in tin foil and let the fire do the work for you.
- Baked Potatoes: Same instructions as the corn above.
- Sweet Potato: Diced and tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add an onion and cook these in your skillet. A game changer.
- Green Beans: The kids say they don’t like them but toss them in honey and a pinch of red pepper flakes and the sweet ‘n hot will have them lining up.
- Leaf Lettuce: For those that like the lettuce wraps, let us accommodate.
- Tomato: A thick slice of tomato with salt is an immensely refreshing side dish.
- Leftovers: Anything left from breakfast can be added to a bowl with a protein. Waste not want not.
Starch/Carbs:
- Bread: Have plenty of it. The only thing you want more of at camp than bread is eggs.
- Tortillas: Bread Light. Make a perfect burrito or throw one in your pocket as a snack. You can’t go wrong.
- Rice: I’ll be honest, while I’m a stickler at home, I just bring instant rice for camp. It’s a good addition to any meal.
I like the group to have an opinion on what’s for dinner. If I have this list in front of me, I can make various meals with tons of flavor. Regarding flavor, one thing that is important to keep in your Camp Kitchen is a private stock of your own spices. Keep them there, check on them before you leave home, and never resort to stealing from that stash. Good ingredients and proper spices are the foundations of your 3-day camping food list. Eat healthy and remember: In the wild you’re eating for two.
No Comment! Be the first one.