Cook a delicious meal for your family in a single pot so you can spend more time camping and less time cleaning.
Cooking healthy, homemade meals while camping can sometimes be challenging because of the limited space for packing and the hassle of prep and cleaning without a full kitchen.
Enter one pot camping meals – the perfect way to put a homecooked meal (or dessert) on the picnic table without much time or effort and far fewer dishes!
Most of these recipes can be cooked on a propane stove, which, in my opinion, is the easiest way to cook while you’re camping, especially if you are car camping or low on space.
Many of the recipes require only a 2.5 quart pot (or larger) with a lid, but a few do work best in a dutch oven or cast iron pan. Either way, none of these recipes require a separate bowl or pan!
Jump straight to the recipes:
Make Ahead One Pot Meal Tips
None of these one-pot camping meals are full make-ahead meals, but I suggest prepping parts of these meals ahead of time to make them that much easier to cook when at your site. Here are a few of my make ahead prep tips:
- Pre-cook meats and freeze them. They’ll act as ice in your cooler as they defrost and save the hassle of packing and cooking raw meat while camping.
- Pre-chop vegetables. Dicing the exact amounts of vegetables needed for your one pot meals saves you time and clean up of extra prep items. I use pre-portioned bento containers to separate different veggies for a meal, but any container will work.
- Pack only the spices you need in little containers. A bead storage container is my favorite for storing spices (even better than a pill container)! I look at all the meals I’ve planned for my trip and fill it with the spices I’ll need.
One Pot Camping Dinners
These camping one-pot meals are perfect for an easy dinner that the whole family will eat (and enjoy).
Marry Me Chicken with Orzo
This is my all-time favorite one pot camping dinner. It’s made with chicken breasts, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and orzo in a homemade cream sauce. Although it feels too fancy for camping, it’s SO easy and SO good!
See the one pot Marry Me Chicken dinner recipe here.
Beef Stroganoff
An easy twist on a classic homemade meal that tastes like it took more time to make than it did! I use ground beef for ease and cost, but you can also use beef steak instead.
See the one pot beef stroganoff recipe here.
Chicken Pot Pie Gnocchi
This recipe feels like home in bowl! This one pot chicken pot pie eats like a stew and uses gnocchi instead of bread or biscuits. The homemade cream sauce is so good!
See the one pot chicken pot pie gnocchi recipe here.
Turkey Pasta Bake
Pasta with a protein and fresh vegetables that cooks up entirely in one pot! I used ground turkey in this recipe, but ground beef or even cooked chicken breast would also be delicious.
See the one pot ground turkey pasta recipe here.
Zucchini Pesto Tortellini
This camp stove meal takes help from refrigerated tortellini and pre-cooked chicken sausage. It’s a complete meal with the fresh flavors of summer.
See the one pot zucchini pesto tortellini recipe here.
Dutch Oven Lasagna
Yes, you can make a full, homemade lasagna while camping! You’ll prep the filling layers at home and when it’s time to cook, simply layer then into a dutch oven and place over hot coals.
See the dutch oven lasagna recipe here.
Cheeseburger Macaroni
This camping mac and cheese doesn’t even require you to drain the pasta liquid! Everything cooks up in a dutch oven.
See the one pot dutch oven mac and cheese with ground beef recipe here.
Campfire Nachos
Although I usually make these campfire nachos in a cast-iron skillet, you can also make dutch oven nachos. Vary up the base ingredients and toppings to create the perfect camping meal.
See the campfire nachos in a skillet recipe here.
Chili Mac
This recipe blends the best of both worlds: smokey, spicy chili with creamy mac and cheese. It’s the perfect one pot dinner for a chilly night!
See the one pot Chili Mac recipe from Fresh Off the Grid here.
Camper’s Hamburger Helper
Ditch the premade box meals and make a homemade version of “Hamburger Helper” on your next camping trip.
See the one pot Hamburger Helper recipe from Amanda Outside here.
Thai Chicken and Rice
Cook up a tasty Thai dinner with peanut butter sauce on your next trip. Using pre-cooked rice packets makes this an easy camping dinner.
See the one pot Thai chicken and rice recipe from 5 Boys Baker here.
One Pot Camping Breakfasts
Although I do consider breakfast to be the most important meal of the day, I listed it after the one pot dinners, because I find that I’m much more likely to make a one pot camping meal for dinner as opposed to breakfast.
However, there are plenty of great reasons to whip up a full breakfast in one skillet or pot. You can feed all the hungry mouths at once!
Camping Frittata
Feed your entire camping crew a delicious egg and veggie breakfast cooked in only one pan.
See the cast iron skillet frittata recipe here.
Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole
Hands down – this is my kids FAVORITE camping breakfast, probably because it feels like dessert. Filled with fresh blueberries and cream cheese – this is not your average french toast casserole.
See the blueberry french toast casserole recipe here.
Spanish Eggs
Bring out the flavors of Spain with this classic dish that can be made in one pan right on a propane stove. Serve with tortilla chips for added crunch.
See the Spanish eggs with chorizo recipe here.
Hungry Man Breakfast Skillet
Everything you need to feed your entire camping crew is packed in this camping breakfast with potatoes, peppers and eggs.
See the mountain man breakfast from Camping for Foodies here.
Campfire Skillet Breakfast
A hearty breakfast filled with ham, potatoes, peppers and eggs that cooks up right over the campfire.
See the campfire skillet breakfast recipe from Real Life with Dad here.
Huevos Enfrijolados
This one pan skillet dish is a delicious way to make breakfast for four on a propane stove or over the campfire.
See the eggs in spicy beans recipe from Well Seasoned Studio here.
One PoT Camping Desserts
The only one pot camping desserts I make are in a dutch oven over pieces of charcoal rather than on a propane camp stove. The cast iron of a dutch oven retains and evenly distributes heat which creates the effect of an oven – perfect for baked desserts!
Many of these recipes are dump cakes which require no mixing. Just dump the ingredients in your dutch oven without even dirtying a bowl!
These dutch oven desserts are perfect for family camping and scout camping trips because one cake feeds at least eight people! I have a post full of my other favorite ways to cook camping desserts, including on a stick, in a pie iron, and in aluminum foil.
Baked Apples in a Dutch Oven
Although this dessert has the flavors of Fall, we still make it year round as a healthy, homemade one pot dessert.
See how to make stuffed apples in a dutch oven here.
Blueberry Peach Dump Cake
Use a bag of frozen blueberries and peaches to make this dump cake easy to pack and make.
See the blueberry peach dump cake recipe here.
Peanut Butter Brownie Dump Cake
The secret to this dump cake is the layer of peanut butter cookies at the bottom.
See the peanut butter brownie dump cake recipe here.
Cherry Chocolate Dump Cake
This camping cake has the perfect blend of rich chocolate and tart cherries and takes less only a minute to assemble.
See the cherry chocolate dump cake recipe here.
Strawberry Cheesecake Dump Cake
Strawberries, cream cheese and boxed cake mix make this an easy summer camping dessert.
See the strawberry cheesecake dump cake recipe here.
Dutch Oven Pineapple Upside Down Cake
I’m always impressed with myself when I flip over this beauty while camping! It’s as easy as layering in the bottom ingredients and then dumping in the other ingredients on top.
See the camping pineapple upside down cake recipe here.
Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls
Yes, you can have fresh baked cinnamon rolls while camping!
See how to use a dutch oven to cook prepared cinnamon rolls here.
Or, make homemade cinnamon rolls for camping with this recipe from Fresh Off the Grid.
I hope you found a recipe or two that you can bring on your next camping trip. Happy camping!