40+ Make Ahead Camping Meals for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
These easy make ahead camping recipes can be prepared before your trip which frees up so much time when you’re camping.
When it’s time to make breakfast, lunch or dinner, simply pull these meals out of the fridge or cooler, heat them up, and enjoy.
Going camping is all about enjoying nature and relaxing. But let’s be honest, figuring out what to eat while camping can be a headache, especially for a family or large group.
Make-ahead meals are the secret to stress-free cooking outdoors so you can spend less time cooking and more time playing.
In this post, you’ll find easy meals that the whole family will love, including:
Make your camping meal prep even easier with this free 3-day camping meal plan template.
a note from Jenny
I have four young kids (and we all know kids can be picky eaters), so I understand the importance of making quick camping meals that kids will actually eat.
I’ve personally made almost all of these recipes (or a version of them) while camping. You’ll find tips for how to reheat each one at your campsite.
I included a variety of different flavors and cooking techniques with the hopes that you can find the perfect make ahead camp meals for your family.
Happy camping (and eating)!
Make Ahead Breakfast Camping Recipes
Breakfast meals are my favorite meals to prepare before a camping trip. It makes mornings so much easier AND everyone still gets a filling, delicious breakfast.
(Of course, cereal is also a completely viable option as well to make breakfast as easy as possible. No shame in that!)
A few simple make ahead camping breakfast ideas include making a loaf of banana bread before your trip, pre-making individual containers of overnight oats, or pre-cutting fresh fruit.
But these 11 breakfasts are my favorite recipes that can easily feed the whole family:
01
Breakfast Burritos
Handheld meals are the perfect kind of food for camping because it means no dishes! Make these camping breakfast burritos from Peanut Blossom before your trip and wrap them individually in foil or place them in one large aluminum pan. Heat on a grill grate until they are warmed through and then enjoy!
02
French Toast Casserole
For those of you that have a sweet tooth right when you wake up, this French toast casserole from The Recipe Rebel The will be perfect for your next camping trip! Pre-make this casserole before your trip in an aluminum pan, freeze it if you’d like, and then cook it on a grill grate over the fire.
03
Baked Egg Muffins
Egg muffins are almost like little handheld omelets and can be customized with so many different mix in options. These baked egg muffins from Yellow Bliss Road can be made ahead of time and heated up at your campsite. I prefer to keep these refrigerated rather than frozen, because eggs can take on a slightly weird texture once thawed. However, if you need to make them more than 5 days in advance of your trip, you’ll want to freeze them.
04
Breakfast Taquitos with Sausage Links
These Breakfast Taquitos from It Tastes Better from Scratch are one of the easiest make ahead breakfast meals to heat up while camping. When making them ahead of time, place them in aluminum foil or an aluminum pan and heat up all of them at once over hot coals.
05
Baked Oatmeal Cups
My family loves these oatmeal cups from She Likes Food because of the variety of flavor choices. An added benefit is that they are made with healthy, simple ingredients. I make two to three different versions before our trip and each person can heat up their own oatmeal cup in aluminum foil over the campfire. Or, my kids have been known to also just eat them cold. (Peanut butter banana is our favorite!)
06
English Muffin Breakfast Sandwiches
We LOVE this easy camping breakfast from Tastes Better from Scratch. Make the egg muffin sandwiches before your trip and heat them up over the grill, fire, or in a skillet with a lid on a propane stove. Using bacon, sausage, or ham are all delicious ways to customize these breakfast sandwiches.
07
French Toast Loaf
This has to be the easiest way to make French toast while camping. The best part about this French toast recipe is that it can be premade before your trip for an easy camping breakfast. Of course, don’t forget the maple syrup on top!
08-11 More breakfast recipes
- Baked Oatmeal Casserole – Make this in a large aluminum pan before your trip and reheat the entire pan while camping or divide it into smaller portions and heat them up individually.
- Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole – This egg casserole filled with sausage and veggies is my favorite large egg bake to make before a camping trip.
- Sheet Pan Pancakes – Bake these thick, fluffy “pancakes” before your trip for the easiest breakfast ever. Or, pre-mix your pancake batter at home and store it in a jar to simply cook the pancakes at your campsite.
- Egg & Sausage Breakfast Sliders – Assemble the sandwiches in one large aluminum pan before your trip and then put them on a grill grate to reheat for a savory, hot breakfast while camping!
Make Ahead Camping Lunch Recipes
Personally, when my family camps, we rarely have a campfire going around lunch time. For this reason, I almost always plan sandwiches, salads or other cold foods to make at our campsite.
I also know plenty of people want to get the most out of their camping experience and love to cook over the campfire for every meal. You’ll also find recipes allow you to prepare multiple sandwiches at one time before your trip. Some can be eaten cold and others you can heat up over the fire or a grill.
12
Chicken Salad Roll Ups
Chicken salad is one of my favorite cold salads to prep before a camping trip. It can be used on sandwiches, with crackers, or just straight from the bowl. You could also roll up chicken salad in flour tortillas (from Yummiest Food) for an easy and portable lunch meal while camping.
13
Chicken Parmesan Sliders
These sandwiches from I Am Homesteader can be made all at once, heated up in one large aluminum pan or foil pouch, and they will serve the entire family. When prepping these sandwiches before your trip, be sure to cook the chicken tenders, let them cool, and then assemble the pan of sandwiches.
14
Cheeseburger Sliders
Pre-make “cheeseburgers” for the entire crew before your camping trip with these cheeseburger sliders from Cookies and Cups. This is definitely the easiest way to make cheeseburgers for lunch while camping!
15
Cauliflower “Potato” Salad
This healthy spin on a classic potato salad is my all-time favorite make-ahead salad. Not only do I bring this cauliflower salad on camping trips, I also love making it for BBQs and outdoor picnics because it can be made ahead of time.
16
Greek Chickpea Salad
I like to make a full batch of my Mediterranean Bean Salad before a camping trip and store it in a large ziplock bag. Then, I use it as a side dish or a full camping lunch. It stores very well in the fridge/cooler for a few days.
17-22 more lunch recipes
- Philly Cheesesteak Loaf Sandwiches – Fill a full loaf of bread with all the Philly cheesesteak fillings before your trip and simply heat it up over the open fire.
- Chicken Pasta Salad: A complete meal that can be prepped before your camping trip and eaten cold – no cooking required!
- Sheet Pan Quesadillas: Make a massive “quesadilla” before your trip, cut them up, and eat cold or hot for an easy lunch.
- Club Sandwich Pinwheels – These rolled up “club sandwiches” are a great way to pre-make multiple lunches at once.
- Whole Wheat Pretzel Dogs – Make these homemade pretzel hot dogs ahead of time and just heat them up for an easy lunch or dinner.
- Southwest Quinoa Salad – This cold salad is perfect to make before your trip because it stores really well in the fridge.
- Ham and Cheese sliders on Hawaiian Rolls – Simply heat them up over the grill or campfire for a hot, delicious lunch sandwich.
Make Ahead Camping Dinner Recipes
After a long day of hiking, swimming or exploring, spending a ton of time prepping dinner is the last thing I personally want to do.
I usually bring at least one pre-made dinner with on every camping trip for the night that I know will be the hardest to make a full meal.
Here are a bunch of delicious and easy camping meals perfect for dinner.
23
Chicken Tortilla Stew
This is an easy one pot dinner that can be assembled ahead of your trip in a gallon sized ziplock bag, frozen (or refrigerated), and cooked in a dutch oven or slow cooker while camping. Simply dump the contents in your dutch oven and cook over charcoal for about an hour. Add your favorite toppings for tacos on top.
24
Make Ahead Camping Mac n Cheese
Prepare this macaroni and cheese ahead of time and store it in aluminum pans. Then, cook it on a grate over the campfire which creates a hot and melty campfire mac and cheese with crispy edges – the BEST kind there is!
Clearly, this is one of my kids’ favorite camping meals.
25
Dutch Oven Potato Soup
This creamy dutch oven potato soup from Campfire Foodie is delicious for dinner on a crisp night. Sauté the onions and bacon before your trip and precook the potatoes. Then, add everything to a ziplock bag and cook over the campfire in a dutch oven.
26
Skillet Philly Cheesesteak
This one pan recipe from Homemade Heather is an easy way to make Philly cheesesteaks while camping! Slice all the ingredients before your trip and heat up everything in a cast-iron skillet over the campfire or camp stove.
27
Mediterranean Chicken Foil Packets
Prepare this Greek chicken and veggies meal before your trip, cook them over the fire in foil packs, and you have a complete meal without any hassle!
Here are 35 MORE foil packet meals that can be prepped before your trip and cook up right over the fire.
28
Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Make this pulled pork from Fresh Off the Grid before your trip, and then freeze or refrigerate it until you’re ready to heat it up at your campsite. It stays moist and delicious!
29
Camping Taco Skillet
Put a fun spin on taco night while camping with this easy one pan taco skillet recipe from Homemade Heather. prepare the ground beef before your trip for an easy camping dinner.
30
Mexican Stuffed Pepper Casserole
Prepare one pan stuffed pepper recipe from A Cedar Spoon and stop before the last step. Let it cool, refrigerate it, and pack it up in the cooler. When it’s dinner time, heat it up in a cast iron skillet and add the cheese on top and cook until melted.
31-40 more dinner recipes
- White Chicken Chili – Combine everything in a freezer bag and then dump in a cast iron dutch oven to cook over the coals.
- Cauliflower Pizza Casserole – Another make ahead dutch oven recipe that puts a healthy twist on pizza while camping.
- Steak Fajita Foil Pack Meal – Make these fajitas before your trip and wrap everything up in foil packets to throw in the campfire to heat through.
- Chicken Ranch Potato Foil Packets – Another easy tin foil dinner that cooks up in one delicious bundle!
- 3 Bean and Beef Chili – Cooking the ground beef at home makes this an easy recipe to dump in your dutch oven to heat up at your site.
- Beef Stroganoff – Add the ingredients to a gallon-sized plastic bag and then add to a cast iron dutch over to cook over the coals, or bring a crockpot with you!
- Chicken Broccoli Alfredo – Another easy freezer friendly meal that can be prepped and stored in a ziplock bag. You can serve this over egg noodles cooked on the camp stove.
- Beef Pot Roast – It’s an easy way to make pot roast while camping because everything can be cooked up in one pot over the campfire.
- Italian Meatball Subs – Pre-cook the meatballs in sauce and then heat them back up while camping for an easy dinner.
- Hamburger Hobo Dinner Foil Packets – Hamburgers and potatoes can be prepped in foil packs before your trip and thrown over the campfire to cook.
Other Make Ahead Camping Meal Ideas
Even if you don’t want to prepare a full meal before your trip, there are plenty of ways to simplify your camp cooking by preparing parts of your camping menu ahead of time.
- Pre-slice fruits and veggies and store in an airtight container in the cooler (silicone ziplocks are my favorite for this)
- Pre-cook your meat, especially ground beef, shredded chicken or pork
- Pre-mix any dry ingredients for baking (I use this trick for my Chocolate Orange Cakes and cornbread mix)
- Crack eggs into a large mouth bottle for easy transport and less mess at your site
Check out my other 20+ camping food hacks that will make packing, meal prep and clean up so much easier! I personally use all of them!
I hope these easy camping recipes inspire you to create the perfect meal plan for your next camping trip, especially one that doesn’t require you to be cooking the entire time!
Looking for more campfire meals? I have over 35 pie iron recipes that are sure to spark some new ideas for your camping menu!
These meals will save you time and effort, so you can simplify your next family camping trip and spend more time enjoying it in the great outdoors!