Car Camping Meals

Some of the best recipes and ideas for car camping. There are lots of good places to get ideas:

• Reddit TrailMeals
• Reddit HikerTrashMeals
• Reddit BackcountryGourmet
• Fresh Off The Grid (Apply content blocker liberally)

See Also

• Backpacking Recipes (There is some overlap there)
• Gear Checklist

Breakfast

• Bagels

  Put butter or oil on bagel or skillet, then toast bagel halves cut side down for a minute. Spread cheese packet stuff on it. Make coffee too.
• Pancakes

  Fill condiment squirt bottle about halfway with dry pancake mix. At camp, dump water in and shake/stir to mix. (Maybe bring a skewer or something to reach to the bottom.) Don't forget oil and a spatula.
• Oatmeal or cereal
• Breakfast Skillet (in tortillas)

  Serves 4

  • Oil, salt, pepper, chopped green onions, hot sauce
  • 1/2 Lb Yukon gold potatoes, cube ahead of time
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced ahead of time
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 1/4 Lb sausage
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar
  • Tortillas

  1. Cook potatoes in some oil first, they will take the longest to cook so go for maybe 15 mins
  2. Add and cook 5mins bell pepper. Add and cook 5mins onions and salt. Add and cook sausage until browned. Add and cook eggs. When almost done, add cheese. Serve in tortillas.
• English Muffin Sandwiches

  • Fried Eggs
  • Sausage patties or canadian bacon
  • Cheese
  • Salt and pepper, hot sauce, (hot) honey, etc.
  • Avocado
  • English muffins
• Two avocado toasts with a fried egg in the middle, like a sandwich

Lunch

• Pre-packed or store-bought sandwiches. PB&J or lettuce, meat, cheese.

Dinner

• Stuffing and ham - pretty easy

  Store-bought stuffing box, and ham steak. Prepare as you'd expect. I think the ham tastes way better when sauteed in some oil first, then eaten with the stuffing.
• Sausage and Tortellini Soup

  • Oil (ideally olive)
  • Mix in small container: 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp fennel seeds, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 Italian sausage, cubed or sliced before hand. If using an oily sausage like pepperoni, skip other oil.
  • 1/2 yellow onion, diced at home (Be careful not to let onion flavor escape!!)
  • 1.5 cup kale, chopped (This seems really resistant to lack of refrigeration.)
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed (Be careful not to let garlic flavor escape!! It goes through ziplock bags!) (Powder is fine)
  • 150g (5oz) dried tortellini (The winco stuff works fine)
  • 2 cups broth or means to make it (Boullion is fine)
  • Shredded parmesan to serve (Worth including, for real!)

  1. Heat oil in pan, cook sausage, garlic, and onion together until onion is soft.
  2. Add kale and cook until it wilts, add spices and stir. Add noodles and broth.
  3. Simmer until pasta is done.
  4. Serve with parmesan and an extra drizzle of olive oil.

  From FOTG

  Could be made into a backpacking recipe... Use dried onion flakes? But likely you'll have to cold soak the noodles a bit.

• One Pot Chili Mac

  This isn't as amazing as it sounds but still worth making once every year or two. Serves two hungry people.

  • Oil
  • Half an onion (DON"T dice ahead of time. It will nuke everything with onion flavor.)
  • Quarter pound ground beef
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder, 2 tsp cumin, 0.5 tsp smoked paprika, 0.5 tsp salt - mixed in small container
  • 1 clove garlic, minced (Same concern as above??)
  • 4 oz elbow noodles
  • Half of a 14.5 oz can kidney beans, drained
  • 3/4 cup beef broth or means to make it
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
  • Toppings: Minced red onion, jalapeno, scallions

  1. In pot with lid, heat oil on medium. Add onion and saute until translucent.
  2. Add ground beef, tomato paste, and spices. Break apart meat and stir everything together. Cook till browned.
  3. Add garlic and cook 30-60 seconds. Add noodles, beans, and broth, stir around.
  4. Cover with lid and cook 5-6 mins, or whatever noodle instructions say. Stir in cheese and serve with toppings.
• Burritos

  • Canned or dried refried beans
  • Instant rice
  • Shredded beef in shelf-stable bag
  • A few leaves of iceberg lettuce
  • Shredded cheese
  • Avocado
  • Tortillas
  • Hot sauce (CRITICAL)

  With this many ingredients, you only need a small amt of each for one burrito. Pick amounts accordingly. Knife and cutting board recommended...

• Curry rice

  Follow directions on box. Maybe do around 3/5 of a sauce box for two people. Cleanup can be kind of messy but this is an excellent meal. Don't pre-slice the onions, they will nuke everything with onion smell, even through plastic bags.

• Stir fry w/ rice

  • Frozen stir fry bag from grocery store.
  • Instant rice
  • Salt and pepper
  • Protein? Meat packet or other

  Pretty good, actually. Cleanup not too bad.

• Chicken Tacos w/ Spanish Rice

  Perhaps best brought in on an overnighter.

  • Packs pre-cooked chicken seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, lime zest (Heat up)
  • Top with avocado, queso fresco, red onion (be careful), cilantro, roma tomato
  • Sriracha sauce
  • Spanish rice on the side
  • Bring in a drink!
• Tacos

  Pinto beans, canned chicken heated with taco seasoning, cheese, lettuce, avocado, hot sauce.
• Foil Dinners

  Consider bringing a thermometer probe. Consider partially cooking the potatoes ahead of time.

• Trader Joe's pre-packaged salads
• One Pot Protein Pasta
• One Pot Beef Stroganoff

  • 1/2 lb strip steak, sliced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 8 oz mushrooms, quartered
  • 1 small brown onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups broth
  • 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1/4 lb wide egg noodles
  • 1/2 cup full fat sour cream, divided

  1. Quarter mushrooms, dice onion, mince garlic.
  2. Heat oil in medium or large skillet. Season steak with s&p, then cook in skillet. Set steak aside.
  3. Saute mushrooms 5 mins, add onions and cook 5 mins, add garlic and cook 1 min.
  4. Add broth, worcestershire, thyme. Bring to a boil. Add noodles and cook until they're done, stirring occasionally.
  5. Remove skillet from heat. Temper sour cream by mixing in some broth, then add it and steak back to skillet. Serve.

  From Fresh off the Grid

Snacks

• Carrots and hummus
• Celery and peanut butter
• Apples
• Trail mix and Winco bulk treats