By guest, Jessica Miller
Food may be fuel for survival, but a real glamping chef goes above and beyond. Cooking without a two-door fridge and conventional oven doesn’t mean you’ll be left roasting beans in a can (and speaking from experience, that does NOT work in real life... trust me). These gourmet camping food ideas will make you feel like you’re dining at a 5-star Michelin restaurant with a million dollar view: 360 degrees of mother nature.
Breakfast
The most important meal of the day. And after a rough morning of sleeping in while surrounded by all your favorite pillows and soft things, you’re going to want to kickstart your day with a delicious breakfast. Here are a few of my favorites:
Overnight Oats
I eat these at home, and they are the perfect candidates for a fantastic and utterly hassle-free breakfast. You can make them at home and pack them ahead of time, or bring the fixings with you and leave them in your cooler or minifridge overnight. All you need is an airtight jar, oats, seeds, fruit, milk, and anything else your heart desires. This overnight oats recipe at Hurry the Food Up will show you just how easy and customizable it is.
Pack-It-In Eggs
Omelette you finish, but there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy a fresh omelette out in nature. Best of all, there’s a way to do it without all the fuss of keeping your eggs intact in the cooler. At home, fill a sealable bottle with pre-cracked and pre-whisked eggs. Pack it up and you’re good to go! In the morning, it’s literally as easy as 1-2-pour into your non-stick frying pan. For added gourmet factor, chop up your favorite omelette ingredients and toss them into the mix.
Campfire Cinnamon Rolls
Oh no she did not just.... Oh yes, yes she did. There’s no turning back once you’ve discovered how easy it is to make toasted cinnamon rolls over an open fire. Don’t believe me? Check out this crazy simple recipe on Delish.com
Lunch
For most campers, lunch is typically a mixed bag meal of sandwiches and sparse handfuls of trail mix. But for the dedicated glamper, lunch can still be a luxurious mid-day meal. Here are a few lunch glamping food ideas to get you started:
Asian Cucumber Salad
It’s all too easy to make camping a big ol’ carb fest. It makes sense; produce has a shorter life span and needs to be kept cool, while things like bread last and take less effort to store. But I like feeling healthy and energized outdoors and this salad is an effortless, refreshing, delicious solution. Soggy salad greens are a non-issue when your main ingredient is a few resilient cucumbers! See the recipe here at JoyfulHealthyEats.com. I like to toss in a handful of almond slivers for added protein.
Mac n’ Cheese
Okay, so I guess not every meal has to be Jenny Craig approved. But when it’s this easy and this tasty, exceptions can be made. LaurensLatest.com has the recipe for basic camping mac n’ cheese, but I highly recommend adding in some chopped veggies and protein to make a next-level gourmet camp meal. Your fellow glampers will thank you.
Wraps
There’s no reason to settle for sandwiches when wraps and roll-ups are just as easy, twice as healthy, and three times as pretty. Here is a curated list of wrap suggestions from Cosmo, but it’s really up to you. I like cabbage wraps with avocado, rice noodles, cucumber, shredded carrots, sesame seeds, and teriyaki tofu. Beats PB&J, doesn’t it?
Dinner
Get ready for endless possibilities thanks to the miracle of tin foil. These recipes can be made using a camping stove or an open flame. Bon appetit!
Paella
Paella is a traditional Spanish dish that was practically made for camping. Full of flavor and endless variety, it’s hard to go wrong. Bust out your biggest frying pan and cook a family size meal in no time. This artichoke and poblano paella recipe looks killer and boasts a total cook time of just 45 minutes. Talk about posh camping food!
5-Star Hobo Packs
Don’t let the name deceive you-- hobo packs are a staple of camp-out cooking that can easily be glampified with gourmet ingredients. These flavor-filled foil packets are easily one of the best foods to take glamping. Load up tin foil boats with your favorite dinner menu items, cover, and open-flame roast to create everything from potato gratin to gnocchi to lobster scampi (now that’s some fancy camping food). It’s like a one-pot camping recipe, except better because you don’t even need the pot! It’s also great for dessert, but we’ll get to that later...
Gourmet Campfire Pizza
Maybe you’ve been hiking all day, and maybe you’ve been tanning on a pool chair by the riverbank – either way, you deserve pizza. It’s surprisingly simple (and fast) to make on a grill. I like how easily this recipe on TheBaldGourmet.com breaks it down, although my ideal toppings are soyrizo, bell peppers, onions, spinach, and mushrooms... om nom nom nom nom.
Dessert
No way we’re leaving this out!
Banana Boats
My friend Brad introduced these to me on a camping trip in Angeles National Forest and my life will never be the same. How easy is it to slice a banana longways in half, load it up with chocolate, marshmallows, and fruit, and toast over an open flame? Literally that easy. Get the recipe here and customize to your heart’s content.
Barbecued Apple Crisps
Remember those hobo packs? They’re as handy for dessert as they are for dinner. All you need are some oats, spices, and apples over an open flame. Let nature handle the rest! Recipe here at CookingWithJax.com.
S’mores
Here’s a philosophical quandary for you: if someone goes camping and they didn’t have s’mores, did they even really go camping? S’mores are the ultimate camping classic. Fun to make, and so dang delicious. While there’s nothing wrong with the traditional s’mores recipe, here are some exciting and simple spins for a decadent end to a sweet day.
What are some of your go-to fancy camping meals? Let us know in the comments below! And don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more glamping and camping content.