Camping Cooking Essentials
Regardless of whether you’re camping in your RV or a tent, many of your memories will be made from the delicious meals you have enjoyed while camping. You can set up a portable kitchen to make meal preparation much more enjoyable and with a little planning and prep, it’s easy to make delicious meals while camping.
Most of your favorite meals are adaptable for camping, while some could require a couple of variations.
Prepping and planning
Getting organized and prepping your meals can be a time & money saver. Cleaning and chopping your vegetables, blending your marinades, omelets, pancake mix, and dressings at home can save a ton of time and messy cleanup. I have found repurposing those plastic squeeze bottles from emptied condiments and coffee creamer, make great containers to use for liquids, such as cracked eggs, pancake batter, and very easy to store in the cooler. Dry mixes and spices store well using various sizes of plastic storage bags.
Meal Ideas
One-pot dinners, soups and pastas are ideal for camping.
Foil meal packets are so easy to make and serve and cleanup is a breeze. A cast iron pan and dutch oven are wonderful for cooking on the fire. Be sure to bring grilling gloves, fire starters, foil, and skewers! I have used a portable induction burner while camping with electricity both inside the camper and outside! If you do not have access to electricity then you can purchase a small propane cooking stove. These are essential to have for emergencies during power outages anyway!
Camping Shopping List and Essential Outdoor Kitchen Ideas
If you are on a budget, you can look for camping gear at thrift shops and yard sales. I have provided a shopping list of really useful camping gear and tools below with links to find them online at amazon.
I have stored most food items in sealed plastic containers, however this previous camping season I was stunned to find that mice love freeze dried espresso sticks and they ate an entire bag of them while gnawing their way through my brand new plastic containers. Who knew that mice would eat their way through plastic that had no food but only a bag of coffee sticks. With that in mind, I strongly suggest utilizing glass containers. It will ward off those pesky little critters and the mason jars can be used for many other things. Perishables are best kept in a camping refrigerator or a cooler. There are so many portable brands to choose from. I purchased one locally that has served me well found on Facebook marketplace. If you are using a cooler, you can use smaller stacking plastic bins, or freezer zip lock bags to keep things dry and clean.
Helpful Outdoor Kitchen Shopping list
- Camping kitchen table with built in sink
- 6 gallon slim tanks for self contained grey water
- Ice maker
- Silicone cutting mat set
- Silicone Heat Protective Glove Set
- Instant Fire Starters
- Camping Cook set
- Grilling Tools
- Power cord waterproof with usb
- https://amzn.to/3LgsaS1
- Paper towel condiment holder
- https://amzn.to/3Ngiybq
- Fridge/freezer
- Camping tablecloth for picnic table
- Mr buddy
- Cast Iron Camping Set
- Dewalt rolling camping organizer
- Instant fire starters
- Propane camp stove w/ windshield
- Potable camp oven
- USB Water Pump for water container
- Matches, firewood, charcoal, and propane canisters
Written By Terry Sasser – Girl Camper Media and NC chapter guide
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