If you’re an avid hiker and camper like I am, you’ve probably spent a good deal of time preparing your meals for your trips. Nothing can boost the morale of a tired and hungry group than a successfully executed camping meal. Whether you’re cooking over a fire or on your portable stove, here are a few of my personal favorite recipes for your next camping trip (all recipes are for single servings).
Pita Pizzas
The first recipe up on our list is near and dear to my heart, as it was introduced to me on my first overnight backpacking trip. When I was sixteen years old, I went camping with my uncle for the first time and was shown the wonders of the pita pizza.
This recipe is perfect for a car camping trip as cheese should be preferably kept in a cooler. However, if you’re planning on an overnight trip, just freeze the cheese the night before and by the time to make it to your camp, it will be defrosted and ready for the pizzas.
Ingredients
- 1 pita bread
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 5-7 mini pepperonis slices
- 1 ½ tablespoon pizza sauce
Instructions
Like all the recipes on this list, making the pita pizza is actually quite simple! Just take your pita bread and spread your sauce on evenly covering the bread. Add your cheese and pepperoni on top and wrap pita pizza in foil.
If you’re cooking with a campfire, place your foil-wrapped pizza on the edge of the fire, making sure to turn it every few minutes. The cooking speed depends on how hot your fire is but a good rule of thumb is to check after about ten minutes or until your package begins to omit excessive steam.
If you’re using a portable gas stove, turn to medium and place your foil-wrapped pizza on a pan for about ten minutes. Once you’ve decided your pizza baked to your liking, remove from heat, let rest for two minutes and enjoy!
Bangers and Mash
This next recipe can use vegetarian or meat sausages for a delicious dinner. However, I personally feel very heavy after eating this meal with real meat so I tried vegetarian sausages as a replacement, much to my liking! I’ve been cooking with Beyond Meat Sausages and I really like the texture and how well-seasoned they are. This recipe is also great for a car camping trip or one-nighter.
Ingredients
- 2 vegetarian sausages
- 1 packet instant garlic mashed potatoes
- 1 red bell pepper
- ½ onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
Slice the onion and bell pepper into long strips. Pour olive oil on the pan and heat. Once the pan is hot, add your onions. Once they start to “sweat” and turn translucent, add your bell peppers and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add your sausages to the pan and cook until blackened on either side. Once your sausages, bell pepper and onions are cooked, turn off heat and set aside. Boil a small pot of water and add slowly add to your mashed potatoes until a creamy texture has been achieved. Serve with skillet mixture and enjoy. Note: this meal can also be prepared on a campfire by making a “foil packet” with all the ingredients and rotating it along the edge of the fire.
Lemon Pepper Salmon and Wild Rice
This final recipe is a staple of mine for almost all my adventures, as it’s cheap, quick to make and can be substituted with wild-caught fish for the ultimate outdoor dining experience. In it’s basic (but oh so delicious form), this meal consists of just a few ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 packet “Chicken of the Sea” lemon pepper salmon
- 1 packet “Knorr” herb butter rice
While the above ingredients are used in the budget backpackers version, it can easily be elevated by catching your own fish and making your own herb rice, which can easily be done by adding desired herbs and a teaspoon of olive oil while your rice is cooking. Let me tell you, making this dish with freshly caught lake trout with fresh lemon and salt and pepper is mind-blowing.
Instructions
For the budget version, bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small pot. Add your rice and stir until the grains have softened and are ready to eat. Add your lemon pepper salmon on top and enjoy! Feel free to add veggies such as cucumbers (which can conveniently be stored in a Nalgene bottle to make cucumber water) or bell peppers for some extra veggies!