The Ultimate Guide to Pre-Made Camping Meals

Camping is about low-maintenance adventure, exploring the great outdoors and enjoying some quality time relaxing around the campfire. Once the final tent peg has been hammered into the ground and the first cricket begins chirping as the sun goes down, the last thing you need is to frantically rummage around the campsite when everyone asks "what's for dinner?".

To avoid this situation ruining your enjoyable camping experience, make ahead camping meals will save you time and stress when camping in the great outdoors. With a great selection of delicious pre-made breakfast, dinner and camp lunch ideas, our guide to the ultimate make ahead camping meals will save you time in the camp kitchen while making sure every camper enjoys a delicious pre-made camping meal.

Quick Links:

• Most Commonly Asked Questions
• Make Ahead Camping Meals For Breakfast
• Make Ahead Camp Lunch Ideas
• Make Ahead Camping Meals For Dinner

Most Commonly Asked Questions

What are the best foods to bring camping?

When you want to just grab something easy to eat that will still make sure your belly is full without all that effort of putting something together, then here is a brief list of the best essential foods to bring camping:

• Dried meats
• Nuts
• Eggs
• Dried fruit
• Rice
• Cheese
• Pasta
• Cereal
• Crackers
• Dehydrated camping meals

Can you make foil packets ahead of time for camping?

Since becoming a popular food trend in 2019, foil packets are excellent for pre-made meal ideas for a camping trip. As long as you seal them tightly, you can definitely make some foil packets ahead of time for your next camping trip. You can easily store them in camp freezers and fridges to retrieve them when you need them.

How can I eat cheap while camping?

You don't need to bring along a $500 piece of wagyu A5 steak to enjoy a delicious meal when camping. If you are camping on a budget, there are plenty of food options that will ensure you're eating cheap without sacrificing flavour. For example, leaving pre-prepared oats out overnight or making packet meals like mac and cheese are a tasty and cheap way to enjoy a nutritious breakfast.

How do you reheat rice when camping?

Rice is a cheap and amazing ingredient for making camp meals ahead of time, and it is very easy to reheat as well. To reheat pre-cooked rice when camping, all you need is a cast iron cooking pot filled with a small amount of water. Once the water is simmering, add in the rice and give it a stir to break it all down.

How do you pre-cook potatoes for camping?

One of the easiest ways to pre-cook potatoes before going on a camping trip is to pre-cook them in a microwave. Once they're done, take them out and then securely wrap them in tin foil, and then seal them in a sandwich bag. To reheat them, you have a lot of options such as simply chucking them in the coals or in a Dutch oven.

How do you bring eggs camping?

Eggs are not only great for organising make ahead camping meals but they are also very easy to store, and transport. If you don't want to pre-boil them beforehand, then you can just crack them into a zip-lock bag or a plastic bottle to make sure they don't get damaged during transport.

Make Ahead Camping Meals For Breakfast

As the sun slowly rises and dawn fades away into the horizon, one of the first tasks is to get breakfast on for the campsite. To save you time doing a million things first thing in the morning, here are our top make ahead camping meals for breakfast:

Scrambled Eggs

Eggs are the perfect food for bringing along camping as they are filled with nutrients and will ensure that you have all the energy you need for a long day of exploring the great outdoors - plus they're easy to pre-make ahead of time! Simply make the scrambled eggs how you normally like them and then take the pan off the heat and allow them to completely cool. Then transfer the scrambled eggs to a zip-lock bag and place in a cooler. To reheat them, place the bag into a pot filled with simmering water for around 10 minutes. Easy!

Pancakes

Looking for the easiest and more delicious pre-made breakfast meal to take camping? Then pancakes should be on the menu for your next camping trip! You can bring some packet pancake mix or make your own batter beforehand and then store it in a squeezy bottle. Then just light up the camp stove, pour it into a pan and enjoy some tasty and easy to make pancakes.

Oats

Three words to describe our next pick would be easy, cheap and delicious. Overnight oats will give you all the essential nutrients and vitamins you'll need for the day ahead and are a no-fuss pre-made breakfast.

Simply mix some oats, milk, chia seeds, milk and any other toppings you enjoy like maple syrup and fruit into a mason jar. Leave it in the portable camping fridge overnight and in the morning breakfast is already taken care of!

Breakfast Burritos

For a hearty pre-made breakfast meal when camping, breakfast burritos will really hit the spot. You can make them ahead of time by cooking ingredients such as pieces of sausage, chicken, bacon, onion, capsicum, mushroom and scrambled egg.

Once done, layer everything into some tortillas and wrap them up. Then cover them tightly in tin foil and place them in a freezer overnight. Keep them in your cooler during your camping trip and when breakfast time comes, simply place them on a grill or amongst the hot coals in the campfire for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Make Ahead Camp Lunch Ideas

Once the sun has reached its highest point and you've worked off breakfast, it's now time for lunch. And for the ultimate easy camping lunch, here are some of the tastiest and quickest choices for some of the best pre-made camp lunch ideas:

Pre-made Sandwiches

When you think of sandwiches as pre-made lunch ideas for camping, they don't have to be typical sangas with a slice of cheese and ham slapped together - they can be so much more. For example, you can pre-make this amazing BBQ chicken sandwich recipe for the ultimate camp lunch idea.

Before your camping trip, place some chicken breasts into a slow cooker with two tablespoons of Worcester sauce, 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce mixed with a tablespoon of water. Cook it for five hours on the high setting. Once done, pull apart the chicken and let it cool down, then transfer it into a zip-lock bag or plastic container.

When it's lunchtime, reheat it in a pan on the camp stove while toasting some buns. Then simply layer the bottom bun with some coleslaw, add in the BBQ chicken and enjoy a delicious pulled chicken sandwich for lunch!

Pre-made Wraps

Make sure you have your trusty tin foil handy because pre-made wraps are another great camp lunch idea that you can easily reheat and enjoy when relaxing at the campsite.

Just layer a tortilla wrap with whatever ingredients you prefer such as black beans, kidney beans, rice, corn, shredded cheese and any meats you like. Then wrap it all up, cover tightly in tin foil and place in the cooler until it's time to eat. As you'll be reheating them on the campfire coals in the tin foil, remember not to use liquidy and delicate ingredients such as lettuce and tomatoes.

Chilli With Rice

Not only is this a great choice for pre-made hiking lunch ideas when needing lots of energy, but it's also really easy to make and reheat at the campsite. Simply add 500 grams of minced beef, a teaspoon of smoked paprika, a pinch of salt, a crack of pepper, a sprinkle (or however much you want) of chilli powder and a teaspoon of cumin into a pot. Cook the mince until it's lightly browned.

Now add in a chopped onion, three cloves of diced garlic and a chopped capsicum and cook for about four minutes. Pour in two tins of diced tomatoes and a splash of red wine for good measure. Drain a tin of kidney beans, chuck it in and give it a stir. Cook the chilli for about half an hour and then turn the heat off and let it completely cool.

Pour the chilli into a large plastic container and leave it in the freezer overnight. Keep the chilli in a portable cooler when leaving for your camping trip and pour it into a pot over the fire or a large pan on a camping stove to reheat. Also bring along a loaf of bread to help soak up the chilli when eating. When it comes to easy and tasty camp lunch ideas, this one is hard to beat!

Noodle Cups

Why buy cheap noodle cups that are filled with large amounts of sodium when you can easily make it yourself and have it taste much better? The best part is, you can customise them exactly how you want! For this awesome pre-made camp lunch idea, all you need is a mason jar-like container with a lid.

Start by layering your noodle cup with your preferred flavour base going in at the bottom such as miso paste, soup stock paste or curry paste. Then layer in your preferred 'filler ingredients' like spinach, peas, slices of cooked meat, mushrooms and carrot pieces. For the final layer, add in the noodles (like ramen, soba, udon and spaghetti) and pack it all down.

When it's lunchtime, simply take your noodle cup out of the cooler, pour in some boiling water from the kettle and enjoy your pre-made noodle cup!

Make Ahead Camping Meals For Dinner

After a long day of hiking and exploring the surrounding sights, you'll want to sit down and relax by the fire - not slave away in the camp kitchen making dinner. When it comes to easy pre-made camping meals for dinner, here are our top picks:

Pre-made Chicken Enchiladas

Being easy to make ahead of time and tasting incredibly delicious, chicken enchiladas are an excellent idea for pre-made camping food for when dinner time rolls around.

The night before your camping trip, throw three chopped up chicken breasts into a pan with a diced onion and cook for about four minutes on high. Chuck in a drained and rinsed tin of black beans, one packet of enchilada spice mix (or whichever you prefer) and a bottle of enchilada sauce. Give it a good mix and leave it to simmer for eight to ten minutes.

Lay down some tortillas and layer each one with some filling in the middle with a little bit of cheese and then roll each one up. Then sprinkle a little bit of cheese, any remaining sauce and a dollop of sour cream on top. Wrap in tin foil and then place in the freezer the night before you go camping.

When it's dinner time, take each one out of the portable camp cooler and place on the hot coals or place in a pan over the campfire. Once the cheese is bubbling, it's time to eat!

Potato & Sausage Foils

For an easy and tasty pre-made camping meal that you can simply heat up and tuck into, potato and sausage foils will make sure that every camper goes to sleep satisfied.

Start by dicing eight potatoes into bite-size chunks, then grab some tin foil and cut out four rectangles leaving a one inch rim. Spray the inside of the tin foil with some cooking oil and then fill it with the potato chunks and a whole sausage or two. Now top it up with some green beans and a pinch of salt and pepper, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and then begin gently folding up the sides to resemble a pocket.

When it's dinner time at the campsite, place your potato and sausage foils onto some of the hot coals in the campfire and let them cook for around half an hour. Also remember to turn them at the 15 minute mark.

Pulled Pork With Bread Rolls

Ready for the ultimate pulled pork recipe that you can easily reheat at camp and enjoy as if it was cooked right in front of you?

You will need to first marinate a boneless piece of pork shoulder overnight for maximum flavour, which can be done by making a rub consisting of mixing together one tablespoon of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, two tablespoons of smoked paprika, one teaspoon of mustard powder with a pinch o pepper and salt. Then rub it all over the pork and leave it overnight.

The day before you go camping, switch on your slow cooker and add in two cups of water along with three tablespoons of tomato paste, two tablespoons of brown sugar and half a cup of apple cider vinegar. Give it a good mix and then place the marinated pork shoulder in and cook for eight hours on the low setting.

Once it's cooked, transfer the pork to a chopping board and strain all the liquid into a pan on the stove. While it's simmering for ten minutes, start pulling apart the pork and places the meat into a bowl. Once the sauce has been reduced by half, turn off the heat and start pouring one cup of the liquid over the shredded pork. When completely cool, place the meat into individual tin foil parcels and place in the freezer.

Once it's dinner time at the campsite, remove from the portable cooler and place the tin foil parcels on the hot coals or unpack the contents into a pan and heat it up in a pan on a camping stove for around three minutes. Cut a few bread rolls in half with some coleslaw or salad and you've got yourself a delicious and easy pre-made camping meal that everyone will love!

Pre-made Pizza Log

The aroma of pepperoni and cheese wafting from the campfire as you reflect on the day's adventures with friends and family - what could be better?

Defrost and roll out some store-bought pizza dough on a flat surface and cover it in pizza sauce, leaving about half an inch from the rim. Sprinkle on some shredded cheese and add your favourite toppings such as mushrooms, red onion, slices of pepperoni or slices of cooked chicken. Now gently roll the dough into a log shape and pinch the sides to make sure the dough sticks together, and then poke some holes in the top with either a knife or a fork.

To make sure it tastes delicious, melt two tablespoons of butter in a pan with a pinch of garlic salt, dried rosemary, salt and dried oregano. Spread it over the pizza log, wrap tightly in tin foil and then place in the freezer. When it's dinner time at camp, grab the pizza logs out of your cooler and place each one on the hot coals around the fire. After about half an hour, they'll be ready to eat!

Whether you're after some easy camping lunch ideas that are quick and easy to make beforehand or you're camping light and can't bring too much camp cooking equipment, try out some of our top picks for make ahead camping meals.

If you prefer to cook at the campsite, then check out our ultimate guide to easy camping food ideas and make sure you've got all the camp cookware and utensils you need by exploring our entire range at Anaconda today.