20+ Make Ahead Meals for Camping

Today I am sharing my ultimate list of make ahead meals for camping. You guys know by now that we absolutely love camping. I spend at least 30 nights a year camping in the great outdoors. Whether it be dirt biking and glamping in the travel trailer or hiking and backpacking with a two person tent, there is a very good chance that I am making delicious food surrounded by wilderness. You could say that I am a bit of a camp food connoisseur.

These camping recipes are ones that I have made and served to friends and family with rave reviews. They are also super easy to make and clean up which is a major requirement in menu planning whenever I go camping. The less time I spend making meals, the more time I can be dirt biking or hiking. Are you with me?!

Prepare these meals at home and one day of cooking can carry you though the entire summer!

Over the years I have experimented and tried out pretty much every camping tool known to woman. I love to cook and make delicious food while we are camping in the wilderness. Here are some of my favorite products to use while camping (affiliate links).

Camp cooking essentials:

Menu planning for camping is something that I always do to stay organized. Grab this free Meal Planner Printable to get started on your next trip.
A Pie Iron Camp Cooker makes cooking over the open fire super easy. Check out these 20+ Pie Iron Recipe Ideas for tons of camp cooker inspiration!
Foil Pie Plates make tinfoil packet meals even easier with the sturdy base that they provide.
These Grilling Bags that I recently found are amazing! Simply add all of your ingredients to the bag at home then throw it on the campfire or grill when camping in the great outdoors. Avoid the grill bags with plastic windows, they melt (yikes!).

Tips for camping meal preparation:

Prepare meals in advance at home whenever possible. Leave most of the mess at home where running water is more accessible and clean up is easier. Trust me on this one!
Create “one pot” family style meals for quick dinners that don’t require a lot of thought.
Use tinfoil packets, foil pie pans or camp cookers (aff link). These tools help to make clean up a breeze!
Pack ingredients in 1 gallon size ziploc bags for flexible storage in small fridges and coolers.
Plan meals that use similar ingredients to help make packing and planning easy. These Cheesy Vegetable Campfire Dip, Loaded Campfire Potatoes and Tinfoil Packet Nacho Dip recipes are some of my favorites.