Camping is such a relaxing way to spend time with your friends and family. Being in nature and surrounding yourself in the outdoors is always very soothing. If you are planning to go camping soon, you’re going to need some food for the trip.  So here’s some really great camping food ideas.

Deciding on what food to take camping can be quite a difficult task especially if you have a large family as it can be fairly difficult to please everybody. Ask everybody to input their ideas so every one can have something they like. Some of them may like Roast beef, while others may like muffins and bread. It’s only a matter of bringing the right food that will accommodate everybody.

There are a few tips and tricks that can make your food preparation tasks a lot easier if you plan ahead. Stews and casseroles can be prepared and frozen beforehand in plastic bags. This also helps you reduce your need for ice as the actual food is helping keep the cooler, ahem, cool. Everyone (or at least most people I know) love omelettes for breakfast. These can also be prepared beforehand and used as ice. Chuck some good stuff in there like bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, herbs and cheese.

If you’re camping out of your car, caravan or RV make sure you throw a few canned foods in there for when you can’t be too fussed to cook and just want something quick.

One really good idea is to make burgers. Burgers are loved by everybody, and they are actually very easy to make if you have a good amount of people helping you make them.

Cast Iron Cooking

You can get away with a lot less in the way of cooking utensils when you’re out camping but one piece of campfire cooking equipment that is a must have if you aren’t hiking is the cast iron pot or dutch oven. These are awesome pieces of equipment which are extremely versatile. You can cook an entire roast meal in one if it’s large enough.

One thing I like to do is to sit my dutch oven on top of a gas burner which has been turned down to an extremely low level. So low, in fact that the flame is barely visible. This will get the pot to about 180°C or 360°F.  Put your roast in and go swimming or play tennis. When you come back in a couple of hours your meal will be ready.

If you need to fry something up while your meal is cooking in the oven you can turn the lid upside down for an impromptu fry pan.

A grill grate is another piece of excellent campfire cooking equipment. You cook on this just like you do at home and an excellent advantage is that you know exactly when the food is ready to eat. Not for hikers though as this stuff is heavy so caravan and car camping only please.

Foiled Again

For something that is truly easy you might consider cooking in foil. You need to prepare your fire for this as you don’t need any extreme heat. If your fire is still burning hot prepare a spot a little away from it and transfer some coals.  Fish is great cooked in foil as is or season with whatever takes your fancy.

Potatoes are also excellent cooked in foil, especially with melted butter.  Fry up some bacon and beans when the potato is almost ready and you have a delicious hot meal that everyone will love. Make sure you dispose of the foil properly though. The only real drawback to foil cooking is that it can be a little hard to judge when the food is done so timing is critical.

Some meals can also be prepared beforehand with this method and chucked in the ice cooler. If you do it right you might not have to prepare a single meal on your camping trip.

In the end, open up your mind to new ideas and don’t be afraid to be creative in coming up with great food.