It’s a luxury to be able to just head out on the open road and be one with nature. There’s a lovely sense of freedom that comes with being able to disconnect from the chaos of city life, drive off, and go for a weekend camping. Driving around in a campervan makes it easy for you to discover new places, but you can’t forget about your basic needs like water and food to take camping.
When planning your meals for your road trip, you might think that you’ll be limited in your choices. In fact, there are a number of easy camping recipes that you can try to ensure you don’t have boring, basic meals during your camp out.
We want to help you by making it easy for you to plan out your camping meals. We’ve put together a collection of simple and easy camping food ideas and tips you must try on your next campervan adventure.
Why try out new recipes?
Easy meals don’t have to mean plain cheese sandwiches and crisps or anything else that comes in easy-to-open packaging. You can actually create something more fancy and flavorful. Cooking in a campervan is really an experience you have to try.
Here are some benefits you’ll enjoy when you dine in your campervan:
Dinner under the stars
Immersing yourself outdoors is one of the best things about camping. When you have a campervan that has a decent kitchen facility, you can really take advantage of the surroundings. Can you imagine eating a warm meal under the stars? Sitting under the night sky enjoying your supper is romantic, calming, and serene.
Forces you to be creative
Obviously, when you go out to a campsite, you won’t have a huge kitchen with lots of equipment. You can only bring the bare essentials. You’ll probably have one pot, one pan, and a handful of spices. This would mean you want to force on bring creative so that your meals will still taste good even with just the basic spices.
Fresh, in-season foods
Take advantage of the local fruit and vegetables that are in season because it’s cheaper than buying in the grocery stores.
What You Need for Your Easy Camping Meals
The biggest adjustment when planning meals for camping recipes instead of planning for cooking in your home is that you have to create those meals on a much smaller scale. Ideally, you need to have things in handy containers that are easy to open and store or stack.
Here’s a quick list of the must-haves for camping out and cooking on the road:
- Pots and Pans
- Spices and Condiments
- Jams and Other Spreads – peanut butter, chocolate spread, jam, Vegemite and more.
- Staple Foods – rice, oats, pasta and grains will help build out any meal on the road.
Top campervan cooking videos for your next adventure
The sky is really the limit for camp cooking recipes, anything can be made with the right equipment. Here are our top campervan cooking videos to excite your palate:
Overnight Oats Recipe – for your winter mornings
Chilli Nachos Recipe – a must cook when camping
Risotto Recipe – for those extravagant nights in
Banana bread – a top staple for every adventure
Pizza – if you hire the right vehicle, you can make homemade pizza happen anytime!
Easy Ideas for Camping Meals
Meal planning doesn’t have to be hard or overcomplicated. To make things easy for you, we have put together this list of camping food ideas that you might want to try out on your next trip:
1. Salad wraps/ chicken wraps
Image by Nevena Mikec from Pixabay
2. Quesadillas
Image by Kira Hoffmann from Pixabay
3. Nachos
Photo by Herson Rodriguez on Unsplash
4. Vegetable Soup
Image by RitaE from Pixabay
5. Fried Chicken
Image by Sharon Ang from Pixabay
6. Cheese Sandwich
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
7. Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato Sandwich
Image by leestilltaolcom from Pixabay
8. Fish with Veg
Image by RitaE from Pixabay
9. Chicken Soup
Image by kai kalhh from Pixabay
10. Pesto Pasta Salad
Image by Pexels from Pixabay
Whether you’re ‘glamping’, free camping or have the luxury of a campervan, the options really are endless while cooking on the road. Whatever you do, just make sure to pack the essentials, and keep your cooking simple yet creative!
For more recipes, adventures and happy customer stories, come and explore our YouTube channel!
Don’t forget to check out our latest offers and specials on campervan hire in New Zealand.
SEE OUR CAMPERVANSAbout the Author
Bastian Graf
Bastian is the Sales & Marketing Manager here at Travellers Autobarn. He holds a Master of Commerce in Marketing and International Business Management, and 20+ years experience in campervan hire, road trips and travel.
