We are a family of five and our eating habits are more wide and varied than you could ever imagine. We have a very stubborn eater, a picky eater who claims not to be picky, a grazer, an easy-going eater, and one who’s a little bit like all the others. It’s never easy to decide on meals around here. Pinterest is my favorite place for fantastic camping meals and hacks:

• scrambled eggs in an old creamer container

• Hobo meal packets over the fire

• S’mores cones

They’re all great, but can get a little redundant if you’re camping quite often like us, so today I’m sharing a few of my ideas and tips for successfully feeding all of your people. Full campers are happy campers.

My first step comes about two weeks before departure, after we have planned our activities. I decide:

• which meals will need to be fast and pre-made,

• which meals we will have time to spend on and

• which meals we plan to eat out.

For example, if we want to get ahead of the crowd at a National Park we have a quick breakfast and take a picnic lunch to go. If our plans don’t have a timetable we relax and take our time with meals.

Next, I decide what cooking methods I want to work with. For example, I have been using my Instant Pot a ton while camping and Jason has been loving cooking on his Blackstone griddle. So I will plan most meals using these two methods to streamline things. We also love to grill and use our RV kitchen to its fullest. Most times I do not plan anything for over the fire, because often times we are camping in areas the Rockies and are known to impose burn bans.

My number one tip is to prepare as much at home as you can. Cut and wash your fruits and veggies ahead of time. Assemble or marinate meals utilizing large plastic bags (yes, I know, they’re not environmentally friendly, but they are timesavers). Make sure your baked goods are precut and well sealed. Even combining spices for a certain recipe ahead of time in a small container can save time and space.

Breakfast-

Quick and easy - I serve everything with large quantities of fresh fruit:

• Instant oatmeal

• Cereal

• Pancakes - I make protein pancakes at home, store them in the freezer and microwave to serve

• French toast - also made at home, stored in the fridge and warmed in the toaster

• Yogurt parfaits

• Frozen monkey bread - have you seen these Bridgeford frozen monkey bread? My kids go insane for them and they’re so easy to prepare in the microwave.

• Banana bread or pumpkin bread or muffins made at home or purchased locally while sightseeing

When we have time:

• Pancakes made on the griddle

• Scrambled eggs and bacon

• Breakfast sandwiches

• Breakfast tacos or burritos

• Chilaquiles - a favorite dish we discovered on our honeymoon

Lunch- usually on the go for us

• PB&J - make your own “uncrustables” at home for a grab and go meal

• BBQ Chicken Rollups - a Keep Your Daydream recipe using the Instant Pot  - we like to use Stubbs Sweet Heat

• Chicken Burritos 

• Club Royale - a copycat of our favorite sandwiches from Jason’s Deli 

• Ham Sliders

• Bagel Sandwiches - holds up better than regular bread

• Charcuterie board - we are always up for a good charcuterie

Dinner-

• Instant Pot dump and go freezer meal - my absolute favorite right now!! I have found that most of us like Six Sister’s recipes and I utilize their YouTube channel for most of my freezer meals

• Smashburgers on the Blackstone

• Baked pasta - Chicken Alfredo or Baked Ziti

• Tacos - always tacos

• Grilled steak

• Kabobs

• Grilled Pizza

• Toastites - if you don’t have one, get one!

• Walking Tacos - a usual request from the kids

Eating out - we love going to restaurants! I am always happy to pay someone to wash my dishes and make my food! We try to never eat at a chain and keep our spending and tasting local. Our favorite money-saving and sanity-saving life hack for eating out while traveling with kids is to have lunch instead of dinner at a local restaurant. Bonus points if they have an outdoor patio. We tend to eat a meal out every other day or two days depending on our budget.

My last step comes from family tradition, my mother-in-law never let a camping trip happen without bringing dozens and dozens of home-baked treats for her family. Cookies and brownies and Chex Mix and other family favorites always accompanied them on vacation. As a result it’s never a true camping trip for Jason without something special. And now our kids are thrilled to enjoy the same tradition.

Explore our recent posts about camping meal ideas -

We’d love to hear your favorite meal ideas for camping and RVing - what’s your go-to meal? Share below or find us on Instagram.