Camping Snack ideas & Camping Dinner ideas

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Are you going camping, and you can´t decide what food to take?

Here are some camping snack and camping dinner ideas, ranging from leftovers in your fridge to specifically designed freeze-dried emergency rations!

It ranges from preparing food in advance at home before your trip to grabbing something hassle-free while out in the mountains.

Influencing factors

The camping food that I take with me for wild camping can vary widely, depending on various factors, such as:

The weather

Hot weather: Non-perishable food, as a camping snack or camping dinner (such as tins/jars and dry foods) is unaffected by the heat
Cold weather: I like to cook a hot camping dinner at night in my tent, and I can carry perishable camping snack food to eat during the day.

Trip duration

Short trips (1-2 nights): Perishable (fresh) food can be taken because it won’t spoil
Multi-day trips: Non-perishable and dry foods last longer, although I might complement them with some fresh ingredients during the trip (e.g. I might take crackers, but then buy cheese during the trip).

Number of people

Solo camps: I take a camping dinner that I can cook and eat out of my pan. I might even take some leftovers!
Camping with friends: I usually take ready-to-eat camping food that is good for sharing while we sit around socialising at night. For camping snacks, I might bake some cookies to share.

My camping food can also depend on personal factors, such as:

My diet/lifestyle at that time (e.g. sometimes I fast, so I don’t eat in the evenings. But I wil drink lots of green tea, maybe with ginger or lemon)
Special occasions
(e.g. I always have a wild camping trip sometime over the festive period. During this time, I eat ALL of the seasonal treats, such as: mince pies, cherry bakewell cakes, chocolate, cheese and crackers).

Preserved food (ready-to-eat)

Preserved food in tins/sachets/jars is great if you don´t want to cook or wash dishes.

Instead, you can grab it and eat the contents straight out of it.

It can be eaten as a daytime hiking/camping snack or an evening camping dinner.

It is good in summer, when you don´t want a hot camping dinner at night.

You could take any tins/jars of food that you like.

Tinned foods

Camping snack ideas that can also be eaten as a camping dinner, which I take include:

Tin of sweetcorn – I LOVE eating tinned corn!
Tins of fish (e.g. tuna, sardines) – check out this gourmet selection
Tins of meat (e.g. corned beef or spam)
Small tins of olives stuffed with chilli
Tins of fruit (I like pineapple and peaches)
Small tin of beans.

Once you open a tin, you need to eat all of the contents, since it cannot be resealed.

So, it is better to buy small tins.

Food in sachets

Camping snack ideas that I have taken include:

Pate – to eat with bread
Nutella
Jam/marmalade (e.g. strawberry jam or peach jam)
Honey

Sachets are perfect for camping because they are small, lightweight, and require no washing up.

Food in jars

A great camping snack that I take is:

A jar of pickles (gherkins, spring onions, chillies, garlic, etc).

After opening a jar, it can be recapped. However, it would only stay fresh for the day in cooler weather, except for pickled foods, which would be fine to eat.

Glass jars, however, are heavy, even when empty – so buy small jars.

Sometimes, I transfer pickled foods from big jars that I have bought into smaller jars I have spare at home.

If I were on a multi-day trip, with hiking in between (i.e. not returning to the car), I would not take jars or larger tins.

I keep a stock of tins, jars and sachets of camping snack foods in my car over the summer, so I can grab a few when heading out to camp each night.

Preserved foods (to cook)

Tinned foods

You could also take tinned food to cook as a camping dinner.

Occasionally, I take tins of processed food, such as:

Meatballs
Chilli con carne
Beans
Curry
Stew
Ravioli
Soup

Check out the DREISTERN store for: Chilli, goulash, soup and stew.

However, this potential camping food is sold in larger tins (415grams), which are heavy.

Food in jars

You could also take food in jars to cook as a camping dinner, such as:

Sauces (e.g. curry or pasta)
Vegetables (e.g. peas and carrots)
Baby potatoes.

Wet food in packets

Packets of wet food, which could be eaten as a camping dinner, are:

Cooked rice (like this Coconut, chilli & lemongrass rice or Basmati rice)
Curry sauce
Lunch bowls, made with quinoa, spelt, lentils, etc
Chilli
Mexican beans.

Dry foods (snacks)

Dry food is also good for a camping snack in hot weather because you can keep it in the car and it won´t spoil.

Even after opening them, they can last a long time if you seal them well.

Check out this portable and rechargeable food sealer.

Some dry foods that I take as a camping snack include:

Real fruit bars (vegan & gluten-free free)
Crackers
Roasted chickpeas
Biscuits
Nuts, seeds and fruit snacks
Cakes
Fruit & nut bars
Cured meats
100% beef jerky (sweet and hot)
Salted fish.

Dry foods (to cook)

Dry food I take to cook as a camping dinner includes:

Noodles
Pasta meals
Soup
Mashed potatoes

You can get the above dry camping foods (as well as tinned chilli and beans) from MAGGI and BATCHELORS.

Dried stuffed pasta (e.g. meat ravioli or cheese tortellini)
Sauces in powder form
Cous cous or durum wheat
Scrambled eggs – You can get egg powder
Porridge – I like mine with honey or strawberry jam!

Drinks

Dry drinks that you could take camping include:

Coffee sachets
Decaffeinated coffee sachets
Tea – check out this selection of 60 assorted tea bags
Hot chocolate
Powdered milk.

Spices & condiments

Spices and condiments can be taken from home in reusable small bags or shakers.

Or you can get individual sachets of:

Freeze-dried camping meals

If you prefer a pre-made camping dinner, check these out:

TACTICAL FOODPACKS make military style freeze-dried meals, which you heat in a pan of water, and eat directly from the bag
MOUNTAIN HOUSE make freeze-dried meals for outdoor adventurers
READYWISE make emergency food with a shelf life of 15-25 years, such as the: meat/vegetable/rice/pasta/soup meals, 3 meals a day, and coffee.

DIY dehydrated camping meals

You could create your own camping snack & camping dinner ideas by making your own camping food with the use of a Food Dehydrator.

Dehydrated food is a great option for ultralight wild camping, although you do always need water to cook it.

I used to make my own camping food.

For example, as a camping dinner, I made:

Stew
Chilli con carne
Chicken curry
English breakfast.

I also used to make dehydrated camping snacks, such as:

Sliced meats (e.g. chicken, bacon)
Fruits (e.g. mango, pineapple, kiwi, apples, strawberries, etc).

Perishable foods

Wet camping food can also be difficult to carry without it leaking all over your camping gear!

So, it must be stored in very well-sealed containers! For example:

Homemade meals (e.g. curry, stew, etc)

Liquids are best carried in small plastic bottles with a screw-top lid, such as:

Milk
Scrambled eggs: You can crack some fresh eggs and keep them in a watertight container
Homemade Sauces
Liquid condiments (e.g. seasonings, vinegar, etc).

Anything that should be refrigerated can generally only be taken for a 1-night camp.

However, for measures you can take to keep food and drinks fresh for longer, read more here.

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