One-Skillet Meal Planning for Camping
We love to camp! It’s so fun to get away from everything (disconnect) and be out in nature hanging out with family and friends. Camping takes a lot of planning, especially when it comes to what to eat.
Our camping trips have come in many forms. We have done the backpacking type of camping where we bring only quick, non-cooking items like jerky, granola, dried fruit, etc. This works well, especially when doing lots of hiking. It does take some prep time if you are going to make this type of food beforehand and not buy it all, but the cost savings can be significant.
A few of our recipes that are excellent for packing as snacks, or a quick meal, are our granola snacks, spicy beef or venison jerky, or our oats nuts and n’ berries granola.
We have also done the type of camping that includes a lot of cooking, which requires cookware, condiments, and cleanup. If you choose to go with this method of camping, there are a few things you can do beforehand to cut down on cook time so you can enjoy more camp time. For example, mix up part of the pancake batter, clean and cut-up vegetables, season meat beforehand, etc.
Our favorite way to cook food while camping is to use the one-skillet method. We like to make every meal in one skillet and just plan out our meal by weight. For example, our larger family requires 5-7 pounds of food each meal plus some healthy fat and sea salt. So we bring whatever meat/egg/vegetable/fat combination we want to put together to cook in our big cast iron skillet. This method requires less meal prep, less cookware, and less cleanup.
While many of our Farm Girl Fresh stir-fry’s (from our book) fit into this model of camping, here are some additional skillet combinations you might enjoy:
Hamburger/carrots/onions/potat
Potatoes/onions/eggs
Peppers/hamburgers or beans/jar of salsa (eat on a tortilla)
Potatoes/onions/kielbasa with sauerkraut on the side
Bacon, potatoes, and eggs (fry bacon before adding other ingredients)
When making a meal in a skillet, it is good to start with whatever takes the longest cook time (like potatoes) and finish with whatever takes the least amount of cook time (like eggs). Make sure you add plenty of healthy fats to your skillet (such as butter, ghee, sesame oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil) so the food doesn’t stick to the pan.
When packing food, we like to freeze anything we are not using right away and use it as an ice pack in our cooler.
We also like to stop at farmer’s markets, roadside stands, and food co-ops to buy fruits or vegetables in season and incorporate them into our meal plan. The options are endless for camping skillet meals. Happy Camping and Happy Eating!
