The thought and idea of lugging all that gear and shivering your ass off to painstakingly make food while camping does not sound appealing.
I would most definitely love a warm meal but after miles of adventuring, my meals prep at home may sound a tad bit better, than coming to camp hungry and waiting an hour for meals to be ready!
However, don’t get me wrong, I am not completely against coolers and a camping fridge but if you could leave all that elaborate setup, and thinking to the indoors with proper meal prep, you won’t have to think about wishing there was a better way than sitting around in the cold waiting to cook.
If you have outgrown the idea of meal bars 3 days in a row, here are some delicious no-cook camping food ideas and meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner to keep you positively full and packed with flavour.
There’s a mix & match formula that I follow and here goes:
Pick your carbs (tortilla wrap, vermicelli noodles or rice)
Pick your base ingredient (variety of mixes from guacamole, hummus, bean dip mix)
Add your protein (tuna / salami / pepperoni / pre-cooked chicken / boiled egg / hard cheese)
Add your condiments (packet sauce like ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, chilli sauce or taco hot sauce)
This is just the very base to start with if you’ve no time to think and need to have your meals lined up.
But there’s more and here are some suggestions plus no-cooking camping food meal recipes and ideas.
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1. Overnight Oats
Overnight oats are the ultimate hearty breakfast meals when you’re out camping!
I often make ziploc bags with oats, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, chia seeds, cinammon and shredded coconut or cocoa.
You can add hot water when you have it in the morning and for that extra protein kick you can also add a spoonful of protein powder.
This is the ultimate super-boost food to get you moving!
2. Fritatta aka Omelette Muffins
These are great meal prep options that are perfect for a filling breakfast! Bake a pan with whatever you like in your omelettes — you could include dice vegetables or spinach, bell peppers, cheese, ham or sausage with onions.
3. Cream Cheese, Boiled Eggs and Avocado Toast
It is creamy, fatty (the good kind) and nutritious.
Spread some cream cheese on your toast and top it up with boiled eggs and avocado with a sprinkle of lemon juice and pinch of salt and pepper. You could go the extra mile and pair it with homemade ricotta cheese (2 ingredients is all it takes!)
There’s nothing more heavenly than starting your day with these heavenly layered sandwich!
Remember that boiled eggs should be consumed within two hours if you’re out backpacking or at least during the first half of the day!
You also don’t need to stick to this combo (as pictured above) — there are a variety of sandwich options from hummus and arugula, dry-cured ham with cabbage, boiled egg with seasoning and asparagus and egg.
4. Loaded Sweet Potato Breakfast
I’ll call this a heavy brunch loaded with sweet potato, peanut butter or any nut butter of your choice.
Using a fork, poke holes on the top of the sweet potato, you can microwave it on high for 10 minutes before you set out or until the potato can be easily pierced with a knife.
Slice the sweet potato in half (like you’d with a hot dog bun), and spread peanut butter on each side, top up with almonds, dried berries and drizzle with honey.
5. Peanut butter and Jelly
The signature and humble ziploc sandwich bag! Spread peanut butter on one side of each slice of bread and 2 tablespoons of jelly on the other side.
Place in ziploc bag and freeze for several hours or overnight and bring them with you the next morning!
6. Burrito Wrap
Not many people know but you can use Vietnamese spring rolls made of thin rice paper to wrap rice noodles, shrimp, chicken or any fresh herbs of your choice and add it with a dash of spice like paprika or cumin powder.
It looks like an Asian burrito and it is absolutely delicious and healthy!
7. The Nutritious Trio: Chickpeas-tuna-tomato-salad
Canned tuna is an inexpensive and healthy source of protein loaded with healthy fats, and Omega-3.
It is also equally delicious when you pair it with the right ingredients.
All you need is to toss fresh herbs like parsley or arugula, canned tuna, chickpeas, honey tomatoes and add a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper!
8. Onigiri
Known as Japanese rice balls filled with meat (usually chicken or fish), you can get it at any Family Mart or convenience store.
These are quite filling and have the perfect portion of rice and protein.
9. Chicken Shawarma
Serve over some chicken, mixed with couscous, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion and a yogurt sauce like tzatziki with herbs like dill! It's so good that you'll actually look forward to lunch!
10. Greek Hummus Wraps
This could be great for vegetarians!
Roll bell peppers, spinach, onion with any hard cheese of your choice onto a tortilla. Carry them in a foil or ziploc backs so they stay intact together for a few hours.
11. Spicy Turkey Bagel Sandwiches
This is a pretty much mix and match sandwich with cheese, bagels, turkey ham or shredded chicken with sriracha sauce or kewpie Mayo sauce.
You could turn this into a vegetarian bagel as well and replace the meat with avocado and red pepper hummus.
12. Not Your Average Ramen/Pasta
The key thing with Ramen is that you can customise it with a variety of ingredients.
You can add hot water and customise it by bringing along your mix such as garlic powder, dried parsley, chopped bell peppers and parmesan cheese.
If you’re in the wild and love some chilli kick, you can pre-made this venison chilli sauce, pour hot water and eat it with bread or noodles or just about anything!
13. Italian Wraps
Other than the usual hummus wraps, for a change make your dinner absolutely worth it!
Add sliced parmesan, pepperoni or prosciutto, and pesto sauce. As simple as these sound, they’re hugely satisfying!
14. Cheese & Meat Platter ala Charcuterie style
If you love a little splurge in the backcountry, all you will need to carry with you is probably a mini chopping board to have this spread!
Meats and cheese provide some of the best outdoor nutrition combining healthy fats, protein and calcium.
Select your favourite cheese and cured meat like: meat jerky, cooked bacon, sausage, pepperoni, cheddar, romano, parmesan or asiago cheese.
15. Turkey Roll-Ups
The secret sauce to a mean turkey roll-up sandwich is the “cranberry sauce” which can be made by heating up cranberries and carrying it as your packet sauce.
Combine cream cheese and cranberry sauce for the condiment.
Lay your tortilla flat and fill it with lettuce, turkey ham, roma tomatoes and hard cheese, top it with the cranberry and cream cheese sauce.
Once you’re done with meal prep, you can move on to grabbing some snacks that would be great to pair it post and during adventures.
You could also try a no bake protein cookie for that extra pick me up!
These snacking treats can serve as a grab and go option. Also read my post on
16. Clif Bars
If you’ve just returned from a long hike and want something quick to bite on, Clif bars are delicious soft and chewy energy bars made with wholesome organic rolled oats.
Their flavours include Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Brownie, and Crunchy Peanut Butter.
17. BUMBLE BEE Snack on the Run
These are great for a pinch of little snack! Tuna Salad with Crackers Kits are an ingenious way to grab a quickie when you’re really hungry!
18. Power Up Trail Mix Gourmet Nut Bag
A great trail mix for that midnight or mid-day snack!
A delicious blend of nuts, fruits and seeds such as walnuts, almonds, mango and cranberries with a dash of protein and vitamin B rich pumpkin seeds so you’ve got the perfect, healthy snack.
19. Sahale Snacks Glazed Nut Mix
This is addictively delicious!
Their glaxed nut mixes comes in variety of flavours. The pomegranate vanilla flavored cashews includes buttery, dry-roasted cashews mixed with naturally pomegranate-flavored dried apples and a pinch of ground Madagascar vanilla.
20. Honey Stinger Organic Waffle
A thin layer of Honey Stinger classic honey sandwiched between two thin waffles will satisfy your taste buds and keep you going as an afternoon snack, during your favorite activity or go great with your cup of coffee or tea.
Most of these recipes can be made in less than 15 minutes. If you want more meal ideas, read my post on easy delicious hiking and backpacking lunch ideas.
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