Many glampsites offer either on-site dining options or nearby restaurants which are great options if you do not want to worry about planning your own meals. If you are seeking a more classic outdoor excursion, cooking your own meals is the way to go! Camp food can get a bad reputation, but if you are well prepared, it can be easy to create yummy meals with very little prep work! Cooking while glamping is not only affordable but allows you to completely immerse yourself in your experience with the outdoors by avoiding having to drive in and out of your camp to go to restaurants and stores multiple times a day. Cooking for your group can be fun and add an exciting element to your adventure! Simple preparation beforehand will take any stress out of cooking on your glamping trip.
What You Need
Some key supplies you will need for your homemade meals around the campfire include:
- The campfire itself. Glamping sites typically have fire pits near the tents that you can use to cook your food and warm you up! Make sure to bring fire starting supplies and to check that there are no fire restrictions in the area.
- Roasting sticks. One word: S’Mores. What is camping without the classic dessert? Roasting sticks can be used for other easy camp meals like hot dogs, kabobs, and more. The National Park Service has a great guide of simple recipes here!
- Dutch oven. A dutch oven can cook almost anything. There are countless recipes that you can try while using a dutch oven on your glamping trip this summer! Dutch ovens are extremely user friendly and all you will need are warm coals.
- Small stove. A typical propane stove is perfect for cooking your meals at camp. They are allowed at most locations even when fire restrictions are in place. They use convenient propane canisters that can be found easily at most stores. This guide to camping stoves is very helpful if you are in the market for one!
- Cooler. If you are bringing anything you want to keep cool (cold drinks, perishable food, etc.), a cooler full of ice is essential. Make sure to bring enough ice to cool your food for the length of your trip!
- Water jug. Drinking enough water is very important when spending time in the great outdoors! Many glampsites are at higher elevations and it is important to consider the possibility of altitude sickness when traveling. Bring plenty of water to drink, cook with, and clean dishes.
- Skillet. A cast-iron skillet is nearly impossible to damage or destroy. This indestructible pan is ideal for cooking because you can cook nearly anything in it and you do not have to worry about ruining it. All you need is your skillet and a firepit and you can whip up eggs, delicious roasted veggies, rolls, and more!
- In addition to these basic supplies, you will want to bring all of the food you need to cook your meals, plates/silverware, napkins, trash bags, and cleaning materials. For your plates and silverware, consider using reusable rather than paper or plastic. Glamping is very eco-friendly and we can continue to be kind to the environment by preventing excessive waste.
Recipes
There are so many different recipes you can try on your glamping trip. The idea of cooking dinner at a campsite typically conjures up ideas of a cold and tasteless meal, but it is very simple to prepare a delicious, healthy, and budget-friendly meal at camp. We recommend spending some time planning before your glamping trip so that you can bring supplies and ingredients! Check out Wander Camp’s Pinterest for some more glamping food inspiration.
Tinfoil Dinners
These yummy meals leave so much room for variety and are nearly impossible to mess up! Perfect for a simple meal after spending your day out and about. All you will need to do is chop up your desired vegetables, meat, and other ingredients and then wrap them in tinfoil. You can heat them up by placing the tin foil packets on coals until they are warmed. My personal favorite is making cheesy potato tin foil dinners.
Dutch Oven Meals
Like we said above, you can make whatever your heart desires in a dutch oven. You can suspend your Dutch oven above the fire, place it on a cooking grate over a fire, or layer hot coals underneath and on top of it. Check out a more comprehensive guide to Dutch ovens here! Some classic Dutch oven camping recipes include cobblers, cinnamon monkey bread, chili, and cornbread.
Skillet Meals
Skillets are similar to Dutch ovens in the sense that they have a number of uses. A skillet can be used with coals, a fire, or a camp grill. The pan can be placed directly on top of the coals or on a DIY platform above the coals using rocks. A cast iron skillet can be used to cook almost anything you could want to eat on your summer glamping adventure. Some fun ideas include: pancakes, campfire nachos, pasta, stew, and so much more.
S’Mores
This classic camping treat is the key to a good adventure. Branch out from the typical graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows by including ingredients such as peanut butter cups, cookie butter, roasted berries, or rice crispies.
Now that your mouth is watering, consider planning your summer glamping trip now! Check out the different Wander Camp locations in Moab, Zion, Grand Canyon, Bear Lake, Glacier, Yellowstone, and Lake Powell here!
Post written by Maggie Jackson