A Week of Pre-made Camping Dishes — 7 Easy Camping Meal!

Looking for easy camping meals? Save TIME with this collection of a week's worth of pre-made, delicious, easy camping dishes that are family-friendly!

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Reinventing What "Camping Recipes" Means For YOUR Family

When I was a kid, my family ate very specific things when camping; everything was grilled and meat-focused. We always made things like hamburgers, hotdogs, brats, chicken, pork chops, etc. This involved a lot of prep time, coordination, and dishes at each meal.

Storing raw meat in a cooler (or even in a tight camper cooler) is not something I am keen on. The thought of salmonella, melted cooler ice, and juice boxes floating around in a cooler gives me shivers.

So I decided to think forward and pre-make a week's worth of camping dishes before we headed out for the week.

7 Pre-made Camping Dishes Your Family Will Devour

Here are the seven pre-made camping dishes we made, that I know your family will devour too!

Grilled chicken and potatoes
Grilled chicken tacos on soft tortillas
Shredded beef hoagies
Chicken fried rice
Caesar salad with grilled chicken
Shredded beef wraps
Beef stew

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How to Prepare For These Camping Dishes Ahead of Time

Here are a few tips on making camping dinners before you head out the door. The numbers below are for feeding a family of four. You might need to make a few adjustments if your family is larger or smaller!

Easy Camping Food — Grilled Chicken!

You're going to grill 6-8 chicken breasts for the week. You want to keep the chicken flavors fairly neutral, so we can use the meat in a variety of recipes.

Once the chicken is grilled to a temp of 165-degrees, let the chicken rest for at least five minutes to ensure the meat remains juicy.

Next, cut the breasts into thin ¼-inch strips. You'll be shocked at how much meat it looks like you have when it is cut into strips. Put the meat into a freezer Ziploc bag and lay it flat in the freezer.

EASY CHICKEN CAMPING MEALS

Grilled chicken and potatoes — Heat up the frozen chicken and some new potatoes in foil over the fire!
Grilled chicken tacos on soft tortillas — Heat up the frozen chicken and enjoy on tortillas. Eat them straight up with some taco sauce or fire roast some peppers on the pit!
Chicken fried rice — We made a batch of pre-made rice and brought it along in the cooler, along with a bag of frozen peas and corn, and soy sauce. We warmed everything up in a frying pan and used the egg whites we had brought for breakfast pancakes.
Caesar salad with grilled chicken — Toward the end of the week the chicken will no longer be frozen, but just chilled in your cooler. Use it to add some protein and flavor to a pre-made bagged Cesar salad.

Easy Camping Dinners — Slow Cooker Beef Stew

We use a variation of this classic Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe. Instead of serving the stew with noodles, we simply throw in some new potatoes (those little ones!) into the Crockpot when cooking.

Cool in the fridge and then place the meat into a freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag. Lay the meat flat in the freezer.

When you're ready for dinner, simply heat it on the propane stove-top or in foil over the fire. We love campfire cooking!

Simple Camping Food — Shredded Roast Beef

This recipe is easy and DELICIOUS. I give all the credit to my mother-in-law!

You simply put a chuck roast into a Crockpot and cover it with a ½ cup of beef broth and sliced green peppers. Cook until tender (6-8 hours), then shred the meat with a knife.

Use the juices from the slow-cooker to make gravy. I cheat and use a gravy packet from the grocery store!

Cool in the fridge and then place the meat into a freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag. Lay the meat flat in the freezer.

EASY BEEF CAMPING MEALS

Shredded beef sandwiches — Warm up the shredded beef and serve on hamburger buns or hoagie rolls. We always enjoy a side of grapes and ruffled potato chips with this!
Shredded beef wraps — Warm up the shredded beef with a scoop of your pre-made rice. Serve on tortilla shells along with chips and salsa.

No matter what camping dinner ideas you decide on; think forward and prepare easily coordinated camping meals to save time!

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A Quick Reminder — Time Spent Camping Isn't Spent, It Is Invested

I spoke to my mom this week and told her "thank you" for all the work she did over the years organizing dinners and our camping trips when we were kids.

If you're reading this, you're the one doing the work for your next camping trip. Know that someday your kids will appreciate all your efforts. And remember ... time camping isn't spent, it is invested.

Camping & Leading an UnBusy Life

One last note, one of our family goals in our quest toward an UnBusy Life is to invest in a minimalistic camper. I love the idea of adventuring and not wasting time with packing and camp set-up.

One thing I’ve struggled with in my middle-aged journey toward Becoming UnBusy is to truly realize what *I* want vs. what “I think” I want. Society sends us so many messages that at times, even when you’re consciously thinking about it, it can be hard to decipher.

SO this past week we rented a small trailer and camped to “try on this dream” for a week.

Ironically, we had some issues with the electric and the camper, so we made ALL of these recipes over the fire.

It was a blessing in disguise.

Some of our best memories from the week were just chatting over the fire waiting for dinner to warm up. Plus, dinner always tastes 100 times better when you have to wait for it!