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Make Ahead Camping Meals: 10 Camping Dishes You Can Meal Prep

September 2, 2020 by Audrey Bruno Leave a Comment

Everyone knows that the best part of camping is the food. Making it, though? That’s another thing entirely. While we all enjoy leisurely roasting hot dogs over a campfire, going through the effort to prepare all the other sides you need to feel full (because hot dogs are never enough) can be a drag—especially after a long day exploring the wilderness.

Luckily, a lot of camping dishes are easier made at home beforehand than while you’re actually out there roughing it. Think coleslaw, pasta salad, and baked potatoes. Things that won’t go bad easily and are hearty enough to keep you satisfied through the long days and nights.

Before you stick a tray of mac and cheese in your trunk and hit the road, though, consider bringing a few other tools to lessen your load and ensure your food lasts longer. Here are some essentials to take with you on your next trip to make sure your make ahead camping meals last:

  • Ice packs– will keep your food fresh for twice as long
  • Cast-iron skillet– great for reheating food over a fire
  • A good knife – if you catch a big fish, you won’t regret having brought it
  • Cooler– this is the most ideal way to get the longest life out of the food you prepare in advance

Below, we’ve rounded up 10 excellent make ahead camping meals. From vegan options like mayo-free coleslaw and chickpea salad sandwiches to beef stuffed empanadas, there’s something here that will satisfy everyone.

What's In This Post

  • Pasta Salad
  • Coleslaw
  • Tomato Tart
  • Mac and Cheese
  • Potato Salad
  • Chili
  • Chickpea Salad Sandwiches
  • Marinated Beans
  • Empanadas

Pasta Salad

make ahead camping meal pasta salad

Pasta salad just gets better the longer it sits. With more time to soak up all the fresh and zesty flavors, it’s really one of my favorite make ahead camping meals. The nice thing about this recipe from The Hungry Hutch is that it retains a bit of crunch even after a few days thanks to crispy celery.

Coleslaw

Tangy Vinegar Coleslaw (No Mayo) foodiecrush.com #coleslaw #vinegar #recipes #easy #healthy

Not only is this coleslaw from Foodie Crush totally vegan, it’s less likely to go bad as it’s mayo-filled counterpart. As it sits it begins to take on a tangy, sauerkraut-like flavor. It’s great in whatever you might be eating around the campfire, whether that’s on top of hot dogs or alongside grilled fish.

Tomato Tart

make ahead camping meals tomato tart

Pro tip: Slicing this tart from Flourishing Foodie and packing it in food storage will make it infinitely easier to transport and preserve. It’s great hot or cold—pop it in a cast-iron and place it over an open flame for just a couple minutes to get it toasty.

Mac and Cheese

make ahead camping meals mac n cheese

Try to freeze this recipe from Lauren’s Latest for a full 24 hours before you depart—that’ll guarantee it stays good until you’re ready to eat it. And when you’re ready to heat it, each serving needs just 8 to 10 minutes over hot coals.

Potato Salad

make ahead camping meal potato salad

Potato salad is another side dish that was built to last and ideal for bringing on your next camping trip. This recipe from Dash of Jazz adds a simple twist to the classic by using balsamic vinegar to give the whole thing a bright, tangy flavor—like the supermarket deli section potato salad we all know and love!

Chili

make ahead camping meals chili

Chili is another one of my favorite make ahead camping meals. It’s a great camping side because it goes with practically everything. Hot dogs? Check. Burgers? Why not! And since your main might be meat, consider opting for a vegetarian chili to pair it with, like this one from Minimalist Baker.

Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

Chickpea salad sandwich on a wooden board

Even though this chickpea salad sandwich from 40 Aprons is totally vegan, you’d honestly never guess that it wasn’t chicken salad just from tasting. Bonus: It lasts a bit longer since there’s no meat or dairy in it!

Marinated Beans

marinated white beans with olive oil toasts I howsweeteats.com

Baked beans are old news. Mix it up by bringing along these bright and colorful marinated beans instead. This recipe from How Sweet Eats is all fresh flavors—basil, tomato, cheese, and plenty of olive oil. It’s also best eaten on toasted bread, so be sure to bring a loaf to toast over the fire.

Empanadas

Baked Empanadas

These little protein pockets from A Cozy Kitchen are great whether you’re eating them as a side or as a snack. And the filling can be anything. This recipe uses beef, but you can just as easily swap in something vegan or vegetarian instead. Pro tip: They come in really handy when you’re hangry.

In the mood to go on a trip? If you can’t leave home, explore the world with one of these 8 international recipes. 

 

Filed Under: Blog, Recipe Roundups Tagged With: camping, meal prep, pasta, recipe, recipe roundup, vegetarian

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Workweek Lunch | Talia Koren
Have you ever eaten okonomiyaki? 🤤 . It’s a J Have you ever eaten okonomiyaki? 🤤
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It’s a Japanese “pancake” traditionally made with cabbage and tempura scraps, flour, eggs and pork belly. It’s also known as “Japanese pizza” and the topping options are endless! 🍕We’re featuring our okonomiyaki recipe (omnivore, vegetarian, vegan and GF versions) in tomorrow’s new meal plan for members of the WWL Program.
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🥢In Japanese, “Okonomi” means “how you like it” and “Yaki” means “grilled” making this dish super customizable.
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✌🏼There are two main styles of okonomiyaki (keep swiping to see both versions from my Japan trip last year!) Hiroshima style and Osaka style. The main difference between the two is that the Osaka style batter is all mixed up while Hiroshima style oknomiyaki is layered as it cooks instead of all mixed up. I prefer Osaka style, and that’s what this recipe is inspired by.
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👩🏻‍🍳This meal is more prep-friendly than I thought! We found we can prep the pancake part ahead of time and keep toppings on the side until ready to eat (swipe for a video of how I topped the vegan version with vegan homemade okonomiyaki sauce, vegan Japanese mayo, green onion, furikake seasoning and sriracha).
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🌶Other toppings generally include bonito flakes, pork, aonori, pickled ginger, kimchi, bean sprouts and any sauce you like. To your pancake, you can add shrimp, leftover veggies, tofu - really anything goes as long as it can hold together in your pancake!
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😍I’m so excited to bring this recipe to you this week. Looking outside of our own cuisine and cultural dishes is how we avoid food boredom and cooking ruts. Is this meant to be a super authentic okonomiyaki? No. I wish I could easily do it, and maybe one day I’ll be able to!
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✨Would you try this? What do you think? Share in the comments! And look out for the recipe in the new meal plan topping tomorrow!
What did you prep that you’re most excited to ea What did you prep that you’re most excited to eat this week? For me it’s our Greek chicken & potatoes sheet pan and chopped salad 😍
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💸This is the second week in a row our prep only cost $40 in (new) groceries. We always use stuff we have around in the kitchen to help keep costs low. For example the sweet potato curry was made entirely with leftover produce from last week and pantry items we already had!
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🙌🏼These meals will eventually be in the WWL Program for members! You can learn more about our amazing weekly meal plan membership in my bio link.
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📆All of these will be eaten by my partner and me by Thursday. We store them in the fridge and reheat them in the microwave or the oven as needed.
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🤷🏻‍♀️I don’t know the calories because I don’t count!!
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Got questions about this prep? Drop them below!
Cooking rut getting you down? 👩🏻‍🍳Here Cooking rut getting you down? 👩🏻‍🍳Here are 6 fun chicken ideas (that could totally work with other proteins btw!!)
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🍊Orange Baked Chicken - this is a Trader Joe’s copycat meal and one of our most popular recipes in the WWL Program!
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🥥Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup - I dream about this soup. For real. Also in the WWL Program
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🍠BBQ Chicken Sweet Potato Mash Bowls - cook chicken tossed with your fav BBQ sauce sand serve with mashed sweet/reg potato and your favorite veggie. Coming to the WWL Program soon
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🌮Curry Chicken Tacos - we love this creative and flavorful take on tacos. Grab it in the WWL Program
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🥦Sesame Chicken & Noodles - my partners favorite. Recipe in the WWL Program
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🫑Chicken Enchiladas Verdes - my FAVORITE enchilada meal in the WWL Program
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🥕For my non-chicken eaters - all of these meals comes with vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free options in the WWL Program. We provide it all and make it super easy.
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👉🏼Not a member yet? Head over to my bio link to get these + hundreds more fun recipes you’ll actually look forward to!
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🙏🏼Whether you’re a member or not, I hope this gives you some ideas to jazz up your go-to protein for the week!
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Happy prepping!
You’re not a robot. 🤖 . 👍🏼It’s normal You’re not a robot. 🤖
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👍🏼It’s normal to be extra hungry some days and not as hungry other days! So many factors affect hunger levels: sleep, stress, activity, hormones etc. Roll with it. Hunger is normal. Eating enough to honor your hunger is normal.
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Lately I’ve been eating breakfast later - around 10am, and not having a snack between breakfast and lunch. But sometimes I still eat earlier and do the snack thing. Some days I don’t feel like eating something sweet after dinner. Some days I want to eat something sweet after lunch AND dinner. I don’t overthink it!
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Hope you find this reminder helpful 🙌🏼🙌🏼 this weekend I’m prepping a bunch of new meals - follow along on stories!!
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Recipes pictured: soyrizo breakfast burrito (in the WWL Program), mixed berry muffins (found a recipe online - don’t remember the name of the blog), homemade hummus, sweet potato mash bowls and white bean mushroom and spinach pasta (coming to the WWL Program soon).
It’s the first ever Free Recipe Friday over on w It’s the first ever Free Recipe Friday over on workweekunch.com today!🎉
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👩🏻‍🍳From this week on we’re bringing you a new free recipe every Friday to enjoy as meal prep or random meals throughout the week.
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🍜I’m soooo excited to finally bring this series to life! Now that we have TWO sites, a home for free content (workweeklunch.com) and a home for our paid meal plan membership (wwlprogram.com) it’s easier for our team to provide more free recipes for you to enjoy.
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🍜Get this veggie ramen: https://workweeklunch.com/veggie-ramen/
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🤯Yes you CAN meal prep ramen! Cook your noodles and prepare your toppings, keep the homemade broth on the side until you want to eat. Heat everything up, put it together in a bowl and you’re good to go!
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🍳Marinated eggs can be kept in the fridge for a few days and they are WORTH the extra preparation if you eat eggs! I learned how to make perfect soft boiled eggs just to make this recipe at home.
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🍜Yes, I do use the packaged noodles but don’t use the packet and opt to make my own broth from scratch instead. You can use any noodles you like!
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👇🏼What are your favorite ramen toppings? Share below!!
Salad secret: you can transform any salad into a d Salad secret: you can transform any salad into a delicious stir fry! Check out how I transformed @yourtaylorfarms Thai Chili Mango Salad Kit 🥗
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👉🏼Just add a grain, rice or noodles and any leftover proteins you have (chicken, tofu, tempeh, shrimp, salmon and beef would all work great here) and you're good to go. The crunchy veggies in this Taylor Farms salad kit are perfect in a stir fry. 
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🍯I made a quick soy sauce, peanut butter, honey and lime sauce to stir fry the veggies and nuts, but you can use any sauce you like. Simply cook the veggies in the sauce on high heat (like really high heat) for no more than 5 minutes. Serve over your grain/rice/noodle and enjoy.
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😍Btw, this salad kit is officially my favorite! The tangy vinaigrette totally makes it. I drizzled it on top of my stir fry for extra zing. The crunchy quinoa flakes and sunflower seeds add such a great texture too, whether you're eating this as a salad or a stir fry.
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❓Would you try this? Let me know in the comments!
It’s a good Wednesday for a new meal plan! Swipe It’s a good Wednesday for a new meal plan! Swipe left to see what’s featured in this week’s WWL Plan for members 👈🏼
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What are you looking forward to trying first?👇🏼👇🏼
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✨Every week we curate a meal plan featuring 5 recipes that are all different, but easy to make. The plan changes each week to avoid that dreaded cooking rut!
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💯Every meal has a vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, dairy free and gluten free version! We provide tons of swap ideas to accommodate allergies and preferences too.
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🥦Not feeling these recipes? Good news. We have 350+ recipes to choose from in our archives and a nifty meal planning tool so you can create your OWN plan and grocery list in minutes.
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✨Members can keep track of their favorite recipes and bookmark the ones they want to try.
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👍🏼We don’t provide calories and macros in the WWL Program as we are the ONLY meal plan subscription that’s truly aligned with intuitive eating and HAES. Our plans provide some structure and help members get organized, but we don’t give nutrition advice or tell anyone what to eat.
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🙌🏼The results we get for our members have nothing to do with weight loss or management and EVERYTHING to do with saving time, saving money and eating a variety of foods to avoid that dreaded food boredom.

🔗If you’re interested in joining, head over to my bio link and hop on a free trial! You can cancel anytime if it’s not for you.
When I shared the sushi takeout dinner I had with When I shared the sushi takeout dinner I had with my partner over the weekend, my DMs exploded. 🍣
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“That sushi is so expensive!”
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“We can get that same amount of sushi for $20!”
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“Wow so much for such a small amount of sushi!”
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“That’s outrageous! Why is takeout so expensive there?”
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“You got ripped off!”
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...yikes!
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The way my partner and I eat is 100% intentional.
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We love saving on groceries thanks to meal prep. We also love splurging on GOOD sushi from our favorite place (Momiji) even though cheaper options are available. And we plan/budget for all of it!
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Money and spending is deeply personal and we all have different priorities.
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When you look at/read this post, what is your initial reaction?
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How we react to content like this is a great way to discover our invisible scripts and true beliefs around money, food and more.
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Recipes pictured are listed in the comments!
Savory 🌯 or sweet 🥞 breakfasts: which are yo Savory 🌯 or sweet 🥞 breakfasts: which are you more in the mood for lately? Tell me with your fave breakfast emoji in the comments!
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🌯Favorite savory breakfasts in WWL:
-all our breakfast burritos
-frittatas
-breakfast sandwiches
-savory overnight oats
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🥞Favorite sweet breakfasts in WWL
-muffins
-scones
-pancakes and waffles
-sweet overnight oats
-all the granola
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We have loads of easy breakfast recipes in the WWL Program! The soyrizo/chorizo burritos are coming soon 🙌🏼
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