A 5-day campfire meal plan created just for you and your family. Designed to simplify cooking around a campfire with kids.

Cooking with kids takes on a new challenge when it is done around a campfire. It is tempting to put a fence up and not let the kids anywhere around the campfire, however, with proper education the children can be helpful around the campfire and can participate in the whole cooking process.

There is a significant front end teaching involved in making sure that the kids know what they can and cannot do around the fire. There should be lines that they can NOT cross, and activities that they know they are not to do around the fire (i.e. Running, shoving, tag).

To make the whole camping experience more enjoyable to prepare as much as you can beforehand. By that, I do not mean make all the food and just eat cold food all week. I also do not mean go out and make your graham crackers, tortillas, cheese. Unless you have made these things and have them in the pantry do not set out to make 5 days worth of food from scratch. Speaking from experience it will drive you crazy and you will be upset when you need to go to the store and purchase the tortillas you were determined to make but ran out of time.

When you are preparing things, it is a good idea to label and wrap well. If you wrap with tinfoil and not plastic wrap you may not have to remove it before placing it on the fire in some situations such as breakfast burritos.

Breakfast Ideas

• Breakfast Burritos Make these burritos ahead of time is a great way to save time when you are camping. When you roll out of your tent, or trailer the last thing you want to do is spend hours slaving over breakfast. Prepare these burritos at home with help from the kiddos. They can put their name on their’s and then heat them on the fire while you are making your morning coffee. PRESTO, Coffee and breakfast.

• Make-ahead Pancakes By making the dry pancake mix ahead of time you can save lots of time and packages while you are camping. Add water and maybe an egg and you are good to go! Have one of your kids stir while you get the fire ready and heat up the cast iron pan. Pancakes and berries are perfect for breakfast.

• Camping Oatmeal A quick breakfast if you trying to get breakfast done quick, boil some water, add to the prepared jars of oatmeal and you have breakfast. My kids love to add a little heavy cream and maybe some fruit to theirs depending on their mood.

• Omelettes in a Bag – this one is a fun one for the kids to prepare. Crack the eggs into ziplock bag have the kids add the topping they want, zip them up and then squish them around. Put them into the simmering water and cook through. No more burnt eggs from groggy campfire mornings.

Lunch

• Cast Iron Pizza Making this recipe on the fire I would precook the dough at home so that it cooks quicker and there is less of a likelihood of burnt spots due to hot spots in the fire. Put your toppings on a let the pizza cook in the pan. You can put the lid for the dutch oven over top to get the cheese to melt faster.

• Hotdog Mummies Here is another one for the tinfoil, wrap the hot dog in crescent roll dough, and then wrap the whole thing in foil. You can then dip in Ketchup or Mustard (or another favourite dip).

• Pie Iron Pizza Sandwiches Cheesy and gooey, pizza sandwiches made in the pie iron are delicious. You could also cook these in a cast iron pan if you do not have a pie iron. Choose your toppings and take turns holding the sandwich over the fire.

• Grilled Cheese – A simple lunch made fancy with the addition of apples and bacon. Maybe cheese and bacon for the kids who think that adding apples is strange. But bacon, apples and cheddar cheese sound like a perfect lunch. Add my sandwich sourdough bread and you have the perfect campfire sandwich.
• Chicken Ceasar Wraps Bring tortilla’s and some lettuce, add chicken that you cooked the night before for supper and you have a quick and simple lunch when you are in between the morning hike and the afternoon beach trip.

Dinner

• Campfire Hamburgers You can bring the ground beef or prepared patties, add buns and toppings and you have a wonderful burger to have with a side of chips. You can grill these on a grill or on a cast iron pan depending on what you have.

• Tin Foil Dinners these were a favourite when I went camping as a kid, I always wanted mine without onions. We would each make our packet with our choice of onions or no onions, peppers or no peppers. I would fold down all corners, my sister would fold her’s differently and my brother would squish his. That way we could watch it cook, and know that we were getting the one that we had made.

• Steak – This is one of the things I like best on the campfire, make these in the cast iron or on the grill. Have the kids wrap some potatoes in tin foil and throw them in the fire. You will have nicely baked potatoes once the steak is ready. You can give them a little poke to check and see if they are ready. Maybe a little wine to go with this dinner to make it perfect.

• BBQ Chicken Make this wonderful BBQ chicken, making extra for lunch the next day. BBQ and campfire just seem to go perfectly together.

• Pork Tenderloin Marinated the tenderloin before you leave and freeze it. Once it has thawed you can put it on the frill and cook it up with some corn on the cob and potatoes and you face another fancy meal that was easy to prepare.

Snacks

• Trail Mix Who doesn’t love a bowl of all their favourite things for a snack. Make one or more of these cool trail mix ideas for your camping trip and you stave off the mid-afternoon blood sugar drop.

• Ice Cream in a Bag This is a fun one for the kids and adults alike. Who doesn’t like to play with their food? Mix this up, add some different toppings or eat it straight out of the bag. Perfect for a hot afternoon at the campsite. Make sure you have lots of ice.

• Granola Bars Granola bars are something my kids will eat at all times of the day. They will eat them while I am making breakfast, because who can wait 10 minutes for breakfast. As well as for a snack later in the day.

Treats

• S’Mores The famous campfire food. I think my kids would eat these every day of a camping trip if I let them. With a couple of different ways to make them you can experiment and see which one you like best. My favourite is actually leaving out the marshmallow and wrapping the graham cracker and chocolate in tinfoil till warm and gooey ( I know this is no longer a s’more but I have never been a fan of marshmallows).

• Campfire Peach Cobbler Adding fruit to your campfire treat makes it feel even more like summer. This is a perfect dutch oven treat that can bake, while you are enjoying supper. The kids can enjoy a yummy snack before bed, and everyone is happy.

• Campfire Popcorn – yummy with butter and salt, a perfect snack to enjoy around the campfire.

With 5 days of easy camping food ideas, you can take the kids camping without worrying about food. You can use the free meal plan printable that I have created complete with the grocery list and equipment list to guide you. This will become your newest camping hack with kids. Make most things ahead and then cooking around the campfire is easy.

5-Day Campfire meal plan for you and your kids. 

Click here to get your free printable