Campground Meal Ideas - 5 Tips to Inspire Your

Are you looking for new meal ideas and inspiration for the campground?  I've been a campground cooking rut lately.  The meals we cook at the campground do work, but I also feel like I've been making the same things on a repeat.  It has started to feel a little stale, and I needed some new recipes.  I've got a new plan for our upcoming Labor Day Weekend.  I'm sharing that with you today!

Labor Day Meal Ideas - 5 Ideas to Inspire You

I like meals that are quick and delicious.  I also tend to do some amount of prep at home to save time and the number of ingredients I pack and take with me!  What am I changing on this trip?

This chicken and veggie foil pack with barbeque sauce was our first campground meal!

Steak and potatoes hobo packs are delicious and easy.  These have also been a favorite for us over the years.

Foil Meal Packets

I have always loved to do foil meal packets at the campground.  It is an excellent first-night meal.  You can prep your packets at home and take them with you to the campground.  Toss them onto the grill during or after set up dinner is served.

We started our first camping trip with a chicken a veggie foil meal.  Over the years, I have served steak and potato foil meal packet dinners.  This Labor Day, I am going to do a shrimp packet with potatoes, corn, and sausage.  

Pie Iron Cooking

The idea of pie iron cooking appeals to me on lots of different levels.  We have talked about purchasing pie irons for a while.  I finally pulled the trigger this summer.  

You can prepare breakfast, snacks, sandwiches, as well as sweet treats in pie irons.  I purchased a couple for Labor Day weekend.  We are going to have a quick corndog meal prepared in pie irons using a cornmeal mix and hot dogs.  This is a nice twist on campground hot dogs but also includes the taste of a corndog without frying.  

We are also going to enjoy a treat one night after dinner using puff pastry and pie filling in our pie irons.  There are lots of ideas and recipes that float around online for dessert ideas.  I encourage you to check a few of them out!

Make mac and cheese ahead of time and freeze in individual aluminum pans and cook right on the grill.

Other Make-Ahead Ideas

I typically prepare one or two things and freeze ahead of time.  One thing that we will have on this trip is Macaroni and Cheese.  You can make everything and freeze into little aluminum tins that can be cooked on the grill.  This mac and cheese partners perfectly with Whiskey Barbeque Chicken.  I make the sauce and pack with me to take to the campground.  The mac and cheese cooks while I grill the chicken.  Its a real comfort food meal that will appeal to every camper!

Look for ways to prep mixes and sauces ahead of time to take with you to the campground.  It is really a huge time saver and will reduce what you have to pack overall.  

I like cooking in cast iron.  This waffle maker from Rome Industries can be used on my Coleman Camp Stove, and it doesn't require me to plug it in!

Breakfast

While I enjoy making pancakes at the campground, I've done my fair share of waffles.  Cast iron cooking is something I also enjoy.  I have recently purchased a new cast iron waffle maker to use on my Coleman Camp Stove.  I cannot wait to give this a try.  

We also enjoy having breakfast parfaits with honey and fruit on our last day.  I'm also a big fan of egg sandwiches or an egg and toast day.  If you have thin waffles, you could have leftover waffles made into an egg sandwich.  Get creative and have fun with it!

This cookbook came in my last Camp Life Crate box.  It has practical and easy meals for the campground!

Recipe and Meal Inspiration

I have used online resources for meal ideas and recipes.  I have a couple of favorite cookbooks.  First, I really love the Campground Gourmet.  I have talked about it several times on this blog.  But, the recipes are really great and have been tested to perfection.  Every recipe that we have every used turned out perfectly every time.  Plus, it is an e-cookbook and can be used with the Kindle app.  I love the mobility of this cookbook.  It was the first one that I purchased in this format, and I think this is an excellent idea for campers!

The Happy Camper Cookbook came with my recent Camp Life Crate box.  It is a practical cookbook that has ideas for using pie irons, foil packets, and make-ahead options.  This cookbook really inspired my menu for Labor Day!

If you want to see my complete Labor Day Menu, check out my spreadsheet.  You can make a copy of this in your Google Drive to use the shopping checklist that I've included!  I've also shared the items that we use in our campground kitchen in my Camping Kitchen Page.

Where do you get your campground meal inspiration?  Is it Pinterest, fabulous Instagram photos, or a camping friend?  I'd love to hear your meal ideas, questions, and success stories.  Feel free to drop me a line or comment below!  

Until next time...

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