Cooking a tasty meal while spending time outdoors is undeniably satisfying. The experience of sharing a meal with friends around a campfire is an essential part of a successful campaign trip for many. To help you get started, let’s look at some options to prepare tasty, nutritious meals in the outdoors with fairly minimal gear.

Camping stoves

There are many things to consider when it comes to choosing a camping stove. Which type of camping stove is right for you also depends on your particular use. Some considerations include fuel type, availability, efficiency, size, weight and cost. We’ve put together a comprehensive buyer’s guide to choosing the best campaign stove.

Campfire Cooking

Campfire cooking can be basic or elaborate. Basic might be fine if you just want to make a cup of coffee, but there are few things better after a fun day outdoors than a good warm meal. This is why the versatile dutch oven is on the packing list of most serious campers.

What is a Dutch Oven?

A dutch oven is basically a cast iron pot. It is hard wearing which makes it a perfect camp cooking companion.

New dutch ovens are normally uncoated. Uncoated dutch ovens must be seasoned. This prevents rust and creates a non-stick surface. To cure or season your pot, heat it and wipe with cooking oil.

If your dutch oven develops rusty spots, these must me sanded down and the pot re-seasoned
Don’t use abrasive scourers to wash your pot. Warm soapy water should be enough. Then dry it with a paper towel or cotton rag. It’s also a good idea to then apply a light coating of cooking oil again to maintain the seasoning.

Dutch ovens get hot so you might want to invest in some leather gloves, a lid lifter and tongs to move coals around and on top of the oven.

When choosing a dutch oven for camping, we strongly suggest getting one with a flat lid. This allows you to put hot coals on top to get a nice even heat distribution. Check out out our dutch oven buyer’s guide.

Backcountry cooking

The key to backcountry cooking is meal planning. Because you’ll be carrying everything, a well planned menu and lightweight cooking gear will make your time much more enjoyable.

You might want to invest in a lightweight backpacking stove or you can consider a diy alcohol stove. These are only for the most basic of cooking needs though and a good quality, lightweight hiking/camping stove will be your friend.
A small stove means a small heat source. This means a windscreen is essential for optimising your stove’s cooking potential on a windy day. Using a windscreen will also greatly reduce your cooking time and the amount of fuel you use.

A small pot with a lid and utensils are essential. There are several clever solutions available that are compact, multi-purpose and lightweight.

Make sure you know the location of any water sources you might need. Carrying more than a day’s water will weigh you down. Rather consider a water filter or purifier. You can purify water using a camping stove, but a filter will be a much faster option.

Back to the meal plan; High-calorie foods like peanut butter, nuts, dried fruit, tortillas and pasta are ideal for backpacking as you’ll be burning a lot of calories.

Another option is dehydrated meal packs. These aren’t cheap but they are very lightweight and easy to prepare.

Dehydrated food

Dehydrated food is an excellent choice for the serious hiker or backpacker. Because most of the weight in vegetables, fruits and meats is water, dehydrating these foods makes it really lightweight.

If you take a lot of trips, it might even be worth investing in your own dehydrator. This will save you lots of money and you’ll have the added benefit of experimenting with the various meals you like best.

Outdoor cooking recipes

We’ve put together some tasty camping cooking recipes for you to try. Try them and let us know what you think. Also feel free to send us some you your favourites.