The Best Camping Recipes
Camp food doesn’t have to be all about the bangers and beans. Rustle up these cookout crowd-pleasers and find yourself elevated to head camp-chef status.
Camping pancakes
Make sure you’ve got happy (and full) campers by treating them to fireside pancakes oozing with maple syrup and topped with fruit.
Equipment
- Frying Pan
- Spatula
Ingredients (serves 2)
- Plain flour 150g
- Salt 1 tsp
- Cinnamon 1 tsp
- Egg 1, beaten
- Milk 240ml
- Melted butter 1tbs, plus a little for cooking
- Maple syrup to serve
- Fruit to serve
Method
Prepare the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients in two separate jars at home and then, when you’re ready to make your pancakes, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and shake up the jar.
To cook, add a little butter to the pan, pour in some of the pancake batter and cook for a couple of minutes over hot embers. Turn the pancake over when it’s golden on the bottom, then repeat on the other side.
Repeat with the remaining batter.
Serve with maple syrup and fruit.
Banana Boat
Bananas will replenish energy levels and can be turned from a simple piece of fruit into a scrummy dessert
Cut a slit in the banana’s skin and flesh, poke in a few pieces of chocolate and marshmallow (you can add biscuit too to give you something to scoop the gooey filling out with), then foil-wrap and cook for 10-15 minutes in the campfire embers.
S’mores
S’mores means “some more” – try them and you’ll know why
An American camp favourite, they’re easy to make – and from ingredients which won’t suffer from being carried in a rucksack.
Toast a marshmallow on a stick until it turns golden brown, then sandwich it with a square of chocolate between two biscuits. The American classic uses Graham Crackers. They’re not that easy to get hold of here but digestive biscuits also work well. Go next level by adding a dollop of crunchy peanut butter and, if you want to make them really melty, wrap them in foil and leave them right on the edge of the embers for a few minutes.
The Ultimate Hot Chocolate
The smooth molten deliciousness will be a surefire hit on chilly nights.
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Mugs
Ingredients (serves 4)
- Milk 600ml
- Double cream 142ml
- Chopped chocolate or choc buttons 100g
- Whipped cream for topping
- Mini marshmallows for topping
- Grated chocolate for topping
Method
Pour the milk, double cream and chopped chocolate into the saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over the embers. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth, then serve in mugs. Top with whipped cream, mini marshmallows and grated chocolate.
Campfire Cooking Safety Tips
- Make sure you have the landowner’s permission to build a fire and only do so away from overhanging branches, dry grass or anything that may enable a fire to spread.
- Keep the fire small enough to put out if needed – have water, sand or earth on hand to extinguish it.
- Make sure the fire is fully extinguished with water before leaving (using earth alone can leave smouldering embers).
- As on a barbecue, cook over hot embers, rather than flames.
- Use a frying pan that is suitable for a campfire and cook in the same way you would over gas or an electric ring.
- Be aware that a pan handle will get hot, so use a mitt or similar to pick it up.
- If creating skewers from sticks be aware that the wood itself will burn. Soaking it in water first will help.
- Food cooked in foil should be placed in the cooler embers towards the side of the campfire.