Supper Under the Stars: Favorite Camp Meals for Curious Wanderers
There’s something about a good camp meal that makes everything around it glow a little brighter. Whether you’re waking to the first light spilling through the trees or settling in with a bowl of something warm after a long day, food on the trail becomes more than just nourishment. It’s comfort, ritual, and connection — to the land, to each other, and to yourself.
At Camplight Creative, we believe that camp food should carry the same spark as the journey itself. It should be simple, satisfying, and easy to prepare whether you’re biking dusty roads, paddling quiet rivers, or wandering backcountry trails. It should smell like pine needles and paprika. It should taste like childhood memories and long summer days.
So here’s a little collection of favorite meals for trail wanderers of all stripes — a few ideas that warm the hands and light the way.
Morning Light Meals
1. Campfire Egg & Bagel Sandwiches
A quick and hearty favorite for early risers. Toast a bagel on your pan, scramble an egg with a pinch of salt, and layer it with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese and a smear of chili garlic sauce. Eat it watching the mist rise over a mountain meadow.
2. Elevated Oatmeal
Toast your oats in a little butter under they are golden and fragrant before adding warm water a little at a time. Humble oats get a cozy upgrade with chia seeds, hemp hearts, freeze-dried blueberries, and a spoonful of cashew butter. Don’t forget to add a pinch of salt to draw out the flavor.
3. Cowboy Cafe Latte + a Quiet Page
Scoop extra fine coffee grounds into a Nalgene bottle with hot water. Seal and shake vigorously. Let the grit settle. While it brews, take five minutes to sit with a journal, sketch the horizon, or trace what you hear. Sometimes the clearest ideas come before the trail begins. Drink it black, or pour the coffee into a camp mug with powered coconut milk and maple syrup.
Midday Fuel
4. Trail Pockets
Pita bread stuffed with hummus, shredded carrots, bell peppers, and a squeeze of lemon holds up well in a pack. Add trail cheese or cured meat if you're craving more. Eat by a lake. Let your feet dangle in.
5. Peanut Noodles with Crunch
Cooked rice noodles tossed with peanut butter, soy sauce, a dash of vinegar, and crushed ramen for crunch. Optional: sliced cabbage, roasted peanuts, or a sprinkle of chili flakes. A trail lunch that feels like a picnic.
Evening Glow
6. Red Lentil Soup (Free Recipe Card Below!)
A house favorite. Fast-cooking lentils simmered with curry, garlic, tomato, and coconut. Serve with instant rice or flatbread toasted on the griddle. It tastes like warmth and home and the kind of silence that only comes at dusk. Especially good when the air holds a chill and the trees are gold with fall.
7. Fireside Tacos
Bring along pre-cooked pinto beans, taco spices, and corn tortillas. Warm on a skillet and top with avocado, lime, and a little cheese. Serve with salsa. Simple and easy, with room for improvisation.
8. Sweet Camp Treats
A square of toffee-flecked dark chocolate. A handful of dried cherries and mango. A marshmallow toasted just right. Or a warm tortilla with butter, sugar, almond butter and cinnamon. End the day with something a little special.
For Campers with Kids
9. Biscuits on a Stick
Prepare sturdy roasting sticks with a tin foil ball shaped around one end. Open a tube of ready to bake biscuits, and carefully shape the dough around the foil ball to create a cup shaped biscuit. Roast the biscuit over the glowing embers of your campfire. Coach the kids to take it slow - the outside needs to toast and the inside needs to cook through. Fill with wild blackberry jam.
11. Build-Your-Own Trail Mix
Before you hit the trail or launch on the river, lay out bowls of toppings — pretzels, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, mini marshmallows, cereal, and chocolate chips. Choose a mix of sweet and savory options. Let kids build their own mix-ins, scooping them into baggies labelled with their name for a mess-free, portable snack. It’s interactive, sweet, and totally customizable — like a tiny celebration you can eat.
A Note on Food and Connection
When we take time to prepare food outdoors, we make space for something more than just eating. We create moments of pause. We notice the way the light changes while water boils. We breathe in steam that smells like cumin and creek water. These rituals remind us that we belong to the places we walk through.
Whether you’re cooking solo beside a glacial lake or feeding a crew at a forest campsite, may your camp meals be full of warmth, ease, and delight. And may they carry you farther into wonder.
Download your free Red Lentil Soup Recipe Card and bring a little ember of home with you on your next trip.
