If you’ve camped before, you’ll know that planning your food is a crucial part of your trip’s success. It’s easy to do once you know how, as long as you have thought things out ahead of time. You wouldn’t want to compromise your plant-based diet when faced with a new campsite for lack of planning. Here are some tasty vegan camping food ideas to inspire you to have delicious meals that go way beyond trail mix.
Let’s start with a few ideas that you can prepare in advance.
Treats to bring with you
Here are some ideas for food that is easily made ahead of time, travels well, and is easy to store on site:
- Potato salad or pasta salad
- Muffins or cookies
- Nut or seed bars, or energy bites
- Dips like hummus (with some chips or sliced fresh veggies for dipping)
Grilled paninis
Everyone loves a panini, and if you have a pie iron (like this one from Uno Casa), you can toast your panini for a tasty meal in minutes.
Tasty filling ingredient combos could be:
- Onions, mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes
- Sweet peppers, zucchini, and marinated eggplant
- Tomatoes, fresh basil, and vegan mozzarella
Filled potatoes
Filled potatoes are delicious and are a snap to make. You can use either sweet potatoes or white potatoes. Wrap your spuds in foil and bake them in the coals while you prepare some vegan chili, a lentil stew, or baked beans with vegan cheese. Remove the potatoes from the fire and top with your filling. Easy!
Grilled tofu steaks
Tofu travels well and is easy to grill if you use the extra-firm type. Press out any excess water, slice it, and then rub your tofu slices with spices (or marinate it in advance). Put skewers through the tofu lengthwise and grill over the fire.
Vegan scrambles
Tofu scrambles or vegan grits are easy to cook over a fire. Scramble them with chopped veggies like onions, sweet peppers, and mushrooms. Toss in some herbs, and you’re done! Just make sure to use firm or extra-firm tofu, and press out any excess water before cooking. You could also use seitan for a more chewy type of scramble.
Foil packed veggies
Sliced veggies wrapped in foil packs taste incredible when baked in the coals. Wrap your favourite veggie combo in foil with some spices and a drizzle of oil. Bake in the coals and enjoy!
Here are some combo ideas:
- Thinly sliced potatoes with salt, garlic or onion powder, and vegan butter or oil
- Corn on the cob with salt and vegan butter
- Small carrots, broccoli, and tomatoes with herbs and vegan cheese
You could even do a baked cauliflower – drizzle it with oil, cover with spices, tuck in some other veggies around the side, and you’ve got a quick main meal.
Pancakes
Vegan pancakes are simple to make in a pan over a fire. Add some chopped bananas or fresh berries to the batter, and serve with a drizzle of maple syrup and more fruit. You could even bring a small bag of frozen fruit – leave it to thaw and use it in the batter, or heat it in the pan with some maple syrup or sugar for a quick fruit coulis.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is an excellent vegan camping food since the oats release carbs over a long period: you’ll have more energy for the day ahead. Make your oatmeal extra-delicious by adding diced apple, raisins, chia or hemp seeds, and some spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and allspice.
Dessert foil packets
Foil packets aren’t just for veggies. You can make tasty desserts baked in the fire, too. Choose any of these combos, wrap them in foil, and let the coals do their thing:
- Chocolate bananas. Slice them open and wrap them with dairy-free chocolate in the middle.
- Apple pie pockets. Put sliced apples, your favorite granola, and a drizzle of lemon juice and maple syrup in the foil pocket.
- Baked apples. Core some baking apples and fill the middle with raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a drizzle of maple syrup or a bit of brown sugar.
S’mores
No camping trip would be complete without s’mores. Standard chocolate and marshmallows aren’t vegan-friendly, but you can find vegan alternatives. You can even make your own vegan marshmallows. Sandwich thin slices of dairy-free chocolate between two graham crackers with a marshmallow in the middle, wrap in foil and bake. Note: Check the label when buying graham crackers, as some brands are not vegan-friendly.