10 Easy Campervan and Camping Dinner Ideas

Ready to take an exciting campervan or camping trip with family and friends? After you pick up your campervan, it’s time to think about the important things, like camping dinner ideas.

To help, we have included some campfire dinner recipes that can be cooked either on your convenient campervan gas stove or traditionally over the fire.

Warm Up on Cold Nights With Chilli Nachos

Warm, meaty, and as spicy as you want it, chilli nachos fill you up and keep you warm.

First, brown your meat. Most chilli nachos dishes feature ground beef, but adding ground pork and spicy sausage (we recommend chorizo) boosts both the texture and depth of flavour. Drain the grease, add beef stock and or vegetable juice, diced peppers and onions, canned tomatoes, and, finally, beans. Chilli beans and black beans work best. The put over your favourite tortilla chips.

Ingredients for ten servings

• 250 kg of ground beef
• 250 kg of ground pork
• 250 kg pound of chorizo sausage (optional)
• 3 capsicums, green, red, and yellow
• 1 onion
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can chilli beans
• 1 can black beans
• Tortilla chips

Method

• Brown ground beef, chorizo, and pork and set to the side
• Dice capsicums and onions
• Add all ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer until done to your satisfactionPut on top of your favourite nachos and enjoy

Chicken Pasta

Nothing is easier than cooking chicken and pasta in your campervan. This simple recipe will get you all fed and full within the hour.

Ingredients for four servings

• Bag of pasta
• 200g of chicken
• Onions
• Tin of tomatoes
• Herbs and basil

Method

• Boil the water ready for the pasta
• Fry off your onions until golden brown
• Chop and chuck in the chicken
• Add the tin of tomatoes and bring to boil
• Add the pasta into the boiling water for 17 minutes
• Add your basil and herbs into the pasta sauce
• Once everything is cooked then put everything together and serve.

Fried Plantains

 

These may be difficult to find in many parts of the country, but when you come across them make sure to get this delicious treat that brings a taste of the Caribbean to your campsite. Plantains can add excitement and exotic flavour to any dinner. When choosing plantains, consider the darkness of the peel. The blacker the peel, the sweeter and less chewy it will be.

Definitely fry your plantains over your gas stove instead of the campfire. Fill your skillet with cooking oil and bring to high heat.  Slice the plantains either into coin shapes or lengthwise and quartered.  Put them into the oil carefully when it gets hot. Remove when golden brown and enjoy.

Ingredients for four servings

• Two plantains
• 1000 ML cooking oil

Method

• Heat up oil on medium-high to high heat
• Slice plantains as desired
• Cook in oil until golden brown, remove and drain grease on paper towels

Pork Chops, Fried or Grilled

Pork chops serve as one of the most incredibly versatile proteins available.  Expect to enjoy them just as much whether breaded or battered and pan-fried in oil on your campervan gas stove, or grilled over an open flame. Season your grilled pork chops before placing them over the flame or brush on your favourite barbeque sauce.

Make sure to cook any pork thoroughly.  Pork not cooked all the way through can transmit dangerous diseases.

Ingredients for two servings

• 2 Pork chops or pork steaks
• Barbeque sauce and/or seasoning chosen according to taste
• 500 ML cooking oil

Methods

• Brush barbeque sauce or season the meat, then grill over a flame on both sides until pork is thoroughly cooked
• Dredge through egg and milk mixture, roll in flour, dip into mixture again, roll through flour one more time, then drop into an iron skillet filled with hot oil. Cook on both sides until golden brown and cooked through the middle
• Season, then pan fry in butter and/or oil until thoroughly done

Corn on the Cob, Camping Style

Easy to cook, fun to eat, and favourite addition to camping dinners, corn on the cob is a favourite for kids and adults alike.

We recommend one of two ways to cook your corn on the cob. The easiest method lies in stripping the corn cob of the husk, then cleaning off all of the silk.  Place a pan of boiling water over your gas campervan stove, drop the corn cobs in, and boil until done.  When a fork can easily pierce the cob, it is ready to remove and eat.

The more difficult, but tastier method, requires you to peel back the husk (but do not remove), remove as much silk as possible, then replace the husk. Now dip the corn in water, shake off the excess, and then place it on the grill near the open flame. Dipping the corn into the water allows the husk to steam and smoke the corn without it lighting ablaze. This will result in deliciously sweet and smoky corn.

Ingredients for one serving

• 1 Corn on the cob

Methods

• Strip the husk and silk from the corn and boil in large pot of water until done
• Peel back the husk, remove the silk, replace the husk, drip in water and shake excess, cook over open flame until husk browns and corn inside is cooked

Hot Dogs and Chilli Sauce

Hot dogs and campfires feel almost incomplete without each other, but nothing elevates a perfectly grilled hot dog like delicious homemade sauce. Mix a can of tomato sauce, a couple of ounces of tomato paste, diced onion and garlic, chilli powder, and (the magic ingredient) a touch of cumin.

Top your hot dog with some fried onions and sauce with any variety of condiments.

Ingredients for eight servings

• 1 pack of 8 hot dogs, any kind
• 1 pack of hot dog buns
• 500 kg of ground beef
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• Brown sugar to taste
• Spices, including chilli powder and cumin to taste

Method

• Grill or boil hot dogs until cooked
• Brown ground beef along with chopped onion and diced garlic, then drain grease
• Add tomato paste, sauce, and other ingredients
• Simmer until done
• Add chilli and other condiments over hot dog and bun

Chicken Caesar Salad

Since your Travellers Autobarn campervan comes with its own refrigerator, you no longer have to worry about bulky eskies and ice runs. It also helps you expand your menu to include delicious choices like chicken Caesar salad.

The salad itself usually combines romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, Italian flavoured croutons, and black or kalamata olives. Diced bacon can add a tasty cured and smoky flavour. You always top it off with the traditional dressing.

We suggest adding sliced chicken breast cooked over your open campfire to create a delicious salad that you can eat as a whole meal.

Ingredients for four servings

• 1 package Romaine lettuce
• Freshly shredded or thinly sliced Parmesan cheese
• Garlic flavour croutons
• 1 can black or Kalamata olives
• Caesar salad dressing
• Bacon bits (optional)
• 2 boneless chicken breasts

Method

• Assemble salad in the traditional fashion, lettuce, then other vegetables, cheese, croutons, then top with dressing
• If desired, season and grill chicken breasts, slice when done, top the salad

 

Grilled Zucchini

Camping dinner ideas can also include delicious grilled vegetables that can pair well with any grilled meats. Zucchini is a hearty and meaty vegetable from the squash family featured in both Italian and American cooking.

To make grilled zucchini, slice it lengthwise into planks, dredge it through an extra virgin, first cold press olive oil. Then sprinkle with garlic powder, dried basil, and oregano. Lay it over the grill and watch the flames lick at the zucchini as it drips oil. Turn over when it both darkens and softens. When both sides have turned soft and have good grill marks, they are ready to eat.

Ingredients for three servings

• 1 Zucchini sliced lengthwise or in coin shapes
• Seasoning as desired
• Extra virgin first cold press olive oil

Method

• Coat zucchini with olive oil, add seasoning, grill on both sides until cooked as desired

Tuna Salad

Not every great camping dinner needs to be cooked. Tuna salad provides a quick, light and easy camping dinner. Get cans of albacore tuna, open and drain. Empty the tuna into a large bowl. Add diced hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise and mustard to taste, diced celery, and pickle relish. Mix thoroughly. A touch of sugar and Old Bay seasoning (if you can get it) top off this simply made, but remarkably complex tasting dish.

Ingredients for three servings

• 1 Can albacore tuna
• Mayonnaise to taste
• Mustard to taste
• Sweet or dill pickle relish
• 1/4 cup sliced celery
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• A small amount of sugar to taste
• Old Bay seasoning (optional)
• Two hard boiled eggs

Method

• Boil eggs until cooked, remove shell, and dice the eggs
• Slice celery and dice onion into small chunks
• Add all ingredients together in a large bowl
• Chill for an hour, then serve

Grilled Italian Sausage, Onion, and Pepper Sandwich

This favourite of fairs and festivals also serves as an easy and delicious campfire dinner recipe.

First, make sure to get freshly baked sub sandwich rolls because great bread elevates a sandwich into the stratosphere of deliciousness. Then, slice onions, green peppers, and sweet red peppers into large slices that can fit on the grill.

Dredge the vegetables through extra virgin first cold press olive oil, then place them and the sausages on the grill.  Take care to cook any sausages thoroughly. Once the vegetables char, remove them from the fire.

Put sausage and vegetables on your roll and then top with spicy mustard if you like.

Ingredients for two servings

• 2 Italian sausages
• 1 green capsicum
• 1 sweet capsicum
• 1 onion
• Sandwich roll
• Mustard (optional)

Method

• Slice onions and peppers into large sized pieces that can be grilled
• Another option could be to grill the capsicums but caramelise onions in butter and sugar in a skillet
• Grill sausages thoroughly without burning
• Serve together on a long sandwich roll with mustard, if desired

Not many trips are more fun than camping, and food always tastes better by the campfire, right? Here are even more campervan and camping meal tips and ideas to get your taste buds going.

Also, for more recipes, adventures and happy customer stories, come and explore our YouTube Channel!