Eating vegetarian on a normal day can be hard enough, but eating vegetarian while camping can be a downright struggle if you think of normal camping food. Burgers and hotdogs aren't very vegetarian friendly and you can't live on chips the whole trip.
The good news is that there are actually a lot of vegetarian foods that you can cook while camping. You don't have to be reduced to foraging for roots and berries. You just have to think outside of what is traditional campfire food.
Grilled vegetables are easy to make. So are nachos, pasta, beans, rice, and quesadillas. So with some planning, vegetarians won't have to starve while camping.
Vegetarian Camping Meals
Dinners
Lunches & Snacks
Breakfast
• Skewers and kabobs
• Grilled vegetables and fruit
• Toast and eggs
• Vegetable foil packs
• Nachos with beans or veggie chili
• Quesadillas
• Grilled tofu
• Sandwiches and wraps
• Spaghetti (Pasta Primavera)
• Veggie burgers
• Beans and rice
• Campfire tacos
•Vegetarian chili
Camp Cooking Methods
The way you are planning on cooking during the trip will affect what you can cook. For example, if you are just using a fire with no grill over the top, you won't be able to cook food in pots. If you will be using a portable grill or at a campsite that has a grill, you will have a much wider choice in what you can fix.
So make sure you know how you will be cooking your food ahead of time. Bring the necessary pots, skillets, toasting forks, aluminum foil, can opener, and so on. Don't forget silverware, plates, and cups.
Caution: pots will be hotter over a fire than with a normal stove. Make sure to use oven mitts or a towel when lifting pots and pans so you won't burn yourself.
You can clean the pot with bleach wipes, so you don't have to bring the whole kitchen out into the woods with you.
Foil Packs
Foil packs are the easiest way to cook food if you don't have a grill.
Vegetable Packs
Foil dinners are great for camping. You can use them with any type of fire, grill, or even in an oven. You wrap up a meal for each individual, which is great for picky eaters or if part of the group is vegetarian and part is not.
Each person can pick exactly what goes in their food. In addition, you can make a different meal each time, so it doesn’t get boring.
Just about any type of vegetable or even fruit can go into the pack. Meat eaters can even add meat to theirs if they want.
Vegetable Pack
You can customize what vegetables go into your foil pack.
How to Make a Foil Pack Dinner
To make a foil dinner, pull off a long piece of aluminum foil. Place the food in the middle of the foil. Add seasoning. Italian herbs and olive oil make a tasty seasoning. You can also use just butter and some salt and pepper for flavoring. Add some type of oil or butter to it so that it won’t dry out too much as it cooks.
Potatoes, peppers, mushrooms, onions, pieces of corn, cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots are good vegetables to put into the pack. Pineapples, cherries, and apples also taste good grilled. Tofu is another great addition for protein.
You can wrap a whole potato or an ear of corn in foil and grill it as well.
If you don't have a grill, the pack can just go beside the fire. Don't touch the packs with your bare hands once they have been cooking. Try to turn them often so the food will be evenly cooked.
Foil packs are also great to use for cookouts, which are another difficult time for vegetarians to find things to eat. The packs can be thrown on the grill along with the other food. The foil protects the food from contacting the meat.
Kabobs and skewers are another easy way to cook food while camping. You can lay the kabob on the grill or put it in the edge of the fire if you don’t have a grill.
Make sure you wrap the skewer in multiple layers of foil if it is going in the fire.
Cut the vegetables (and fruits) into pieces that are a few inches across. Make sure they are small enough to cook well, but big enough that they won’t fall off the skewer.
You can mix the vegetables together on the same stick or you can make the whole skewer the same type of fruit or veggie if you have items that will cook for different lengths of time.
Stick the skewer through the pieces. Leave a bit of space between each piece so the vegetables can cook thoroughly. Wrap the skewer with foil for the best flavor and to hold in any seasonings. Add salt, pepper, olive oil or butter, any sprinkles of herbs, and anything else you want to use for seasoning. Then place the skewer onto the grill.
It will need to cook approximately 10-15 minutes. Cook until tender and lightly browned.
Grill Food
This is a list of food that cooks well and tastes delicious when prepared over a fire or on a grill. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comment box.
potatoes
peppers
mushrooms
cucumber
cherry tomatoes
squash
zucchini
onions
corn
carrots
pineapples
cherries
apples
tofu
These vegetables are good for grill packs but not for skewers.
broccoli
cauliflower
asparagus
Nachos with chips, black beans, and cheese cooked over a campfire.
Campfire Nachos
Ingredients:
Chips
Beans or vegetarian chili
Cheese (vegans can leave off the cheese or use daiya cheese alternative)
Peppers
Tomatoes
Any other nacho topping you may want
Directions:
Nachos are a great grill food. The best way to fix them is to use aluminum foil. Pull off a long piece of foil. Fold up the edges on all sides so that the nachos will stay in place.
If you are going to use beans or chili, you may want to heat them in a pot first. If you don’t have a pot, the beans will warm up when you melt the nachos.
Spread the chips on the foil. Pour the beans or chili on top. Sprinkle on the cheese. Add any other ingredients you desire on top. Remember to bring a can opener for the beans and a knife to cut any toppings.
Place the nachos on the grill. When the cheese is melted and the other ingredients are warm, remove the nachos. Allow them to cool a few minutes before eating. Add salsa for a yummy nacho treat.
Boiling Spaghetti Over a Campfire
The spaghetti sauces are bubbling away on the grill.
Spaghetti (Pasta Primavera)
Ingredients:
Pasta
Spaghetti sauce
Vegetables (peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc)
Directions:
Pasta can be cooked over a campfire easily as long as there is a grill. Simply boil the water and add the pasta. Make sure to bring a strainer or some tongs to pull the noodles out of the water when they are tender.
Boil the sauce in another pot. Add vegetables as desired. You can even make pasta with just veggies and not use marinara sauce. Or substitute alfredo sauce.
The pasta and sauce will have a grill fire taste plus the carbs in the pasta will give you the energy for hiking afterward.
Sandwiches and Wraps
Sandwiches and wraps are another option for camping. They can be easy to fix. This can be especially good if you can’t make a fire for some reason or if it rains.
Peanut butter and jelly, vegetable sandwiches, potato salad or egg salad sandwiches are all tasty options for sandwich days.
If you do have a fire, you can even make a sandwich and toast it over the fire. Grilled cheese sandwiches can be a quick and easy meal.
Campfire Breakfast
Boil water for eggs and use toasting forks to warm bread.
Toast and Eggs
Breakfast can be easy for vegetarians as well. Simply eat eggs and toast. If you are a vegan, skip the eggs. Cook soy or tofu bacon for protein.
Make an omelet over the fire or boil an egg in a pot. You can even scramble eggs in a skillet. Add peppers or other vegetables to the eggs for more flavor and nutrients.
Bread can be placed on a piece of aluminum foil and then laid onto the grill to make toast. If you don’t have a grill, you can put the bread on a toasting fork and hold it up to the fire. To keep the bread from getting too crunchy, add butter before you cook the bread.
Veggie Burgers
Sometimes it is easier to eat the same thing everyone else is having. Fixing a veggie burger patty when everyone else is eating burgers can be a simple solution. There are many varieties of veggie burgers available. There are even vegetarian hotdogs.
Campfire Tacos
Click thumbnail to view full-size
A vegetarian taco with beans and rice
Beans and Rice
The combination of beans and rice is a good way for vegetarians to get complete high fiber protein. Eating them while camping is a great way to fuel your body for all of your camping activities. On the plus side, it is a simple meal to fix as long as you have a grill and a couple of pots.
To make the rice, you will mainly need to boil water. That is simple to do on the grill. Then all you will need to do is follow the directions on the rice.
Many different types of beans are great tasting over a campfire. Black beans, brown beans, and refried beans are some of the best choices. The easiest way to cook them is to use canned beans and heat them in a pot.
Add pieces of vegetables such as peppers, onions, and tomatoes or tomato sauce for a more flavorful dish. You can even eat them in a shell or with chips or over a salad for a Mexican-themed flair.
Campfire Food Poll
What is your favorite campfire food?
Vegetarian Chili
Ingredients:
Beans (black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, or chili beans work best)
Can of diced tomatoes
Peppers
Onions
Carrots
Corn
Cayenne pepper
Chili powder
White ground pepper
Salt
Hot sauce (optional)
Directions:
Chili has been a long standing traditional campfire food. Make your own vegetarian chili during your camping trip. You will need a large pot to make chili.
There are several types of beans that are delicious in chili. Black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, or chili beans are the most common. You can even add more than one type of bean to the chili for a rich texture.
Vegetables that taste good in the chili are also subject to personal preference. Onions, bell peppers, spicy peppers, tomatoes, carrots, corn, or even lima beans are all typical chili vegetables. You can even add rice as well.
Combine the beans and the diced tomatoes in the pot. Chop the vegetables and then mix them into the pot. Add the spices and seasonings. Mix the chili well.
Place the pot on the fire. Bring the ingredients to a boil. If you can, let the chili simmer over a cooler fire to allow for a richer flavor.
Stir the chili frequently to make sure it doesn’t burn on the bottom. Let it cool before eating. Eat with crackers or chips.
Open quesadilla cooking on the grill
Quesadilla
Ingredients:
Tortillas
Cheese (cheddar or Monterey jack cheese is best)
Peppers
Onions
Tomatoes
Corn
Mushrooms
Olives
Directions:
To make a quesadilla over a fire, you will need a grill. Pull off a piece of aluminum foil big enough to fit under the tortilla. Place one tortilla on the foil. A light coating of oil or butter on the foil will keep the tortilla from getting too crispy. (If you have a skillet, cook the quesadilla in the skillet using oil).
Add cheese and any vegetables you want onto the tortilla. Do not layer the ingredients too thickly or they won’t cook well. Place another tortilla on top.
Lay the tortilla onto the grill and allow it to cook for a few minutes. Flip the quesadilla and allow it to cook until the cheese is melted.
Let the quesadilla cool. Serve with salsa or sour cream if desired.
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