Simple & Easy Camping Snacks
Camping: either you love it or you hate it. If you’re like us, then you love getting outdoors, sleeping in a tent, with an air mattress that, hopefully, doesn’t deflate overnight. (Trevor wouldn’t know anything about that…👀)
One of the best things about camping, aside from the campfires, nature, and turning off your brain and escaping the rat race of modern society for a few days, is all the food that you end up eating!
Group camping out at the acreage is always fun.
But who likes to spend a lot of time cooking while camping? Not us! There’s books to be read and games to be played. So here are some of our favourite simple and easy camping snacks that are Mediocre Chef Approved™.
Over-The-Fire Snacks 🔥
Roasted Marshmallows
This is probably the most quintessential campfire snack. They’re so easy to make, but also so easy to mess up. Also there are lots of strong opinions on the preferred method of roasting a marshmallow — flame or coals?
The method is simple, stick a marshmallow on a stick, put the stick over the fire, and don’t burn it (easier said than done). That’s all there is to it.
Perfectly golden.
S’Mores
A step up from roasted marshmallows — just pack some chocolate and graham crackers. Or if you’re super lazy you can also use these Celebration cookies.
To get the chocolate melty (the marshmallow alone won’t do it), place your graham crackers and chocolate over the grate of the fire on some tin foil. By the time you’re done roasting your marshmallow, your chocolate should be a bit melty. Congrats, you’ve made the perfect s’more.
Delish.
Roasted Glazed Donut
This has been all over the internet (or at least Brittany’s TikTok feed), so we had to try it.
All you have to do is buy some glazed donuts, stick them on your roasting stick, and roast them over the fire. You don’t want to do it for too long, just enough to heat up the donut, get the glaze a little bit melty (but not completely dripping off of your donut), and impart a small amount of smoky flavour. YUM.
So, so good.
Hot Dogs
You could argue that hot dogs are a meal, but we think they’re best served as a snack.
Bonus points if you make an octopus hot dog! 🐙 Just cut some slits into one end of your hot dog to make multiple tentacles — they’ll curl when you roast it over the fire.
Campfire Nachos
We like snacks that don’t take a lot of ingredients. Campfire nachos can be super simple, just nacho chips and cheese, or you can make them more complicated with all the toppings your heart desires if you have room in your cooler.
We recommend buying those tin foil containers from the dollar store to bake your nachos over the fire. Layer your nacho chips and cheese, and top with some tin foil to trap in the heat.
Even with the foil on top, the nachos will still get imparted with a delicious smoky flavor. Enjoy!
Pre-melting action (before the tin foil went on).
P.S. - these chips (fiesta flavor) are the best. *chefs kiss*
Banana Boats
This is a throwback. If you were ever in Sparks/Brownies/Girl Guides, you probably made banana boats. (Brittany did!) Just slice off a bit of the banana (the long way) to reveal the fruit — keep it in its peel. Top it with whatever toppings you want — cinnamon, sugar, chocolate, marshmallows, coconut, strawberries, nuts, etc. Wrap it in some foil and stick it over the fire. YUM.
Pack n’ Go Snacks 🎒
Trail Mix
Sure you can make your own trail mix by buying a bunch of nuts, raisins, and other fun things in bulk. Or you can buy a premade bag and call it good enough.
Pocket Cheese
Whoa, whoa. We know. This certainly sounds disgusting. But trust us. What you do is find some aged cheddar cheese that are individually wrapped. (Who cares about the environment amiright?) We like Balderson Aged Cheddar (but we’re biased because we’re Canadian).
“Hey Trevor! Balderson? Baldur’s Gate. Ehhhh? 😏” - Brittany to Trevor in August 2023 when we were both super addicted to Baldur’s Gate 3 and trying to detox, unsuccessfully.
The trick is to put a handful of the individually wrapped cheeses into your pocket, and then you have cheese on demand! Middle of playing cards? Cheese. On a hike? Cheese. Driving back to town because your air mattress deflated? Cheese.
Protein Bars
Going hiking? Pack some protein bars. The worst thing ever is not packing enough snacks when you’re on a long hike. Protein bars will fill you up and fuel you.
Brittany likes Cliff Builders, Trevor likes Pure Protein. Pack your favorite bar, or try one of these brands.
Chips
Crunchy. Salty. Satisfying. Not much more to say here.
When we go camping our chip consumption increases by 1000%.
Our favorite chips: Ruffles All Dressed, Miss Vickie’s Salt & Vinegar, Lay’s Ketchup, Cheeto Puffs. (Can you tell that we’re Canadian?)
Bonus: get some dip if you’re bringing some regular ripple chips. Philadelphia French Onion dip is the GOAT.
Bonus bonus: make your own dang dip. Here are a few recipes:
Crack dip (no drugs in here)
Sunflower Seeds
You know when you toss a log on the fire and it starts crackling? Good god, brother. The only way to make this precious moment even better is if you’ve got a fistful of sunflower seeds to eat. Preferably if they’re dill pickle flavoured.
🔥 Hot take: Spitz sunflower seeds have really been dropping the ball the last few years. Ronnie’s Original the superior brand! (To our American friends, let us know if you can find this brand down there?)
Peanuts in Shell
Don’t like sunflower seeds? You’ll probably dig peanuts. (Unless you have a peanut allergy, of course). We prefer the salted kind, but you can do unsalted as well. Put some out for the squirrels and make some friends while camping.
Beef Jerky
Easy. Delicious. Lasts forever. You can find it at any gas station on your way out of town.
Shoutout to Wilhauk Beef Jerky in Leduc for making our new favourite beef jerky. Although if you ever happen to find yourself way up north near our hometown of Cold Lake, check out Hamel’s Meat Market and Butcher Shop. They make beef jerky that’s so good, it’s been to space. No, we are not kidding.
Noticing a theme here? Anything salty or sweet is probably a good camping snack.
Also, don’t forget to bring some beer/cider/whatever booze you like for drinking around the campfire.
Disagree with something on our list? Have a favourite camping snack? Let us know!
