Kid Friendly Camping Lunch Ideas
Camping is a fun opportunity to make memories with your family. One of the hardest parts of camping is keeping everyone fed.
When you are out being active all day, it is common to be hungrier than usual, so it is normal to expect your children to want more food while you are out camping. But this can be a bit difficult as kids tend to be picky eaters and cooling away from home is a bit different than usual.
These simple kids-friendly camping lunch ideas will help make planning your camping meals all that much easier, and most of these would work just as well for dinner.
No-Cook Camping Lunches
We hardly ever have hot lunches while camping. Often we bring our lunch with us on a hike and enjoy it on the trail. These ideas will give you the energy to get you there and back again.
Sandwiches
Sandwiches are a simple option for camping lunches. You can bring a variety of lunch meats and cheeses with you on your trip with a couple of loves for bread for an easy-to-make lunch option.
When it’s time to eat, whip up a large tray of sandwiches for everyone to dig in. Some jellies and nut butters do not need refrigeration making this a great option if you need to save cooler space for your camping trip. Or go wild and create a nutella and banana creation!
Cheese and Crackers
Homemade Lunchables or cheese and crackers can be a fun option for camping lunches. These do not need any cooking, and you can chop meats and cheeses to fit crackers well ahead of time when packing for your camping trip.
Simply pull everything out with a few packs of crackers and let the kids assemble their own mini sandwiches. We also use easy cheese to make it so much easier to store the cheese.
Easy meals like cheese and crackers also make a great meal if you’re stuck inside the tent due to rain.
Roll Ups
Our son isn’t a huge fan of all the bread that comes with sandwiches, but he’ll eat a turkey and cheese roll up. We just take normal sandwich ingredients and roll them up in a tortilla.
Heat and Serve Camping Lunches
If you’re winter camping or cold weather camping you’ll want to have hot meals to warm up. Here are some of the easiest ideas to feed your crew quickly.
Shells and Cheese
Shells and cheese make a great kid-friendly lunch idea. Unlike boxed mac and cheese, you do not need to store milk and butter for this in your cooler, giving you a bit more space for more important things.
Shells and cheese is a fun and simple meal that kids love. Spice it up a bit by adding tuna or using it as a side dish for the main meal.
Hotdogs
Grilled hotdogs make a great kid-friendly camping lunch. Hotdogs are cheap and easy to make.
With some roasting sticks, the kids can even make their own hotdogs right over the campfire to make some of their best childhood memories. Most hotdogs are precooked, so you don’t have to worry about food safety if your little ones insist on cooking their own.
Serve with chips or mac and cheese for a not so healthy but lots of fun camping meal.
Burgers
Grilled burgers, like hot dogs are a classing for cooking over an open fire, and with the right topping options and some chips on the side, you can not go wrong with grilling up some burgers for the kids and everyone else.
I’ve grilled the burgers before hand and then heated them up on the campfire. This way I don’t have to worry about if the fire isn’t hot enough to get a perfect cook, they just need to be reheated.
Pizza
Pizza is easy to make on a cast iron griddle or in a cast-iron skillet. Many families grill pizza in the summer to keep from heating their homes with the oven. With a lid to put over the top for a more even cook, you can make your own pizza quick and easily over the campfire.
Pack a few ingredients to make your own pizza. I suggest using premade crust, because getting a crust to cook is the hardest part.
Hopefully some of these ideas keep you and your critterz fed and back out enjoying nature!
Happy Camping!
I’m Molly Foss, aka Momma Critter. I’ve been camping since I was 9 years old and I always wanted to be Robin Hood and live in the forest when I grew up. I’m excited to share my love of camping with my son as he grows up. My favorite thing to do while camping is roast marshmallows over the fire.
