Camping offers the chance for nearly anyone to get away. It’s far less expensive than booking a hotel or an Airbnb, but who wants to dine on nothing but hot dogs and s’mores? They start to lose their charm after the second day — you need camping meals that satisfy.

Cooking in the wild requires a touch of extra forethought and the right tools. However, it’s a fabulous way to practice your meal-prep skills, as you’ll prepare much at home and take it with you. Are you ready to go gourmet in the woods? Here are the five best camping meals to make this summer.

Essential Gear for Cooking Camping Meals

Cooking in the wild requires the right gear. While many campgrounds include briquette grills as amenities, you might decide to boondock. If so, you won’t have access to anything except what you bring, so stash the following essentials in your backpack:

  • Aluminum foil: Bring oodles of it. It’s ideal for lining the grill to keep your fish fry from falling and for roasting potatoes and veggies.
  • A camp grill: Portable self-contained grills are ideal for burn restrictions. Otherwise, a grate on stakes or a grill basket with a long handle does the trick over a campfire.
  • A frying pan: Did we mention fish? There’s also bacon and eggs, ideal on chilly camp mornings.
  • Grill tools: You need a way to flip, baste and scrape the grate when finished.
  • A cooler and dry ice: Dry ice lasts much longer than the regular stuff in a cooler. However, you must ensure there are no gaps, using layers of insulation like cardboard or towels.
  • Freezer bags: You’ll prep things that must be marinated at home and bring them along. Freezer bags take up far less space than Tupperware.

5 Camping Meals to Make This Summer Sizzle

You’ve gathered the goods, selected your campsite and left an itinerary with the folks back home. It’s time to get grilling. Here are five camping meals that will level up your fireside feasts.

1. Grilled Clambake

  • 2 halved lobster tails
  • 1 pound sliced Andouille sausage
  • 1 pound shrimp
  • 24 black mussels
  • 24 littleneck clams
  • 2 pounds cubed red potatoes — cut the spuds small
  • 2 ears corn, sliced into 2-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup white wine
  • ½ pound butter
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Although boiling is the traditional method of cooking lobsters, seafood tastes even better over the grill. The wood imparts a smoky goodness you can’t beat.

Precook your potatoes and corn. Boil potatoes until slightly soft before cubing — prepare corn to the same degree of doneness. Otherwise, they won’t finish over the grill.

Assemble all ingredients except for the seasoning, water, wine and butter, dividing them evenly into separate aluminum foil packets. Sprinkle with Old Bay and wrap tightly, placing the foil packets in freezer bags in your cooler and packing them well with dry ice.

Fire up the grill and place the packets on it. Cook closed for about five minutes, then open the foil to check for doneness. In a separate frying pan, combine the butter, water and wine and baste. Serve when the clams and mussels open and the lobster tails turn white and flaky.

2. Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers

  • 4 portobello mushroom caps
  • 4 slices Swiss cheese
  • 4 slices tomato
  • 4 slices avocado
  • Baby spinach
  • 4 whole-grain buns
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon tamari sauce
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
  • Montreal steak seasoning

Beef might be a campfire classic, but what if you take a long holiday, including meatless Monday? These portobello mushroom burgers taste equally heavenly on the grill and provide a healthy dose of selenium for thyroid and mental health.

While at home, blend the vinegar, tamari, olive oil, rosemary and steak seasoning. Place mushrooms in a shallow dish, cover with the marinade and let sit for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Then, wrap the caps in foil, place them in freezer bags and add them to the cooler. Pack the remaining ingredients.

Grill your mushroom caps at the campsite, using the foil to prevent them from falling into the flame. Add cheese approximately one minute before ready, so it melts before serving.

3. Classic Steak and Potatoes

  • Four New York strip or ribeye steaks
  • Four russet potatoes
  • 4 tablespoons avocado oil
  • Coarsely ground salt and pepper
  • Butter, sour cream, chives, cheese, salsa or bacon crumbles for topping

Few camping meals compare to classic steak and potatoes on the grill. You have two choices of how to proceed. You can gently boil the potatoes at home to start the cooking process or bring them raw — but the latter method takes longer.

Scrub potatoes, basting them with avocado oil and sprinkling with coarse salt and pepper. Wrap them in foil and cook over the campfire — or directly in the flames — until done. It can take an hour or more from raw, so be patient.

When the potatoes are nearly finished, baste the steak with the remaining avocado oil, salt and pepper. Grill to desired doneness. Serve, topping potatoes however you like.

4. Campfire Fish Fry

  • Fresh fish
  • Butter
  • Mango-chipotle seasoning (or your favorite fish seasoning)
  • Chips for garnish

Did you and the kids reel in a trout on your camping adventure? Assuming it’s on the smaller side from pristine waters, why not fry it up for dinner? You’ll increase your omega-3 intake and enjoy lean protein to refuel you from your adventures.

Clean, skin, filet and bone your fish, placing it in your frying pan or using aluminum foil to create a small basket for your grill. Add butter and seasoning, frying until done. Serve with a side of chips.

5. Chicken, Turkey Sausage and Vegetable Kebabs

  • 1 pound cubed boneless, skinless chicken thighs, precooked to near-doneness
  • 1 pound cooked, sliced Italian turkey sausage
  • One red, green and yellow bell pepper, cut into pieces
  • One red onion, cut into slices
  • Eight small, fresh mushrooms
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • Three minced garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Precooking the chicken for this camping meal before you depart ensures it reaches perfect doneness. That way, you prevent food-borne illnesses.

Layer your cooked chicken, turkey sausage, peppers, onions and mushrooms onto kebabs and place on aluminum foil. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, garlic and seasonings. Baste over kebabs and wrap them firmly in foil. Place the wrapped kebabs in freezer bags and stow them in your cooler until you reach your site. Once you fire up the grill, cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until charred and enjoy.

Level up Your Campfire Cooking

Who said camping meals must consist of hot dogs and marshmallows? You can become a regular deep woods gourmet with these unique recipes to make this summer.