23 Vegetarian Camping Meals

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More beans, less franks. Freshen up your camp menu this year with a few of these delicious vegetarian camping food ideas!

Megan chopping a zuchinni on a wooden cutting boardWhile many traditional camping meals can be very meat-heavy, there’s a lot of compelling reasons to consider a more vegetarian approach instead. Below are a few of the reasons why we prefer to cook vegetarian meals while camping, plus a bunch of our favorite vegetarian camping recipes. It’s a lot easier than you might think!

Why eat vegetarian while camping

Cheaper: Meat is expensive, especially if you’re conscious about shopping for organic and humanely raised options. Incorporating some vegetarian meals can help lower that grocery bill before heading out to your campsite.

Less refrigeration: Bringing raw meat camping means you really need to be on top of your cooler game. Sealing everything in contains, packing enough ice, refilling when necessary, and making sure not to leave anything out for too long. While not all vegetarian meals eliminate the need for a cooler (some do), it certainly reduces your overall risk of foodborne pathogens. Reduces overall stress, too.

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Feel better: We’re no dietitians, but after a couple of days of eating hamburgers and hot dogs, usually we aren’t feeling too hot. Most traditional camping meals tend to be pretty heavy, which is fine for a day or two, but it can take a toll on the system after a while. So we like to put a vegetarian twist where we can to make our camping diet a little more sustainable.

If you need a little inspiration on how to incorporate some vegetarian meals in your camping routine, we’ve got a few ideas to get you started. Check out the full list below.

JUMP TO: Breakfasts | Lunch + Snacks | Dinners | Desserts

Vegetarian Camping Breakfasts

A stack of pancakes topped with sliced bananas on a yellow plate.

1. Banana bread pancakes

Combining the flavors of banana bread with the classic camping breakfast: pancakes! Topped with walnuts, sliced bananas, and maple syrup, these pancakes make rolling out of your sleeping bag in the morning just a little bit sweeter.

Michael holding a Halloumi Breakfast Sandwich

2. Grilled halloumi breakfast sandwich

Grilled halloumi cheese, sweet Hawaiian rolls, a fried egg and spicy mayo come together to make a fantastic quick and easy camping breakfast.

Three pieces of French toast on a blue enamel plate

3. Banana coconut French toast

This vegan French toast uses coconut milk and bananas for the batter, which give it a delicious and unexpected flavor! Shelf stable ingredients mean you don’t have to use up space in your cooler.

A cast iron skillet with chickpeas, vegetables, and two sunny side up eggs

4. Chickpea breakfast hash

A protein-packed update to breakfast hash, this chickpea and vegetable breakfast skillet is a healthy way to jumpstart your morning.

Lunches and snacks

These vegetarian snacks and lunch ideas will help keep you energized for a full day of fun in the outdoors!

Nachos in a Dutch oven on a campfire grill

5. Campfire nachos

These Dutch Oven Nachos are super easy to throw together at lunchtime and can be totally customized with all your favorite toppings!

Woman holding a stack of trail mix bliss balls

6. Trail mix bliss balls

These bliss balls are a whole-foods alternative to pre-made trail snacks!

Megan holding a handful of homemade granola

7. Trail mix

Trail Mix is such a great camping snack – just throw it in your day pack and hit the trail to explore for the day! This post has a ton of our favorite trail mix combinations.

Vegetarian camping dinners

Michael holding a blue enamel bowl of sweet potato peanut stew

8. West African sweet potato peanut stew

If you’re looking for something hearty, comforting, AND healthy the next time you’re out camping, you need to try this vegan sweet potato peanut stew.

Michael sprinkling cheese onto a skillet of pasta

9. One pot protein pasta

Combining red lentil pasta with garlicky sauteed kale, this super easy one pot camping meal delivers a ton of protein while still being completely vegetarian.

Chili topped with cheese in a red and white bowl

10. 5 can chili

This from stratch vegetarian chili uses non-perishable canned ingredients, making it a perfect go-to pantry meal.

Cornbread in a cast iron skillet

11. Cast iron skillet cornbread

An easy cornbread recipe that cooks up in a cast iron skillet over your campfire. Perfect with a bowl of chili on your next camping trip!

A sweet potato veggie burger on a blue enamel plate

12. Southwestern sweet potato bean burger

Combining healthy sweet potato, beans patties, and smokey southwestern spices, these veggie burgers are the perfect excuse to fire up the grill!

Lasagna in a Dutch oven

13. Dutch oven lasagna

Layers of baked pasta, crunchy edges of melted cheese, flavorful tomato sauce, and fragrant Italian seasonings. Can anything come close to the mouthwatering perfection that is lasagna?

Red lentil sloppy joes on a blue camping plate with a campfire in the background

14. Red lentil sloppy joes

These Red Lentil Sloppy Joes are a plant based update to the camp classic. It all cooks up in one pot, making cleanup easy!

Enchiladas in a dutch oven on a table

15. Dutch oven enchilladas

These Dutch Oven Enchiladas are such an easy camping meal! Stuffed with veggies and beans, covered in sauce, and topped with melted cheese, this recipe is one that everyone will enjoy.

Chickpea curry over rice on a camping plate.

16. Easy chickpea curry

This vegan chickpea curry is SO easy to make! A creamy coconut based sauce is loaded with spices like garam masala, cinnamon, ginger, and tumeric. Serve with toasted naan and rice for a complete meal.

Tacos filled with sweet potatoes and black beans on a red and white plate

17. Sweet potato black bean tacos

Toothsome sweet potatoes, assertive poblano peppers, and flavorful black beans, wrapped up in a crispy corn tortilla. These vegan tacos deliver a smoky southwestern sensation with each and every bite.

Mac and cheese in a blue camping bowl next to a fire.

18. Dutch oven mac and cheese

Dutch oven mac and cheese is the ultimate camp comfort food. This version is super easy to prepare!

Pizza in a cast iron skillet

19. Campfire pizza margherita

If you’ve never made pizza while camping before, then this campfire pizza Margherita is the perfect place to start!

Eggplant, zuchinni, and yellow squash skewers on a campfire grill

20. Grilled ratatouille kebabs

A vegan kebab with a French twist, this campfire Grilled Ratatouille is a great way to incorporate some vegetables into your camping diet.

Fajitas filled with sweet potatoes, roasted peppers and onions on a blue plate

21. Grilled sweet potato fajitas

Grilled sweet potato “steaks”, roasted peppers and onions, and a New Mexican chile marinade, these vegan campfire fajitas are a new take on an old classic.

Desserts

Megan carrying a Dutch oven with apple cobbler inside

22. Dutch oven apple cobbler

Soft cinnamon-spiced apples, crumbly topping, and a sweet syrupy sauce, all baked to golden brown perfection inside a Dutch oven, this apple cobbler is a great dessert to enjoy around the campfire.

Banana boats in foil on a camp table

23. Campfire banana boats

Learn how to make campfire banana boats: a classic camping dessert and beloved campfire tradition.

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28 Comments

  1. What a great round up!! Although I won’t be camping to try these. My camping days are over! But I WILL be trying some of these delicious looking recipes!

  2. What a great list of vegetarian meals! Everything looks so filling and hearty! Those banana boats are such a fun dessert! Camping or not, I would love to eat any of those meals!

  3. What a great roundup! All of these look so phenomenal I don’t know if I could narrow them down for a single camping trip! Guess that means…more camping!

  4. I love this! We don’t have a cooler (yet) that will do us any good for more than a few hours, so we eat almost all vegetarian food when camping. It’s easier!

  5. I just went camping for 5 days and made the french toast, campfire nachos, and sweet potato peanut stew. I had never cooked over a campfire before and these recipes came together easily and were very tasty. I’m considering making the others at home since they’re so good and easy to throw together. Thank you so much for sharing!

  6. Wow! these are wonderful ideas!
    Nice healthy meals that keep you going and looks tasty!

  7. Ok, wow. So much inspo in one post! The pictures look so appetizing too!

  8. Great recipes, lucky I love sweet potato because every second recipe has it:)

  9. Delicious recipes. I love to travel with my family and we usually go for camping. So your post has given me new recipe ideas that I can make for them and we can enjoy our camping. Your recipes can also be made for snacks. Keep sharing such wonderful recipes.

  10. Delicias recipe What a Great Round up just went campaign and made the french toast. I had never cooked over a campfire before and these recipes came together easily and were very tasty.

  11. I am so glad this post was helpful for you! That was exactly what I was hoping for.
    We mamas need to take a little pressure off. Healthy eating doesn’t really have to be that hard. Thanks again for reading!

  12. Lauren Grau says:

    The photos, the recipes, the everything – this post is beautiful! Looking forward to trying out a few of these this summer. Thanks so much!

  13. Thanks for the great post!
    This ithe first time I’ve found enough recipes worth making to save the entire list! 😀

  14. Cheryl J Westra says:

    Made the Enchiladas and the Chick Pea Curry, as well as the Artichoke And Poblano Campfire Paella, during our campout last week. All were fabulous! They were easy, fairly quick, and so flavorful! Keeping these in my rotation and looking forward to trying the other suggested meals as well.

  15. Taj Mahal Tours Trips says:

    Thanks for sharing such a nice information very nice blog

  16. Heading into northern Kwa-Zulu Natal this weekend and I’m so excited to try these new recipes. We have the cast iron pots and I’ve never really used them to their full potential. I am so excited to try these recipes, thank you so much for sharing. Innovative, practical, affordable and well presented for sharing. Great job!

  17. Makmudul Hassan says:

    So many great article !! They are all amazing, even for those who don’t go camping!