For Pre-Planners, Rookies, and Campfire Aficionados
Breakfast in the Mountains - Photo Credit: Laurine Bailly
We all know that breakfast is essential - especially when you’re waking up bright and early, ready to conquer a 10-mile hike. But for many of us, we get too wrapped up in whatever we’re doing for the day that we forget to prepare for what’s supposed to be the most important meal. On the other end of the spectrum, some of our seasoned campers may be tired of making the same tried and true breakfasts that deliver every time, but may not be quite as appealing after a few dozen camping trips. Whatever outdoor cooking level you find yourself at, we’ve got you covered. Whether you like to plan ahead and forget the rest, stick to the easy classics, or want to test your skills and make something extraordinary, these recipes are what you need for your next outdoor excursion.
--The Premade--
This section is for our go-getters, our big planners. The ones who don’t have time to sit around poking the fire before their daily adventure - they’d rather be watching the sun rise. For people like you, here are 3 minimal-ingredient meals that you can prepack before your next destination and whip up quickly before you start your day. Some require a bit of cooking, but for the most part, these meals only require a small bit of time and energy before you hit the trails. Be sure to check out our homemade trail snacks for even more recipes you can make before your trip!
Crumpets
This first recipe is from @timeshare_travellers on Instagram, and is super simple and easy if you’re craving something sweet. It only uses a few ingredients, so it’s a cheap and easy-to-remember recipe too! You can pack these crumpets to go for a snack while you hike, or eat them for your morning breakfast before heading out. Either way, this recipe is super easy if you can’t be bothered to make a full course meal before sunrise!
Ingredients:
1 cup self rising flour
1 egg
Pinch of sugar
Milk (approx. ½ cup)
Ziploc bags
Maple syrup (optional)
Instructions:
First, mix the flour, egg, sugar, and milk together in a bowl, and pour into a Ziploc bag. Mix well. At this point, you have ready-to-use batter to store and bring with you to cook over the fire at your convenience. To do this, cut a corner of the ziplock bag to turn it into a piping bag. This cuts down on dishes and makes it much easier to place on your skillet. Grease your pan and heat it. Then, pipe your crumpets onto your pan. Bite sized pieces are traditional, but you can make larger crumpets if you prefer. Heat until the dough bubbles and then flip. When they are golden brown, they’re done! Let cool and top with maple syrup.
Breakfast Burritos
Breakfast Burrito - Photo Credit: Polina Tankilevitch
We get it. The idea of a breakfast burrito sounds like a lot. They usually involve a lot of ingredients and can feel overly complex. Luckily, these breakfast burritos can be made at home and frozen for when you’re ready to eat in the morning. Just set aside a bit of prep time before your trip and you’ll have a hearty, protein-filled meal that will please anyone in your camp, while saving you time. Just make sure you have something to heat your burritos on, like a pan or camp stove, and these burritos will be delicious, hot, and ready for you to eat in the morning!
Ingredients:
Large flour tortillas
2 potatoes peeled, chopped, cooked
Bacon or sausage
Eggs scrambled (about 2-3 per burrito)
Cheddar cheese, grated
Pinch salt & pepper
Green onions, sliced
Salsa or hot sauce (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Cilantro
Instructions:
Before arriving at your camp, scramble your eggs with salt and pepper. Then, cook your sausage or bacon in a skillet as well as your potatoes until they are soft and warm. Set aside. Spoon both ingredients into the center of your tortillas. Add shredded cheese. Roll up your tortillas and wrap them in tin foil. To freeze effectively, place each burrito in a single layer on a baking sheet so each one freezes evenly. When you are ready to pack them, simply store them in a gallon-sized zip-loc bag and travel with them in your cooler.
When you arrive at your campsite and are ready to eat, cook on your pan for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted. Add any toppings now to ensure freshness and enjoy!
Overnight Oats
Overnight Oats - Photo Credit: Karine Monteiro
If you’re a veteran camper, it’s likely that you’ve had overnight oats in some way or another since they’re just so easy and versatile. There are a ton of overnight oats recipes online, with some great flavors (including apple pie), but we’ll just show you how to make a basic one here.
Ingredients:
⅓ cup Rolled oats
½ cup Milk (add more for a lighter consistency)
¼ cup Yogurt
1 tbsp Chia seeds
Drizzle of Honey
Few drops of Vanilla
Instructions:
Before your trip, mix all your ingredients together in a jar. Place the jar in the fridge and let it sit for at least two hours, although overnight is best. When your jar is done settling, take it out and add toppings, such as maple syrup, fresh fruit, peanut butter, or anything else you can get your hands on. Seal and bring to camp. You can eat these oats cold or hot!
--The Easy Campfire Meals--
We know you. You want a breakfast that’s satisfying and you don’t mind poking the campfire for a little while, but you still don’t want to sacrifice convenience. Lucky for you, these recipes are simple and classic without sacrificing great flavor. You’ll only need a pan or pot for all of these recipes and you can throw these together in just a few minutes!
Breakfast Sandwiches
Breakfast Sandwich - Photo Credit: Justine Imburgio
We’re starting this section off strong with a total crowd pleaser. Everyone loves breakfast sandwiches, and with an assortment of ingredients you can make something that’ll satisfy almost anyone. I first had breakfast sandwiches like these out in the wild on a particularly rainy day during a camping trip in upstate New York with a bunch of my buddies. About four of my friends took the liberty of “taking our orders” while we sat around under a tarp, insisting that they had “everything”. They then disappeared for about twenty minutes, forming what they called an “assembly line” and making sure everything was cooked right. By the end, everyone got a sandwich that they loved and it was a perfect way to start the day!
Ingredients:
Kaiser rolls, bagels, or your preference of bread
Eggs (1-2 per person)
Butter
Your choice of meat (optional)
Salt and pepper
Cheese slices (optional)
Ketchup or hot sauce (optional)
Instructions:
Start by heating up your pan and melting some butter onto it. Wider pans work best for this recipe, because you’ll be working with a lot of ingredients at once, but you can always make each piece of the sandwich separately if you need to. After you melt your butter, place your breakfast meat onto the skillet and cook until golden brown. I like to cook the meat first if needed because it holds up better when placed on the side for a couple minutes. If possible, I’d recommend cooking the meat and eggs together - it streamlines the whole process, and cooking them together allows the flavors to marry in the pan. Season with salt and pepper. About halfway through your cooking process, cut your bread in half and place it on a free space on the pan as well, adding more butter if needed. Toast your bread for a couple minutes before taking it off the heat. Then, stack everything into a sandwich and enjoy!
Egg in a Hole
Next up is one of the all-time easiest breakfasts to cook on a skillet. The best part is you can cook it all together. The bread gets buttered in the pan while being toasted, so the entire piece of bread is flavorful and moist, and the egg stays put as you can eat, so you can carry it with you if needed. This is a great way to get a balance of carbs and protein to start your day and the cook time of a couple minutes can’t be beat!
Ingredients:
Your favorite type of bread
1 Egg per slice of bread
Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cheese slices (optional)
Instructions:
Melt butter and spread it around your pan. While you are waiting for it to melt, make a hole in the middle of a slice of bread by placing a glass or cup over it and pressing down. Use a knife to carve out the hole if necessary, and you should be left with a near perfect hole. Place your bread on your pan and let it toast lightly for 1-2 minutes, depending on your preference. Then, crack an egg inside the hole. Season with a little salt and pepper. Let the bread and egg cook together, flipping when the egg is firm on the bottom. Let cook for 1-2 more minutes, depending on how runny you like your eggs. Place a slice of cheese on top if you’d like. Then you’re done! You’ll be left with a perfectly cooked egg and a nicely toasted and already buttered piece of toast. If you kept the piece of bread that was left when you cut your hole, you can dip it in the runny egg too. Or top with jam or ketchup for extra flavor!
Leftovers Hash
Leftovers Hash - Photo Credit: Bryan Donoghue
This breakfast is the cream of the crop of the easy camping breakfast lineup because it represents one of the core tenants of the outdoor spirit: resourcefulness. That’s right, with some leftover sausages from last night’s dinner and a little determination, you can cook up a one-pot breakfast that’s hearty and delicious. This is great if you don’t want to put too much thought into every single meal, or don’t have a ton of backpack space. This recipe is a great way to get use out of all your supplies!
Ingredients:
Sausage
Butter
Eggs
Vegetables
Diced potatoes
Whatever else you may have leftover from previous campfire meals!
Instructions:
First, butter your pan. Then begin frying your potatoes. Fry for a couple minutes, until soft (and edible!). Then, add the rest of your ingredients. Leftover sausage, veggies, eggs. Whatever you have on hand. If you ate it last night, it’ll be great in the morning - just add eggs and dinner becomes breakfast! Stir together, fry for a couple minutes and enjoy!
--The Advanced--
Finally, the section we’ve all been waiting for. These recipes are not for the faint of heart. Their ingredient lists are long and often require a lot of attention to perfect. They’re not super quick or easy and they’ll require some foresight. But if you want to test your skills, or just have the urge to cook like you're on Chopped even when you’re miles into the woods, these recipes from some of our favorite Instagram campfire cooking accounts to follow pack in a lot of flavor and are sure to impress.
Hearty Apple Berry Oatmeal
Hearty Apple Berry Oatmeal - Photo Credit: Kelly Duffin
Our first advanced recipe comes from Instagram user Kelly Duffin, and is the healthiest recipe on our list! Plus, it’s vegan! Unlike the other recipes in this list, this recipe is best made on a camp stove rather than over a fire, so you’re going to want to bust out the ‘fancy’ equipment. Now, this recipe may not look too complicated at first - it is just oatmeal after all. But as the name suggests, this hearty apple berry oatmeal has a lot of flavors to showcase. Free oats take this dish a step above your usual oatmeal from the box, and the assortment of fruits and spices makes it unique. Feel free to make this recipe according to your own preferences however. Replace apples and blueberries for whatever fruits you may have, or replace pumpkin pie spice with your favorite sweet seasoning. Whatever you do, this recipe is a great baseline for gourmet outdoor oatmeal, and it's a great source of energy for whatever day you have ahead.
Ingredients:
1 Heaping tbsp Chia Seeds
Pumpkin Pie Spice to taste
Liquid Stevia to taste
1/3 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
1/3 Cup Water
1/2 Granny Smith Apple - Chopped
1 tbsp Unsweetened Natural Almond Butter
1/4 cup Blueberries
2 tbsp Chopped Walnuts
1 tbsp Hemp Hearts
Instructions:
First, make your oatmeal by combining the oatmeal, chia seeds, almond milk, and water. Stir to combine. Then, turn your burner on high and place your oatmeal into a sauce pan over it, stirring occasionally as it cooks. While your oatmeal is cooking, begin chopping up your apples and place them in a bowl with your blueberries. Also add your almond butter, chopped walnuts, and hemp hearts into the bowl. Then, add your stevia and pumpkin pie spice to the pot, stirring continuously. Finish cooking your oatmeal until it reaches your desired consistency. Add water if it gets too thick. Then, scoop everything into the bowl and stir everything to combine all the ingredients.
Shakshuka Hash
Shakshuka Hash - Photo Credit: Jen Chiles
This Israeli dish from Jen Chiles (On Instagram: @thekumquatkitchen) gives you a great mix of everything (Shakshuka quite literally means ‘all mixed up’) and is a healthy, delicious way to get your protein, carbs, and veggies in before you start your day - plus it’s vegetarian, too! Shakshuka sauce is a light tomato sauce, usually containing peppers and onions. It’s a staple of Israeli cuisine and although it can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, we love this particular recipe’s incorporation of hash browns to make a hearty morning meal!
Ingredients:
1 bag frozen hash browns
1 Shakshuka starter (we recommend this one)
Eggs (2-3 per person)
Oil
1 avocado
Any vegetables of your choosing
Instructions:
Start by frying your eggs, seasoning them as you like. How many is up to you, but we recommend 2-3 per person depending on how hungry you are. Then, set them aside. Oil your cast iron skillet and cook the hashbrowns, pushing them down into the bottom of the pan. Pour shakshuka sauce over the hashbrowns and top with your eggs, avocados, and veggies. Take off the grill and serve!
Hollandaise Sausage Scramble
Hollandaise Sausage Scramble - Photo Credit: Michelle Brooks
This recipe is the final one on our list for a reason - it’s because it’s one of the most ambitious outdoor breakfasts we could find! This recipe from Michelle Brooks (@saskcamper on Instagram) is a take on the cook-a-bunch-of-stuff-in-a-pan genre of outdoor cooking, but is much more intricate. The sausage and hash browns make for a great classic breakfast, but this recipe adds quite the twist. The kicker? The homemade hollandaise sauce, which, although time consuming, adds a tanginess that will jazz up your meal and give you that zesty feel you may be missing from home. We do recommend you pre-make your hollandaise sauce beforehand, as it might be a bit tough to find a place to plug in a blender deep in the middle of the woods - but once made you can put it on just about everything. Remember, this recipe is not for the faint of heart, but if you have time, space, and a passion for unique luxury cooking, this might just be the place to start!
Ingredients:
1 bag frozen Hash Browns, or diced potatoes
Eggs
Milk
Sausage patties
Tomatoes and green onions
Hollandaise Sauce Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
½ cup melted salted butter
Pinch of mustard
Black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions:
First, make your hollandaise sauce. We recommend pre-making this beforehand and packing it in sandwich bags. To do this, mix together the egg yolks, mustard, pepper and lemon juice and place in a mixer or blender. Slowly add very hot melted butter and mix until thick and smooth.
Next, warm up some butter in your frying pan. While it heats up, cut up your potatoes and place them in the pan with salt to season. Cook until potatoes are soft. Then, place your sausage in the pan and fry it until browned. Set aside. Begin cooking your eggs by whisking them together with milk and scrambling. When all ingredients are cooked, layer your hashbrowns, sausage, and scrambled eggs on top of each other. Drizzle hollandaise sauce on top and garnish with chopped tomatoes and green onions.
Pathloom Intern Justine Imburgio majors in Secondary Education and English at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Look for more of Justine's writing in the Pathloom blog!
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