When planning a trip, one of the biggest challenges is planning for easy food for camping. I want meals that are easy to prepare, require minimal cleanup, and can be cooked over the fire or on a portable stove. One of my family’s favorite easy camp recipes is food on a stick!
Kids love it because they get to help you with food prep and it’s easy to customize for each individual. Campfire cooking has a unique flavor and keeps you coming back for more. Whether you’re grilling up kabobs or roasting marshmallows, I’ve got plenty of easy camp food ideas for you here.
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One of the easiest camping meals you can make that your kids will definitely enjoy are skewers or meals on sticks. What’s great about skewers is that you won’t need anything else other than your ingredients, sticks/skewers, and a campfire – it’s camping meals in their simplest form.
Easy Camping Food is a Family Affair
Camping is one of the most amazing experiences you can have with your kids. Everyone gets a chance to bond when setting up the tent, playing games, and even preparing meals for everyone.
My personal favorite thing about it is that you won’t have to wash as many utensils, plates, pots, pans, and other usual camper must haves – which is a win in itself, don’t you think? Instead of spending time cleaning up, you get to spend more time relaxing outdoors and enjoying time with your family.
Classic Camping Skewer Recipes
There are a few tried and true food on a stick combinations – some of them are savory and some of them are sweet, but they are all delicious. They’ll satisfy even your pickiest eaters. Here are a few of our easy skewer recipes that always make an appearance on the menu.
Vegetable Skewers
Making vegetable skewers is a great way to get your kids to eat their vegetables. They are more likely to eat it if they’re the ones who prepared it and roasted it over a campfire. This is a great opportunity to let them pick and choose which vegetables they want on their stick.
P.S. If they choose only one type of vegetable – that’s fine!
The most commonly used vegetables for skewers include:
- Bell pepper
- Zucchini
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Tomatoes
Add any other vegetables you enjoy and get creative. Try romaine lettuce, squash, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, etc. When making the combos, just keep in mind variations in cooking time. Softer vegetables will require less while sturdier vegetables will require more. Try to put similar vegetables together to help them cook more evenly.
Directions: Chop your chosen veggies into bite-sized squares. Marinate all the veggies together in a bowl with simple olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add chili powder, jalapenos, or hot sauce for a bit of a kick.
Cajun Surf and Turf Skewer
Surf and Turf Skewers are great for those of you with families where half likes seafood and the other half likes meat. This is my sons’ favorite meals when we go camping so I make sure to have these in stock before we go.
You will need:
- Shrimps (peeled and deveined)
- Sausages (Andouille for a real Cajun kick!)
- Cajun seasoning
- Lemon
I like to use frozen shrimp that is already peeled, deveined, and ready to go. Use any type of sausage you like, but my sons’ favorites are Andouille sausages, which are quite spicy. Replace the sausages with steak if you prefer.
How To Make It:
Marinate the shrimp for about 30 minutes in Cajun seasoning with a squeeze of lemon juice. While the shrimp are marinating, have your kids cut up the sausages into bite sizes (about 1 inch thick).
Slide the shrimp and sausages alternately on the skewer and then grill them. Squeeze more lemon over the skewers for a fresher pop. Mix your Cajun seasoning with mayonnaise for a fun dipping size that kids of all ages will love.
Hawaiian Pork Skewers
These refreshing skewers are great for the summer. Your kids will enjoy snacking on pineapples while they make this. Can you ever have enough fruit and veggies? I don’t think so.
You will need:
- Sausage
- Bacon
- Pineapples
- Onions
- Salt, chili powder
Again, you can substitute the sausages with any other meat if you desire. I just find sausages to be a really easy camping food due to their convenience.
How To Make It:
Chop the pineapples into squares and mix in a pinch of salt and some chili powder (optional). Mix it evenly and set it aside. Chop up the sausages into bite sizes (about 1 inch thick).
Start by sliding the bacon onto the skewer. Do it from the top of the bacon, leaving the rest hanging to the side for now. Slide in the sausage and then take the bacon and slide it in, sort of wrapping the sausage. Next, slide in the pineapple and do the same thing with the bacon again. You’ll end up with a type of bacon, sausage, and pineapple wave.
More Than S’mores Skewers
There’s no way you’re going to make skewers with your kids without making s’mores. This is probably what they’ve been waiting to make ever since you mentioned roasting stuff over the fire.
Here is a little extra twist on the classic S’mores! You will need:
- Edible cookie dough (store bought or homemade)
- Marshmallows
- Graham crackers
- Chocolate syrup
Buy edible cookie dough from the grocery store or make some from scratch if you know how. Add in peanut butter for a bit of protein to balance out the sugary marshmallows.
How to do it:
Kids can crush up the graham crackers and mix them into the cookie dough. Then let the kids roll up the cookie dough with graham crackers into small balls. When they’re done, alternate the cookie dough and marshmallow.
Cook it over the fire for 10 – 30 seconds or until the marshmallows are golden brown. Remember the old s’mores trick where you keep it far from the fire and rotate it constantly so the marshmallows don’t burn?
Drizzle the skewer with chocolate syrup or dip it completely, it’s up to you!
Camping Food on a Stick
After those first few quick and easy camping recipes, is your stomach growling? I have a whole roundup of even more easy food for camping including breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes. Roasted marshmallows and other camping desserts might do the trick, but you can use your roasting sticks or skewers for so much more.
Camping Breakfast on a Stick
Campfire Cinnamon Roll-Ups – Almost Supermom – Uses crescent rolls, cinnamon, and sugar – what’s not to love?
Campfire Bacon – As Christie from Zestuous says, “If you can put a marshmallow on a stick, by God, you can put bacon on a stick.” Check out her effective technique.
Grilled Fruit Skewers with Easy Yogurt Dip – Yummy Healthy Easy – The fruit kebabs are roasted with a yummy glaze.
Bacon and Eggs in an Orange – Instructables – This also easily doubles as science class!
Can’t read now? Pin for later!
Sandwiches & Salads On a Stick
Bacon, Pineapple, Chicken Kebabs – Recipe Diaries – Grill these easy lunchtime skewers and then put them on bread for a sandwich on a stick or over lettuce for a salad. Either way it’s easy camp food and scrumptious!
Antipasto Skewers – Dinner at the Zoo – Your kids will love helping you make these, and there’s no cooking involved.
Maple, Ham & Pineapple Kabobs – Num’s the Word – Bring frozen, cooked rice with you from home. Warm the rice and then serve these delicious ham and pineapple kabobs for an easy camping meal.
Camping Dinner Skewers
Marinated Chicken and Vegetable Skewers– Little Family Adventure – delicious marinade doubles as a dipping sauce
Veggie & Sausage Shish Kabobs – A Pretty Life in the Suburbs – Let your kids help you cut up these bite-sized pieces of sausage and veggies
Mixed Grill with Chimichurri Parrillade – The Complete Savorist – tastes so fresh and flavorful
Maple Sriracha Chicken Kabobs – The Adventure Bite – Kick the flavors up up a notch with sriracha at your campsite
These are all easy food for camping. On your next family camping trip, try a few of these skewered camping recipes and have a great time together.
Are Metal or Wood Skewers Better for Cooking Over a Campfire?
When selecting skewers, there are two basic choices – metal or wooden. Each has its pros and cons and your selection will depend on what you prefer or need.
Metal Skewers for Campfire cooking
Metal skewers are reusable, will last a long time (if not for life), and they are available in a variety of different sizes. They are generally more expensive than wooden skewers.
Wooden skewers, on the other hand, are more conventional and you can burn them in the fire when you’re done eating. They are a lot cheaper although you can only use them once. Of course, for ultimate affordability, forage for a long stick in the woods to use as a skewer. This is a good option if you don’t want to pack out more than you brought to the campsite.
Note: Soak wooden skewers in water first for at least 30 minutes so they don’t catch fire on the grill. Don’t skip this step – it’s important!
I suggest you get metal skewers if you plan on camping and cooking often. If it’s just a one-time thing where you want to test it out first, go with wooden skewers instead.
Mallow Me is a good brand of skewers and what my family personally use.
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Because you have all your veggies, fruits, and proteins on a stick, you don’t really even need side dishes, but for more camping recipes, check out these:
Snack & Dessert Pie Iron Recipes
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Some great ideas. Anything on a stick was made for the fire or grill.
This article is a camping food goldmine! Food on a stick is genius. I remember making marshmallow skewers as a kid. Now I can’t wait to try savory ones. Do you think adding a bit of honey to the veg skewers would make them even more appealing?