25 easy camping meals — no fridge needed

The secret to good camp cooking is not ambition — it's organisation. A few well-chosen ingredients, a single good pot, and ten minutes of prep at home before you leave will get you further than any amount of elaborate camping recipe books. Here are 25 meals that work on a campsite, in a lay-by, or in the back of a van.

Breakfasts

1. Overnight oats. Rolled oats, dried fruit, a spoonful of nut butter, and water or UHT milk in a jar. Made the night before, ready with zero effort at 7am. 2. Instant porridge with honey. Boil water, add oats, sweeten with honey — done in four minutes. 3. Bacon and egg flatbreads. Bacon in a pan, eggs scrambled in the same pan, wrapped in a flour tortilla. No plates required. 4. Granola with UHT milk. No cooking, infinite combinations. 5. French toast. Thick-sliced bread soaked in egg and a splash of UHT milk, fried in butter — spectacular with maple syrup. 6. Campfire hash. Tinned potatoes, a tin of corned beef, and onion fried together in one pan. Underrated, filling, very fast. 7. Avocado on sourdough. No cooking, a sharp knife, and something that feels considerably more upmarket than the situation warrants.

One-pot lunches

8. Pasta e ceci. Tinned chickpeas, tomato paste, pasta, water, and salt in one pot. Twenty minutes, one pan, extremely good. 9. Noodle soup. Stock cube, noodles, tinned sweetcorn, soy sauce, a soft-boiled egg — ten minutes. 10. Chorizo and bean stew. Chorizo doesn't need refrigeration; fry with garlic, add tinned white beans and tomatoes, simmer for fifteen minutes. 11. Shakshuka. Tinned tomatoes, eggs cracked in, cumin and paprika — spectacular with flatbread. 12. Tinned fish pasta. Tuna or mackerel fillets in olive oil, pasta, capers, a squeeze of lemon. High-protein, very fast. 13. Dhal. Red lentils cook in twenty minutes with no soaking: water, red lentils, tinned tomatoes, cumin and coriander, a stock cube. One pot.

Dinners on the fire

14. Foil packet fish. Fish fillet, lemon slices, a knob of butter, herbs, wrapped in foil and placed in the embers for twelve minutes. 15. Campfire sausages. On a stick or in a pan — the most timeless campsite dinner in the UK. 16. Corn on the cob. Wrapped in foil with butter, placed in embers, ready in fifteen minutes. 17. Loaded sweet potatoes. Whole sweet potatoes directly in embers for forty-five minutes — split open, top with whatever you have. 18. Campfire pizza. Pre-made dough from a supermarket tube, toppings in a small container, cooked in a cast-iron pan on the fire. 19. Thai green curry. Thai green curry paste, tinned coconut milk, tinned chickpeas or pre-cooked chicken, served with microwave rice pouches. Fifteen minutes.

No-cook options

20. Antipasto plate. Cured meats, olives, cheese, crackers, and sun-dried tomatoes from jars — no cooking, surprisingly satisfying. 21. Wraps with hummus and roasted peppers. From a jar, assembled at camp. 22. Smoked mackerel pâté with oatcakes. Vacuum-packed smoked mackerel, a container of soft cheese, lemon juice — mash together. 23. Instant noodles taken seriously. A decent brand, a soft-boiled egg (boil first thing in the morning), spring onions, soy sauce, sesame oil. 24. Cheese and chutney baguette. Bought en route. 25. Peanut butter and banana wraps. The no-ceremony option when you're tired and cold and just need calories.

Kit to bring

One decent pot, one frying pan, a sharp knife, a chopping board, a stove with enough gas, a wooden spoon, and a ladle. Everything else is optional. Pre-measure spices and decant them into small containers at home — no one wants to pack an entire pepper grinder for a weekend on a UK campsite.