Vegetarian Camping Food
March 1, 2010 10:33 AM Subscribe
What are some really good vegetarian camping recipes?
At times we will be able to use a campfire. Most of the time we will be able to use a camp stove, and for one lunch trip we won't be able to heat anything. We will just have to pack something for that one.
We will have a large cooler to store perishables.
If possible, we'd like to be somewhat healthy. We do eat cheese and to a lesser extent, eggs.
Thanks for your help!
At times we will be able to use a campfire. Most of the time we will be able to use a camp stove, and for one lunch trip we won't be able to heat anything. We will just have to pack something for that one.
We will have a large cooler to store perishables.
If possible, we'd like to be somewhat healthy. We do eat cheese and to a lesser extent, eggs.
Thanks for your help!
Veggie dogs. Potatoes (wrap in foil and cook in the coals).
posted by sandraregina at 11:00 AM on March 1, 2010
posted by sandraregina at 11:00 AM on March 1, 2010
Make a veggie chili and freeze it. It'll stay frozen for a while in a good cooler, and in turn help keep other things cool. It will also pack a lot of protein (beans, whatever) and nutrients, so it'll be healthy. If, for whatever reason, you can't heat it up, it'll still be edible and mostly enjoyable after defrosting outside. Finally, if it's cold out, nothing warms as well as a big bowl of chili.
Have fun!
posted by iftheaccidentwill at 11:04 AM on March 1, 2010
Have fun!
posted by iftheaccidentwill at 11:04 AM on March 1, 2010
Cous cous in a box (boil water, add cous cous, let sit with a cover on for five minutes) is one of my favorite camp meals. Cut up some baked tofu and mix it in for a full meal.
For breakfast, tempeh bacon is good, as are eggs, tofu scramble, etc. Best to chop up all your veggies ahead of time and pack them in the cooler so you don't have to do too much chopping while you're in the wilderness.
Veggie dogs, potatoes (wrapped in foil in the fire coals, especially sliced thin, mixed with butter and onion soup mix), kebabs (chop and marinate them before you leave, then cook them over the fire). The main trick with cooking-while-camping is to do as much prep as you can ahead of time, plan your meals out thoroughly and write down a menu, and make sure you have everything you need all packed and prepped. If you're not backpacking, you can basically make anything you want. For your lunch trip, just pack sandwich ingredients separately in the cooler, then assemble them. Bring some potato salad or pasta salad!
posted by booknerd at 11:22 AM on March 1, 2010
For breakfast, tempeh bacon is good, as are eggs, tofu scramble, etc. Best to chop up all your veggies ahead of time and pack them in the cooler so you don't have to do too much chopping while you're in the wilderness.
Veggie dogs, potatoes (wrapped in foil in the fire coals, especially sliced thin, mixed with butter and onion soup mix), kebabs (chop and marinate them before you leave, then cook them over the fire). The main trick with cooking-while-camping is to do as much prep as you can ahead of time, plan your meals out thoroughly and write down a menu, and make sure you have everything you need all packed and prepped. If you're not backpacking, you can basically make anything you want. For your lunch trip, just pack sandwich ingredients separately in the cooler, then assemble them. Bring some potato salad or pasta salad!
posted by booknerd at 11:22 AM on March 1, 2010
Sweet potatoes are delicious roasted in the coals as described above. With them, serve sour cream and scallions.
posted by Miko at 11:24 AM on March 1, 2010
posted by Miko at 11:24 AM on March 1, 2010
Pasta salad. The variations are endless, but I often use pesto and mayo as a dressing, and mix in roasted red peppers, dried tomatoes, artichokes, scallions, walnuts, parsley... Basically, cook pasta and mix it with some kind of dressing and whatever veggies and nuts are convenient.
posted by Jaltcoh at 11:53 AM on March 1, 2010
posted by Jaltcoh at 11:53 AM on March 1, 2010
There are some fully prepared dishes from a company called Kitchens of India. The food comes in a pouch that you boil in water for a few minutes. They're actually pretty tasty and require minimal effort.
Also, if you are looking for a vegetarian version of s'mores, cream cheese makes a really good marshmallow substitute. You can't put the cream cheese on a stick and hold it over the fire, of course. Build your snacks (graham cracker, chocolate, cheese) and heat them up on a sheet of foil. A grill comes in handy for this if you have one. Otherwise, you can heat them up on a really hot flat rock.
posted by at the crossroads at 12:37 PM on March 1, 2010
Also, if you are looking for a vegetarian version of s'mores, cream cheese makes a really good marshmallow substitute. You can't put the cream cheese on a stick and hold it over the fire, of course. Build your snacks (graham cracker, chocolate, cheese) and heat them up on a sheet of foil. A grill comes in handy for this if you have one. Otherwise, you can heat them up on a really hot flat rock.
posted by at the crossroads at 12:37 PM on March 1, 2010
When I went camping as a kid, my vegetarian family would take veggie hotdogs to roast on a stick after we wrapped them with a thick gob of bisquick mix. We'd also make grilled cheese sandwiches in a hobo press, or roast vegetables in foil like others have mentioned.
posted by motsque at 1:23 PM on March 1, 2010
posted by motsque at 1:23 PM on March 1, 2010
Response by poster: Thank you to everyone for your help. We will definitely try some of these.
Smores were always a problem for us until I found these. They actually taste better than regular marshmallows. We love them. The only downside is that they have to be refrigerated.
posted by Original 1928 Flavor at 2:32 PM on March 1, 2010
Smores were always a problem for us until I found these. They actually taste better than regular marshmallows. We love them. The only downside is that they have to be refrigerated.
posted by Original 1928 Flavor at 2:32 PM on March 1, 2010
Baked apples are great - core apples about halfway through, put in some butter, cinnamon, sugar, and cloves if you like them. Wrap in foil, and put around the fire.
Also, no pancake ever comes close to pancakes made over the campfire, for some reason.
posted by quadrilaterals at 2:40 PM on March 1, 2010
Also, no pancake ever comes close to pancakes made over the campfire, for some reason.
posted by quadrilaterals at 2:40 PM on March 1, 2010
Came here to say "stew", "pancakes", "baked potatoes", and "breakfast burritos" - looks like I was beaten to 2 out of 4.
posted by roystgnr at 5:21 PM on March 1, 2010
posted by roystgnr at 5:21 PM on March 1, 2010
Yes pancakes. Yes eggs (I like scrambled in a tortilla for camping, add a little hot sauce and cheese to the scramble). Yes any griddleable breakfast food, pretty much, including the fake sausages etc. if you think they're not gross.
Yes putting chopped carrots/potatoes/onions/peppers in a improvised container of aluminum foil with soy sauce/salt/pepper to taste and nestling over coals to roast. Cheese +veggie quesadillas work very well if you have a griddle/bigger surface (tortillas are my favorite backpacking food- even one + peanut butter or plain uncooked cheese can be fine). Burritos can turn out nicely with some beans + cheese+ spice mix (plus sauteed veggies if you want to get really fancy). Yes to pasta + a tomato or ____ sauce, or pesto. Your favorite non-fancy couscous recipe will probably work fine. If you have cooler to keep it in beforehand, for that lunch you can have some hummus + pita + chopped veggies; it'll be fine in a backpack for a morning.
Yes especially (as mentioned above) Kitchens of India, or Tasty Bites Indian- they're boilable packages available at almost any supermarket and are surprisingly yummy on a camping trip. That plus a little rice (minute rice, if your camping stove doesn't simmer well- also, you can just use the water you boiled the package in to then do the rice) and you're golden in about 10 minutes. There are similar products available for Thai stuff that are about $2.50/meal (although messier to cook- no pouch) that I snap up whenever I see on sale- way, way cheaper than the dehydrated, much less good stuff available at the camping stores.
I've also found this book to be okay.
posted by charmedimsure at 6:25 PM on March 1, 2010
Yes putting chopped carrots/potatoes/onions/peppers in a improvised container of aluminum foil with soy sauce/salt/pepper to taste and nestling over coals to roast. Cheese +veggie quesadillas work very well if you have a griddle/bigger surface (tortillas are my favorite backpacking food- even one + peanut butter or plain uncooked cheese can be fine). Burritos can turn out nicely with some beans + cheese+ spice mix (plus sauteed veggies if you want to get really fancy). Yes to pasta + a tomato or ____ sauce, or pesto. Your favorite non-fancy couscous recipe will probably work fine. If you have cooler to keep it in beforehand, for that lunch you can have some hummus + pita + chopped veggies; it'll be fine in a backpack for a morning.
Yes especially (as mentioned above) Kitchens of India, or Tasty Bites Indian- they're boilable packages available at almost any supermarket and are surprisingly yummy on a camping trip. That plus a little rice (minute rice, if your camping stove doesn't simmer well- also, you can just use the water you boiled the package in to then do the rice) and you're golden in about 10 minutes. There are similar products available for Thai stuff that are about $2.50/meal (although messier to cook- no pouch) that I snap up whenever I see on sale- way, way cheaper than the dehydrated, much less good stuff available at the camping stores.
I've also found this book to be okay.
posted by charmedimsure at 6:25 PM on March 1, 2010
Bring a nice chunky spaghetti sauce (or make it there) and bring a tube of polenta. Slice the polenta into a pan and fry it up and pour the spaghetti sauce over the polenta pieces. Yum.
posted by sadtomato at 7:51 PM on March 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by sadtomato at 7:51 PM on March 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
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If you have a cooler I am assuming you're not backpacking or canoeing? There's really no limit to the meals you want to make then. Most things will be fine in the cooler for a few days, so I would say cook whatever you would normally cook. The only limiting factor is stove space and pot/pan usage.
posted by Think_Long at 10:48 AM on March 1, 2010