Camping can be one of the most relaxing, adventurous and memory making activities you partake in. It can be as simple as going to a cabin in the woods by a lake or as complex as hauling everything you need such as food, shelter and clothes in a backpack and hiking out into the wilderness to spend several days with nothing else but what you can carry. Camping encompasses a wide range of styles and requires planning no matter how minimal or luxurious you intend to live.
Vegan camping food isn’t much different than what most other people take with while camping and you certainly won’t miss out on some of the best traditional camping foods whether you’re looking forward to burgers or s'mores. We’ve compiled a list of some basic dry and cooler items to ensure a delicious time spent out in nature as well as a variety of recipes to prep for your trip as well as while you’re camping to help you be as prepared as possible while enjoying the great outdoors.
Vegan Camping Food Essentials
The following is a great list of camping essentials to ensure your trip is delicious, healthy and keeps you fueled up for your outdoor adventures. This list is in no way full of all the ingredients to make all of the recipes we listed below, simply recommendations. We highly recommend looking through the recipes and ideas we have compiled below to find meals that you intend to make to give you a better idea of exactly what you will need to take with on your trip.
If you like to live on the fly, this is a great list for keeping you satisfied while camping without extensive planning. It’s also important to consider where you’re camping, what access you have to a grill or fire pit, and what kind of disposal system you’re using. Will there be trash cans such as at some campground or are you relying on your own trash that you keep on site or in your car or camper? These all factor into the items you may want to take with, so plan accordingly.
Dry Items
Vegan Camping Food Products
Cooler Items
Cooking Equipment
Cooking Equipment
The Best Vegan Camping Food Recipes: Make Ahead and Pack
These recipes are really simple and whole foods based suggestions for vegan camping food to make ahead and take with. It’s nice to have a few options for quick and easy food that is already made, especially if you have long busy days of hiking planned or simply are camping with kids. We also like to have a few things made ahead especially if we’re not camping for long extended periods of time or if we have limited access to a grill or fire making.
Recipe: Easy Vegan Pasta Salad
Where to Find It: V Nutrition
Why We Love It: This pasta salad is really easy to make and stores quite well for several days. We love just how full of flavor it is and how it uses chickpeas for an extra protein boost. This is a great healthy and flavorful option to have to munch on whenever you’re hungry and don’t want another sandwich or bowl of cereal.
Recipe: Vegan Bean Salad - Southwest Style
Where to Find It: The Hidden Veggies
Why We Love It: This southwest bean and grain salad comes together easily and stores well. It’s packed full of healthy vegetables, beans and grains, making it a great filling and nourishing option when you’re hungry and don’t want to cook anything up.
Recipe: Easy Vegan Chili
Where to Find It: Dear Crissy
Why We Love It: This chili is really quite easy and cheap to make and is a great camping food. It’s delicious cold or heated up for a cold evening meal. It’s amazing as is or served atop some quinoa, rice or a baked potato for a healthy and hearty meal that doesn’t require much effort.
Recipe: My Big Fat Greek Quinoa Salad
Where to Find It: One Lovely Life
Why We Love It: This quinoa salad is so delicious and full of flavor and a variety of textures thanks to the grain, vegetables and beans. It’s protein-rich and full of carbs to full any outside activities you have planned without having to rely on dried fruit or sandwiches.
Recipe: Vegan Potato Salad
Where to Find It: Nora Cooks
Why We Love It: This is a great grain free yet filling option to cook ahead and enjoy for a few days. It’s loaded with healthy carbs and fat and is a great crowd pleaser for adults and kids alike. You could consider throwing in your favorite beans such as chickpeas or cannellini beans to add an extra protein boost.
More suggestions for items to take with that you’ve already made
Baked potatoes and sweet potatoes
Baking up a big batch of white potatoes or sweet potatoes is a great easy travel option. These go great with just salt or topped with some hummus, guacamole or your favorite nut butter as a quick and filling food. You can either store them in a big plastic or glass container if you have access and room to your vehicle to store the container once it’s empty OR you can wrap them individually in foil for an easily compacted trash item.
Big Batch of Quinoa or Rice
Cooking up a large batch of lightly seasoned quinoa or rice is a great way to round out or make meals while camping with minimal effort while on site. It’s easy to bake up some beans to go with and add a dash go cashew cream or avocado on top for a nourishing and quick meal with minimal dishes needed to cook.
Favorite Nut or Bean Dip
Making a large batch of cashew cream, hummus or bean dip is a great option to make any meal more filling, healthy and delicious. These don’t take up a lot of space in the cooler and serve a multitude of purposes from vegetable dip, sandwich spread, or bowl topper.
The Best Recipes for Vegan Camping: No Cook
These “recipes” are really just simple suggestions of easy and quick vegan camping food items to enjoy that don’t require a grill or fire. Most of these have components of fat and protein to make them filling and keep you satisfied while you’re out and about enjoying the great outdoors.
1
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
These sandwiches are not just for children! They only require three ingredients and are a great sweet and salty meal for any camper. Make sure you load this up with a fair amount of peanut butter (or your favorite nut butter) for a hearty dose of filling protein and fat. If you want a little extra nutrient boost or want to make them a bit more filling, sprinkle either chia or hemp seeds on the peanut butter.
2
Hummus and Fresh Veggies Sandwich
Hummus is a great camping food and adding it to bread with some fresh cut vegetables makes a great savory meal sandwich that requires little effort. We like using hummus, thinly sliced sweet onion, tomato, and romaine lettuce for an easy and fresh tasting sandwich. If you’re feeling more gourmet or have more space in your cooler, sprouts make this sandwich even tastier.
3
Avocado and Hummus Sandwich
This sandwich is super creamy and a great filling, savory option. Using a creamy fresh avocado (or prepackaged guacamole if you don’t want to worry about ripening), along with hummus and sprouts or lettuce makes a great filling sandwich that even children enjoy! For an extra flavor boost, add a little hot sauce or sprinkle of chipotle to your sandwich and enjoy!
4
Deli Style Sandwich
This is a great option if you want to include some fun foods or just want a sub like sandwich. Use your favorite cheese slices (we prefer Parmela Creamery American Cashew Slices) and your favorite meat slices ( Field Roast has great options) along with fresh, thinly sliced onion, shredded lettuce, tomato and whatever condiments you may have opted to bring. This option goes great with some chips if you happened to bring some along with for a familiar and delicious meal that can add to the magical camping experience.
5
Almond Butter and Banana Wrap
This wrap is great for any time of day, but we imagine it as an easy breakfast option. Simply use a soft tortilla (siete almond flour are amazing) along with a few tablespoons of nut butter and thinly sliced banana for an easy and light breakfast. Feel free to use any other fruit in place of the banana or add in a little jelly or chocolate chips for an extra delicious wrap.
6
Fresh Fruit Bowl
This is a great breakfast option or snack option and comes together quite quickly. Using whatever fruit you have, cut it up into bite-sized cubes. Add granola or a mix of nuts and seeds atop it. You can top this with nut butter or yogurt if you brought some.
7
Cereal
This meal is pretty obvious, just use your favorite cereal and nut milk for a bowl of cereal! It’s fun food and typically not super filling, so consider adding a few tablespoons of chia seeds or even some nuts for an extra crunch.
8
Hummus with Vegetables
This is a pretty basic snack but is worth mentioning. Hummus and vegetables can come together quite quickly and is a great filling option that is free from grains.
9
Simple Nachos
While nachos can be an incredibly gourmet and complex dish, this no bake version is really simple and delicious. Simply lay your tortilla chips down on your plate, top with a hearty amount of salsa and guacamole or fresh avocado. If you have any of the following pre made, consider adding: black beans, chili, rice, or vegan cheese shreds.
10
Dried Fruit with Nut Butter
This meal is more of a filling snack but we think it’s worth mentioning because it’s incredibly tasty and easy! Simply use your favorite dried fruit such as dates or figs and cut them in half and remove any pits if necessary. Stuff them with your favorite nut butter and additional chopped nuts or seeds such as chia, hemp, or flax and devour!
The Best Vegan Camping Food Recipes: Making on Site
These recipes are relatively easy to make and don’t require too many utensils or pots and pans to make. They’re all fairly simple yet extremely delicious. Camping can be made an extra fun experience when you have access to delicious and fun foods. Remember that you don’t need a recipe for everything, just the right tools and ingredients. A burger is as easy as heating up a premade burger and throwing it on a bun with your favorite condiments. Easy, simple and delicious is what camping food is all about!
Recipe: PB&J Overnight Oats
Where to Find It: Kitchen Treaty
Why We Love It: This overnight oats recipe is so simple to make and an absolutely delicious option for breakfast, a snack or lunch. We love that it can be made ahead and doesn’t require any cooking, just some forethought. It’s easy to mix up flavors with different nut butters and jelly or fresh fruit just in case you don’t want anything to do with any more peanut butter and jelly.
Recipe: One Pot Red Lentil Sloppy Joes
Where to Find It: Fresh Off the Grid
Why We Love It: This recipe is so delicious and we love how easy it is to make! It’s great food for camping and full of filling, protein and fiber-rich lentils. It’s easy to assemble on bread if you don’t have buns and great served alongside some potato chips because why not?
Recipe: Simple Vegan Hummus Quesadillas
Where to Find It: This Savory Vegan
Why We Love It: This recipe is really easy to make and can be quite easily modified based on what you have with. If you don’t have roasted peppers or don’t want to make them, simply use fresh peppers or tomatoes for a flavorful and light addition. If you’re sick of hummus, just throw in a hearty helping of vegan cheese shreds. Throwing in precooked potatoes that you’ve cut into cubes will also make these delicious and more filling. Quesadillas are just absolutely delicious so enjoy experimenting with what you have to make an easy meal.
Recipe: Vegan Breakfast Skillet
Where to Find It: Heather Christo
Why We Love It: This savory recipe is really easy to make and is a great option for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s easy to throw it into a wrap with some condiments of choice for a more filling option. We love that it can be easily modified swapping out vegetables for whatever you have like sweet potatoes in place of potatoes. It does require the potatoes be boiled first so if you don’t want to do that step just prepare ahead by having baked potatoes on hand that you can cut up into cubes and use in this skillet meal.
Recipe: Vegan Campfire S'moresS'moresS'mores
Where to Find It: Healthy Happy Life
Why We Love It: S'mores are pretty much camping essentials, we can all agree on that right? These s'mores are basic and easy to make but are perfect for anyone, even newbies to making s'mores. It’s a great recipe for adults and children, so remember that just because you’re adults camping alone doesn’t mean you should forget this delicious treat.
A few more suggestions for easy-to-prepare vegan camping food
Baked potatoes with beans and cheese
Simply baked potatoes over the fire or grill in foil (or use ones you made prior to the trip for a quicker meal). Bake your favorite beans in a cast iron skillet or pot such as baked beans, black beans or refried beans and add them to your cut open potato when they’re still hot. Add a hearty helping of your favorite shredded vegan cheese to melt or add a dollop of cashew cream for a delicious and flavorful meal.
Tacos
These aren’t the fanciest tacos you’ve ever had, but they’re delicious and hearty and that’s all that matters. First heat up an set aside your taco wraps. Next heat up refried beans or black beans. Add beans to your wrap along with cut up romaine, bell peppers or onion, salsa, fresh avocado or guacamole if you have it, and shredded cheese or cashew cream.