The Ultimate Camp Kitchen Checklist for Beginners (Free Packing List)
Cooking in a camp kitchen can seem daunting, especially for your first time camping. It can also be really fun, especially if you enjoy cooking. We've camped and cooked in all kinds of camping environments and don't want to gate keep all the knowledge we've gained. So here's your ultimate camp kitchen guide for beginners including our favorite gear, tips, and a printable Camp Kitchen Checklist.
Camp Cooking - Deciding Your Heat Source
The first decision you need to make is if you plan to do all your cooking on the fire or on an electric cooktop. If you're brand new to camping, and you have electricity at your site my recommendation is to plan most of your meals around the electric cooktop and if you're feeling adventurous, one meal around the fire.
Things To Keep In Mind When Campfire Cooking
- Campfires take a while to start and get to a point of ready to cook. If you're planning to do hikes, paddling, or just relax in a hammock while camping, this may not be the route for you.
- If it rains, you won't be cooking.
- Cook time can take longer too. Easy things like baked potatoes can take an hour to cook after coals are ready.
Things To Keep In Mind When Electric Skillet Camp Cooking
- You need an electricity source.
For the sake of simplicity we've created this list under the idea that you will be mostly cooking on an electric skillet, with maybe one meal over the campfire.
The Camp Kitchen Gear | The Essentials
Camp Cooking Utensils Set
When we first started rebuilding our camping gear I bough one of these complete camp cooking utensils sets and it's a real game changer. Everything you need is all in one place and you're never robbing your kitchen of things or cursing the woods because you forgot a can opener.
Water Resistant Locking Bin
Protect your food and gear. If you are camping in bear country, you'll need a lot more than this. If you're camping in Texas, this bin will do, though I'd suggest sticking it in your car or reinforcing with a tie strap at night. Do not underestimate tiny raccoon hands. Everything for your camp kitchen can live in this bin, even when you're not camping. We've included a printable packing list at the end of this post.
Electric Skillet
A friend taught us this trick, if you have electricity, grab yourself this electric skillet and make camp cooking SO much easier. You can cook eggs and pancakes in the morning, a grilled cheese for lunch, and heat up a premade stew in the evening. With the sides it makes it a versatile cooking vessel that we do not go camping without.
Camp Kitchen Cooking Table
A lot of people cook at the provided camp picnic table, and yes, that works just fine. BUT if you want to give yourself a little more space (so people can sit at the table and play cards while you cook) and save your back, this table is the way to go. It folds up small, can go up to counter height, table height or can be more coffee table height. It definitely goes with us on every camping trip. More on this in our camp kitchen tips below.
Cast Iron Skillet
If you plan to do any amount of campfire cooking that is more than a grill or a hot dog on a stick, a cast iron skillet is the way to go. We've baked over the fire, done stews, hash and all kinds of things in our cast iron skillet. Now, if you're going to do electric cooking the whole time, you can skip this completely.
Campfire Tongs
Even if you're not going to cook over the campfire, grab yourself a set of these folding campfire tongs. They're awesome for flipping logs and poking the fire. If you're planning to do baked potatoes in the coals, this is the best way to take them out. These campfire tongs are so awesome.
The Camp Kitchen Gear | The Highly Recommended Extras
Truthfully, you can get away with just the items above along with our printable packing list and get a great camp kitchen setup and running. It does not take much and many people over think it. The items below are things we've added to our camp kitchen over the years to make things a little easier.
Camp Kitchen Spices
Keep it simple with spices when you're first starting out. We used this container of spices for years as the staple spices in our camp kitchen box.
Nesting Bowls with Lids
You will inevitably need a bowl for something wether it's mixing up pancake mix or storing leftover stew. We love a good set of nesting bowls with lids. They cut down on storage and allow for multiple uses in your camp kitchen.
Camp Tablecloth
This one sounds silly, but it's just a lot easier to wipe down a vinyl tablecloth than a concrete or wood picnic table. These tablecloths make it feel a little more like home and make cleanup SO much easier. Pro tip: Don't buy one with cute flowers, they will attract all the bees. Ask me how I know.
The Best Camping Mug - RTIC
These insulated coffee mugs from RTIC are the absolute best for camping. They go from coffee in the morning to cup of soup in the evening. They're insulated and say hot or cold for hours. Choose from a variety of colors so each family member has their own mug.
Collapsible Tub
These collapsible tubs play triple duty. Use it to carry items from the cooler to your cooking station. Use it to hold dirty dishes and wash them. Use the lid as a chopping board or prep station. They really make camp cooking a lot easier.
Compostable Paper Plates
For a long time we had camp dishes, but it always meant someone was stuck washing while everyone else was hanging out. And sure, you have other things to wash too, but there's something nice about tossing your compostable paper plate in the fire after you're done eating.
Electric Tea Kettle
Even if you don't drink tea or coffee, we highly recommend having an electric tea kettle on hand. It makes boiling water to wash dishes so easy. It makes a lot of quick meals, like Ramen, so much easier. We've had this exact one for six years and we love it.
Metal French Press Coffee Maker
This is one of my favorite ways to make coffee while camping. If you're not used to a french press it's really easy. Put your coffee grounds in the bottom, fill with boiling water, let sit for about 5-10 minutes, then press down the lid. The grounds stay below the filter and you get hot, fresh, brewed coffee in the woods. We've had this exact french press since 2023 and love it.
Heavy Duty Foil - For Anything
This seems like a no brainer, but I had to include it because foil can be anything. Make meat and veggie packets and cook them on the fire. Forgot a spoon to stir your stew, make one out of foil. Have leftover pancakes, wrap them in foil. Definitely get the heavy duty large pack of foil and keep it in your kitchen box.
Tips For Camp Cooking
Ohhh this is a blog post all it's own really...but here's some of my top tips.
Plan All Your Meals Ahead of Time
Plan all your meals ahead of time. Write out a menu and what ingredients you will need for each meal. This makes packing and cooking super easy. You don't have to stay to a rigid schedule, but if you'll be there for 4 dinners, plan 4 dinners.
Make Meal 1 Simple
Plan for your first meal to be super simple. You're going to be setting up camp, often in the evening, and the last thing anyone wants to do after unloading is cook a meal. We like to do charcuterie on the first night or if it's cold have a soup or stew already made that can heat up in the electric skillet while we're setting up.
Prep Ahead of Time
Need chopped veggies for a recipe? Prep them ahead of time and dump them in a ziplock bag. Want to make a taco soup? Make it head of time and just head and eat. I can honestly say I'm not always the best at this because time is finite, but when I do make the time to prep at home, it means I have more time to enjoy camping when we're there.
Keep It Simple
Every meal does not have to be a full production. Simple meals like cereal, sandwiches, and premade heat and eats are perfectly acceptable while camping. Do you.
Give Yourself One Challenge
Cooking while camping, especially your first time, might be challenge enough. But as you go along, and if you like to cook, give yourself one challenge per trip. I made the mistake of wanting to try 3 new recipes one camping trip and they all didn't turn out so well, and it's not like we can just order a pizza. Now I limit myself to 1 or 2 new challenges each trip. I've cooked a whole side of salmon over the fire and baked cakes in oranges. It's fun, but give yourself room to fail and give yourself grace when you do.
Plan Meals Around Activities
If you know you're going to do a 6 mile hike one day, plan your meals around it. Know what food you're taking on the hike and have something easy prepped for dinner.
The Camp Kitchen Checklist
Hopefully you're feeling a little more confident going into camp cooking. It's really fun once you get into it. The thing that always makes it easier is doing the prep beforehand.
We've put together this checklist for camp kitchen packing. We'd suggest printing it out, laminating it, and keeping it in your camp kitchen box. We've left room for you to add some of your own things to the list too.
Please note these are all products we've used. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. These small commissions help fund our adventures, or at least they can buy us a coffee along the road.
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