When it comes to camping meals — and meals in general — people think they need meat as an entree. But protein can come in many forms. Plus, there are plenty of delicious meat-free dishes out there and you don’t need to be a vegetarian to enjoy them.
Dean’s Dip Tater Tot Campfire Casserole
Tater Tot Hot Dish is the official Minnesota state casserole, but you don’t have to be camping in the Land of 10,000 Lakes to enjoy this one. It’s campfire ready, and has the zesty boost of Dean’s French Onion Dip. Make this recipe!
- Author: Outdoors.com
- Recipe type: Lunch/Dinner
- Cuisine: Vegetarian Camp Cooking
- Serves: Eight servings
Ingredients
- One 32 oz. package of Tater Tots®
- One 10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
- One 16 oz. carton Dean’s French Onion Dip
- ½ cup roughly chopped onion
- One cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Cooking oil or spray
Instructions
- Heat a 12-inch covered Dutch oven by placing it on top of 10 gray charcoal briquettes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine Tater Tots, soup, and Dean’s French Onion Dip.
- Once Dutch oven is hot, remove lid and spray inside with cooking oil spray.
- Add chopped onions and cook for two minutes, stirring until translucent, but not starting to brown.
- Pour mixture into Dutch oven, and sprinkle the top evenly with grated cheddar cheese.
- Replace lid, and evenly distribute 14 gray charcoal briquettes on top.
- Cook for about 45 minutes until tots are brown and crisp on top. Begin checking for doneness at about 30 minutes.
Campfire Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
It definitely doesn’t get any easier than toasted pumpkin seeds, and few things are tastier! Roasting pumpkin seeds over a campfire is so simple, and because you’re doing them yourself, you can choose to flavor them any way that suits you!
- Author: Outdoors.com
- Recipe type: Snack
- Cuisine: Vegetarian Camp Cooking
- Serves: varies
Ingredients
- Pumpkin seeds (cleaned, rinsed, dried)
- 1 to 3 tbsp. cooking oil
- Salt (to taste)
- Other flavorings (to taste)
- Large cast iron skillet
Instructions
- Start a nice campfire with hardwood logs like oak, hickory, hard maple, etc. Let it burn for at least half an hour before cooking over it. If it’s in a fire pit with a grate over it, so much the better. You’ll see why.
- Clean the seeds thoroughly immediately after they come out of pumpkins. Remove all strings and pieces of “pumpkin guts.” It works great to rinse them uner cool water in a colander. Spread out to dry in a well-ventilated area. Best to put them on cooking mats or other non-stick surface. Don’t use paper towels – the seeds will stick to them. It’s really important the seeds are dry so the oil will adhere to them.
- Warm skillet over fire. (With the grate, you won’t have to hold the heavy skillet all the time.)
- Pour in enough cooking oil to evenly coat bottom of fry pan.
- Warm a little more, then add seeds.
- With the pan over the heat, move nearly constantly jostling the seeds around to toast evenly. (This is where the grate is really nice because it will hold the weight of the skillet as you slide it back and forth.)
- As the seeds begin to toast and start to turn golden brown, add the salt and any other flavoring you might want like chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, or whatever you like.
- Continue toasting until seeds are golden on both sides. For additional motion and flipping you can stir with a spatula or wooden spoon. Just don’t let the heat sit one place too long or the seeds will quickly scorch and ruin the whole batch.
Fancy Mac and Cheese Soup
Everyone is a fan of mac and cheese, especially the kiddies. And on top of it all, the roasted cherry tomatoes add just the right savory zing for the adult palate. You better make a double batch because this one won’t last long when your campmates catch wind of it. Roast the cherry tomatoes at home before the trip and bring them along in a zip lock back with just a little olive oil – or sub in reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes if you wish.
- Author: Outdoors.com
- Recipe type: Lunch/Dinner
- Cuisine: Vegetarian Camp Cooking
- Serves: 10 servings
Ingredients
- 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- Coarse Sea Salt, to taste
- Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp. salted butter
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- Six cups vegetable broth
- One bay leaf
- 1 cup dry macaroni elbows
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp. Tabasco sauce
- ½ tsp. white pepper
- 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the tomatoes, cut side up, on backing sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Roast the tomatoes for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove them from the oven cool to room temp
- In 10- or 12-inch Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly for one minute.
- Whisk in flour, then slowly whisk in the vegetable broth and add the bay leaf.
- Increase to high heat and bring the broth to a boil. Add the macaroni and boil until al dente … about 8 minutes.
- Remove bay leaf. Stir in cream, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and pepper.
- Add the cheese and continue to stir until it’s completely melted.]
- Slowly bring the soup to a boil again for two minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove it from the heat.
- Ladle the soup into serving bowls and top with the roasted tomatoes.
Watermelon Jerky
You’ll need a food dehydrator to make watermelon jerky. Cook time can be greatly influenced by the climate you are in. For example, in Florida during summer season the time will be three to four times greater than needed in a northern, drier climate.
- Author: The Watermelon Council
- Recipe type: Snack
- Cuisine: Vegetarian Camp Cooking
- Serves: varies
Ingredients
- Fair amount of watermelon cut into 6 to 8-inch strips about ½-inch thick (think Hershey bar or men’s belt).
Instructions
- Place watermelon strips in dehydrator for eight hours. Can take eight to 12 hours, or up to 24 hours depending on climate. The watermelon crisps after cooling. Make thicker slices for a fruit leather roll up type snack. Make thinner for crisped watermelon chips.
Vegetarian Colorado Chili Verde
Wherever you go in Colorado you’ll see Chile Verde or Green Chile offered as a side dish or sauce. It goes well as either. For the campsite, we cut some corners, but this is still a dish that needs some simmer time to turn out really delicious. However, a word to the wise: authentic Colorado Green Chile is made with Hatch Peppers from New Mexico. The only kind of Hatch Peppers we can get “back East” are canned and you can’t do a good job of roasting anything but fresh peppers. So we substituted a combination of Poblano, Anaheim, and jalapeño. It came out really well.
- Author: Outdoors.com
- Recipe type: Lunch/Dinner
- Cuisine: Vegetarian Camp Cooking
- Serves: 12 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Poblano peppers
- Three large Anaheim peppers
- Two large jalapeno peppers
- 2 tbsp. of olive oil
- One large sweet yellow onion, chopped
- Four cloves garlic, minced
- One 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes with chiles (ours had cilantro, too)
- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- Five cups vegetable broth or stock
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsps. chili powder (or to taste)
- 1 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Roast all peppers over campfire or gas flame until skins are blacken and blistered.
- Place hot peppers in large bowl and cover tightly with aluminum foil
- Chop onions and gather the rest of your ingredients.
- Once peppers are cool enough to handle, use your hands to remove charred skin and the seeds inside. Then roughly chop the peppers.
- Heat olive oil in a 12-inch cast iron Dutch oven.
- Add chopped onions. Fry for about 3 minutes, stirring often.
- Add minced garlic. Stir constantly for 2 minutes.
- Stir in diced tomatoes (undrained) and chopped peppers.
- Sprinkle in flour and stir.
- Add broth, cinnamon, chili powder and salt.
- Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes. Longer is better. You’re looking for the chili to thicken a bit.
Vegetarian Campfire Beans
The Vegetarian Campfire Beans are a great “sit and simmer dish.” Put it together at lunchtime or before, and let it sit on the edge of the campfire coals. The longer it simmers, the more the flavors come together and build. This recipe is wide open for interpretation with your favorites. Mix whatever kind of beans you’d like. And it certainly doesn’t have to be vegetarian if you don’t want – start with some browned sausage or burger to turn it from a side dish into a main course. Or start out with bacon grease to fry the onions and garlic.
- Author: Outdoors.com
- Recipe type: Lunch/Dinner
- Cuisine: Vegetarian Camp Cooking
- Serves: lots and lots
Ingredients
- One medium onion (chopped)
- Two cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- One 15-ounce can black beans
- One 15-ounce can pinto beans
- One 15-ounce can great northern beans
- One 15-ounce can kidney beans
- One 10-ounce can of diced tomatoes with green chiles
- One small to medium can of your favorite vegetarian baked beans
- ½ – ¾ bottle of BBQ sauce (buy whatever you like, but it doesn’t have to be expensive.)
- Hot sauce to taste.
Instructions
- Heat oil in 10- or 12-inch cast iron Dutch oven.
- Stir in chopped onions and cook until they become translucent.
- Add minced garlic and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.
- Open all the beans and drain off liquid (except baked beans). Refill the cans with fresh water, then pour it off the beans. This rinses the beans to help reduce their gastronomic effects.
- Add the beans (including the baked beans with sauce) to the onions and garlic.
- Add the can of diced tomatoes with the juice.
- Add the BBQ sauce and hot sauce to taste.
- Stir to mix well.
- Cover Dutch oven and place in the coals at the edge of the campfire.
- Allow to simmer for at least several hours; add water as necessary to keep from burning.
- Stir occasionally, but not too often so as not to break down the beans. They’re best if they’re still a little el dente when eaten.
Door County Cherry and Cucumber Salad
The Door County Cherry and Cucumber Salad is a light, quick salad that makes the most of the late-July to mid-August harvest of sweet cherries in Door County, Wisconsin. You can cut things up ahead of time and just keep them in the cooler to toss together when you’re ready or make the whole thing up in camp. Once mixed, it will keep well in the cooler for about four hours.
- Author: Outdoors.com
- Recipe type: Salad
- Cuisine: Vegetarian Camp Cooking
- Serves: Eight servings
Ingredients
- Two medium cucumbers, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 tbsp. white vinegar
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- ½ lb. sweet cherries, pitted and halved
- ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In large bowl, toss together cucumber chunks, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper.
- Add cherries and cilantro leaves and toss lightly.
Curried Chickpeas & Tomatoes
Curry lovers listen up! The Curried Chickpeas & Tomatoes is a good, fast one. It’s also another vegetarian dish that will satisfy any hungry camper as a side dish or on its own served over rice or couscous.
- Author: Outdoors.com
- Recipe type: Lunch/Dinner
- Cuisine: Vegetarian Camp Cooking
- Serves: Eight servings
Ingredients
- Two 15-ounce cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
- One medium onion (chopped)
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1-inch piece of ginger peeled and grated or finely chopped
- One 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- One small can of mild, chopped green peppers
- 2 tbsp. Indian curry powder or garam masala (start light and add more to taste)
- Salt to taste
- Hot sauce to taste
- Red pepper flakes to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In 10- or 12-inch Dutch oven, heat oil.
- Add onion, ginger, and half of curry powder.
- Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft and translucent.
- Add tomatoes and green peppers with juice and stir well.
- Add remaining curry powder and salt.
- Bring to boil, then turn down heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add drained chickpeas and return to simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes.
- Adjust seasoning to your liking with more salt, black pepper, hot sauce and/or crushed red pepper flakes.
New England Brown Bread
You can make New England Brown Bread pretty easily yourself and, oddly enough, you make it in a can, too! The biggest things that set brown bread apart from “regular” bread are it has no yeast and it is steamed instead of baked in an oven. Here’s a recipe to try with your Dutch Oven right at your campfire. This is a fun “bread making” project for the whole family at the campsite. The kids will get a kick out of making bread in a can.
- Author: Outdoors.com
- Recipe type: Snack
- Cuisine: Vegetarian Camp Cooking
- Serves: 12 slices
Ingredients
- ½ cup graham or whole-wheat flour
- ½ cup rye flour½ cup yellow corn meal
- ¾ tsp. baking soda
- 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp. butter melted, slightly browned
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ cup black strap molasses
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup buttermilk
- One egg, beaten
- ½ cup raisins (optional)
- ¼ cup brown sugar (optional)
- Unsalted butter
- Empty, clean one-pound metal coffee can
Instructions
- In large mixing bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.
- Add wet ingredients (and raisins, if you’re using), and stir into a smooth batter.
- Thoroughly butter the inside of the coffee can.
- Spoon the batter into the can, leaving at least 1½ inches at the top to allow for the bread to rise.
- Cover the can securely with greased aluminum foil.
- Place the can in a Dutch Oven deep enough that the lid fits tightly with the can upright inside.
- Add enough water to come halfway up the can. Bring the water to a simmer, then cover the Dutch Oven, and steam for 90 to 105 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the top of the bread comes out clean (remove foil to test.) Replenish the water if needed while steaming.
- Cool bread in the can on a baking rack for at least 10 minutes, then remove from the can. If the bread won’t come out from the top, use a can opener to remove the other end of the can and push the “loaf” on through.
- Slice and serve with butter, and honey if you like.
Gluten-Free Banana Pancakes
These banana pancakes can be made with just two ingredients – bananas and eggs – or you can up the game with some vanilla if you like. They are delicious as is or with butter, maple syrup, blueberries, and/or Nutella on top. Dig in!
- Author: Outdoors.com
- Recipe type: Breakfast
- Cuisine: Vegetarian Camp Cooking
- Serves: Two to three pancakes per banana
Ingredients
- Ripe bananas (the riper the better)
- Fresh eggs
- Vanilla (optional)
- Your favorite pancake toppers
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together bananas and eggs at a one-to-one ratio (one egg for every banana). Mash this up and mix until no lumps remain. A potato masher works great for this.
- Add ½ tsp. vanilla extract per banana (if using).
- Heat greased skillet or griddle over medium heat.
- Pour out “batter” to the size you want our pancake.
- Cook for about one minute until bubbles appear.
- Flip pancake and cook until golden brown – about a minute more.
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