Frozen Meals for Camping

Frozen Meals for Camping

Yes, you heard me! Frozen meals are great for camping. It doesn’t matter if your cooking source is a fire pit, a charcoal grill, an electric skillet, or a microwave, you can cook a convenient frozen meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Frozen meals can be made at home and then frozen or bought that the store, the choices are endless and completely up to you.

I’m not talking about the frozen meals in a pre-portioned divided container, like Banquet. I’m talking real meals from home or meals in a bag from companies like Bertolli or PF Chang’s. Real meals with some taste and some conveniences mixed in.

When it comes to cooking a solid meal for camping homemade is the way to go but it can be hard to do when fighting a smaller kitchen setup and outdoor elements like bugs and weather. Don’t get me wrong I have cooked some terrific meals at the campsite from starch and though it can be done when you’re camping most people are too busy with outdoor activities or just want to relax. In comes meals, you have already premade and frozen at home. This can anytime type of meal you desire and ready for reheating in the crockpot or a skillet.

Homemade meals like:

• Chili with beans
• Taco meat for walking tacos
• Meatballs for spaghetti and sauce
• Swedish meatballs
• Chicken bacon ranch pasta
• Green pepper and steak with rice
• Stuffed peppers
• Soups (creamy or broth)

Frozen meal companies for years have been pre-packaging meals in a bag instead of boxes and making them more useful to use while camping. We can find healthy choices in many of our favorite dishes, and it only takes 5 to 10 minutes to start from finish. One great thing is that I can have meals that are harder to make as pasta dishes or meals that require some time to make normally but at the campsite, it didn’t take me all day to make.

Store-bought pre-made frozen meals like:

• Zatarain’s Frozen Meal – Blackened Chicken Alfredo
• Birds Eye Voila! Family Size Fajita Chicken, Frozen Meal
• Bertolli Frozen Skillet Meals Family Size Chicken Florentine & Farfalle
• Bertolli Frozen Skillet Meals Family Size Chicken Parmigiana & Penne
• Great Value Cheese Ravioli Pasta Family Size

Now, don’t get me wrong, a home-cooked meal is usually what we pre-pare. I just freeze my chili or meat and reheat it at the campsite. But I got this crazy idea one camping trip, to try a pre-packaged meal for dinner one night and it worked, and not only that everyone loved it. Planning ahead takes less time cooking at the campsite and is better than grabbing burgers at the local McDonald’s.  

Usually, when we are camping, we have things scheduled out like hiking the bluffs or visiting national landmarks, you name it we love to do as much as we can while camping. Though this can take up most of your day and there is nothing like coming back to the campsite having food already completed or just taking a few minutes to reheat. Usually, the whole gain is completely worn out and that includes the Chef, me! I don’t feel like cooking a big meal every time.

I sometimes have my nephews with me, which are picky eaters, to say the least. What is worst is that they are completely opposite of each other. One loves cheese, the other refuses to eat it, but only on pizza and macaroni. Weird right! But I love them, and we have fun while camping. So, accommodate everyone including my daughter, a teenager!

Their favorites:

• Frozen Ravioli- I just boil the water and through them in for 3 mins. I also make some pasta sauce and garlic bread and we are finished.
• P.F. Chang’s- they will eat most of the P.F. Chang meals in a bag. I will make some instead rice while I use the skillet to heat up the meal.
• Homemade macaroni with cheese (Their favorite)

A bonus thing about bringing frozen food is that it also helps the refrigerator stay colder or the ice in the cooler stays longer from melting. We spend a lot less on ice when we freeze our meals and retain the cooler air longer. To also keep your cooler cold freeze a big jug of water. It will also taste better on those hot days when you want something cold.

It is ok if the food thaws out a little, that just means you don’t have to cook as long. Just make sure you’re able to keep the temperature cold enough to prevent bacteria, below 41 degrees.

We usually bring 5 to 7 meals worth of frozen pre-made dishes on a 5-day trip. Between my cooler and refrigerator, I never need to buy extra ice to keep my food cool. I have at least 1 gallon of frozen water and 2- 2 quarts of milk and OJ to help keep them cooler as well. Not to mention all the other items like butter, eggs, pre-made pancake mix, and just mention some things we keep in the cooler.

In all, you can bring pre-made home or store-bought items camping with you and save a lot of time cooking at the campsite. It is convenient and you don’t have to bring all the traditional items to make the original dish at the campsite. I mean who wants to slave over a hot kitchen in the middle of summer or cook a time-consuming soup to heat you up during the winter months.

Another great aspect is that we get to try new dishes, something we don’t normally eat at home. Some can be quite fancy, and you can enjoy them was a glass of wine while appreciating your view.