Best Camping Cookbooks for Beginners
Simple meals you can
make outside with basic gear.
Words by Michele Underwood
What Makes a Good Beginner Camp Cookbook
Cooking outside is different than cooking at home. Wind, limited space, and fewer tools all change how you plan meals. A good beginner-friendly camping cookbook should:
Use short ingredient lists
Rely on ingredients you can find at a normal grocery store
Work with a camp stove, fire grate, or simple cast-iron pan
Offer prep tips you can do at home before you leave
Keep cleanup simple so you aren’t burning through all your water
The books below hit those points and are a solid starting place if you’re new to camp cooking or want an easy way to plan meals.
The Best Camping Cookbooks for Beginners
1. The New Camp Cookbook — Everyday Food, Just Outside
Everyday meals adapted for stoves and campfire grates.
Why it earns a spot:
This one reads like a bridge between home cooking and camp cooking. The recipes feel familiar—things like skillets, big salads, and grilled mains—but they’re written with camp stoves, grills, and fire grates in mind.
Good for campers who:
Want food that feels normal, not a science project
Are comfortable cooking at home and want to move that outside
Use a two-burner stove or a mix of stove and fire
Highlights:
One-pan breakfast skillets
Fajita-style meals that work in a cast-iron pan
Simple grilled fruit for dessert
2. Feast by Firelight — Prep at Home, Finish at Camp
Prep at home, finish over the flames at camp.
Why it earns a spot:
This book leans into doing some of the work before you leave the house. A lot of the chopping and marinating happens in your kitchen. At camp, you finish things on the stove, grill, or fire.
Good for campers who:
Like to prep on a clean counter instead of at a picnic table
Drive to camp and pack a cooler
Want their future self at camp to say “thank you” to past self
Highlights:
Make-ahead drink bases you simply top off at camp
Skillet hash and hearty breakfasts
Foil or packet-style meals that cook fast once you reach camp
3. Dirty Gourmet: Food for Your Outdoor Adventures — Flexible Meals for Camp and Day Trips
Why it earns a spot:
This one is designed for different kinds of days outside: picnics, trailhead lunches, car camping, and simple basecamps. The recipes are flexible and easy to scale.
Good for campers who:
Mix hiking, biking, and camping in the same weekend
Want recipes that work at a picnic table or tailgate
Like having a few vegetarian and lighter options
Highlights:
Couscous and grain bowls that use shelf-stable ingredients
Camp-style nachos and shareable snacks
Simple breakfasts you can make while half-awake
4. The Campout Cookbook: Inspired Recipes for Cooking Around the Fire and Under the Stars —
Fire-ready meals designed for cooking outdoors.
Why it earns a spot:
This cookbook leans into the kind of food you make around a fire. The recipes are built for campfire grates and simple stove setups, with meals that feel rustic and satisfying at the end of the day.
Good for campers who:
Like cooking over coals, fire rings, or grill grates
Want hearty, comfort-style meals at camp
Prefer recipes written specifically for camping, not just adapted from a home kitchen
Highlights:
Fire-friendly dinners and one-pot meals
Comfort food that fits cool nights outside
Recipes that scale well for a small group
How to Choose Your First Camping Cookbook
Cooking over fire or coals: The Campout Cookbook: Inspired Recipes for Cooking Around the Fire and Under the Stars
Cooking mostly on a camp stove: The New Camp Cookbook
Prepping meals at home first: Feast by Firelight
Mixing picnics, day trips, and camping: Dirty Gourmet: Food for Your Outdoor Adventures
Once you try a few recipes outside, it becomes easier to know what style of camp food you actually enjoy.
Cook How You Already Camp
Choose a book that fits how you already camp. Fire meals, stove meals, make-ahead meals—there’s no one way to cook outside. Once you have a direction, the food gets easier.
Michele Underwood writes Overland Girl, where she shares gear she uses on real trips—from the Northwoods of Wisconsin to the Ozarks. She values quality and craftsmanship in everything she buys, from outdoor gear to everyday clothes and furniture. Her choices may seem expensive to some, but she believes in buying less and buying better. Longevity matters, both in function and in style. Her couch is five years old and still sold at Design Within Reach—that’s the kind of timelessness she looks for.
For this book series, some links are Amazon affiliate links, which means she may earn a small commission if you buy through them. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and it helps support her work. She only recommends gear and books she’d feel good bringing on her own trips.
