22 Must-Try Skillet Meals for Camping: Convenient One-Pot Dinners

Planning a camping trip involves a lot of prep, but one thing that shouldn’t be stressful is planning your camping meals! After a day of exploring the great outdoors, nothing beats a hearty, delicious dinner that is also quick to make. Enter the trusty skillet—your best friend for one-pot meals that are both easy to prepare and clean up. These skillet meals for camping will become your new favourites!

Choosing the Perfect Skillet for Camping

Choosing the perfect skillet for camping is essential for hassle-free meals. Opt for a cast iron skillet if you want good heat retention and durability, though be prepared for its weight. For lighter packing, consider hard-anodized aluminium or stainless steel skillets, which are also quite durable and easy to clean.

A 10-12 inch skillet with high sides is ideal for most meals, small enough to suit most camp stoves, but big enough to fit your ingredients. Make sure the handle is sturdy and heat-resistant, and consider removable or foldable handles for better portability. Ultimately, picking a versatile, easy-to-clean, and portable skillet will make your outdoor cooking easier!

RECOMMENDATIONS: This skillet set is great because it includes 2 different sizes. You also can’t go wrong with the Lodge brand cast iron skillets.

Easy Skillet Meals For Camping

These camping skillet meals will make your outdoor cooking experience as seamless as possible, making sure you spend less time worrying about meal prep and more time enjoying the best the great outdoors has to offer. So, let’s gear up, gather our ingredients, and get ready to cook some campsite favourites!

1. One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet

This skillet taco recipe only needs 5 ingredients and will take just 30 minutes to prepare! Delicious and budget-friendly camping meal that’s hearty and leaves little mess to clean up afterwards.

2. Harissa Shakshuka With Feta

This harissa shakshuka with eggs and feta is a flavour-loaded one pan dinner or camping brunch recipe that beats the basic bacon and eggs.

3. Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

This spicy garlic lime chicken skillet dinner takes under 30 minutes. The chicken is tender and juicy, with the zesty flavours of lime and garlic.

4. Cheesy Broccoli Sausage Pasta Skillet

This cheesy broccoli sausage pasta skillet recipe is a simple one-pan dinner for your next camping trip, with a combination of veggies, meat, dairy and carbs… you can’t go wrong with this family dinner.

5. Campfire Skillet Ratatouille

With a burst of fresh summer flavours and so much colour, this campfire skillet ratatouille is a simple dish with an impressive presentation, using lots of in-season vegetables, and can be paired with practically anything on your menu.

6. Easy Authentic Mexican Chicken Fajitas

No need to skip your Mexican Monday theme night with this fajitas de Pollo skillet recipe. Mexican-inspired flavours including marinated chicken, onion and peppers, served up in wraps on on their own.

7. French Onion Chicken Skillet Recipe

For an easy camping meal loaded with flavour, this French onion skillet chicken recipe features sautéed yellow onions, cheese and French onion soup mix to make it quick and easy to make.

8. One Skillet Ground Beef Recipe with Orzo

If you like easy ground beef recipes you can make in a single skillet, this hearty and delicious one pot meal with beef and orzo pasta is ready in under 40 minutes, and has plenty of flavour!

9. Spanish Chorizo And Chickpea Stew 

Stews are a great winter warmer when you’re camping during the cooler months. This Spanish chorizo and chickpea stew is a satisfying meal after a big day of exploring and adventures, and it’s ready in around 30 minutes.

10. Skillet Sausage Potatoes and Green Beans

This sausage, potatoes and green beans combo is sometimes referred to as Hoosier stew and it’s a rustic, easy and hearty one pan dinner for your camping meal plan.

11. Tomato Basil Skillet Breakfast Scramble

If you’re keen for some big breakfasts to start your day of activities, this tomato basil skillet breakfast scramble is easy, yummy and it even freezes well if you want to make it ahead of time too.

12. Camping Chili Mac

This camping chilli mac casserole has just a few ingredients and is ready so quick for a fast to the plate one-pot camping dinner.

13. Cider Glazed Chicken Breasts

These cider-glazed chicken breasts are sautéed then finished off with a Dijon mustard and apple cider glaze. Ready in under 20 minutes, this is a great seasonal chicken dinner, but nothing says you can’t make it year-round in your camp kitchen!

14. Breakfast Sausage Potato Hash

This hearty breakfast sausage potato hash is packed with flavourful sausages, diced potatoes, and aromatic spices is a great way to start the day with a hot meal.

15. Creamy Garlic Chicken Thighs

Just because you’re camping, it doesn’t mean you have to compromise on great flavours. This creamy garlic chicken thighs skillet recipe can be a quick weeknight dinner favourite or a camping meal that will please a crowd.

16. Roasted Skillet Breakfast Potatoes With Peppers & Onions 

This roasted skillet breakfast potatoes with peppers & onions is an easy recipe with rustic cast iron spuds that can be a side dish or a filling breakfast meal!

17. Campfire Nachos

These campfire nachos are a vegetarian alternative to your favourite ground meat-loaded nachos but there’s no reason you can’t add your own meaty twist!

18. Meatzza Pizza

This amazing meatzza pizza is cooked in a skillet on your stovetop! A meatzza is pretty much a pizza without a crust. This simple skillet pizza rivals the taste of a traditional Supreme pizza…just minus the carbs!

19. Cast Iron Vegetable Frittata

This hearty car camping breakfast cast iron frittata has blistered cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and shallots all layered together with cheese and eggs.

20. Guinness Grilled Chicken

This Guinness grilled chicken recipe is a great prep-ahead camping meal. Marinate your chicken breasts in a ziplock bag the night before you leave or in the morning, and then cook them up in your skillet for dinner (or on the grill). So good!

21. Easy Lemon Garlic Prawns

These lemon garlic prawns are buttery and zesty and ready so quickly! This is another meal to prep before you leave home to make your cook up on the night so fast. But it’s pretty quick to do it on the day too, with only a few minutes prep and around 10 minutes to cook.

22. Chilli Spam & Eggs

If you’re a fan of really easy camping meals, this chilli Spam and eggs can’t get much easier. A little spice and quick to make, this is a simple meal that doesn’t take much prep.

And if you want even more camping skillet meal ideas, don’t forget to try your favourite weeknight dinner recipes while camping. So many family favourites can be turned into quick camping meals. Or grab yourself some recipe bases that just require you to add meat and veggies for fast one pot dump recipes that will save you plenty of time while enjoying your outdoor time.