Camping meals that don’t require a fridge

[Piratetree]

We’re camping with no electric next week so for the first time we won’t have our fridge. A couple of days we will shop fresh for meat to bbq but would also like some ideas of things to take that we can keep and cook without needing a fridge. We do have a cool box but not sure if we’ll be able to freeze ice packs on site.

We have a gas hot plate and a cadac with the paella pan as well as the bbq grill

So far I have thought of
Chorizo pasta
Bean chilli
Veg kebabs and couscous

We would take pasta and sauces or rice pouches, corned beef hash is a classic, soups etc.

Oh sounds like your camping is a bit more upmarket than ours was 🤣

Cadac Safari Chef 2?
First night take something frozen that you can heat eg spaghetti bol. Or take two frozen meals (spaghetti Bol and curry) and hope that the food stays cold (you can cool your cooler box before you put your food in it. Then stuff like wraps with veg and cold meats (like chicken breasts).
Do you have the pizza stone for the cadac? if so fresh pizzas are amazing.

Here are some ideas from Cadac:
www.cadacinternational.com/uk/recipes/

Freeze a chilli and it should be defrosted by the 2nd night and helps keep coolbox cool.

Take frozen tubs of sausage and bean casserole/chilli/tomato sauce. They take a few days to defrost in a cool box, so keep your milk and butter fresh too.
A bag of frozen sausages is good for breakfasts. Eggs, baked beans.
We use longer life bread like naans, pittas to eat with it.
Both Mattesons sausage and pepperoni don't need a fridge so we had that on hand as well.

Jambalaya.
An onion, tin of chopped tomatoes, tinned chicken breast, basmati rice, stock cube and water, chorizo, a red pepper. Cooks in about 25 minutes in one pot.

And cumin!

Could you freeze your meat, milk and anything else which will keep the cool box cold for the first couple of days and then it will be defrosted for the next couple of meals?

You can also buy ice cubes from the supermarket to help with the last few days.

We just take a box full of tins and pot noodles .

As others have said frozen stuff will help and chorizo is great. Plus the days you get fresh. Then you are on to tinned and dried stuff for any remaining days.

Pasta with breadcrumbs, lemon and tinned crab is nice.

You can do a sort of breakfast hash with tinned pototoes, ham and eggs

A fancy omlette with tinned pototoes and spam in.

We like the risotto prontos too.

I cant remembervif gnocci has to be kept cool.

Great ideas thank you

Camping calzone- wraps, passata, tinned sweetcorn, tuna, salami, jar sun dried tomato, pepper, cheese (the weak link in the chain, but should be ok in cool box for day or two) etc. Compile, fold in half and fry.

I’m not a camper, but I did buy some tinned stuff at the start of lockdown in case we couldn’t go out for food, recently I’ve been trying to find stuff to do with it. I had a couple of tins of Sainsbury’s chicken in white sauce, I discovered mixed with a jar of pesto it’s nice with pasta and mixed with a tin of sweet corn, some fried onion and a packet of ready to microwave rice it makes a sort of risotto.

Things that people keep in the fridge but don't need to be chilled.

Bacon - other cured meat
Cheese - any hard cheese, soft cheese is edible but the smell can be off putting
Eggs
Butter

Anything 'preserved' - Jam, pickles etc

I was staying in a b and b last year and needed to keep some things cool, I froze about 20 mini cans of lemonade/tonic water - the bottoms bulged so they couldn't be stood up but as they defrosted I could drink them.

In my camping days I used to eat a lot of tinned food.

Try and get yourself some falafel mix before you go www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/al%27fez-falafel-mix/515812-72901-72902
Tinned tuna pasta with tinned sweetcorn
Chickpea curry or lentil curry - either take a jar of curry sauce or use tins of vegetable curry and just add the pulses
Soup
Tagine with couscous groceries.asda.com/product/tinned-meals/asda-vegetarian-chickpea-tagine/1000046667744

I have never camped with a fridge. We pull the car over, walk a few miles and pitch the tent. I've actually spent this morning thinking how good it would be to have a fridge!!

I am also enjoying all the other food suggestions. We stick with soups, rice dishes, hot dogs etc. But I'm intrigued by the camping calzone! Yum yum.

Corned beef hash. Tinned potatoes, peas and carrots with onion, oxo and water. Take a jar of beetroot or pickled cabbage.

Bean tagine - fry an onion, garlic, whatever veg you like (courgette, mushrooms etc). Add a tin of butter beans, a tin of chickpeas and a tin or two of tomatoes. Add a spices - I make a little tub up of cumin, coriander, chilli and turmeric and bring that. Or buy a packet of seasoning mix. Serve with couscous which just needs a bit of hot water and can steam in a separate bowl whilst cooking the tagine.

This meal can also be called chili and served with rice. I'm always desperate for more veg and no meat after a days of bbq and bacon baps!

Tinned Stewed steak in gravy...I know it sounds grim.if you haven't tried it but it's really not bad.

Add drained tinned potatoes, baby carrots and peas to make a stew and serve with buttered crusty bread.

Add kidney beans, tinned tomatoes and chilli seasoning - serve with rice if cooking facilities allow, or in tortilla wraps.

Always, always a spag bol for the first night. Frozen chilli/stew for day 2. Do you have electric? If so, boil kettle for water for rice/pasta rather than on the hob,otherwise fresh pasta is good for a couple of days (and cooks quickly) and pre-cooked rice.

As pp said, eggs, bacon, chorizo don't really need to be kept in a fridge. Tinned hot dog sausages/tuna plus a jar of pasta bake sauce plus pasta = filling tea.

Tinned Bacon grill is actually not a bad substitute for the real stuff (we call it camping bacon).

Tinned potatoes, sliced, a few bits of pepper plus eggs = tortilla.

Baked camembert (heated through the best way you can) plus a couple of baguettes to dip, sliced salami, olives, bag of fancy salad = posh dippy cheese tea

Long life milk we've never got on with so we steer away from anything requiring milk.

Fried rice - pre-cooked rice to save faff, time and gas, tinned mixed veg, sliced cooked meat (fresh eg sliced chicken/ham or tinned ham/salami etc) chuck an egg in, splash of soy sauce

Fresh noodles as above using pre-cooked meat, veg pack and sauce

Mmmmmm I want to go camping now...

Oh! Tins of coconut milk for hot chocolate.
It's really rich, but if you're not doing puddings then it's a nice wee treat

We never have a fridge. So we pop to local farm or Shop mid camp to buy fresh food such as bacon and sausage and eggs, if you take frozen ones with you you have up to 24 hours really if using cool box and eggs last longer

Tinned beans , tinned beans with little sausages in. Tinned soup with French stick

Milk is long life carton and cream pots that you buy in places like home bargains or all in one coffee or hot chocolate sachets - they're about £1 for 10

Tinned curries x2 , tinned vegetables x2, casseroles x2 - just heat up and eat with cold naan bread or pitta bread to dip

You can buy vegetable/chick pea curries

Pot noodle type pastas- lots of nice brands out some nice sweet chilli noodles- there make a great supper if you add boiling water to them

Tins of tuna mayonnaise sandwich filler put into bread for lunch (no butter)
Or jam, chocolate spread etc

@IsaLain

Oh! Tins of coconut milk for hot chocolate. It's really rich, but if you're not doing puddings then it's a nice wee treat

I might have to try that at home!

Another one of our camping staples, plus fried egg and baked beans for breakfast or dinner:

Bacon Brunch