Camping Cookware & Meals: Gear, Stoves, and Easy Recipes

Explore our Top Picks for Backpacking Stoves, Best Camping Stove, Easy Camping Meals, and more.

Easy-to-make backcountry meals and coffee are the perfect combinations for a satisfying, backpacking and camping trip. Backpackers want easy meals that don’t require a lot of time and don’t take up too much weight or resources to prepare. We have tips and product reviews on gear from ultralight backpacking stoves to freeze-dried meals to cook on the trail that are delicious.

Camping stoves are available in gas, propane and often even hybrid models that use both. These typically include a simple canister or tank of fuel that you can pump or pour into your pot. Or you may have a burner or stovetop that comes pre-mounted on your pot. You can also find camp stoves that run off of disposable butane cartridges or even battery power.

There are a variety of ways to cook with a camp stove, but the most common is boiling water over a heat source. In addition to boiling water, you can also make coffee and tea, simmer food, and fry eggs and bacon. All of these methods require the camp stove to be set up correctly before use.

What about meals? Car camping with a cooler? Or backpacking and carrying your food in your pack? Indeed, you have options for freeze-dried foods to easy-to-make camp meals, and coffee. These items are lightweight, easy to carry and provide you with a quick snack or meal while you are out on the trail.

With all the different types of camping stoves and mess kits out there, it can be hard to pick which one you want to set up the best camp kitchen. Making safe water to drink, good food, and coffee as you explore the trail is often one of those challenges.

The Hiking Adventure has guides on water sanitizing and filtration, backpacking and camping stoves, great camp coffee, and how to get started with cooking in the wilderness while highlighting some of our favorite recipes! Our pointers on what to buy and bring are here.