24 in-depth recipes for Australian camping: camp oven, campfire, gas stove, BBQ and no-cook. Every one has real quantities that scale with your group, temperatures and times, make-ahead prep, and a cooler tip. Try three of them free below.
Change the servings and the ingredient quantities update. Members can add any recipe straight to a day of a trip, ready to build into the shopping list.
Free sample · Breakfast
Bacon and egg breakfast burritos
Crisp bacon, golden potato and soft scrambled egg rolled in a warm tortilla. One pan, and they freeze well so they double as ice bricks.
30 min in total
Serves 4
Gas stove
Easy
kid friendly
make-ahead
Servings
4
Recipe is written for 4
Ingredients
250 g short-cut bacon rashers, diced
300 g potato, par-boiled at home, then diced 1 cm
1 red capsicum, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
8 eggs
½ tsp salt
100 g tasty cheese, grated
4 large flour tortillas, burrito size
4 tbsp tomato relish or chutney
Equipment
Large non-stick frypan with a lid
Gas stove
Spatula and tongs
Mixing bowl and whisk or fork
Aluminium foil
Method
1Step 1: Heat the frypan over medium heat and add 1 tbsp of the oil. Fry the bacon for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring now and then, until crisp and cooked through.
2Step 2: Add the potato and capsicum and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring, until the potato is golden at the edges. Tip into a bowl and cover to keep warm.
3Step 3: Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the salt and whisk with a fork until the yolks and whites are combined.
4Step 4: Wipe the pan, add the rest of the oil and turn the heat down to low-medium. Pour in the eggs.
5Step 5: Stir slowly with a spatula for 3 to 4 minutes until the eggs are set and no liquid egg remains. Take the pan off the heat.
6Step 6: Fold the bacon and potato back in and scatter over the cheese so it softens in the residual heat.
7Step 7: Warm the tortillas: stack and wrap them in foil and heat on the stove for 1 to 2 minutes each side, or warm each one in a dry pan for about 20 seconds a side.
8Step 8: Spread each tortilla with a tablespoon of relish. Spoon a quarter of the filling down the middle, fold in the two ends and roll up tightly.
9Step 9: For a crisp finish, toast each burrito seam-side down in a dry pan for about 1 minute. Serve straight away, wrapped in foil or a paper napkin.
Make ahead at home
Par-boil and dice the potatoes, dice the bacon and capsicum, and grate the cheese. Keep everything in separate zip bags in the cooler.
Or cook the full filling at home, roll the burritos and wrap each in foil. Freeze them: they keep the cooler cold and are thawed by the next morning. Reheat in the foil over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, turning, until steaming hot all the way through.
Food safety and cooler tip
Keep the bacon and eggs at 5°C or below in the coldest part of the cooler and use the eggs within a few days. Cook the eggs until firm. Eat reheated burritos only when they are piping hot in the middle (75°C).
Cook chicken, mince and sausages until there is no pink and they reach 75°C in the thickest part. Keep cold food at 5°C or below and hot food above 60°C. Throw out perishable food that has been out of the cooler for more than 2 hours.
On Total Fire Ban days a gas stove is usually the safest way to cook, but rules differ by state and park, so check before you light it.
Variations and swaps
Swap the bacon for sliced cured chorizo and add a handful of drained black beans.
Vegetarian: leave out the bacon and add a can of drained, rinsed baked beans or sliced halloumi.
Use gluten-free wraps if you need them, and check the label on the relish.
Add sliced avocado and a squeeze of lime just before rolling.
Check ingredient labels yourself if anyone has an allergy or intolerance. The "gluten-free option" and "vegan option" tags mean a simple swap is suggested, not that a recipe is guaranteed safe.
Free sample · Dinner
Campfire foil-pack fish and veg
Fresh fish fillets steamed in foil on the coals with potato, zucchini, tomato and lemon butter. Hardly any washing up.
40 min in total
Serves 4
Campfire
Easy
fishing day
gluten-free option
make-ahead
Servings
4
Recipe is written for 4
Ingredients
700 g white fish fillets, skinned, about 175 g per person
500 g baby potatoes, sliced 3 mm and par-boiled for 4 minutes at home
2 zucchini, sliced into thin rounds
1 red capsicum, sliced into thin strips
200 g cherry tomatoes
2 lemons, thinly sliced
60 g butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano or fresh dill
1 tsp salt and pepper
Equipment
Heavy-duty aluminium foil
Baking paper (optional)
Heat-proof gloves and long tongs
Fire grill (optional)
Meat thermometer
Method
1Step 1: Let the fire burn down to hot coals with little flame, which takes 30 to 40 minutes. Do not cook on open flames, which burn the foil.
2Step 2: Tear off 4 sheets of heavy-duty foil about 40 cm long. Fold each sheet in half to double it, then lightly rub it with olive oil. Add a sheet of baking paper if you like.
3Step 3: In the centre of each sheet layer the potato, zucchini and capsicum. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil.
4Step 4: Lay a fish fillet on each pile. Tuck the cherry tomatoes around it and put lemon slices, a quarter of the butter and garlic and a pinch of oregano on top.
5Step 5: Pull the long edges up to meet, fold them over twice, then fold up the ends so each parcel is sealed with a little air space inside for steam.
6Step 6: Set the parcels, seam side up, on the coals or on a grill about 10 cm above them. Cook for 12 to 16 minutes, turning them once halfway.
7Step 7: Open one parcel carefully, standing back from the steam. The fish should be opaque and flake easily (63°C) and the potato tender.
8Step 8: If it needs more time, reseal and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Serve in the foil with a squeeze of lemon.
Make ahead at home
Par-boil and slice the potatoes, slice the zucchini and capsicum, and mix the butter with the garlic and herbs at home.
You can assemble the parcels (without the fish) at home and keep them in the cooler. Add the fish at camp.
Food safety and cooler tip
Keep a catch on ice or in a cooler at 5°C or below and cook it within 24 hours of catching. Bought fish should stay cold until the moment you pack the foil. Use clean hands and a clean board after handling raw fish.
Cook chicken, mince and sausages until there is no pink and they reach 75°C in the thickest part. Keep cold food at 5°C or below and hot food above 60°C. Throw out perishable food that has been out of the cooler for more than 2 hours.
Check local fire restrictions and the fire danger rating before you light anything. Never light a fire on a Total Fire Ban day: cook on a gas stove instead, and check what your state or park allows for gas cookers.
Variations and swaps
Prawn version: swap the fish for 500 g peeled prawns and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until pink.
Chicken version: use 4 sliced chicken thigh fillets and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until 75°C with no pink.
Swap potato for sweet potato slices. Par-boil in the same way.
On a fire ban day, cook the parcels in a covered frypan on a gas stove over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
Check ingredient labels yourself if anyone has an allergy or intolerance. The "gluten-free option" and "vegan option" tags mean a simple swap is suggested, not that a recipe is guaranteed safe.
Free sample · Snacks
Damper with golden syrup
Classic bush damper baked in the camp oven, torn warm and eaten with butter and golden syrup. Five ingredients and about 30 minutes.
45 min in total
Serves 4
Camp oven
Medium
vegetarian
kid friendly
make-ahead
4WD friendly
Servings
4
Recipe is written for 4
Ingredients
450 g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
60 g cold butter, cubed
250 ml milk
100 ml water, plus a little extra if needed
60 g butter, for serving
6 tbsp golden syrup
Equipment
10 to 12-inch camp oven with lid
Baking paper
Lid lifter and heat-proof gloves
Shovel and tongs for coals
Large bowl and a table knife
Clean tea towel
Method
1Step 1: Start the fire about 40 minutes ahead so you have even, glowing coals. As a guide, a 12-inch (about 5.5 L) camp oven at roughly 180°C needs about 17 briquettes or the same amount of hot coals: around 11 on the lid and 6 underneath. Top up as they fade, about every 30 minutes. Put the camp oven with the lid on over coals to preheat for 10 minutes while you make the dough.
2Step 2: Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs.
3Step 3: Make a well in the middle. Pour in the milk and 100 ml of water and stir quickly with a table knife until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms. Add a tablespoon more water if there are dry patches.
4Step 4: Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly for 6 to 8 turns. Do not overwork it or the damper will be tough.
5Step 5: Shape the dough into a round about 4 cm thick. Cut a deep cross about 1 cm into the top, brush it with a little milk and dust with flour.
6Step 6: Carefully line the hot camp oven with a round of baking paper and sit the damper on it. Put the lid on.
7Step 7: Bake for 25 to 30 minutes with about two-thirds of the coals on the lid. Turn the oven a quarter turn every 10 minutes and lift the lid as little as possible.
8Step 8: The damper is done when it is golden and sounds hollow when you tap the base, and a skewer comes out clean.
9Step 9: Wrap it in a clean tea towel and rest for 5 minutes. Serve torn or sliced, warm, with butter and golden syrup.
Make ahead at home
Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a zip bag and keep the butter cubed and cold in the cooler. Rub them together at camp.
Or bake the damper at home, wrap it well, and warm it in foil near the coals for 10 minutes at camp.
Food safety and cooler tip
Keep the butter and milk at 5°C or below until you use them. Eat damper the day you bake it, or wrap it and keep it cool. Use long-life milk if you are away for a few days.
Cook chicken, mince and sausages until there is no pink and they reach 75°C in the thickest part. Keep cold food at 5°C or below and hot food above 60°C. Throw out perishable food that has been out of the cooler for more than 2 hours.
Check local fire restrictions and the fire danger rating before you light anything. Never light a fire on a Total Fire Ban day: cook on a gas stove instead, and check what your state or park allows for gas cookers.
Variations and swaps
Cheese and chive: add 100 g grated tasty cheese and 2 tbsp chopped chives to the flour.
Sweet: add 60 g sultanas and 1 tsp cinnamon.
Beer damper: swap the milk and water for 330 ml of lager, with no butter.
Small damper rolls: shape 8 rolls and bake for 15 to 18 minutes.
Check ingredient labels yourself if anyone has an allergy or intolerance. The "gluten-free option" and "vegan option" tags mean a simple swap is suggested, not that a recipe is guaranteed safe.
The full library
Browse every recipe by meal, cooking method or tag. The three free recipes are open above; the others unlock with Gumtrail.
Showing 24 of 24 recipes
Breakfast · Free sample
Bacon and egg breakfast burritos
Crisp bacon, golden potato and soft scrambled egg rolled in a warm tortilla. One pan, and they freeze well so they double as ice bricks.
Toasted jaffles straight from the coals. This recipe makes classic ham, cheese and tomato, with ideas for baked bean and pizza jaffles in the variations.
Lamb shanks braised for three hours with red wine, tomato and rosemary until the meat falls off the bone. The camp oven dinner you plan the trip around.
A punchy pantry pasta with olives, capers, garlic, chilli and anchovies. Almost everything keeps without a cooler, which makes it ideal for a late arrival.
With Gumtrail you get all 24 recipes with scaling serves, and an add-to-trip button that drops the meal and its scaled ingredients into your plan, ready to build into your shopping list.