The twilight of summer and the beginning of fall is the sweet spot for camping trips, when the pollen count is down and the colors are vibrant. Whether your pleasure is hiking, fishing, or just being in the outdoors, the campsite is hallowed grounds for fun times and good eats. When you’re in the wilderness, you’ll likely be big on time and low on supplies, so planning out your meals before leaving is a great way to get the most out of your trip. Beans are versatile, easy to cook, and can function as a meal or a side for almost any meal, making them the perfect camping food. We’ve gathered some of our favorite campsite bean recipes from around the web, try them out during your next nature outing!
Campfire Beans
Food blogger Debby at A Feast For The Eyes gives us this wonderful way to get the most mileage out of your pinto beans by stewing with a ham shank and adding heat with chili powder and black pepper. Cut cook time by as much as 30 minutes by using Randall Pinto Beans in place of dry beans, draining the jar before cooking with your ham. For campers wanting to bring even more heat, Debby suggests dropping in a chopped jalapeno near the end of cooking, and serving with hot sauce. And though she uses a portable grill in her example, we don’t think you can beat old fashioned cooking over a campfire.
Campsite Rice & Beans
This black bean and white rice combo comes to us from Bowen Appétit, and it makes the perfect meal at the end of a long day spent outdoors as it fulfills the three most important requirements: quick, easy, and filling. Barely taking longer than a half hour of cook time, the wait from prep to meal is negligible for your hungry campers. Though you can add more if you wish, the only necessarily fresh ingredient for this recipe is a tomato, making it easy to fit this dish into your meal plans. Bowen’s recipe given here only serves 2 as a main dish, but by subbing a jar of Randall Black Beans and doubling the rice and veggie amounts, you can easily stretch this one into a family affair.
Mexican Three Bean Camp Salad
Mexican food while camping? A salad outdoors? Camping For Foodies breaks new ground with this idea for Mexican-inspired flavors using pinto, black, and garbanzo beans (chickpeas) combined with Mexican corn and green chilies. Alternatively, change up this simple recipe by cooking up some chorizo and onion beforehand, then combining on fire-top pot for 20 minutes for a heartier and warmer Mexican Camping Stew.
Try These Other Campsite Favorites As Well
Ham, Great Northern Beans, and Collard Greens
Are you hungry yet? Head out to the store, and look for Randall’s Great Northern Beans to make this dish tonight.
