A well-stocked camp kitchen is an essential part of any camping getaway. Whether you like to get a little gourmet with camp cooking or prefer to just heat up something on a simple camping stove, having the proper camp kitchen box and food prep gear makes everything easier outside.
Use the items below to whip up tasty camping meals, and when you’re back from your camping trip, give everything a good cleaning and pack it away in preparation for your next getaway. It’s handy to get a big plastic storage tub to keep everything in one place.
If you’re planning to hike to your campsite, you’ll likely want to leave the cast-iron pan behind – check out the backpacking checklist for a minimalized list of camp kitchen gear.
Camp stove cooking
- Camp stove
- Fuel and fuel bottles
- Matches or lighter
Open-fire cooking
- Fire starter and matches/lighter
- Hatchet or axe
- Firegrill (when a forked stick just won’t cut it)
- Roasting sticks
Camp cookware
- Pots or pot sets (at least one small and one large pot works well)
- Pot grabber
- Frying pan (cast iron is an excellent versatile choice)
- Dutch oven
- Plates and bowls
- Cups and mugs – you can find some options that double as measuring cups
- Cooking utensils, like spatulas, tongs and big spoons for stirring
- Cutlery (sporks are classic camp items)
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
- Can opener
- Coffee maker
- Water bottles
- Water jug
Food storage and clean-up
- Portable camp table
- Cooler
- Food storage bins
- Reusable bags
- Aluminum foil
- Biodegradable soap
- Quick-dry dish cloth
- Pot scrubber/sponges
- Pot scraper
- Garbage bags
- Portable sink
If you want to get gourmet…
- Ice cream ball
- Popcorn popper
- Hand-crank blender
- Unbreakable wine tote and glasses
- Unbreakable growler and pint glasses
- Flask
- Corkscrew and bottle opener
- Epic s’mores recipes
The great things about many camp kitchen tools is that they can do double-duty at outdoor festivals, picnic lunches at the beach, family roadtrips, or even backyard BBQs. Want more camping meal ideas? Check out camp kitchen secrets and our coffee addict’s guide to camp coffee.
