A good camping breakfast is hot, filling and fast, and leaves one pan to wash before you head for the trail. These three breakfast camping meals cover the classics: a skillet of bacon, eggs and hash browns, pancakes from a just-add-water mix, and oatmeal that needs no cooler at all. All of them cook on a two-burner camp stove, which is often still allowed when fire restrictions ban campfires (check the current rules), and over a grate on the fire when they're not.

Before you go

  • Pack eggs in the cooler. USDA says refrigerated eggs shouldn't be left out more than 2 hours. Crack and beat them at home into a sealed bottle if you're worried about breakage; keep it cold.
  • Thaw hash browns in the cooler overnight and pat them dry; they'll crisp better than frozen ones and help keep the cooler cold on the way.
  • Bring a lid or foil for the skillet. It's how you cook eggs through on a camp stove without burning the potatoes.
  • Shelf-stable backups: USDA's camping advice lists powdered pancake mixes, peanut butter in plastic jars, dried fruit and nuts among the foods that travel well without a cooler. The oatmeal below needs no cooler at all.

Bacon, egg and hash brown skillet

The big first-morning breakfast. Cook the bacon first and the potatoes fry in its drippings.

Recipe · Breakfast

Bacon, Egg and Hash Brown Skillet

Crisp bacon, hash browns fried in the drippings and eggs cooked right in the pan, topped with cheddar: a whole camp breakfast in one skillet.

Prep
5 min
Cook
30 min
Total
35 min
Serves
4
Cooked on
Camp stove

Ingredients

  • 6 slices bacon
  • 1 lb frozen shredded hash browns, thawed in the cooler
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil, if needed
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 oz)
  • 2 green onions, sliced

Steps

  1. Cook the bacon. Cook the bacon in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until crisp, 8–10 minutes. Move it to a plate and leave the drippings in the pan.

  2. Crisp the hash browns. Spread the hash browns in the drippings (add the oil if the pan looks dry), season with the salt and pepper, and cook without stirring for 6–8 minutes, until browned underneath. Flip in sections and cook 4 minutes more.

  3. Add the eggs. Make 6 wells in the potatoes, crack an egg into each, cover the pan with a lid or foil, and cook over low heat for 8–12 minutes, until the whites and yolks are firm.

  4. Finish and serve. Crumble the bacon over the top, scatter the cheddar and green onions, cover for a minute to melt the cheese, and serve from the pan.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
429 kcal
Fat
27 g
Saturated fat
10 g
Carbohydrates
23 g
Fiber
2 g
Sugar
1 g
Protein
24 g
Sodium
900 mg
Cholesterol
325 mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients.

Cook eggs through. USDA's advice is to cook eggs until both the white and the yolk are firm; covering the pan does that without flipping.

Camp stove blueberry pancakes

A complete pancake mix needs only water, so there's no milk or eggs to keep cold. Mix it in a zip bag and snip the corner to pour.

Recipe · Breakfast

Camp Stove Blueberry Pancakes

Pancakes from a complete mix that needs only water, with fresh blueberries pressed into each one on the griddle.

Prep
5 min
Cook
20 min
Total
25 min
Serves
4
Cooked on
Camp stove

Ingredients

  • 2 cups complete pancake mix (the kind that needs only water)
  • Water, as the box directs
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • 2 tbsp butter, for the pan
  • 1/2 cup pancake syrup

Steps

  1. Mix the batter. Shake the pancake mix and the amount of water on the box in a large zip bag or a lidded bottle until just combined; a few lumps are fine.

  2. Heat the pan. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium-low heat and melt a little butter in it.

  3. Cook the pancakes. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake (snip a corner of the bag to pipe it), and press a few blueberries into each. Flip when bubbles cover the top and the edges look dry, about 2 minutes, and cook 1–2 minutes more.

  4. Serve. Keep the cooked pancakes warm on a plate under foil while you finish the batch, adding butter as needed, and serve with the syrup.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
403 kcal
Fat
8 g
Saturated fat
4 g
Carbohydrates
77 g
Fiber
3 g
Sugar
23 g
Protein
7 g
Sodium
780 mg
Cholesterol
15 mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients.

Peanut butter banana oatmeal

The breakfast for the last morning, when the ice is gone: every ingredient keeps at camp temperature.

Recipe · Breakfast

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

Rolled oats cooked in one pot and topped with banana, peanut butter, brown sugar and cinnamon: a no-cooler camp breakfast.

Prep
5 min
Cook
10 min
Total
15 min
Serves
4
Cooked on
Camp stove

Ingredients

  • 4 cups water
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 bananas, sliced
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar

Steps

  1. Boil the water. Bring the water and salt to a boil in a pot on the camp stove.

  2. Cook the oats. Stir in the oats and cinnamon, lower the heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick and creamy.

  3. Top and serve. Divide into 4 bowls and top each with banana slices, a tablespoon of peanut butter and a little brown sugar.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
329 kcal
Fat
11 g
Saturated fat
2 g
Carbohydrates
51 g
Fiber
7 g
Sugar
16 g
Protein
10 g
Sodium
220 mg
Cholesterol
0 mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients.

12 more camping breakfast ideas

  • Breakfast burritos, made and frozen at home: see our camping breakfast burritos
  • French toast in a skillet: bread dipped in beaten egg and milk, cooked until no liquid egg remains
  • Breakfast sandwiches: an egg fried until the yolk is firm, cheese and a sausage patty on an English muffin
  • Dutch oven breakfast casserole for a crowd, baked to 160°F (see our camp Dutch oven meals for how to use coals)
  • Granola and powdered milk, mixed with cold water
  • Scrambled eggs with leftovers: last night's peppers, sausage or chili
  • Huevos rancheros: eggs fried firm on warm tortillas with canned black beans and salsa
  • Bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon from the cooler
  • Cinnamon-sugar tortillas fried in butter
  • Hash in foil: frozen hash browns, cooked sausage and peppers in a foil packet on the grate
  • Yogurt parfaits while the cooler is still cold
  • Overnight oats, soaked in a jar in the cooler: see our no-cook camping food

After breakfast

Throw out perishables once the cooler has no ice left or the gel packs have thawed, as USDA advises, and pack a lunch for the trail: see our camping lunch ideas. For dinner, see our easy camping dinners.