Camping food you'd only ever find in Australia

Aussies love camping, and it’s not hard to see why.

Our beautiful nature makes it so easy to grab a tent, a sleeping bag and set up camp by the beach or in the bush.

And while the scenery and the slow pace are certainly great, our favourite part of camping has to be camp cooking.

Why is Aussie camp cooking the best?

Sure, the USA has s’mores and the Brits have a full English brekkie à la campfire, but nothing beats the breadth of Australian camp cooking.

Much of Aussie camp cooking is inspired by the incredible bush tucker and culinary ways of Indigenous Australians. Plus, Aussie camp cooking celebrates the unique produce that only grows in Australia, making our camping recipes unlike anything else in the world.

The 10 best Aussie camp cooking recipes

Camp oven damper

When it comes to Aussie camping food, damper has to be one of the most iconic.

Traditionally, damper was eaten and baked by drovers and stockmen travelling to remote areas. They needed food that used basic ingredients and could be cooked over a campfire.

Damper uses simple ingredients such as flour, salt and water, and is cooked in the coals of a campfire.

Garlic prawn skewers

Aussies love a fresh prawn, but there’s nothing better than prawns grilling away on the barbecue in the warm summer sunshine – it feels quintessentially Australian.

These garlic prawn skewers marinated in a mix of garlic, honey, soy sauce and chilli are perfect for the campfire barbie.

Beef rissoles

The ’70s Aussie dinner table called, it wants its rissoles back!

Lasting decades and loved by all, rissoles have become an Australian dinner staple, no matter if they’re served with a side of veg or simply in a buttered bread roll with some tomato sauce.

We love preparing rissoles at home, then popping them in the esky ready to be cooked over the campfire or campsite barbecue.

Rocky road skillet cookie

Dessert should never be forgotten on a camping holiday, and if you’ve got your trusty camping cast-iron skillet and a few basic baking ingredients, you can whip up this crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside skillet cookie.

While this one isn’t an Australian dish (special thanks to our US friends), we’ve given a skillet cookie an Aussie makeover with a rocky road-inspired twist.

BBQ mango cheeks with lamb

Nothing screams an Aussie summer more than mangoes.

They’re great fresh on a fruit platter, but for something a little different, these BBQ mango cheeks with lamb make for the perfect campsite dinner when you want something with a little more pizzazz.

Vegemite baked potatoes

Baked potatoes are already an Aussie staple, but how do we up the Aussie factor?

We add Vegemite, of course!

Vegemite adds a salty, savoury taste that goes super well with potatoes, and there’s no need to add extra salt or flavour- Vegemite IS the flavour.

These potatoes can be cooked over a campfire by wrapping the potatoes in aluminium foil and placing them in the campfire coals to bake.

Credit: BestRecipesTeam

Avocado and French onion dip

Give an Aussie a packet of French onion soup mix and they’ll make ANYTHING taste good.

For an easy flavour upgrade in casseroles, cobs and more, Aussies have always relied on this trusty soup mix.

This avocado and French onion dip is the perfect campsite snack to keep you going throughout the day, whether you’re exploring mountains or swimming in the sea.

Tim Tam hedgehog

If there’s one thing Aussies love more than a slice, it’s a no-bake slice, and hedgehog slice is one of our favourites.

No-bake slice can be easily whipped up while camping, as it uses pantry staples like plain biscuits and condensed milk. For an extra Aussie version, try this one studded with Tim Tams.

Credit: BestRecipesTeam

Easy barramundi with lemon

For those who love a bit of fishing on a camping holiday, then you’ll know the best part is eating the catch of the day.

Aussies love seafood, especially our very own barramundi, so if you’re lucky enough to catch some or just any white fish, try out this baked barra recipe flavoured with simple ingredients such as lemon, olive oil and salt and pepper.

The fish can be baked in a foil parcel in the campfire coals or grilled on the barbie.

Chicken parmigiana jaffle

Aussie campsite cooking is nothing without a trusty jaffle iron.

These cast-iron beauties had us putting anything we had on hand into bread (canned spaghetti, baked beans, spag bol – you name it!)

For the ultimate Aussie jaffle, try this one filled with a chicken parmigiana-inspired filling.

The whole family will love them (except you might find yourself arguing the ‘parmi or parma’ debate).

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