A good camp breakfast is quick, uses one pan or none, and keeps for a few days without much fridge space. Eggs, porridge, pancakes and bacon and egg rolls are the staples, and overnight oats or muesli cover the mornings when you want to be on the road early. Below are easy ideas by gear setup, how to make a decent coffee, how to keep breakfast food fresh, and what to do on a fire ban day.
One-pan breakfasts
With a gas burner and a frying pan, breakfast is easy. Scrambled eggs on toast, bacon and eggs, and eggs in a bread hole all cook in minutes. A tin of baked beans warmed in the pan and spooned on toast is a classic Australian camp breakfast, and Vegemite toast needs no cooking beyond the toasting.
Pancakes from a shake-and-pour mix are the easy win with kids. Shake the bottle at camp, pour a pancake into a greased pan and top with fruit, maple syrup or honey. Porridge from rolled oats or instant sachets cooks in a few minutes, with water or milk, and is cheap and filling.
- Eggs, bacon and baked beans
- Shake-and-pour pancakes
- Porridge from rolled oats
Barbecue and fire breakfasts
Many campgrounds, parks and rest areas have a free or coin-operated barbecue plate, and it cooks a good breakfast: bacon, eggs, sausages, halloumi, mushrooms and tomatoes, with bread rolls toasted on the edge. Bacon and egg rolls are a camping tradition for a reason.
Where a campfire is legal, the damper and foil parcel ideas in the campfire cooking guide also work for breakfast. Bananas in their skins with chocolate in foil is a sweet morning treat. Always check the fire rules first, and never light a fire on a fire ban day.
- Bacon and egg rolls on the barbecue
- Check the barbecue is working
- Fire rules come first
No-cook breakfasts
Overnight oats are made the night before by stirring rolled oats, milk or yoghurt and fruit in a jar and leaving it in the cooler. Muesli with long-life milk or yoghurt, wraps with peanut butter or cheese, fruit and pastries from the last bakery work when you are packing up early or the weather is wet.
These are the breakfasts for fire ban mornings, early starts and tired days, and a few of them in the cooler mean you are never stuck for something to eat.
- Overnight oats in a jar
- Muesli with long-life milk
- Wraps, fruit and bakery items
Coffee and tea
A stovetop espresso pot, a plunger, a pour-over cone or good instant sachets all work on a camp stove. Pre-ground coffee keeps best in an airtight container, and a small kettle or a billy saves time. A hot drink in a thermos keeps for a morning on the road.
If you are cooking on a legal campfire, a billy of tea is the traditional choice, and the campfire cooking guide has the method.
- Plunger, pour-over or stovetop
- Pre-ground coffee in a tin
- Thermos for the road
Shopping and keeping it fresh
Supermarket eggs in Australia are sold unrefrigerated, but at camp, keep the carton in the cooler and use the eggs in the first few days. Bacon and fresh milk should stay cold and be used first. Long-life milk, powdered milk, rolled oats, pancake mix and tinned beans keep for weeks.
In remote country the range shrinks and prices rise, so stock up before long stretches. The grocery prices guide gives an idea of what a basket costs, and the packing list guide covers the cooking gear to carry.
- Eggs in the cooler
- Use fresh food first
- Stock up before remote stretches
Fire bans and mornings in the rain
On a fire ban day, wood and charcoal fires are illegal in the district, and some parks ban gas cookers as well. Keep a gas stove in the vehicle and plan a no-flame breakfast in case the park's rules are stricter.
In wet weather, cook under an awning or vehicle tailgate only if it is open, and never run a gas stove inside a tent or a closed vehicle. Wash up away from creeks and lakes, and take all rubbish and food scraps with you.
- Plan a no-flame backup
- Never cook in a closed tent
- Take all rubbish with you
Plan the camp in AussieCamps
AussieCamps lists 1,838 campgrounds, 5,552 rest areas and 1,393 dump points from park agencies, road authorities and public datasets, and each place page shows the facilities those sources publish, including barbecues where the source lists them. Build a trip as ordered stops and it shows the distance, drive time and forecast for each leg.
The iPhone app is free to download, with in-app purchases.
- Find camps with barbecues
- Add each stop in order
- Free to download
Places along the way
Check before you go
Rules and conditions change. Recheck the official source and the page for your exact park or campground before departure.
Common questions
What is an easy breakfast to make when camping?+
Eggs and toast, porridge, pancakes from a shake-and-pour mix, bacon and egg rolls on a barbecue, and muesli with yoghurt or long-life milk all need one burner or no cooking at all. Pick the one that fits your gear and the morning's weather.
How do I keep eggs and milk fresh when camping in Australia?+
Keep eggs in their carton in the coolest part of the cooler or fridge, and use them in the first few days. Long-life milk and powdered milk keep without a fridge, and fresh milk should stay cold in the cooler and be used first.
Can I cook breakfast on a fire ban day?+
Not on a wood or charcoal fire. A gas stove is often still allowed, but some parks ban gas cookers on the worst days, so check the park's rules. Cold options such as muesli, overnight oats and wraps need no flame at all.
What is the easiest camping breakfast with no cooking?+
Overnight oats made in a jar the night before, muesli with long-life milk or yoghurt, fruit, wraps with peanut butter or cheese and bakery items from the last town. None of them needs a stove.
Take it on the road
Save the stops. Plan the whole trip.
Build an ordered route from saved places, calculate the distance and keep dates, notes and to-dos attached.
