Easy Camp Tacos
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Tacos are one of my favorite dinners on a busy weeknight at home. Naturally, I wanted to make them into a delicious and easy camping dinner too, and these camp tacos certainly deliver!
Once the meat is cooked, all you have to do is assemble the tacos. It’s so easy.
Tacos are one of my go-to camping dinners, and this post will show you exactly how I do it – including some made-ahead options.
Taco Ingredients
- Ground Beef or Turkey – You can use either in this recipe, but I do think ground beef tastes better!
- Taco Seasoning – I use 1 packet of taco seasoning per pound of meat. The taco seasoning packets just make it so easy to cook at camp without having to bring a bunch of different spice jars.
- Tomato Sauce – You’ll need an 8 oz can of tomato sauce per pound of meat.
- White Onion – An onion is cooked with the meat to give some extra flavor and texture.
- Cheddar Cheese – I like sharp cheddar cheese in these tacos. Buying pre-shredded cheese will make things easy at camp.
- Flour Tortillas – Flour tortillas work best for camping. Hardshell tacos don’t taste good unless you toast them in the oven, so I always use flour tortillas when camping now.
- All the Toppings – I like to pack lettuce, tomatoes, pickled onions, sour cream, and cilantro!
Make-Ahead Options
While this taco recipe is very simple, there are make-ahead options that streamline the cooking process at camp even more!
Cook the Meat at Home:
One of the challenges with cooking at camp is dealing with raw meat. I know a lot of people just don’t want to be bothered.
The taco meat for this recipe can be cooked at home right before your trip and stored in the cooler. It should last in the cooler for a couple of days.
At camp, all you have to do is heat it up in a pan and prepare your toppings!
Wash and Prep Veggies
I always like to wash all my veggies at home and chop the ones that can be chopped ahead of time. In this case, I chop the lettuce and store it in a Stasher bag in the cooler. I also dice the onion.
I wash my tomatoes at home, but I prefer to wait and chop them at camp. If you’re using a block of cheese, you can shred the cheese at home before the trip too.
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How to Make Tacos While Camping
1. Prepare the Taco Meat:
The taco meat is the main part of this recipe that needs to be cooked. Add some oil to your pan over medium heat, and add in the diced onion and ground beef.
Break the meat apart and mix frequently until the meat has browned. Add in the taco seasoning and the tomato sauce. Mix well until everything is combined.
Reduce the heat to low and let the taco meat simmer for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
This step is really important. The longer you can let the meat cook, the better the flavor.
Add water to the taco meat as needed to keep it from getting too dried out or burnt.
2. Assemble the Tacos
Once your taco meat is ready to go, layer some shredded cheese onto a flour tortilla followed by some taco meat.
Add all the toppings your heart desires, and serve!
Easy Camp Tacos
Ingredients
Taco Meat:
- 1 lb ground beef or turkey
- 1 white onion (diced)
- 1 packet taco seasoning mix
- 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
- 1 Tbsp ghee or cooking oil
Taco Toppings:
- flour tortillas
- sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
- lettuce
- tomatoes
- avocado
- cilantro
- sour cream
- salsa
Instructions
- Warm a cast-iron pan over the camp stove to medium heat. Add in the ghee or cooking oil followed by the ground beef and diced onion.
- Break the meat apart with your spatula and mix frequently until the meat has browned.
- In the meantime, open the can of tomato sauce. After about 5 minutes, add the taco seasoning and the tomato sauce to the beef. Mix until combined.
- Turn the heat to medium-low and let the beef simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water to the mix as needed so that it doesn’t dry out or burn.
- While the meat is cooking, get your toppings chopped and ready.
- Once the beef is done, assemble your tacos. Layer some cheese, taco meat, and toppings onto a flour tortilla and serve!
Notes
To make things even easier, you can cook the taco meat at home and pack it in the cooler. Then at camp, all you have to do is reheat the taco meat and assemble!
Is this taco recipe something that you’re going to try on your next camping trip?
I hope so! Chat with me in the comments below if you have any questions.
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