5 Camping Breakfast Ideas: Eggs Edition

There’s something uniquely satisfying about a big camp breakfast. If you’ve got eggs on hand (many Hipcamps offer farm-fresh delivery to your tent!), get crackin’ with these five tasty egg breakfasts to start your day off right.

1. Garbage Omelet

This one gets its name because you just put in whatever you didn’t eat and throw out the night before!

Ingredients

• Cooking oil or butter
• 4 to 6 eggs
• Milk
• Any leftovers you might have! Think tomatoes, onions, rice, etc.

Directions

1. First, scramble up some eggs. Crack 4 to 6 eggs into a bowl, then whisk. Add a few tablespoons of water, plus salt and pepper to taste, then set aside.
2. Melt butter into your cast iron skillet over medium heat, then add your egg mixture. Cook and stir, moving your spatula across the skillet’s bottom and sides until set. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Next, put some oil (or butter) into the cast iron skillet, making sure to get it up around the sides. Add in scrambled eggs, plus a few tablespoons of milk if you have it. If not, you can use a few tablespoons of water.
4. Now, add whatever leftovers you have from the night before! A winning combination is grilled vegetables (onions and bell peppers), with any little bits of chicken sausage you didn’t feed the dog. We’ve added broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, onions, bacon, sweet potatoes—whatever tasty bits you might have. Cheese is always a smart option.
5. Next, place your cast iron on the fire or your portable stove. Cook until your eggs start to look fluffy. Tip: You can speed up the process by covering with aluminum foil, but sometimes that traps in a lot of smoke taste, so use with caution.

—Submitted by Field Scout Alexa Plew at WildTender Ranch & Rescue near Pescadero, CA.

2. Eggs in Purgatory

You can make this one ahead of time if you have your sh*t together!

Ingredients

• 1 can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 yellow onion
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• 6 eggs
• Prosciutto or bacon
• Bread of your choice

Directions

1. In a cast iron over the fire, crisp up some prosciutto or bacon and set aside. With all that good meat grease, sauté yellow onion and garlic in that same cast iron until they’re all sweaty (or until your neighbors come knocking because it smells so good).
2. Pour in the can of tomatoes and add a hearty pinch of crushed red pepper. Let that cook over the fire until it starts to bubble.
3. Meanwhile, cut up a crusty loaf of bread and wrap it in aluminum foil so you can toast it—you guessed it—over the fire. Once your tomato sauce is bubblin’, take your cast iron off and crack 6 eggs right into your sauce.
4. Place crumbled bacon or prosciutto around your new little egg family. Then, get that sucker back on the fire until the egg whites are white and the top of the yolks start to cloud over (depending on how runny you want your eggs).
5. Serve in bowls and eat with a toasted bread scoop.

—Submitted by Field Scout Alexa Plew.

3. Texan Vegetarian Migas Tacos

As with most camp meals, there aren’t many exact measurements, so feel free to format or modify this recipe however you like. It’s wonderfully modifiable for your own number of campers and desired spice level.

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

• 1 container of soy chorizo  (approximately a half cup)
• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup cheese
• 1 cup tortilla chips
• Salsa and fresh cut avocado to taste
• Optional: Spicy chorizo and jalapeño salsa typically add a kick to true Texan migas tacos!

Directions

1. Heat a cast iron skillet over the fire and cook the soy chorizo until well warmed.
2. Add eggs, stirring and scrambling consistently.
3. Toward the end of cooking, complete with cheese and either whole or crumbled up tortilla chips.
4. Top with fresh cut avocado and salsa, then serve on warmed tortillas!

—Submitted by Hipcamp Photographer Shayna Frankenfield at EcoRich, Texas.

4. Camping Shakshuka

Feel free to customize the serving size with a bigger cast iron and more of each ingredient. I made this on a camp stove, with a pan lid, but it would be great on a campfire or even in a Dutch oven, as the eggs are normally placed in the oven to finish cooking.

Ingredients

Serves 1

• 2 eggs
• Pita bread
• 1 can of *roasted* diced tomatoes
• 1 minced garlic clove or garlic powder/dried garlic
• 1/4 onion diced or onion powder/dried onion
• Feta (I only had parmesan packets, which worked fine, but feta is perfect with this)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Spices: I used a spice mix of garlic and sun-dried tomato, then added some cayenne. Traditionally, za’atar spice is used (but I have trouble finding this on the road)
• Optional: Other veggies such as fresh tomatoes, bell pepper, or greens
• Optional: Tomato paste

Directions

1. Sauté the onion, garlic, and spices in your pan until they are fragrant. If using a garlic clove, don’t let it burn! If using tomato paste, add now and sauté. If you have fresh veggies, add now and cook just a little—they will finish cooking later.
2. Add canned tomatoes. Mash the bigger bits with a fork or similar utensil. Stir the tomatoes so they mix well with the spices.
3. Let simmer for 10 minutes, or until the tomato mixture has thickened some. (Simmering is tough on my camp stove, so I took the cast iron pan off the heat every once in a while, let it cool a bit, then put it back on.)
4. When the tomato mixture is thick enough, make two “pockets” for the eggs.
5. Crack an egg in each pocket, then let cool for a few minutes.
6. Sprinkle feta or parmesan on top, then cover with a lid for about 5 more minutes. When the eggs are as done as you’d like them to be (I like the yellow a little runny), it’s done!
7. Eat with pita!

–Submitted by Hipcamper Kelly Holland

5. Egg, Kale, and Sausage Scramble

This scramble is easy, delicious, and customizable—serve with tortillas to turn it into quick breakfast tacos!

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 1 large skillet or pan
• 4 eggs (2 per person)
• 3 cups chopped kale or collard greens
• 2 sausage links of choice (1 per person)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
• 2-3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Remove sausages from package and slice into half-inch pieces. Heat up your skillet or pan with 2 tablespoons of either olive oil or coconut oil.
2. Place sausage slices in the pan to pan-fry for a few minutes, until the skin is just brown or starting to crisp.
3. While the sausages are cooking, loosely chop the greens into bite-size pieces and add into the skillet. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of water to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the skillet. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
4. Flip the sausage pieces and stir the greens for about 3 minutes.
5. While the water evaporates, whisk the eggs in another bowl and season with salt and pepper. (Optionally, add a little bit of milk for creaminess)
6. Push your sausage pieces and greens to one side of the pan, then pour the egg mixture in the other. Scramble eggs with spatula or utensil. Once eggs are cooked, take skillet off heat and serve!

—Submitted by Field Scout Anita Yung at Sunrise Hale in Historic Mango on the Big Island in Hawaii.