What goes in the camping kitchen box? Here’s my essential items checklist

I am currently restocking my camp kitchen box and figured it would be a good chance to make a list of items not only for you the readers, but myself to come back and look at once I start getting low. Cooking at the campsite is one of my favorite things to do and I have no idea why — I hardly enjoy cooking at home. Let’s get to it…

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List of items in a camp kitchen box

  • Salt, Pepper, Spices
  • Cooking Spray
  • Paper Towels
  • Drying Hand Towel
  • Lighter/Matches
  • Light for cooking area
  • Heavy Duty Trash Bags
  • Coffee making kit
  • Coffee Mug
  • Collapsible Water Sink for washing dishes and hands
  • Small Cutting Board

I’m sure there’s plenty more items you can add — this is just the bare essentials. I have compiled this list over many years of tent camping, truck bed camping, and pop up trailer camping. All of this goes for an overlanding kitchen box as well!

Why aluminum foil? I try to use this often. Lay some at the bottom of your pan depending on what you’re cooking. Also you can wrap food in it and heat it up. Makes for an easy cleanup!

Why parchment paper? If you’re going to try to bake something, line your pot or dutch oven with this. Unless you want a big cleanup.

Why cast iron? If you know how to take care of it, the versatility is amazing. I cook eggs at home and at the campsite with cast iron, besides everything else.

Heavy duty trash bags! Think contractor bags. I can’t reiterate this enough.

Camping and Coffee — What’s the easiest method

I can make an entire article or two about camp coffee methods, but for this article I’ll just tell you about the easiest method for making coffee at the campsite, yet still delicious.

Filters and a collapsible coffee cone dripper. Hot water. Easy cleanup. Done!

It’s similar to the method your drip coffee maker uses at home. For me, the biggest thing is ease of cleanup. Also you can tailer each cup for multiple people. I’ve tried many coffee making methods when camping and this is by far the easiest. You can also try the Aeropress or Stanley French Press. But you’ll have a little more cleanup.

Which camp stove to choose for camping & overlanding?

There are so many options. For my small camping and overlanding trips I always have my basic Coleman stove. It’s easy to use, lightweight, and always works. You can find it for under $100.

Can’t go wrong with a basic Coleman stove.

For our bigger trips when the whole family tags along I like bringing my big Camp Chef Explorer stove that has two powerful burners, space for my griddle, standalone legs, and ability to hook up to a large propane tank. Can’t way enough good things about it!

Camp Chef Explorer is a thing of beauty.

Thanks for reading our quick post. I’ll be following up rather soon with a more lengthy post about my camp kitchen setup. Stay tuned!

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