Cooking is always part of the fun of going on a camping trip. Most of the time, you’ll be cooking over the open fire, swapping stories of the great outdoors. But sometimes, it’s nice to be able to cook a quick meal that doesn’t involve starting a fire or setting up propane grills.

If you have electric at your campsite, an Instant Pot is a wonderful piece of camping cooking equipment for quick, easy meals. While it won’t give you that smoky campfire taste, you can make just about anything your heart desires! Plus, there’s no babysitting necessary. Here are five of our favorite go-to Instant Pot recipes for camping. 

1. Hard-boiled eggs

• Total time: 15 minutes

Hard-boiled eggs are a great solo snack or perfect for topping salads and other goodies, but nobody ever wants to cook them because it takes so long to boil the water! With the Instant Pot, you can have hard-boiled eggs in just 15 minutes from start to finish. Here’s how it’s done with the easy-to-remember 5-5-5 rule:

1. Put eggs (however many you want) in the Instant Pot on a metal steamer trivet.
2. Add a bit of water, enough to almost touch the bottom of the trivet (but not touching the eggs).
3. Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.
4. When the timer ends, let it go on “low” for 5 more minutes (I usually let it go for 7 minutes to cook the middles a bit more, but that’s just preference).
5. Quick release after 5 minutes on low and put the eggs immediately into an ice bath for another 5 minutes. 
6. Peel the shells and enjoy!

If you want a quick description of the 5-5-5 method, it looks like this:

• 5 minutes of high pressure
• 5 minutes on low
• 5 minutes in the ice bath

Ice can be hard to come by in a campground. We’ve found good success by putting ice packs into a bowl of water, leaving a bowl of water in your refrigerator (if you have a camper), or simply buying a bag of ice from the camp store. If you have the space, a portable ice machine is another great tool to bring along on camping trips. 

2. Shredded chicken

• Total time: 16 minutes

Shredded chicken is a great dish for almost any occasion. You can add it to delicious soups for dinner on cold nights (see next recipe), use it to top a salad, or slap it on some bread to make quick and easy BBQ chicken sandwiches for lunch. No matter what you do with it, you can never have enough shredded chicken on a camping trip.

Luckily, it’s super easy to make in an Instant Pot:

1. Put chicken into theInstant Pot. You can use any type of chicken; we prefer boneless chicken breasts for easy shredding.
2. Add a cup of water to cover the bottom of the pot and a little of the chicken (you can also use broth for extra flavor).
3. Pressure cook on high for 11 minutes (add a few minutes if chicken is frozen).
4. Slow release on low for 5 minutes.
5. Quick release, open the lid, and shred the chicken with forks. It should be fall-off-the-bone tender!
6. Season to taste. We like Montreal Steak Seasoning (it’s not just for steak!) or some classic barbeque sauce.

PRO TIP: You can save the liquid broth or water for a soup or your hungry pup!

No matter how you decide to use it, shredded chicken in an Instant Pot is a great recipe to whip out on any camping trip. The only way to make chicken more tender is to slow cook it for hours and hours. This way, you only have to wait 16 minutes for delicious, tender chicken.

3. 7-minute soup

• Total time: 40 minutes (but it only cooks for 7)

There’s nothing quite like a warm bowl of soup on a chilly fall or winter night, especially if you’re camping! Soups and stews are a go-to for us when the weather gets cold, and the Instant Pot is the perfect tool to make just about any type of soup you can imagine.

The recipe is simple: 

1. Throw in all the ingredients you want.
2. Fill the pot with broth or water.
3. Pressure cook on high for 7 minutes.
4. Quick release and enjoy!

Our go-to ingredients include mushrooms, spinach, kale, carrots, onions, celery, pasta, and chicken (yes, the shredded chicken from the last recipe is good in soup!). You can even use frozen meats, like frozen meatballs, and they’ll come out warm and tender. 

Keep in mind that it takes a while to build pressure with all the both and ingredients. In some cases, it can take 35 minutes or more to finally start your “seven” minute cooking experience. But without stirring, overboiling, or any other annoying standard soup babysitting tasks, this is a super easy way to enjoy a hearty soup at the campsite. Just press the button and enjoy the campfire until your Instant Pot beeps.

PRO TIP: If you want to add pasta or barley to your soup but don’t like it too mushy, simply add it at the end. Once the “seven” minutes are finished, quick release the pot, throw in your uncooked pasta, and put the lid back on. The heat and steam will cook the pasta perfectly in about ten minutes.

4. Mashed potatoes

• Total time: 13 minutes

Potatoes are a perfect veggie to bring on camping trips. No matter how far off road you go or how bouncy things get in the camper, they’ll never get damaged. You can’t beat them up! 

However, once you get to the campsite, they become quite the nuisance because they take so long to cook. You can roast them over a fire for an hour or two, or you can put them in the Instant Pot for ten minutes!

Instant Pot mashed potatoes is one of our favorite recipes for both at home and in the camper. It’s much easier than boiling or roasting the potatoes and just as delicious. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Wash and cut potatoes into small-ish chunks (skin optional).
2. Put potatoes in Instant Pot with a little bit of water (just enough to cover the bottom).
3. Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes.
4. Slow release on low for 3 minutes.
5. Quick release and mash the potatoes.
6. Add milk, butter, cheese, seasoning, and any other goodies you can think of.
7. Enjoy!

This recipe also works for sweet potatoes, if you prefer a healthier dining option at the campsite. Whichever you choose, there’s no easier way to cook potatoes than the Instant Pot.

5. Pork tenderloin

• Total time: 18-20 minutes

Looking for that gourmet option at the campsite. Why not make some pork tenderloins for the family? They’re super easy in the Instant Pot and come out incredibly tender. Here’s how the magic happens:

1. Cut pork tenderloin in half lengthwise. (Make sure it’s a tenderloin. Other types of pork cook differently.)
2. (Optional) Season pork with any rubs, oils, seasonings, or sauces you like.
3. Put pork into the Instant Pot and select the Saute function for 5 minutes to brown the outsides.
4. Press Cancel after five minutes and remove pork from the pot.
5. Scrape the brown off the bottom of the pot and add a cup of your favorite broth. It’s important to try and get off as much of the brown as you can. Otherwise, it might burn.
6. Place pork back into the pot and pressure cook on high for 1-3 minutes, depending on the size of the meat. If it’s 1.5lbs or less, cook for one minutes. Tenderloins 1.5-3lbs can cook for three minutes.
7. Natural release on low for 12 minutes.
8. Quick release and serve. If you take out the pork and notice there’s still a little pink in the middle, you can put it back in for another minute of high pressure.

These tender pork tenderloins go well with the Instant Pot mashed potatoes for a quick, complete meal for your entire camping troupe without the hassle! 

Instant meals on the go

We love bringing our Instant Pot on the road. It’s the best way to make quick and easy meals without the “quick and easy” taste! 

Do you like bringing an Instant Pot on camping adventures? We’d love to hear which recipes keep you going out in the wilds. Leave a comment below!