Camping Meal Planning & Recipes

Brownie Earning Their Simple Meals Badge — Troop 64651, Westminster MA. Working on Junior Simple Meals badge while camping.

Planning the perfect menu for a troop camping trip can feel a bit overwhelming, but it is also one of the best opportunities to foster teamwork and build essential outdoor skills. Whether your scouts are whipping up a classic pot of Coffee Can Stew over an open fire or mixing up a quick batch of “Armpit Fudge” inside a winter cabin, girl-led meal planning turns a basic chore into a memorable adventure. By stepping back and letting the girls take charge of their own menus, you aren’t just keeping them fed—you are helping them build confidence, practice cooperation, and discover just how rewarding outdoor cooking can be.

Meal Planning Help from Leaders

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel for your next campout! We’ve gathered the most successful, crowd-sourced meal planning ideas and traditional recipes shared by seasoned troop leaders who know exactly what it takes to feed a hungry crowd on a budget.

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Campfire Recipes & DIY Cookbook

From Coffee Can Stew to the infamous “Armpit Fudge,” keeping a troop fed in a cabin requires a bit of planning. Discover our complete list of 8 crowd-pleasing camping recipes and grab our customizable recipe book template to use with your girls.

➡️ Get the Campfire Recipes & DIY Cookbook Download

Snacks Badge Download–Camping Edition

Brownies earn the Snacks badge with camping recipes and activities while Daisies earn:

Light Blue Petal – honest & fair petal
Red Petal – respect authority petal
Magenta Petal – courageous and strong petal
Purple Petal – respect yourself petal
Light Green Petal – considerate and caring petal
Violet Petal – be a sister petal

➡️Get the the download

Snacks Badge Download for Daisies and Brownies

The Power of Girl-Led Planning: A Leader’s Story

In this encouraging post on MakingFriends, Junior Girl Scout leader Jane Hamel shares how she overcame the anxiety of “under-achieving” to let her troop design their own badge-free winter cabin trip. By stepping back and embracing a girl-led agenda of simple meal planning, games, and connection, the troop built deeper bonds and teamwork than any structured checklist could provide.

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