Essential Spices For Your Camping Spice Kit: How to DIY your own

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DIY Spice Containers

Thinking you want to do a simple DIY camping spice kit using cheap Dollar Store items or objects you have at home?

This is the perfect DIY project. It allows you to carry your own spices that satisfy your tastes. Some people like combining basic spices at the campsite, others want to use all-purpose spice blends. Carrying exactly what your palate desires goes a long way to making ordinary meals extraordinary on a weekend camping trip or extra long road trip!

• The best packaging materials should be lightweight and non-breakable.
• Avoid glass bottles unless you don’t care about the extra weight and the delicate nature of glass.
• Plastic containers with screw-on lids make a great container for this project.
• You also want to make sure you use waterproof containers that have an open end so they’re easy to fill and re-seal but there are other options too.

Top choices for this camping hack include:

• Pill containers and small medication bottles are a great addition to your gear. When the bottle seals well you can use it for wet or dry ingredients. These are perfect when you’re baking and need a few teaspoons of vanilla extract, for example.
• Pill organizers are convenient but it is a good idea to keep the organizer in a very secure location where it is supported in an upright position so the spices don’t get mixed together.
• M&M tubes that you get when you’re standing in the grocery store checkout line.
• Ziplock bags have plenty of space when you are measuring and mixing ingredients at home so you can dump and cook at the campsite. They come in different sizes so if you need to carry small amounts of spices, you can use the snack size resealable plastic bags, if you need larger quantities, the sandwich or quart size Ziploc bags seem to be the best fits. If you are doing a dry rub or liquid marinade on a cut of meat, a gallon freezer bag is a great way to go.
• Film canisters work great for this. You know, the old fashioned way of taking 35mm photos with film instead of digital cameras? These little plastic containers have larger openings with tight-fitting lids making them easy to fill and securely seal.
• Plastic straws are a clever idea for transporting spices … these are great when you just need a tsp of something. Here’s how you do it:
  1. Cut the straw to the desired length.
  2. Use a lighter or propane gas burner to create a small open flame.
  3. Hold one end of the straw with needle nose pliers and slowly wave the straw above the flame until it softens. This will seal that end of the straw closed.
  4. Let the straw cool.
  5. Carefully pour the spices into the open end of the straw but don’t fill it completely. You’ll want to do this over a piece of parchment paper because it’s really hard to get the spices into that tiny opening. You’ll end up with more outside the straw than inside it … so, when you’re done you can just curl the parchment paper into a funnel and pour it back into your larger spice bottle.
  6. Now, hold the open end of the straw with the pliers over the flame to seal the second end.
  7. Let the straw cool, label it and place it in a secure container for transportation. An empty Altoids tin or pencil case work great for holding these spice-filled straws.

Don’t forget to add a self-adhesive label so you know what is inside your little containers. At the end of a long day you don’t want to mistakenly add garlic salt instead of pumpkin pie spice to your dump cake! Now, start loading your gear to head out on your next trip!

Don’t forget the S&P!

No matter what spices you decide to add to your kit, don’t forget to bring salt and pepper! Otherwise, you can just eat tree bark and pine needles! LOL (Kidding … NOT kidding!)

Using dried ingredients frees-up cold storage space

Using dried herbs and spices effortlessly take your camp meals over-the-top without the need to use precious cold-storage space in a cooler or refrigerator … unlike when using fresh herbs and aromatics to flavor your camping meals.

9 simple ways to use spices from your kit

You don’t always have to follow a recipe to up your food game with interesting flavorings and aromas. Here are some ideas for adding a dash of ____________to make bland food taste AMAZING!

1. Dried dill to salads
2. Chili powder to spicy noodles
3. Garlic powder to potatoes (a spritz of fresh lemon juice is wonderful too)
4. Dried oregano to fresh tomatoes
5. Ground cumin to a pot of soup
6. Smoked paprika to popcorn (this is a great simple travel snack for longer trips)
7. Dried basil to quinoa
8. Ground cinnamon to French toast (kids love this)
9. Crushed fennel seed to campfire pizza (don’t forget the fresh cheese too!)

Choosing Appropriate Spices For Your Kit

Avoid making bland camp food based on your taste buds. The first thing you need to do is make a list of your personal preferences when eating in the great outdoors. After you determine the essence of those flavorings, you can easily decide which dry ingredients you want to add to your own spice kit.

Classic Ethnic Flavor Combinations

Camp cooking is personal … so, feel free to add ingredients you like and subtract those you hate. If you want a basic spicy dry rub that has just enough heat to please everyone in the crowd, our favorite blend is great for beef, pork and chicken.

Here are the common spices used in cuisines from around the globe that will expand your flavor options beyond the basic camping spice kit selections.

Southwest

• Chili Powder
• Chipotle Powder
• Cumin
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Smoked Paprika

Caribbean

• Allspice
• Garlic Powder
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Cloves
• Ground Ginger
• Nutmeg

Jerk

• Allspice
• Cayenne Pepper
• Cumin
• Nutmeg
• Sage
• Thyme

Italian

• Basil
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Thyme

Mexican

• Cayenne Pepper
• Chili Powder
• Coriander
• Cumin
• Garlic Powder
• Ground Cinnamon
• Onion Powder
• Oregano

Cajun

• Cayenne Pepper
• Coriander
• Cumin
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Smoked Paprika
• Thyme

Greek

• Basil
• Coriander
• Cumin
• Garlic Powder
• Ground Ginger
• Nutmeg
• Onion Powder
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Thyme

Thai

• Basil
• Cardamom
• Cayenne Pepper
• Coriander
• Cumin
• Curry Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Cloves
• Ground Ginger
• Ground Mustard
• Nutmeg
• Turmeric

Storing & organizing your camp kitchen

Keeping your camping spices organized and fresh is important but if you need additional help organizing your other camping gear, check out my Camping Storage Ideas post for RV spice rack ideas and other great tips!

Use a checklist

Seasonings are not the only items you need to remember to pack for your camping kitchen! When we first started camping, I tried to pack “by memory” and that was a disaster … there was always something I forgot to pack … so I created this checklist for camping, Ultimate RV And Tent Camping Checklist and I never had that OOPS moment again! Get your FREE copy now!

FREE Printable Menu Planner