I just returned from car camping at Coachella and trust me, you’ll want easy meals for your tip. The food stands in the Camping Hub will charge $11 for a slice of pizza and $8 for coffee.
Prep ahead and enjoy full meals for a quarter of the price. Make-ahead meals are also great if you’re going with groups because everyone can be in charge of one of the meals. That splits the prep time and money out evenly.
This post is all about meals and snacks you can make ahead for car camping at Coachella.
Since you’ll be in the festival from mid-day to the evening, we only prepped breakfasts and lunches and then also some late-night snacks.
I’ll include a breakdown below of easy meals to make ahead for car camping and also some simple meals and snacks to make/pack to enjoy at the camp. We picked up all of our food from WinCo and Walmart, both very budget-friendly markets.
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Cooking Food at Coachella Car Camping
Camping at Coachella is just like your regular car camping, only you’re limited to a 10 ft x 30 ft space. Organizing your campsite is key so make sure you pack the right items.
To cook and reheat all of the food we packed for Coachella weekend, we used the Coleman Triton camping stove. It has two burners and we were able to use them both at the same time. We had one pot and one pan for the weekend and it worked out great. For the entire trip, Thursday – Monday, we used 2 cans of propane.
Easy Breakfasts for Car Camping at Coachella
For morning hydration and to get our caffeine fix, we packed water (don’t forget it!), coconut water and some fresh juices. We also packed Stok Cold Brew Coffee, soy milk and some ground coffee to use in our camping-friendly metal coffee press.
Breakfast Burritos
I made eight breakfast burritos and we ate every single one of them. The night before we left I made a batch of scrambled eggs, sausage and hashbrowns and assembled the breakfast burritos. I wrapped them in foil and labeled them and we were able to easily reheat them in the mornings on the stove. Absolutely the best meal we prepped ahead!
Pancakes/Waffles
Pancakes and waffles are a super simple meal to have while camping at Coachella. Make your pancakes ahead of time and reheat on the pan. You just need to pack the butter and syrup and you’re all set!
Bacon and Eggs
We also made bacon and eggs and had it with tortillas. It was a very simple meal and we each enjoyed two large bacon/egg tacos in the morning. It kept us full and happy. Highly recommend!
Easy Lunches & Dinners for Car Camping at Coachella
Lunches and dinners don’t need to be fancy but they do need to be filling. It’s hot, so the less cooking the better. We did a lot of pre-chopping or pre-cooking before arriving to our site. It takes a bit of time while you’re packing but you’ll appreciate it so much when you arrive and can have a hot meal ready to go in 10 minutes.
Sausage & Peppers
This is one dish we prepared but didn’t end up taking. It’s super easy and no mess. Chop the onion and bell peppers before you leave and store them in a bag. Then pack pre-cooked or partially cooked sausage. Add them all to a pan or foil tin, cover and heat/cook on the Coleman grill. It’s super easy and is great with french rolls and grain mustard.
Taquitos
The night before we left for Coachella I made about 25 taquitos to take with us. We ate all but two taquitos over Coachella weekend. I love to eat them cold but everyone else reheated them and they were a hit! Good late-night food.
Spam Musubi Bowls
This was a last-minute addition to the meal list and it was a hit! We made the white rice the night before and packed it in a zip-lock bag. Then we reheated it on the stove and cooked up some spam to add on top. I picked up seaweed wraps and we had the best meal!
Hot Dogs
I’m actually not sure if we made the hot dogs but we did pack them. People ate at different times, so they could have all been eaten. A camping staple, hot dogs are super easy to make and always tasty.
Tacos
Our besties picked up carne asada the day before we left for Coachella and kept it on ice until we cooked it. We enjoyed it with tortillas and prechopped cilantro and onions. Super simple and fresh meal, highly recommend it.
Ramen
I ALWAYS pack ramen for every type of trip and finally everyone had ramen with me. We actually went through a good amount of ramen and it made me so happy. We packed Maruchan and Cup O Noodles and they were both perfect.
Uncrustables
A total lifesaver! We started eating the Uncrustables the second we got to camp. We enjoyed them with our beer and setup camp. Uncrustables are so easy and the perfect snack. We had them at night after the festival and in the morning while we were packing up. Keep your meals simple!
Frozen Meals
We packed frozen meals for the first night because it was easiest. We just let the items get a little soft so we could empty them into the pan and then cooked/reheat it in the pan. It was super simple and fast. We also cooked a small frozen pizza. Honestly, you can reheat anything in a pan, so pack whatever you like.
We also packed smaller snacks like chips and dip, cookies, protein bars and candy. We kept the candy in our tent because we’re total candy snackers before bed. If you’re packing chocolate, be sure to store it in the cooler because even in the shade it will melt.
Drinks to Pack for Coachella Camping
Remember that no glass bottles are allowed in Camp. So if you want to bring beer or liquor, you must bring it in cans or plastic/metal bottles.
We picked up Modelo and Coors in cans from Walmart. You can bring in a case of beer per person to Coachella camping. We each packed a 30-pack but only got through 2 of the 5 that we packed.
We packed our liquor in large insulated canteens and also a large gallon-sized plastic water bottle. We kept them all in the cooler with the food. We also marked them with tape so everyone knew they weren’t water.
We purchased the five 2-gallon water jugs, one per person. We went through four of the five that we purchased. We also packed coconut water, like I mentioned before, and Gatorade. For mixers, we packed grapefruit juice and tropical fruit juice and then lemons and limes to add to drinks.
Pack an insulated cup for all of the non-beer drinks – anything you plan on adding ice to. I tried having my iced coffee in a red solo cup and it melted in minutes. After that, I drank every drink from my large insulated cup.
We also purchased a 7-gallon water storage container from Walmart that we filled up before arriving to camp. It lasted almost the entire time. We ended up adding some water from our hydration backpacks to refill it a bit. We used this water to wash dishes, wash our hands and brush our teeth in the morning and wash our face at night. It was perfect!
We kept a small collapsible wash bin below the water container to catch all of the dirty water and poured it out in the main driving aisle to prevent the grass in our camping area from getting soggy.
How Much is Food at Coachella?
Coachella food prices are similar to Disneyland prices so I wasn’t shocked by anything, except for the price of lemonade. Lemonade is $15 at Coachella! I literally gasped when I paid. It was amazing lemonade but not $15 good…but I did buy 3 in one day so maybe it is that good.
Anyway, I put together a short TikTok of the food prices for items we purchased while at the festival.
@julia.vaness Food and drink prices at Coachella #coachella2023 #foodatcoachella #coachella2023food #coachellaprep #coachellafoodprices #coachellafood #coachellafoodie #coachellafoods #howmuchisfoodatcoachella ♬ BIZCOCHITO – ROSALÍA
FAQ
- Can I buy ice at Coachella?
- Yes! Ice is for sale at the General Store in the Camping Hub and they also sell it off a truck that drives through the campsites.
- How much does it cost to camp at Coachella?
- Prices for camping vary but what level you want to do. It can be from $150 for regular car camping, $350 for preferred car camping and then $1k for Lake Eldorado and around $11k for Safari Camping. Check out Coachella camping prices here.
- Can I bring food to Coachella camping?
- Yes! And packing food for camping at Coachella is recommended. Be sure to read the rules about camping stoves and glass before you pack your items.
- How much beer can you bring camping Coachella?
- You can pack 1 case of beer or boxed wine per adult 21+ years. If they see an excessive amount for the number of people in the car, they can confiscate it.
- How much is water at Coachella?
- Water bottles at Coachella are $2 each.
- How much is ice at Coachella camping?
- Ice is $14 a bag at Coachella camping
Overall, we had an amazing camping experience at Coachella. We packed a lot of great food and drinks and didn’t need to purchase any in the campground at all – only inside the festival.
Food and drinks are also a great way to make friends and get to know your neighbors. We shared tacos and beers with our neighbors and it really made the experience a lot better. It’s good to be a friendly neighbor.
If you have any questions, feel free to drop them below in the comments. You can also check out Coachella’s official camping eats and drinks page for more information.
See you at Camp!
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