Easy + Healthy Camp Cooking: Tri-Tip Steak with Rice

When people imagine camp meals, they often think of canned chili, hot dogs, or sad freeze-dried packets. But for our family, camp cooking is part of the adventure — and we’ve learned you can eat simple, wholesome, satisfying meals even with limited fridge and pantry space.

One of our absolute go-to dinners on the road is tri-tip steak with white rice. It’s straightforward, kid-approved, easy to scale for guests, and surprisingly doable with a minimal camp kitchen setup.

We’ve made this meal dozens of times across deserts, forests, coastlines, and mountains — and it never gets old.

🥩 Why We Love This Meal

• It’s filling and nutrient-dense. Protein, carbs, and a bit of fat = energy for the next day’s adventure.

• It’s easy to adapt. Simple seasoning works for most people, and you can modify for sensitivities (like skipping garlic or using gluten-free soy sauce).

• It’s camp-friendly. You don’t need a full kitchen — just a small grill and a D/C powered rice cooker.

• It feels special. There’s something primal and satisfying about cooking meat over an open flame, especially on a beautiful evening outdoors.

🔪 Gear We Use (and Recommend)

• Otzi Ember 2-Person Flat Pack Grill: This tiny, genius piece of gear folds flat, packs small, and punches way above its weight for performance. Otzi makes several sizes, so you can match your grill to your crew. Space-conscious travelers — this one’s for you! Here's the link (this is not an affiliate link) https://www.otzigear.com/collections/otzi-gear-ember-portable-camp-grills

• Mini D/C Powered Rice Cooker:We honestly don’t know how we lived without this. It lets us make perfectly fluffy rice on the road, without hogging stove space or dealing with pot babysitting. Huge win for vanlifers, overlanders, or RVers. Here's the link (this is not an affiliate link) https://a.co/d/3HAG4i0

🍽️ How We Make It (The Process)

We start by seasoning the tri-tip with freshly ground rock salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. If you’re sensitive to garlic (like me), salt and pepper alone are plenty.

Pro tip: Let the steak come to room temperature before grilling — this helps it cook more evenly.

For the rice, we scoop three portions into the rice cooker (enough for our family of four). Instead of water, we often add broth — this boosts flavor and keeps us from needing extra salt or soy sauce later.

We fire up the grill (usually with charcoal or wood) and let it reach medium-high heat.

Once ready, we lay the tri-tip over the flame, aiming for medium-rare — that’s an internal temperature of 130–135°F (54–57°C). We usually cook it about 5–6 minutes per side, depending on thickness, then let it rest 5–10 minutes before slicing so the juices redistribute.

For the rice, if we want extra flavor, sometimes we’ll drizzle a little gluten-free soy sauce on top — but honestly, steak juice over fluffy rice is a meal on its own.

🛒 What You Need

• 1–1.5 lb tri-tip steak (adjust for crew size)

• Freshly ground rock salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Garlic powder (optional)

• 3 scoops white rice (adjust to family size)

• Broth or water (for rice cooker)

• Optional: gluten-free soy sauce or tamari

🔥 Step-by-Step Recipe

Simple Camp Tri-Tip & Rice DinnerServes 4

Ingredients:

• 1–1.5 lb tri-tip steak

• 3 scoops white rice

• Broth (or water), per rice cooker instructions

• Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

• Optional: gluten-free soy sauce

Instructions:

1️⃣ Remove steak from fridge and let it come to room temperature (about 30–45 minutes).

2️⃣ Season generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder on all sides.

3️⃣ Start rice cooker:

• Add rice and broth (or water).

• Set to cook; it should finish around the time the steak is done.

4️⃣ Heat grill (medium-high). Once hot, place steak over flame.

5️⃣ Cook steak 5–6 minutes per side for medium-rare (130–135°F).Use a meat thermometer if possible.

6️⃣ Remove steak and let rest 5–10 minutes.

7️⃣ Slice steak thinly across the grain.

8️⃣ Serve steak over fluffy rice. Add a drizzle of soy sauce if desired — or just let those delicious juices do the work.

🌿 Final Thoughts

You don’t need a full kitchen or fancy gadgets to cook well on the road — you just need a few smart tools, a good recipe, and a willingness to keep it simple.

This meal has fueled countless miles and adventures for our family, and we hope it inspires you to rethink what’s possible at camp.

Have your own camp-friendly meal ideas? We’d love to hear them — tag us on Instagram @Rugged_Destinations so we can swap tips!