There is nothing quite like sitting around a warm crackling campfire with family or friends. And what better way to enhance the experience than with some delicious campfire cooking?
From hearty meals to irresistible desserts, we’ve compiled a list of the best campfire recipes to make while enjoying the great outdoors.
So grab your skewers, cast iron skillets, and campfire gear, and get ready to make some mouth-watering meals under the stars!
Our 5 Best Campfire Recipes
Looking for some quick suggestions? These are our personal & reader favorites!
Shrimp Boil Foil Packets
With shrimp, smoky sausage, buttery corn, and zesty lemon, this Shrimp Boil Foil Packet is one of our all-time summertime camping recipes. Assemble the ingredients, seal them into a foil packet, and place them over your grill or campfire.
Mountain Breakfast Skillet
Fried potatoes, peppers, onions, cheesy scrambled eggs, and sausages, what more could a hungry camper ask for? This easy skillet breakfast is a great way to start your day!
Foil Packet Nachos
Crunchy tortilla chips, melty cheddar cheese, and your choice of toppings! Who can say no to nachos?! Whether served as an appetizer or entree, these grilled nachos are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!
Campfire Baked Sweet Potatoes and Chili
Combining a fire-baked sweet potato with a simple vegetarian chili, this hearty recipe is a quick and easy meal to warm yourself up on chilly nights. All you need to do is nestle the foil-wrapped potato in the coals of your fire while you prepare the chili.
Chipotle Grilled Chicken Tacos
Smoky, spicy, and ready to party, these campfire chicken tacos are a great way to capture those carefree summertime camping vibes. The marinade can be made ahead which keeps things simple. Just grill the chicken, warm up the tortillas over the grill or in a skillet, and then kick back and enjoy Taco Night around a campfire!
Camping Breakfasts
If you’re a campfire-with-your-coffee type, here are some great camping breakfast recipes to cook over the fire.
Apple Maple Sausage Breakfast Sandwiches
Looking for a delicious breakfast idea? How does an English muffin, fried egg, melted cheddar, and a homemade apple maple sausage patty sound? All you need is a cast iron skillet and a charming morning fire to make this breakfast a reality
Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls
Swirls of cinnamon, baked to golden perfection, and topped with a drizzle of icing, these Dutch oven cinnamon rolls are one of our favorite camping breakfasts. Best of all, they are made ahead at home so all you have to do at camp is bake them off while you enjoy your morning coffee!
Dutch Oven French Toast
This French Toast Bake is a great breakfast idea when feeding a crowd! Toasty edges, tender on the inside, it’s everything you love about French toast – just a lot more of it!
Cast Iron Skillet Frittata
Blistered cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and shallots all layered together with cheese and eggs, a frittata is a wonderful way to start your morning.
Dutch Baby
With a custardy interior and butter-fried golden edges, this Dutch Baby pancake (aka German Pancake) is one of our favorite camping breakfasts.
Dutch Oven Banana Bread
Want to enjoy freshly baked banana bread on your next camping trip? Imagine enjoying a warm slice of banana bread with a mug of camp coffee. What could be better?!
Foil Packet Meals & Sides
Foil packet cooking is a great way to prepare mains and side dishes while camping since they won’t tie up any of your limited cookware or stove burners. We also love them for families and groups because each packet can be customized.
Kielbasa & Potato Foil Packets
Grilled kielbasa, potatoes, and onions are all tossed together in a honey mustard sauce and cooked to perfection! This is one of our favorite dinner recipes to make because it’s nearly foolproof and tastes so good!
Foil Packet French Toast
This Foil Packet French Toast is one of our favorite camping breakfast “hacks” when cooking for larger groups. It streamlines the process and reduces the time it takes to make breakfast in the morning. Plus, it’s all ready at the same time!
Grilled Potatoes in Foil
These rosemary and garlic grilled potatoes are among the most delicious side dishes you can make over a campfire. They’re also incredibly simple to make!
Grilled Asparagus in Foil
This simple grilled asparagus recipe is the perfect side dish to make on your next camping trip or backyard BBQ.
Dutch Oven Campfire Recipes
If you own a Dutch oven, you’ll already know how versatile this piece of camping cookware can be! Be sure to check out our full guide to cooking with a Dutch oven if you’re just getting started. Here are a few favorites–or check out this post with all of our Dutch oven recipes.
Chili and Cornbread
Two of the biggest names in comfort food join forces in this Dutch oven chili & cornbread combo. True, chili and cornbread can be made in two separate pans. But by using a Dutch oven it becomes a one-pot meal. Light and fluffy cornbread layered on top of spicy chili with half the mess? Sign us up!
Dutch Oven Lasagna
Layer after layer of melty cheese, marinara sauce, Italian sausage, and noodles, this Dutch Oven Lasagna is guaranteed to be one of the most satisfying camping meals you’ll ever try!
Dutch Oven Enchiladas
Cheesy, spicy, and oh-so-filling – these veggie-stuffed enchiladas are one of our new campfire favorites.
One Pot Chili Mac
Blending the best of both worlds, Chili Mac combines the smoky and spicy flavor of chili with the rich and creamy texture of mac & cheese. It’s an all-American camping classic and using this recipe, it can be an easy one-pot wonder!
The Easiest Campfire Nachos
Nachos are a guaranteed camp crowd-pleaser! What better way to end the day outside than with a cold beer, a warm campfire, and a big plate full of cheesy nachos? Using this method you can easily make dinner in less than 30 minutes!
Dutch Oven Chicken Marbella
Sweet, savory, crispy, and saucy, this Chicken Marbella is one of those recipes that feels extra “gourmet” but doesn’t take all that much effort. The make-ahead marinade does all the heavy lifting!
Grilled Campfire Meals and Sides
Cooking over the open flames of a campfire is a quintessential camping experience. Here are some of the best dinner and side dish recipes to try this summer. (These will all work on a propane or charcoal grill, too!)
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Soft, juicy, and bursting with flavor, this husk-on technique is the absolute best way to grill corn on the cob over an open fire!
Grilled Everything Burgers
If you love the charred, smokey flavor of grilled burgers, then why stop at the patties? We grill the buns, tomato, onions, and even the lettuce for this Grilled Everything Burger!
Grilled Shrimp on Skewers
Bursting with flavor, these grilled shrimp are an incredibly easy camping meal to prepare. They’re perfect for an appetizer or main the next time you’re firing up the grill!
Grilled Zucchini
Smokey, savory, and lightly charred, grilled zucchini is one of our favorite side dishes to make during the summer. We’ll show you two different techniques (over the grill and in a foil pack) to help you get perfectly grilled zucchini whether you’re cooking over a campfire or BBQ grill.
Grilled Caprese Sandwich
This Grilled Caprese Sandwich captures all the fresh flavors of summer. You only need a handful of ingredients and 15 minutes, making it perfect for your next camping trip!
Beer Braised Grilled Brats
These brats cook perfectly every time: first, they are braised in beer and sauerkraut (trust us on this one!), then they are finished off on the grill to pick up some great smokey flavor. This method means they remain nice and juicy and don’t dry out over the hot heat of the campfire.
Fire Roasted Salsa Fresca
Want to punch up your boring salsa recipe? Try roasting the ingredients over your campfire for some fire-roasted flavor with this bright and summery Salsa Fresca.
Grilled Mexican Street Corn
A quick and easy appetizer, Elote–grilled Mexican street corn–is a great way to make the most out of your campfire.
Grilled Peach Caprese Salad
This simple recipe is can be made as either a side or an entree. Just grill the peaches while you prepare the salad, and voila! Perfect for when you don’t want to spend a lot of cooking time.
Pie Iron Pizza Pockets
A personal pizza in a handy little pocket, these campfire pie iron pizza pockets represent everything we love about camp cooking. They’re quick, easy, and so much fun to make. Crispy crust, melty mozzarella, and any topping your heart desires.
Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Bundles
Grilled asparagus wrapped with crispy prosciutto, these quick and easy prosciutto asparagus bundles are a great way to class up your camping happy hour.
Grilled Corn Salad
Fun, bright, and vibrant, this easy-to-make grilled corn salad is an easy side dish to make the next time you go camping. It has a great combination of flavors and textures that capture the essence of summer!
Skewers & Kabobs
If you’re looking for easy camping recipes, you really can’t go wrong with adding some kabobs to your menu. These are quick cooking and a lot of the prep work can be done at home before your trip.
Chicken Pineapple Kabobs
These Chicken Pineapple Kabobs are one of the easiest campfire recipes to make. Just chop ingredients into pieces, skewer with a stick, and place over the fire! With bright, tropical flavors, this is an easy, fuss-free camping meal perfect for summertime grilling.
Tzatziki Chicken Skewers
These Greek-inspired grilled chicken skewers with tzatziki sauce can be a quick grab-and-go appetizer or the centerpiece of a full dinner spread.
Grilled Chorizo Kabobs with Chimichurri
Inspired by Argentine flavors, this grilled chorizo kebab is a quick and easy camping dinner that’s best enjoyed over an open fire.
Grilled Gyro Kabobs
Delivering bright Mediterranean flavor on a stick, these Greek-style grilled gyro kebabs are a quick and easy meal to enjoy while camping. Combine them with some tangy yogurt sauce and toasted flatbread and you’ve got the makings of a delicious campfire meal.
Grilled Chicken Skewers with Veggies
Like a bright and cheerful summer afternoon, these Grilled Chicken Skewers with Veggies are a quick and easy campfire dinner to try on your next trip.
Easy Camping Desserts
No evening is complete without a dessert to share around the campfire!
Baked Apples
Soft apples, brown sugar, oats, and butter—campfire baked apples are one of our favorite camping recipes to make from when we were kids.
Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler
The best way to celebrate summer peach season is to make this easy Peach Cobbler for dessert! It’s one of the best camping desserts that we’ve ever had!
Campfire Apple Crisp
A quick and easy fall-inspired camping dessert, this campfire apple crisp is guaranteed to leave you feeling warm and cozy at the end of the night.
Dutch Oven Blueberry Cobbler
With a delicious blueberry filling, a fluffy biscuit topping, and a dollop of whipped cream, this Dutch Oven Blueberry Cobbler is a perfect summertime camping dessert.
Grilled Peaches with Honey Yogurt
Capture the essence of summer by making grilled peaches and yogurt. Using simple ingredients that are ideal for camping (peaches, yogurt, and honey), this is a basic campfire recipe.
Campfire Popcorn
This popcorn is so much to make and delivers a ton of flavor! Better than any snack mix from the store! Make a big bowl for hanging out around the campfire or just gazing up at the night sky.
Banana Boats
If you’re looking for a s’mores alternative, you should try these easy banana boats! You can get all the same gooey marshmallow-and-melted chocolate goodness but in a scoopable banana form. You can even add crushed graham crackers as a topping!
Dutch Oven Apple Cobbler
Baking an apple cobbler on a camping trip sounds impressive, right? But despite the high production value, this Dutch Oven Apple Cobbler recipe is simple to pull off.
