Early morning coffee is my favorite part of family camping trips. Quiet and peaceful, you can see and hear the world waking up around you. The air is a little crisp and with any luck, the kids are still sleeping away in the tent.
But as soon as they wake up, you know they’ll be clamoring for food! Everything tastes better cooked over the open fire! But sometimes, we get a little stumped for easy and delicious campfire meals.
Over the years, we’ve collected a nice little arsenal of campfire meal ideas. It took me a while to realize that not everything at the campsite has to be as strictly made-from-scratch as it is at home. So sometimes, I’ll use a packaged item when I’d make my own at home, but usually we are still pretty healthy and homemade, even when camping!
Before we leave, I bake a TON of bread. I can scale my sourdough recipe up pretty high, so bringing ten loaves isn’t unheard of. Anything more than that and they aren’t fresh when we are ready to eat the bread. The bread will make sandwiches for lunch and toast for breakfast, but one of my favorites is Campfire Garlic Bread!
Campfire Garlic Bread
Equipment
- Campfire
Ingredients
- 1 loaf bread round or boulle loaf works best
- 1 stick butter
- 3 cloves garlic
Instructions
- Take a loaf of bread and cut slits – almost all the way through, but not quite, going vertical across the loaf. Then turn your loaf 180 degrees, and repeat the cuts.
- Spread out the openings and fill with slices of butter and bits of garlic.
- Wrap the bread tightly in foil and place on the fire for about 5 minutes.
- Unwrap and tear apart delicious chunks of buttery garlic bread!
When I pack food for roadtrips, I tend to use frozen items as ice packs and then plan in at least one grocery run, if our trip will be over a couple days long. I will pack frozen burgers or pork chops, to be eaten as our first evening meal at the campsite. The meat will be about thawed when we are ready to use it and then we have an easy, filling meal. Grill the meat and serve with foil veggies and potatoes.
Campfire Foil Veggies and Potatoes
Equipment
- Campfire
Ingredients
- 1 sliced onion
- 2-3 sliced sweet peppers
- 6 sliced potatoes
Instructions
- This can be prepped and packed ahead of time or quickly put together at the campsite! Wash and slice all of the veggies and potatoes.
- Cut six generously sized pieces of foil.
- Place 1/6th of the onions and peppers along with one potato on each piece of foil.
- Salt and pepper each foil packet and add a dollop or two of butter.
- Tightly seal each foil packet by rolling two edges together, all the way around.
- Place packets on fire for about 15 minutes. Be CAREFUL when opening, as they'll steam and be very hot.
Notes
Another perfectly frozen option are my Hot Pockets for a Crowd. Make a huge batch of these ahead of time and freeze. Pop them into the cooler to act as an ice pack and then you’ll have perfect sandwiches on your second day. You could also wrap them in foil and heat over the fire for a hot sandwich option.
Hot Pockets – for Freezer or a Crowd
Ingredients
- 1500 g water room temperature
- 2000 g all purpose flour
- 20 g dry yeast
- 20 g salt
- 96 slices salami or meat of choice
- 32 slices cheddar cheese or cheese of choice
- 2 egg whites
Instructions
- Put 1500 g of room temperature water into a large bowl (allow for the dough to rise. I use my HUGE bowl!)
- Sprinkle year over the water and allow it to activate.
- Add 2000 g of all purpose flour (I always use King Arthur).
- Add salt, after the flour.
- Mix well, cover with a clean cloth, and allow to rise about 2 hours.
- Once the dough has risen (about double in size), turn it out onto a floured surface. Note that the dough will be quite hydrated and may be sticky. Sprinkle with flour, if needed.
- Divide dough into four parts with bench knife. Divide each of those four parts into four more parts. Continue until you have 32 small dough balls.
- Allow the dough to rest fifteen minutes.
- Take one dough ball and roll into about a six inch round. Place meat (I used 3 pieces of salami per hot pocket) and cheese (one slice per pocket) on one half of the dough round.
- Fold the dough over and pinch the sides with a fork.
- Brush each pocket with egg white and place it on the cookie sheet.
- Bake at 450 for about 25 minutes or until nicely browned.
Notes
What’s a campfire meal without a dessert option? When we were camping in Wisconsin a few years ago, Bella made us these campfire orange muffins and they were amazing! This is such a fun campfire option for the kids to make and the results are pretty delicious.
Campfire Orange Peel Muffins
Equipment
- Campfire
Ingredients
- 8 oranges cut in half and cleaned out
- 1 batch muffins
Instructions
- Cut each orange in half and scoop out the fruit {don't waste it! Eat it!}
- Prepare a batch of muffins – here's where those box mixes come in handy!
- fill half of the orange peels with muffin mix, replace the other {empty} half and wrap the sphere in foil.
- Repeat until you have eight foil wrapped peels.
- Put the foil wrapped, muffin mixed filled peels in the the fire and try to surround them with coals – carefully!
- After 15 minutes, CAREFULLY pull them out of the fire and allow to cool.
- Carefully open the foil, being mindful of steam, and enjoy the amazing muffins inside!
Notes
It’s always good to plan a few meals with ingredients that can survive in the cooler for a few days. We have meatless meals on those middle days – when we’ve been on the road for longer than a day or two, but aren’t quite ready to hit a grocery store yet. On those days, we may have polenta and red sauce. This is super easy to make and filling. Here again, those store bought items you may never use at home come in pretty handy! This can be served with a salad or the foil packets posted above.
Polenta and Marinara
Equipment
- Campfire
Ingredients
- 1 jar marinara sauce
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 chopped onion
- 1-2 tubes polenta
Instructions
- In a cast iron skillet, heat oil and fry up slices of polenta
- In another pot, saute onions and garlic and then add the marinara to warm up.
- On each plate, place 3-4 slices of fried polenta and cover with sauce.
- Sprinkle with cheese and serve with veggie foil packets or a salad!
As the guardian of our family’s camping provisions, my trusty leather backpack is
indispensable. Its rugged charm and enduring durability make it the perfect partner for our
family adventures. It holds our supplies and keeps our treasures safe, from on-the-go meals and
snacks to our precious mementos of exploration.
In the midst of our camping adventure, my children are always delighted to wear their leather
belt pouches and my leather water bottle holder is indispensable, all part of the adventure gear that adds a touch of
the wild to our meals. As we explore, they fill their leather treasure pouches with unique
finds—interesting rocks, colorful leaves, or curious little bugs—each item a token of our shared
journey.
Each meal, each journey adds another chapter to our family story. Equipped with our
handcrafted leather goods and the spirit of adventure, we look forward to creating even more
unforgettable memories. So here’s to great adventures, delightful meals, and the magic of the
great outdoors!
These all look delicious!!
I am actually bookmarking this to try on our next camping trip! The muffins especially!! Yom
Awesome! Let me know if you try the recipes! Have fun Adventuring!
I enjoy spending time outdoors during the summer. My friends and I would take our camping gear, drive up th the foot of the nearest hiking trail, set up our tents and sleep under the stars. It’s an amazing experience.