Some of the most enjoyable moments in life are spent around a campfire. Sometimes those moments are spent by yourself and other times they are spent with those you love.
The only thing that makes a campfire better, is food cooked over it.
You may find yourself cooking over a campfire for fun or because you have to. In either case, I wanted to put together a list of 11 campfire meals that are easy to prepare.
To be upfront, not all the suggestions below are full meals. Nonetheless, they are easy to prepare, and more importantly, they taste great!
11 Meals
The ingredient amounts in the following meals will vary depending on how much you are making and your taste, so I may not list specific measurements, just what goes into the meal.
Plus, most of the meals are not too picky if you don’t add something or add a little too much of something else.
I am going to start with a few of my favorite outdoor recipes.
Stick Bread
Admittedly this is probably not the official name of this recipe, but it is what I have always called it.
The recipe is super simple because all you need to do is mix a little water with some flour until you have a consistency of dough that is not sticky.
Pinch off a piece of dough roughly the size of a golf ball.
Then roll the dough between your hands so that the dough looks like a rope.
Wrap the dough around the end of a cooking stick in a spiral fashion and hold it over the fire.
Once the dough is a little firm to the touch and brown on the outside, it is good to go. Feel free to add in a pinch of other ingredients for taste such as salt, cinnamon, or honey.
However, the bread with no extra ingredients is surprisingly delicious.
Hot Dogs
No list of campfire meals would be complete without hotdogs and if you like hotdogs, then there is no better way to cook them.
This is another simple recipe because all you need are hot dogs and a cooking stick.
Simply pierce a hotdog onto the end of a cooking stick and hold it over the fire. You can bring buns and other condiments if you wish but a smokey, lightly charred hotdog tastes pretty amazing all by itself.
Pigs in a Blanket
This is a variation of pigs in a blanket that I learned, and it combines the first two recipes.
First, make up some dough as outlined in the stick bread recipe.
Next, pierce a hotdog onto the end of a cooking stick.
Lastly, wrap the dough around the hotdog in a spiral fashion and cook over the fire. Once the dough has browned and is slightly firm to the touch, it’s ready to eat. The best part of this recipe is that it is a hotdog and bun all in one!
Breakfast Skillet
There is nothing like starting the day off with a good meal. I like making breakfast skillets because they are easy to cook and very filling.
You will need some cookware for this meal. Use whatever you got but when it’s available, I like to use a cast-iron skillet.
Chop a potato, pepper, onion, mushrooms, and the meat of your choice i.e. bacon, sausage, etc.
Set the pan over the fire and add some butter, oil, or bacon grease.
Add the chopped ingredients to the hot oil and cook for about ten to fifteen minutes. Push the ingredients to the side of the pan to create a space in the center of the pan and add a couple of eggs.
Once everything is cooked to your level of readiness, stir it all together and serve.
Kabobs
Kabobs are a great option because it is one of those meals that it’s kind of hard to mess up and you can put whatever you want on them.
Get yourself a kabob stick and start sliding on your favorite ingredients, onions, peppers, cucumber, zucchini, and meat.
Rub your choice of oil over the ingredients and sprinkle some salt and pepper on them for good measure.
Place the kabob on a grill over the fire and be sure to rotate it frequently. Cook until the meat is done to your level of readiness.
Brats and Beans
I know, another hot dog-like meal but what can I say, brats and beans are good.
Put a grill over the fire and lay the brats down. Next, put a pot onto the grill and add in some baked beans (or your choice of beans) and allow them to simmer.
A few minutes before the brats are done, open some hot dog buns and lay them face down on the grill for a toasted bun.
If you do not have a grill, the brats can be cooked on a stick and the beans can be cooked in the pot right next to the embers.
Hamburgers
Cooking hamburgers over a fire is just as classic as hot dogs or brats and beans.
Get yourself some good lean hamburger, add a little salt and pepper to the blend and make patties to the size you like.
Put your grill or cookware over the fire and add the patties. I think people tend to overcook hamburgers which is why they are usually so dry but cook them how you like them.
If you have cookware with a lid try covering the patties while they cook for a juicer burger.
15 Bean Soup
You can’t make soup, you say? Well, then you have never tried making 15 Bean Soup because it is incredibly simple.
First of all, everything you need already comes in the bag, unless you want to add anything extra in.
It comes with a variety of different beans and a small seasoning packet. All you need to do is add water and cook.
Since this is a bag of dried beans, the beans will need to soak for several hours before cooking. If you are out hiking, one trick you can use is to add the beans into a spare water bottle, with water, and hang on the outside of your pack.
After a few hours of soaking, put the beans in a pot with a couple of extra cups of water and the seasoning and allow it to finish cooking. Simple as that.
Vegetable Melody
Just to let you know this is pretty much what I call all vegetables that I cook over a campfire because it sounds a little fancy.
Grab yourself some aluminum foil and add in any vegetables you like. For example, throw in some asparagus, zucchini, onion, pepper, and some mushrooms.
Spread some oil, butter, or bacon grease over everything and add seasoning to taste. I like salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder.
Wrap it all up so that none of the juices escape and put it over the fire for about fifteen to twenty minutes.
Desserts
I know there are some people out there that would say, “dessert is not a meal!” And to those people, I would say, “You have not lived until you have had dessert cooked over a campfire!”
S’mores
I do not think an evening by the campfire would be complete without making s’mores. To me, they are the iconic item to roast over a fire.
For this “meal” you will need marshmallows, bars of chocolate, graham crackers, and a cooking stick.
Before cooking the marshmallow, break off some pieces of chocolate and place them onto the cracker squares. Be sure you have a cracker square for the top ready to go as well.
Put the marshmallows on a stick and hold them over the fire. If you want a lightly done marshmallow be sure to hold it up and out of the flames as they will catch fire easily. However, charred marshmallows are pretty darn good.
Once the marshmallow is done go ahead and keep it on the cooking stick because it will be a gooey hot mess. Bring the cracker squares to the marshmallow, sandwich the marshmallow between the squares and slide it off.
I hope you brought a bandanna or some wet wipes because this treat is not only delicious, but it will make a mess.
Banana Dessert
I’ve also heard this recipe called a banana boat, or a banana s’more because it makes just as much of a gooey concoction.
You are going to need some bananas, aluminum foil, peanut butter (chunky of course), and whatever dessert toppings you like, bars of chocolate, M&M’s, sprinkles, nuts, whip cream, etc.
Layout a square of aluminum foil big enough to wrap the banana in. You can leave the banana peel on or remove it, but I usually leave it on because it helps to keep everything contained.
Use a knife to split the banana down the middle and open it up just a little bit.
Next, start piling on your toppings. I like to start with a layer of peanut butter because it’s a good sticky base for holding the rest of the toppings in place.
After the peanut butter, add some chocolate, sprinkles, nuts, mini marshmallows, whatever you want, throw it on!
Once all the toppings are in place, wrap the aluminum foil around the whole thing but make sure the foil can be opened on top of the banana.
Lastly, place the whole thing onto a grill grate or next to some hot embers. This doesn’t take long to cook and should be ready in about ten minutes. When this is done correctly, everything should be nice and melted, even the banana will be warm and melted.
Don’t forget the spoon!
Wrap Up
There are almost endless amounts of recipes that can be made over a campfire. Some are great, and some maybe not so much depending on your tastes. But cooking over a campfire is a great experience, especially when there are others around to share it with.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed some of my favorite foods to cook over a campfire.
What are some of your favorite meals to cook over a campfire? Sound off in the comment section below and let us know about it.
