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Campfire Cooking

Campfire Cooking: Easy Ways to Cook Over the Fire

Campfire cooking is one of the best parts of camping. There’s something deeply satisfying about building a fire, cooking a meal over it, and enjoying that unmistakable campfire flavor with your family.

The good news is that cooking over a campfire doesn’t have to be difficult. With a little planning and the right method, you can make everything from hot dogs and foil dinners to soups, stews, baked apples, and even bread or cake.

On this page, you’ll learn the main campfire cooking methods, how to prepare the best coals for cooking, and a few favorite campfire foods and activities to enjoy after supper.

5 piece kitchen gadget

All 5 pieces in this great kitchen set stack together in any order - a great space saving kitchen gadget for your camping trip!

Campfire Cooking

Campfire Cooking Methods

There are several easy ways to cook over a campfire.

In a Dutch oven

A cast-iron Dutch oven is one of the most versatile pieces of campfire cooking equipment you can own. It works much like a slow cooker: add your ingredients, put on the lid, place the oven in the fire or on the coals, and let it cook slowly and evenly.

A camp Dutch oven is perfect for:
- casseroles
- soups and stews
- meats
- breads
- desserts
- cakes

Dutch oven cooking is ideal when you want a hearty meal with very little fuss once the pot is in place. It’s also important to care for your Dutch oven properly so it stays seasoned and rust-free.

Dutch Oven

On a grill

Many campsites have a fire ring with a built-in grill, but it’s smart to bring your own grill just in case. Even an old oven rack from a thrift store can work well.

Once your fire has burned down to hot coals, you can cook on a grill in two ways:

Directly on the grill

This works well for foods like:
- burgers
- hot dogs
- smokies
- foods that just need to be heated through

Cook over hot coals rather than open flames. Flames tend to burn the outside of the food before the inside is done.

In a pot or pan

You can also place a pot or pan on the grill for simple meals like canned stew, fried foods, or anything that needs a flat cooking surface.

A few tips:
- Don’t use your regular kitchen cookware.
- Campfire soot is very hard to clean off completely.
- Pick up inexpensive camp-only pots and pans at a thrift store.
- Before cooking, coat the outside of the pan with liquid dish soap to make soot easier to wash off later.

Since building a fire takes time and effort, many campers prefer to use a two-burner camp stove for everyday meals and save campfire cooking for special meals and treats.

Burgers and hot dogs are delicious cooked directly over the fire. Be sure to cook over the coals, not over the flames. If you cook over a direct flame, your food will burn.

In a foil packet

Foil packet cooking is one of the easiest and most popular campfire methods, especially for families. Simply wrap your food tightly in foil and cook it over the fire.

Foil packets can be cooked:
- on the grill
- directly in the coals

If you place them in the coals, shovel some coals on top of the packets so the food cooks evenly.

Foil dinners are especially good for the first or second night of camp because you can do all the prep work at home. At the campsite, all you need to do is get the fire going and place the packets in the coals.

In the coals

Some foods cook beautifully right in a bed of hot coals. This method works best when you have a steady, glowing coal bed rather than active flames.

Favorite foods to cook in the coals include:
- baked potatoes
- foil dinners
- baked apples
- banana boats

How to Make Perfect Coals for Campfire Cooking

For most campfire cooking methods, you’ll want a bed of hot, glowing coals.

Plan ahead

Start your fire at least an hour before you want to cook.

Build a small, hot fire

You do not need a huge blaze. A small, well-tended fire will create excellent coals while using less wood.

Let it burn down

Keep feeding the fire until it is burning hot, then let it burn down naturally.

Move the coals

When you have a good bed of coals, move them to one side of the fire ring. This becomes your cooking zone.

Keep fresh coals coming

Add more wood to the other side of the fire ring so you’ll continue producing new coals. As needed, move fresh coals into your cooking area to keep the heat steady.

Potatoes

Baked potatoes

A potato baked in the coals is simple and delicious. Add butter, salt, and pepper, and you have a satisfying campfire meal or side dish.

Foil dinners

Tin foil dinners are a classic camping meal because they’re easy, filling, and can be prepared ahead of time. They’re ideal when you want a complete meal with minimal cleanup.

Tinfoil Dinner with Chicken and Vegetables

Baked apples

For an easy campfire dessert:
- core an apple
- fill the center with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon
- wrap it in foil
- place it in the coals

Check it occasionally by carefully squeezing the packet with oven mitts. When the apple feels soft, it’s ready. Open carefully to avoid hot steam, then eat it with a spoon right from the foil.

Banana Boats

Banana boats are one of our favorite campfire desserts. Slice a banana, fill it with treats such as chocolate chips, nuts, or berries, wrap it in foil, and heat it until everything turns warm and gooey.

On a stick

Hot dogs are a campfire staple and can be cooked on a grill or over the fire on a stick. Beef dogs, chicken dogs, tofu dogs, and smokies all work.

Marshmallows and s’mores

Roasted marshmallows are practically a requirement on a family camping trip. You can enjoy them as they are or use them to make s’mores.

A good roasting stick makes the job much easier.

Crescent rolls on a stick

For a quick campfire snack, wrap crescent roll dough around a roasting stick and toast it over the fire. For an extra treat, add a spoonful of Nutella inside the dough.

Other fun campfire treats

If it fits on a roasting stick, it may be worth trying. Some campers enjoy experimenting with things like:
- caramel inside a marshmallow
- a piece of candy melted into a treat
- custom dessert combinations

family roasting hot dogs around the campfire

Marshmallows

Roasted marshmallows are the classic campfire cooking snack. They almost a requirement of a family camping trip! Since they have no nutritional value whatsoever, we limit them to an occasional treat.

Make sure you have a great marshmallow stick!

A roasted marshmallow on a wooden stick over a campfire at night

Crescent rolls

For a quick and easy campfire cooking snack, wrap packaged crescent rolls around your marshmallow roasting stick and toast the dough over the fire.

Crescent roll dough wrapped around a wooden stick and roasted over a campfire

For a gooey treat, put a dollop of Nutella inside the dough!

I got that idea from an article called "41 Camping Hacks That Are Borderline Genius". I decided to try all 41 ideas. You can read about my adventures here.

Other goodies

How about a caramel inside a marshmallow? A piece of Starburst candy? If you can put it on a marshmallow roasting stick, you can probably cook it! Please let me know if you have any original campfire cooking ideas.

Campfire Cooking Tips

- Cook over coals, not flames, whenever possible.
- Bring your own grill in case the campsite doesn’t have one.
- Use camp-only cookware because soot is difficult to remove.
- Prepare foil meals at home to save time at camp.
- Wear oven mitts or use proper tools when handling hot foil or cookware.
- Keep a steady supply of coals going if you plan to cook for a while.

What Tools Will You Need?

Having the right tools makes campfire cooking much easier. Useful campfire cooking equipment may include:
- a grill grate or oven rack
- long-handled tongs
- oven mitts or heat-resistant gloves
- heavy-duty foil
- camp-only pots and pans
- a Dutch oven
- sturdy roasting sticks

After Supper: Keep the Campfire Fun Going

When supper is over and the fire is burning down, the evening fun is just beginning.

Tell stories

Campfire stories can become one of your family’s favorite traditions. You can:
- read aloud from a spooky storybook
- retell a favorite story in your own words
- invent your own funny or spooky story
- create a story together as a family

Play campfire games

Campfire games do not need to be elaborate. Even something as simple as looking for shapes and pictures in the coals can be fun.

A few good options include:
- the telephone game
- storytelling games
- werewolf for older children

Build Campfire Memories

Campfire cooking is about more than just preparing food. It’s about slowing down, working together, trying simple meals, and making family memories around the fire.

Whether you’re roasting hot dogs, baking potatoes in the coals, or serving dessert straight from a foil packet, campfire meals have a way of becoming the moments everyone remembers.

Now that you know the basics of campfire cooking, explore more camping food ideas and start planning your next family camping menu.