Campfire Recipes

Real meals for real adventures. These recipes have been prepared by us in campfires during our RV travels. All are designed for simple camp cooking with minimal cleanup – because you came here to enjoy nature, not spend hours doing dishes. Our philosophy: camp food should be delicious, satisfying, and use ingredients that travel well.

Recipe books we like:

  • Dirty Gourmet: Food for Your Outdoor Adventures, a cookbook we love for its approach to camp cooking: vegetarian-focused recipes that minimize complexity at camp while still delivering dishes with real depth and character – not just sandwiches.

Simple meals prepared in campfire:

1. Campfire Kabobs

Kabobs turn dinner into a shared activity where everyone gets involved in the cooking process. There’s something satisfying about building your own skewer and watching it cook over glowing coals – it connects you to the most fundamental way humans have prepared food for thousands of years

Prep time and cooking time: ~20 minutes

Number of servings: depending on choice (and how hungry you are)

Equipment needed: skewers, grill basket (not indispensable, but recommended)

Ingredients: Veggies (e.g., peppers, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, etc.), chicken, beef or shrimp. Salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, and olive oil.

Step-by-step instructions:

The beauty of kabobs lies in their flexibility. You can prep all the ingredients at home, store them in containers, and let each person customize their skewers based on preferences and appetite.

  • Cut veggies into chunks of 1-1.5 inch squares. Do the same with the meat (shrimp does not have to be cut).
  • Put all ingredients in a bowl, together with 1-2 tbs of oil and the spices (depending on your taste).
  • Skewer the veggies and meats alternating
  • Place the skewers in the grill basket, and place it on the camp fire
  • Rotate every few minutes until it looks ready (10-15 mins).

2. Chicken with veggies in a cast iron pot

This hearty one-pot meal is perfect after a long day of hiking or paddling. The combination of tender chicken thighs, potatoes, and carrots creates a satisfying dinner that hits the spot when you’re tired and hungry from outdoor activities. What makes this recipe especially camping-friendly is the minimal prep work at the campsite – simply pre-cut your vegetables at home and store them in ziplock bags. Once you’re ready to cook, everything goes into one cast iron pot, leaving you with less cleanup and more time to enjoy the evening around the fire. The slow cooking method works perfectly with variable campfire heat, and the rich tomato-based sauce brings all the flavors together beautifully.

Prep time: 10 minutes (plus pre-cutting vegetables at home)

Cook time: 30-40 minutes

Serves: 4-6 people

Equipment needed: Cast iron pot with lid and a spatula

Ingredients:

  • 6 chicken thighs, skinless
  • 1/4 onion, chopped
  • 1 large potato or 3-4 small potatoes, cut into pieces
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • Olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Tomato paste (tube or can)
  • Paprika
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Step-by-step instructions:

  • Heat oil in a cast iron pot over the campfire
  • Add the chicken and fry until the surface is consistently golden brown
  • Add the chopped onion and garlic clove. Sauté until the onion is translucent
  • Add the potatoes and carrots (or other vegetables of choice) and sauté for a couple of minutes
  • Add the tomato paste, sauté for a couple of minutes
  • Add a couple of cups of water (until the chicken is covered)
  • Cover the pot and cook until the chicken is well done (20-30 minutes, depending on fire intensity)

Note: Feel free to substitute or add other vegetables such as bell peppers, zucchini, or green beans according to preference and availability.

More complex recipes, worth the effort:

1. Paella

This isn’t just dinner – it’s an event. Paella brings people together around the pan, watching the rice slowly absorb flavors while stories and laughter fill the evening air. We’ve been perfecting our campfire version over many trips, adapting this Spanish classic for the realities of camp cooking.

Prep time and cooking time: 45 minutes

Number of servings: 4 or more

Equipment needed: paellera (shallow pan) or cast iron skillet, spatula

Ingredients: Olive oil, Rice (bomba or arborio), saffron, sofrito, Spanish chorizo and any or all of these: chicken thighs, pork, pimiento morrón, shrimp, clams, salt (all available Amazon or Whole Foods)

Step-by-step instructions:

  • Prep at home:
    • Sofrito. Depending of the brand you buy, you may need to put it on the blender and store in a jar or ziplock bag, that must be refrigerated
  • At the camp:
    • Prepare enough water with saffron depending on how many servings (you can see the proportions in the back of the rice bag). Add a pinch of saffron to the water and boil it (if you have a gas stove. Otherwise you can do it in the campfire, before frying the rice.
    • Make sure that the fire ring has a grill or structure that can support the paellera. We’ve had at times to improvise and create the structure with stones that we collect in the area.
    • Build a fire. I like to set up a relatively flat piece of wood laying flat in the center, and create a small tower with pieces of wood in the periphery. Once the fire catches, add come coals in the center, as these will help insure the heat is more even and consistent during the cooking.
    • Once you have a nice fire with and the coals are white, place the paellera and add a generous amount of Olive oil.
    • Once the oil is hot, add the chorizo and what ever meats (cubed), turning them often, until they look slightly crips on the outside. Remove them and put aside, but leave the oil in the paellera.
    • Add rice (about 1/2 per serving) and more olive oil if needed. Turn the rice so it gets evenly cooked.
    • When the rise starts making a crackling noice, add the sofrito and enough saffron water to cover the rice, and bring back the meats. Cover the paellera with aluminum foil.
      • Check by sticking a spoon and making sure there is liquid at the bottom every 5 – 10 minutes. If most of the liquid is gone, add more saffron water to cover all the rice and cover with the foil again.
      • After the first round, add the shrimp, clams and slices of “pimiento” scattered on the surface of the paella, and cover with foil again.
      • After 30 minutes, every time you check the liquid level, taste a few grains of rice. When the rice feels soft in your mouth, remove the paellera, and leave it covered for 5 minutes.
    • Your paella is now ready to eat… buen provecho!

2. Eggplant Lasagna

Nothing beats a lasagna on a cool evening after a good hike. Eggplant lasagna works particularly well for campfire cooking because the eggplant’s meaty texture holds up to the longer, gentler cooking process that Dutch ovens provide.

Prep time and cooking time: ~30 minutes

Number of servings: 4 – 6

Equipment needed: cast iron dutch oven (or deep cast iron pan with a lid)

Ingredients:

  • no-boil lasagna
  • 1 large eggplant
  • 2 cups tomato sauce (use pasta sauce)
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to tasteHerbs to taste (oregano, fresh basil, thyme)

Step-by-step instructions:

Prepare the eggplant

  • Wash and cut the eggplant into long slices ½ cm thick
  • Sprinkle with salt and let rest 15 minutes to release bitterness. Rinse and dry
  • Grill or pan-fry with a little olive oil until tender

Mix the filling

  • In a bowl, mix ricotta, a little Parmesan, salt and pepper (herbs to taste)

Assemble the lasagna

  • In the cast iron pan, place a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom
  • Then a layer of no-boil pasta, then a layer of eggplant
  • Next, a layer of ricotta mixture
  • Repeat layers until finished, ending with eggplant + sauce
  • Top with Parmesan
  • Cover with aluminum foil or lid to retain heat

3. Vegetarian Bibimbap

(inspired by recipe in Dirty Gourmet)

There’s something special about the combination of flavors and textures in bibimbap – the crispy rice against tender vegetables, the heat of gochujang, the satisfying crunch when your spoon breaks through that golden crust. On a cool camping evening, gathered around a cast iron pot still crackling from the fire, it delivers exactly the kind of warmth and comfort you want. We adapted this from The Dirty Gourmet.

rep time and cooking time: 1 hour (plus marinating time at home)

Number of servings: 3 (abundant portions)

Equipment needed: Cast iron pot (Dutch oven style), cast iron skillet, spatula, slow cooker or pot for rice, spoon

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups Japanese rice
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 cup spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup julienned carrots
  • 1 pack extra firm tofu (we use Trader Joe’s)
  • Cooking oil (olive oil and oil for tofu)
  • Soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, gochujang, sesame seeds, sesame oil

For the mushroom marinade (prepared at home):

  • 2 tbsps soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp brown sugar

For the chili sauce (prepared at home):

  • 2-3 tbsps gochujang
  • 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp soy sauce

Step-by-step instructions:

Prep at home:

Mushroom marinade: Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, and brown sugar. Add sliced mushrooms, seal in a ziplock bag, and refrigerate. Ideally prepare a day or two before your trip – the longer marinating time really develops the flavor, just keep it cold.

Chili sauce: Combine gochujang, brown sugar, sesame seeds, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Store in a ziplock bag and refrigerate.

At the camp:

Build a fire and let it develop good coals. You’ll need steady heat for about 45 minutes total.

While the fire is building, prep the tofu. Heat a cast iron skillet over the fire with cooking oil. Sauté the tofu until it’s evenly crispy on the outside. Set aside.

Coat a cast iron pot with olive oil, spreading it evenly across the bottom and up the sides. Place it over the fire to preheat for about 30 minutes – you want it good and hot.

Meanwhile, prepare the rice. If you have a slow cooker in your camper, use that with the 1.5 cups rice and 2 cups water. Otherwise, cook it in a pot over the fire using your usual method.

Once the cast iron pot is thoroughly preheated and the rice is ready, transfer the rice to the hot pot. Spread it evenly so it touches the bottom and walls – this is key for getting that crispy crust.

After 10 minutes, add the marinated mushrooms (including their liquid), the crispy tofu, spinach, carrots, and chili sauce.

Keep the pot on the fire for about 15 more minutes. Time will vary depending on your fire’s intensity and the height of your grill. Check periodically with a spoon to see if the rice next to the pot walls is forming a nice golden crust.

When the crust has formed, remove the pot from the fire. Place it on a couple of pieces of wood on your table to protect the surface – the pot stays hot for a while.

Serve directly from the pot into bowls, making sure everyone gets a mix of all the ingredients and some of that crusty rice (the best part).

Enjoy!