For daily wit & wisdom, get the Almanac newsletter.

10 Great Camping Recipes

Written By: Sarah Perreault Managing Editor
Almanac Guide to Herbs

Isn’t cooking on the open fire one of the best parts of camping? Here are 10 of our favorite camping recipes—from campfire meals in foil to Dutch oven recipes. Some of these recipes are great for the outdoor patio campfire too. Go beyond the hot dog!

10 Great Camping Recipes

1. Campfire Fish Recipe

Cook fish over the campfire in foil or leaf packets for an easy, tasty meal. (Best for smelt or other small fish.)

Campfire fish cooked in foil
Campfire Fish Recipe
Credit: Alexandra Osina/Shutterstock

2. Baby Back Ribs With Coffee Spice Rub

These ribs are made with a unique coffee rub mixture that features a hint of cocoa.

Baby Back Ribs With Coffee Spice Rub
Baby Back Ribs With Coffee Spice Rub
Credit: AmbientShoot/Shutterstock

3. Beer Can Chicken With Memphis Rub

Beer can chicken may look a little startling, but grilling a chicken upright over an open can of beer results in the moistest, most succulent, and most flavorful chicken you’ve probably ever tasted. 

Beer can chicken
Beer Can Chicken With Memphis Rub

4. Grilled Corn With Chili-Lime Butter

Grilled corn on the cob is so easy. The creamy chili-lime sauce brings out the crunchy, grilled flavor.

Grilled corn on the cob with chili-lime butter
Grilled Corn on the Cob With Chili-Lime Butter

5. Foil Packs

Foil packs are great for camping and just a fun way to cook (with little clean-up). Cooking in foil combines the freshness of steaming with the intense flavor of grilling, since the high heat caramelizes the food on the bottom of the pack.

A foil pack with potatoes
Potato Foil Pack

6. Grilled Summer Vegetables

This camping favorite works well with any live fire or can just as easily go into a hot oven.

Grilled Summer Vegetables
Grilled Summer Vegetables
Credit: Siim79/Shutterstock

7. Grilled French Onion

Grilled onion is an easy, delicious recipe for the campfire or just grilling outdoors. Always a big hit! 

Grilled French Onion
Grilled French Onion

8. S’more Crackers and Combinations

S’mores are a campfire favorite! Here’s a recipe for homemade graham crackers and fun s’more combinations.

Close-up of a s’more in a person's hand
S’more Crackers and Combinations

9. Make-Ahead Banana Bread

This banana bread wasn’t made on a campfire, but it’s a tasty camp food to bring along. Eat for a quick breakfast with peanut butter!

Banana Bread
Make-Ahead Banana Bread
Credit: Elena Shashkina/Shutterstock

10. Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake

Campfire dump cake is one of our favorite camping desserts.

Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake
Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake

What’s your favorite camping food or recipe? Share in the comments below!

Cooking & Recipes

About The Author

Sarah Perreault

Sarah Perreault

Managing Editor

Managing Editor Sarah Perreault joined The Old Farmer’s Almanac in 2003. She has tons of quirky and little-known facts crammed into that brain of hers, which may be thought useless elsewhere—but not h...

Read more from Sarah Perreault

More Like This

Comments

<span>Leanne</span> Fri, 06/17/2022 - 08:52
Two of our favourite recipes for campfire cookout’s are pizza pie irons and for dessert we like to do cherry or apple pies in the pie irons. You take your pie irons and grease them thoroughly. Butter both pieces of bread and put the butter side out against the iron. Then you put in your favourite pizza toppings, slide the second piece of bread over the toppings in the iron with the buttered side facing out and then close them up and stick them in the coals. Be sure to check every minute because they don’t take long to cook. For the pies you start with buttered bread. I like to dip the buttered sides of the bread in a little white sugar and then place butter side out against the irons. Put in your favourite pie filling and close the irons. Cook the pies in the coals for a couple minutes making sure to turn them often and open to check they are not burning. The sugar makes for a nice crispy crust on the outside of the pie. Be careful when eating as the middles are very hot. Enjoy
<span>Howdy</span> Sat, 07/25/2020 - 10:28
1 cup self rising flour, 1cup sugar, 1 cup any fruit to be found (wild huckleberries best!), 1cup water/milk/powdered milk. Prepare for good pile of hot coals, grease or pam dutch oven, after heating it up to slightly smoking, dump in ingredients and whisk with lots of air just until mixed, some clumps are ok, cover, stick in the coals, when pleasing smells start cover the lid with live coals and only check that the top crust is browning up. Get out of the way when presented to the hungry trail crew hands.