25 Delicious Recipes You Can Cook Over a Campfire

There’s no denying the pleasure of a meal outdoors, whether a 5-ingredient camping recipe or something more elaborate — and that might just go double for something cooked over a campfire after a long hike. But when circumstances keep you closer to home, you can still experience the smoky good times of a relaxed meal prep over an open flame in your own backyard; that’s what fire pits are for! (Okay, feeling really low-effort? Your grill works, too!) We’re not just talking weenie roasts — which is why we’ve rounded up these delicious camping recipes. They use the open flame and a cast-iron skillet (or Dutch oven) in ingenious ways to keep you well-fed in the great outdoors, from breakfast to late-night snacks, whether you’re totally living off the grid or glamping out back with real plates and cutlery from the house.

There’s almost nothing that can’t be prepared over an open fire or on the grill, including a cheesy, comforting lasagna. Yes, really. Our version is easy to make right on the campfire — and the smoke lends a little something extra to the familiar flavors. Pro tip: Don’t mention what’s for dinner, so that you can watch the jaws drop when you take the lid off to reveal a gorgeous lasagna!

Guy Fieri knows a thing or two about cooking outside, whether it’s for camping—or a tailgate! This classic baked potato will scratch all the itches but is just a little extra-special, too.

Whether or not Hawaiian pizza truly originated in Hawaii, the salty-sweet combination of pineapple and ham has its many fans. This camping-friendly version relies on ingredients that travel well (in a cooler) and can be found at just about any market. Plus it's fun: You encase the toppings in between two pieces of dough, seal it in a pie iron and cook over an open fire as you would a marshmallow. You want it close enough to the flame so the pizza gets nice and toasted but not so close that it will scorch — and then turn, turn, turn. Patience is a virtue!

Campfire Skillet Cornbread is a rustic, golden treat with rich brown butter, a touch of maple syrup and tangy buttermilk. Baked in a cast-iron skillet, it’s perfect for cozy campfire meals or hearty backyard cookouts.

Shrimp scampi packets eliminate many common shrimp-grilling foibles, from losing the odd shrimp through the grill grates to overcooking (the packet seals in moisture, so the shrimp can hardly dry out). Plus, you’re not losing any delicious aromas and flavors to evaporation; all that good stuff remains in there. It’s easy to round out this meal—just pair with rice, pasta or bread.

For breakfast, lunch or dinner, quesadillas are a classic. Michael Symon gets it down to a science that campers of all age can customize to their preferences.

You can’t have a camping trip without s’mores, but does it really always have to be the same old? This pairs fresh strawberries with melted chocolate, toasted marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs for a juicy twist on the classic.

This recipe was designed for the oven, but it can be translated easily to the campfire. Just toss those packets over the flames until the chicken is cooked through. Meanwhile, ready the fajita bar in the kitchen, with warmed tortillas and all the fixings.

Campfire Toasties are a nostalgic, gooey delight made with hazelnut spread, optional peanut butter, and bananas, toasted to golden perfection in a pie iron over an open flame. Ideal for backyard grilling or cozy campfires, they're a sweet treat that's both fun and easy to make.

There’s hardly a more evocative and appetizing meal than a big pot of beans cooked over an open fire. Marcela Valladolid’s version is simple, old-school, and plays up the smoke flavor with the addition of bacon.

Yep, that’s right, pasta with clams from the campfire, for those occasions in the wild where you really need a showstopper. And it’s no bare-bones production, either—toasted breadcrumbs top the dish and give it just that little extra something that will have campers almost giggling with delight as they slurp around the fire.

Make your own brownie mix ahead of time in a resealable plastic bag, then smush together with wet ingredients at your campsite and bake. Fresh, warm brownies right off the fire!

Cooking sausage and peppers outdoors should be a no-brainer—after all, that’s how we love it at the state fair or Italian festival or all those other places where we encounter it! Here, the sausages are butterflied to speed up their cook time, but also to encourage their fabulous fatty juices to intermingle with the veg. Grab your buns and go to town!

These aren’t your typical mozzarella sticks, but when you're camping, you have to improvise! Throw a couple of store-bought items into your cooler, grab a pie iron and in no time you'll be enjoying what we've dubbed a mozzarella-stick-meets-stuffed-crust-pizza. We used crescent dough for the wrapping. It browns up beautifully without being overly bready — and you don't run the risk of it popping out of the pie iron as pizza dough does when it's warmed over the fire. And the cheese pull is divine!

The marinade for these wings from Chef James Briscione is simple, straightforward, and full of flavor. The secret ingredient is the seasoning mix, which brings that hint of a smoker to the wings, plus lime juice and cilantro to keep things bright.

The secret to this memorable and very evocative dinner is all in the prep. While you’re putting it together it feels like lots of fiddly bits, but that’s the end to the labor. Make your packets, clean up the kitchen and forget about it all — that is, until it’s time to cook them. We love that it’s a complete meal in there, seafood, sausage, potatoes and corn, and that every diner gets her own fragrant present to open. This is open-fire cooking at its best.

These treats are so fun to make, even the bears will want to get in on it! Choose your favorite cereals and toppings—the combination possibilities are endless.

To avoid that every-40-minute hunger that’s inevitable in the great outdoors, start the day with these hearty burritos, stuffed with eggs, potatoes, chorizo and cheese. Prep before you leave and then warm everything on the campfire for a breakfast that will really stick with you.

We apologize in advance to trail mix, because after you snack on warm spiced nuts, right off the fire, it will be hard to go back.

When your crowd has become blasé about s’mores, trot out this easy make-your-own dessert bar from Ree Drummond and go from zero to hero.

Camping staples (chocolate bars and bananas) can go from s’mores and trail snacks to the delicious filling for these decadent pancakes. You can use any pancake batter you like. We opted for boxed mix for the sake of convenience — always a plus when cooking over a campfire.

Everyone gets to cut open their own individual packet to release the aromas of fresh jambalaya—what an absolute treat of a dinner in the great outdoors.

Ree Drummond offers her take on the camper classic, stuffing bananas with chocolate and caramel chips, marshmallows, and graham cracker crumbs, for a dessert that helps fill up any remaining space in tummies!

Boneless, skinless chicken breast has never been this exciting! The salty, briny flavors of tomato, capers and olives (along with some garlic and artichokes for good measure) get soft and saucy and contribute their depth to the meat, which, from its foil-pack poaching, soaks it all in beautifully. Again, though this was designed for the oven, it works just as well on the grill. Garlic bread certainly does punctuate the dish, so don’t leave that out.