500+ Camping Recipes

If you want to cook delicious camping meals without lugging around a full kitchen, 500+ Camping Recipes by Troop 26 Parkville is a goldmine.

This free, shareable PDF is packed with outdoor-friendly recipes and practical cooking methods that anyone can use—from scouts and families to hardcore survivalists. But it’s not just about food. The book starts by teaching you some clever DIY cooking tools and techniques that let you cook just about anything over a campfire.

What makes it especially awesome is how it blends old-school Scouting ingenuity with modern camping know-how. You’ll learn how to make Buddy Burners, Vagabond Stoves, cardboard box ovens, and master the Dutch oven. It even includes tips for heat control, gear care, natural hygiene solutions, and bushcraft-style cooking hacks.

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Cooking Supplies You’ll Need for These Recipes

To cook the recipes from this book and take advantage of all the DIY techniques, here’s a list of items you’ll want to bring or make:

DIY Cooking Gear:

Camp Kitchen Gear:

Prep & Cleanup Supplies:

• Soap (bar or powdered) for pots
• Baking soda (multi-use)
• Paper towels or clean cloths
• Toothbrush, matchbook, and natural self-care items (many included in the book)

Now let’s talk about the recipes themselves…

500+ Camping and Dutch Oven Recipes

Here are the types of recipes you’ll find in this book:

• Breakfasts – Pancakes, omelets, casseroles, and baked goods.
• Foil Pack Meals – Easy, no-mess meals cooked in foil.
• Dutch Oven Recipes – Breads, stews, meats, and desserts.
• Skillet/Grill Recipes – Burgers, fish, and quick-cook options.
• Desserts – Pies, cobblers, cookies, and sweet snacks.
• Snacks and Trail Foods – Jerky, granola, energy bars.
• Soups and Stews – Hearty one-pot comfort foods.
• Breads and Sides – Biscuits, cornbread, potatoes, salads.
• Drinks – Cider, punch, hot cocoa, lemonade.
• Marinades and Sauces – For grilled meats or dips.
• Kid-Friendly / Fun Foods – S’mores, banana boats, campfire popcorn.

Because of the length of this book, I can’t reprint all the recipes on this page—it would take forever to load. Instead, I’ll just share a link to the PDF and talk about some of my favorite recipes from this book.

Here’s the link: 500+ Camping Recipes

Click the link to open it in your browser. From there, you can print it or download a copy to your computer.

Now here are my personal favorites…

Breakfast Recipes

Baggie Omelet

Ingredients:

• Eggs (1-2 per person)
• Milk
• Any or all of the following….cheese, ham, bacon, onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms
• Pita Bread (optional)
• Zipper type freezer bag

Directions:

1. Put 1-2 eggs in bag and add desired amount of milk.
2. Add the additional ingredients. Seal bag tightly.
3. Place bag in boiling water and cook for 3-5 minutes until desired doneness.

To eat as a breakfast sandwich, put egg combination in pita bread.

Breakfast Burritos

This is a great way to cook a small crowd something to eat that is fast, easy, and can totally be cooked in one skillet. To make it even simpler, mix up a few eggs with a little milk, salt & pepper, and store it in a mayo jar (in the cooler) for future use.

Ingredients:

• Sausage
• Pre-mixed eggs
• Salsa
• Onion
• Peppers
• Mushrooms

Directions:

1. Brown some sausage; drain and crumble and return to the pan.
2. Pour in the pre-mixed eggs, a little salsa, onion, peppers, mushrooms and/or anything else you want to throw in.
3. Scramble till done.
4. Top with cheese.
5. Scoop out spoonfuls onto a flour tortilla, roll up and enjoy!

Camp Hash

Ingredients:

• 4 c Shredded Dried Hash Brown Potatoes
• 2 pk Onion Soup Mix
• 1 1/2 lb Ground Meat Or Sausage
• Assorted Seasonings, to taste
• 1 lg Pot With A Lid
• 1 lg Spoon
• 6 c Water

Directions:

1. Brown the meat in the bottom of the pan. Break up the meat as it cooks assuring that all the pink (raw) meat is cooked.
2. Add the water and soup mix stirring to mix. Heat to boiling and simmer a few minutes.
3. Add the dry potatoes and stir to mix. Cover the pot and move to the edge of the fire for about 10 minutes to allow the potatoes to swell up with the water.
4. Move the pot back on the heat and stir while cooking the potatoes.
5. Cook about 5-10 minutes. Serve hot.

Seasonings may be added with the potatoes to the cook’s taste. Hot peppers, chili powder, basil, Italian seasonings are good. The meat may be hamburger, sausage, Italian
sausage, etc. Different meats do provide a different flavor. This hash can be either an evening or a breakfast meal. Note that a package of Golden Grill Hash Brown dried potatoes provides for three recipes of Camp Hash.

Main Dishes

Beer Butt Chicken

A whole chicken is seasoned and slowly cooked on the grill. This is a bit unorthodox, but the end result is moist, flavorful and amazing. All you’ll need is some chicken, butter, beer and seasonings.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken
• 1 cup butter salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons garlic salt 1 (12 fluid ounce) can beer
• 2 tablespoons paprika 1 (4 pound) whole chicken

Directions:

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for low heat, and lightly oil grate.
2. In a small skillet, melt 1/2 cup butter.
3. Mix in 1 tablespoon garlic salt, 1 tablespoon paprika, salt and pepper.
4. Discard 1/2 the beer, leaving the remainder in the can.
5. Add remaining butter, garlic salt, paprika and desired amount of salt and pepper to beer can.
6. Place can on a disposable baking sheet. Set chicken upright onto can, inserting can into the cavity of the chicken.
7. Baste chicken with the melted, seasoned butter.
8. Place baking sheet with beer and chicken on the prepared grill.
9. Cook over low heat for about 3 hours, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Camp Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients:

• 2 envelopes Lipton’s Cream of Chicken Cup-o-soup
• 1 large can Swanson’s Chunk Chicken Meat
• 3/4 cup mixed dehydrated vegetables (corn, peas, carrots, mushrooms, and tomatoes)
• 1 cup Bisquick in a zip-lock bag
• Water

Directions:

1. First rehydrate chicken and vegetables (about 1/2 cup hot water for the chicken and 1/4 – 1/2 cup hot water for the vegetables).
2. Mix the soup, chicken meat and vegetables in a relatively deep pot with 2 to 3 cups water (I like 3 for more of a soup mixture).
3. Place on camp stove. Heat to simmering, stirring occasionally.
4. While soup stuff is heating, add water (see Bisquick box instructions for quantity) to Bisquick and knead in the zip-lock bag.
5. When soup stuff is hot, tear off a corner of the bag and squeeze out plops of Bisquick into the pot.
6. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes on low heat. Serves 4.

Campfire Chili

There are a million variations of this recipe and this is just one of them. Feel free to experiment and make it your own. I make this one on a wood fire while camping and it serves 2 healthy appetites or three normal ones.

This works fine with a 3 quart cast iron Dutch oven, but I like to use the 5 quart because if someone else shows up hungry you can easily add whatever you have in camp to stretch it out. This recipe is tangy but not hot. Adjust to your taste.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound hamburger – I use the leanest I can find, but whatever you prefer is best.
• 1 large onion – Vidalia are nice but too mild. I prefer a pungent yellow or white onion. Slice, chop, dice or however you prefer them.
• 1 large RIPE tomato – cut up into 2 or 3 inch pieces.
• 1 16 oz can black beans
• 1 16 oz can red kidney beans
• 1 red bell pepper – you can use any color you would like but the red adds a sweetness that compliments the hot stuff.
• 3 shakes crushed red pepper
• 3 splashes jalapeno sauce
• Garlic to taste – I usually use a powder when camping, but fresh chopped up fine is excellent.

Directions:

1. Warm the Dutch oven on a grate over a hot fire (more coals than flame).
2. Pour just enough of your favorite oil to coat the bottom of the pot.
3. Sauté the onions, tomato and bell pepper, stirring as needed until they start to soften.
4. Add the hamburger and mix well; cover and allow the hamburger to brown.
5. Add both cans of beans, the jalapeno sauce, the garlic and the crushed red pepper; mix well and cover again.
6. Stirring frequently allows you to monitor the texture. If the fire is too hot the chili may
   thicken too much. Add a little water if needed but be careful not to make it too watery.

Campfire Kabobs

Instructions:

• 4 cans pineapple chunks
• 2 can condensed tomato soup
• 1/2 cups olive oil
• 2 tbs chili powder
• 2 lbs bologna, folded in quarters
• 2 green peppers, cut into 1in squares
• 1 pkg frankfurter buns, split
• 8 large wooden skewers

Directions:

1. Drain pineapple. Reserve 1/2 cups juice.
2. In medium pot, combine soup, reserved pineapple juice, olive oil, and chili powder.
3. Heat, stirring occasionally.
4. On skewers, arrange alternately bologna, green pepper, and pineapple.
5. Grill 4 inches above coals.
6. Brush with sauce.
7. Cook 8 minutes or until hot, brushing with sauce frequently.
8. Serve on buns with remaining sauce.

Camp Pizza

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb Ground beef (80% lean) 2 1/4 oz Sliced pitted ripe olives; drained
• 1 Medium onion; chopped 1/3 c Green bell pepper; coarsely chopped
• 8 oz Refrigerated crescent rolls 1 c Mozzarella cheese; shredded
• 8 oz Pizza sauce 1 ts Dried oregano leaves
• 4 oz Mushroom stems and pieces; drained

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef and onion in well-seasoned 11 to 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium coals.
2. Remove to paper towels to drain. Pour off drippings from pan.
3. Separate crescent dough into triangles; place in skillet, points toward center, to form circle.
4. Press edges together to form bottom crust about 1 inch up the side of pan.
5. Spread half of pizza sauce over crust.
6. Spoon ground beef mixture over sauce.
7. Cover with mushrooms, olives and green pepper.
8. Pour remaining sauce over all; sprinkle with cheese and oregano.
9. Place pan in center of grid over medium coals.
10. Place cover on cooker; cook 20 to 30 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. (If cooked over open grill or coals, cover pan securely with foil.)

Dutch Oven Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 3 large cans of chicken meat Chicken bouillon granules
• Tube of refrigerator crescent rolls or biscuits
• 16 oz. bag of frozen vegetables Salt and pepper
• 2-3 medium potatoes, chop into small cubes
• Vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup of flour (approx.)
• If desired: Chopped mushrooms, onions, other veggies

Directions:

1. Warm Dutch oven.
2. Add chicken with juice to oven with a tablespoon of oil and several cups of water to cover. Add about 1 tablespoon of bouillon and bring to boil.
3. With whisk or fork, whip a couple tablespoons of flour into a cup of water to make a
   smooth think mixture.
4. Briskly stir flour mixture into chicken broth to create a gravy, taking care not to break up chicken pieces.
5. Bring back to boil, stirring gently until gravy starts to thicken slightly.
6. Stir in frozen vegetables, potato cubes, other veggies and enough water that when mixed, gravy just touches top of ingredients.
7. Sprinkle salt, pepper.
8. Create a top crust with crescent roll dough (flat not rolled) or biscuit halves layered on top of ingredients.
9. Put lid on Dutch oven, place oven on bed of 8-10 charcoals and put 12-15 more coals on lid.
10. Bake about 20 minutes, then check crust. When crust is brown and flaky on top, lower top heat by removing most coals.
11. Maintain bottom heat to keep pie bubbling, about 45 minutes total baking time until
    potatoes are tender.

Dutch Oven Macaroni & Beef

Ingredients:

• 2½ to 3 pounds beef brisket
• 1 12-ounce package macaroni
• Water (you can add tomato juice or beef stock to water if you like)

Directions:

1. Place Dutch oven directly on coals and add a little oil or shorting.
2. Add brisket and brown well on both sides.
3. Add water to almost cover the brisket.
4. Cover oven and place coals on the oven lid and cook until meat is tender, about two hours.
5. Remove meat from cooking juices and wrap in foil to keep warm.
6. Add macaroni to cooking juices and place oven directly on hot coals.
7. Boil, uncovered until pasta is tender, about 20 minutes.

Sides & Snacks

Backpacker Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 cups whole almonds
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 4 teaspoons grated orange peel

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cream butter with 1 cup brown sugar.
3. Stir in oats, wheat flour, white flour, wheat germ, and orange peel.
4. Press mixture into bottom of an ungreased 9 x13-inch baking pan.
5. Combine eggs, almonds, chocolate chips, dates, apricots, coconut and remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar.
6. Mix gently, but thoroughly.
7. Pour over butter mixture. Spread evenly.
8. Bake 30-35 minutes and cool before cutting into bars.

Campfire Blooming Onion

Ingredients:

• 4 large Vidalia onions
• 1/4 cup butter
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Peel onions and cut each one into quarters only PART of the way down, keeping onions together.
2. Place 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 clove of garlic in the middle of each onion.
3. Double wrap each onion in foil and place on hot coals.
4. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes.
5. Carefully remove from coals and unwrap.
6. Season with salt and pepper, then eat. Serves 4.

You can serve with ranch dip or hot sauce, if desired.

Campfire Popcorn

Note: This recipe only serves one, so you’ll want to multiply based on how many people there are.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon of oil
• 1 tablespoon of popcorn kernels
• Butter and salt

Directions:

1. In the center of an 18″ x 18″ square of heavy-duty or doubled foil, place one teaspoon of oil & one tablespoon of popcorn.
2. Bring foil corners together to make a pouch.
3. Seal the edges by folding, but allow room for the popcorn to pop.
4. Tie each pouch to a long stick with a string & hold the pouch over the hot coals.
5. Shake constantly until all the corn has popped.
6. Season with butter & salt. Serves one.

Dutch Oven Nachos

Directions:

1. Simply line your Dutch oven with aluminum foil and heap your nachos in.
2. Add whatever you like on top, usually shredded cheese, tomatoes, browned beef, and salsa.
3. Cover and put in a medium to low fire for a few minutes.
4. Remove from fire when cheese is melted and serve.

Desserts

Campfire Cobbler

Ingredients:

• 1 can Sliced peaches, large
• 1 can Fruit cocktail, large
• 1 can Crushed pineapple, small
• 1/4 lb Margarine
• 1 c Brown sugar
• 1 pkg Cake mix
• 1/2 c Instant tapioca

Directions:

1. In 12 inch foil lined Dutch Oven, combine fruit and tapioca.
2. Sprinkle cake mix evenly over top of fruit.
3. Sprinkle brown sugar over cake mix.
4. Dab butter all over top of brown sugar.
5. Place lid on oven. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour. Use 6 to 8 coals on the
   bottom and 14 to 16 on the top.

Cake is done when top is brown and cake has absorbed juices and is no longer dry.

Campfire Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

• 4 cans of biscuits
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 tbs. cinnamon
• 1 stick margarine

Directions:

1. Cut biscuits into quarters.
2. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag.
3. Drop biscuits into bag and coat well.
4. Place in Dutch oven.
5. Melt margarine and pour over biscuits; sprinkle with brown sugar.
6. Bake over medium coals 20 to 25 minutes.

Campfire S’mores

Ingredients:

• Marshmallows
• Graham crackers
• Hershey bars
• Green sticks

Directions:

1. Get prepared by getting 1 large graham cracker and breaking it in half.
2. Cover 1/2 of the graham cracker with Hershey bar.
3. Put a marshmallow (or 2) on the stick and hold it over the fire until roasted. Some people like them lightly golden, others like to catch them on fire and then blow the fire out. If you do that, be careful. You have to put the fire out quickly or your marshmallow will fall on the ground.
4. When the marshmallow’s roasted, place on top of the Hershey bar, put the other graham cracker on top and bite down. Yum!

Variation: You can also use Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in place of the Hershey Bars for a different taste!

Dutch Oven Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• One Chocolate cake mix (Double chocolate or Dark chocolate)
• Eggs as called for on cake mix
• 1 cube butter
• 2 T cocoa
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 1 can of soda pop

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven, melt butter; mix in cocoa and brown sugar.
2. Then add 2 cups water and marshmallows.
3. In a bowl stir up the cake mix with eggs and soda pop.
4. Pour over mixture in Dutch oven, but don’t mix.
5. Cook about 20 to 30 minutes in a 12″ Dutch oven with 14 coals on the top and 10 on the bottom.
6. Serve with cool whip.

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