The Best Dutch Oven Camping Recipes To Cook On The Campfire!

When you're out camping in the backwoods or if you're road-tripping across the country, nothing beats having a portable Dutch oven to cook up melt-in-your-mouth meals over the campfire!

Our favorite Dutch oven camping recipes are easy to whip up while you're out in nature, and they'll bring the comforting taste of home to the outdoors. Campfire Dutch ovens can take a huge amount of heat and withstand the embers of the campfire fantastically, making them a great choice for your next trip.

To inspire your campfire cooking, here are the best Dutch oven camping recipes to cook! 

Can you use a Dutch oven over the campfire?

Let's start with the basics!

Yes, you can cook Dutch oven recipes over the campfire, and yes, your camping Dutch oven can take the heat!

The best Dutch ovens are produced from hefty cast iron molds, and while yes, that means they are heavier than say a portable stove, it also means that they are perfect for campfire cooking. Dutch ovens are portable, they come in a range of different sizes, and the cast iron keeps the heat inside the oven itself to recreate the effects of the oven in your home kitchen over the campfire.

All you need to do is light a fire, prepare your dinner, and place the Dutch oven in the embers to cook!

How to camp and cook with a Dutch oven

We recommend using the more traditional cast iron Dutch ovens for camping, rather than taking along a nice shiny enameled cast iron Dutch oven. While you're out in the backwoods, you might chip off the enamel coating, so the sturdier cast iron is a much better option.

Cast iron is rugged and durable, and you can't go too wrong with it. Most Dutch ovens are pre-seasoned, too, to ensure that food doesn't stick. That makes your life a lot easier when you're cooking over the campfire.

Dutch ovens can be used to cook a fantastic range of meals, and you can use them for all sorts of one-pot meals, and even more complicated creations like enchiladas. Double Dutch ovens will double up as both an oven and a skillet, giving you, even more, reach when you're cooking up breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You can try roasting chickens, stewing meats, slow-cooking chili, and so many more Dutch oven recipes!

Dutch oven campfire recipes

Here are our favorite camping Dutch oven recipes that are just perfect for preparing and cooking over the campfire. Remember, though, that Dutch ovens are great for cooking almost any one-pot meals, so don't be afraid to get creative when you're planning your next camping trip!

#1 Dutch oven breakfast casserole

When you're out camping, hiking, and exploring the great outdoors, it's important to start your day with a heavy breakfast to keep you fueled up!

With a Dutch oven, you can cook up a huge portion of breakfast casserole, to keep the whole family fueled for hours to come. For this recipe, you can add in all your favorite breakfast items. The main base for the dish will be the 12 eggs you crack into the Dutch oven, but you'll also need sausages, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, and anything else you fancy for the casserole.

Mix up your eggs and vegetables, fry your meat separately in the skillet, then let everything stew softly in the fire.

#2 Veggie breakfast casserole

If you're not a meat-eater, then you can still fuel up for the day with a delicious one-pot camping Dutch oven veggie breakfast casserole.

Bring along all the veggies and greens you can, from mushrooms and zucchini to bell peppers and tomatoes. You'll need a big pack of large eggs and plenty of cheese. Mix everything together, and slow cook your veggie breakfast casserole in the Dutch oven over the campfire embers in the morning.

#3 Dutch oven chicken

You don't need an entire kitchen to cook up a feast of a roast dinner. In fact, you can cook up a whole roast chicken with all the trimmings using just a Dutch oven and your campfire.

Slice up all your vegetables and layer them around the base and the sides of the Dutch oven. Take your whole chicken and place it in the center, surrounded by the veggies. Add some butter, garlic, and herbs, and let the pot roast slowly for one hour. After one hour, remove the lid to allow the veggies and chicken to crisp up on the outside before serving.

This one takes a little preparation, but once everything is good to go, you can roast both the chicken and the vegetables in the same Dutch oven. The oven helps to evenly roast the meat and the veggies, and the slow-cooking will bring out the best flavors and keep dinner stewing in those delicious juices!

#4 Dutch oven pot roast

As well as roasting chickens over the campfire, Dutch ovens are a fantastic way to roast all of your other favorite meats and vegetables too.

This one-pot cooking technique actually cooks chuck roasts, or legs of lamb, just as well as in the oven - if not better. Take your favorite meat, chop up a few carrots and onions, and slowly roast the ingredients with a few herbs in a lovely red wine sauce.

You can drink the rest of the red wine, too, around the campfire while you're waiting for the roast to cook!

#5 Braised beef

Slow-cooked braised beef is one of the most delectable dishes you can create in a Dutch oven, especially when the meat is so tender that it's falling apart while it's melting in your mouth!

You'll need a beef chuck and a few ingredients and herbs to make up the sauce, but it all cooks perfectly together in a Dutch oven over the campfire. Braise your beef at high heat first, then slow cook!

This one takes time, as it's all about being patient. The best braised beef could take up to 3 hours to get right. Once the ingredients are prepared and cooking though, you can sit back and relax, just keep the fire stoked and the embers glowing!

#6 Dutch oven peach cobbler

We all love a delicious peach cobbler!

Peach cobblers are the perfect mix of sweet and savory and soft and crumbly, and you can use a Dutch oven to bring the comforting taste of home to your camping trip. You can prepare this one in advance to make the process easier, and keep it ready to go for when you get to the campsite.

Then, when you're ready for your cobbler, simply place the Dutch oven in the hot embers of the fire and let it bake slowly.

Why not try this delicious Dutch oven peach cobbler recipe next time you are out camping?

#7 Dutch oven bread

Yes, you can use a Dutch oven and a campfire for baking bread! In fact, baking bread is one of our all-time top Dutch oven camping recipes. We can't get enough of it when we're out camping.

Simply prepare your dough (we prefer using sourdough mixtures to make things even easier) and bring the dough along when you're out camping. Heat your Dutch oven in the campfire, then pop in your dough, and let it bake.

Dutch ovens are the perfect size for a large loaf of sourdough bread, and you'll be amazed at the results they can produce in the hot embers of a campfire.

#8 Dutch oven pizza

You can also cook up a delicious, topping-laden Dutch oven pizza when you're on your next camping trip!

It's really not as difficult as you might imagine, especially if you have prepared the dough for the base in advance to save on time when you're at the campsite.

Get your favorite toppings ready, be it pepperoni, bell peppers, onions, or even anchovies. Add your tomato base, add your toppings, and cover the dough with a healthy serving of cheese.

We recommend heating the Dutch oven up in the fire first and placing parchment paper inside to stop your pizza dough from sticking to the sides while it's cooking.

#9 Campfire chili

Campfire chili could be one of the ultimate Dutch oven camping recipes!

A campfire chili ticks all the camping boxes. It's easy to prepare, you only need a few simple ingredients and spices, and you can cook up everything in the same pot. It's a glorious one-pot meal, and you can make it as spicy as you fancy.

We love using ground beef in our campfire chili recipe. Simply brown the beef over the campfire, then add in your spices, onions, bell peppers, and a few tins of tomatoes. Let the campfire chili slow cook and simmer, and then share it out with your camping buddies over a few cold beers!

#10 Campfire veggie chili

If you're vegetarian, then one of the best veggie meals you can cook up is the veggie version of our delicious campfire chili!

You can slow cook your veggie chili over the campfire, to really stew the vegetables and bring out the juices and flavors. Instead of ground beef, you can use a veggie substitute such as Quorn beef, or similar.

You don't necessarily need a substitute though, just add in extra kidney beans, or bring along a few extra bell peppers and mushrooms to add to the chili.

This veggie campfire chili is great to cook up in bulk to feed a large group of friends of the whole family while your out camping. That's why it's one of our top vegetarian Dutch oven camping recipes!

#11 Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes are an American comfort food that you can take camping with a Dutch oven!

Sort of similar to chili, but with more spice and ketchup, you can easily cook up a big portion of Sloppy Joes in your Dutch oven. Bring along a few burger buns or hot dog buns, and you can scoop up the Sloppy Joes straight from the Dutch oven.

You could even bake your own Dutch oven bread first if you've got more than one oven or plenty of time on your hands. Just like our chili recipes, Sloppy Joes can be cooked up in big batches and are a guaranteed, yet simple, crowd-pleaser.

#12 Dutch oven mac and cheese

Another hearty, delicious, yet remarkably simple crowd-pleaser is Dutch oven mac and cheese!

All you need for this scrumptious recipe is your macaroni, lots of cheese sauce, and a little bit of ham. First of all, you'll need to boil your pasta up in the Dutch oven. When that's ready, you can throw in your ham and melt over your cheese or cheese sauce.

Add a dash of salt and pepper, and layer on some more grated cheese if you want your mac to be oozing with cheesy goodness.

#13 Spicy Dutch oven enchiladas

You can cook up much more complicated meals using just a Dutch oven too. One of our all-time favorite Dutch oven camping recipes will always be our spicy enchiladas!

You'll need your favorite enchilada fillings, chilis, peppers, onions, and more chilis. Cook up all your enchilada mix in the Dutch oven, or on the skillet top. Wrap up the ingredients once they are cooked in your tortillas, then cover in any leftover sauce and layer with cheese.

Place parchment paper in your Dutch oven to stop the tortillas from sticking to the sides, then let your enchiladas crisp up over the campfire.

We recommend bringing along some salsas, guacamole, tortillas chips, and fiery sauce to go with your spicy Dutch oven enchiladas.

#14 Campfire cornbread

If you're from the south, then you can't go too long without baking up a batch of tasty cornbread. With a Dutch oven, you can bring your cornbread baking skills to the campfire, too!

With a Dutch oven, you can easily simulate the heat and environment of the oven in your kitchen, and bake up a delicious cornbread to go with the rest of your campfire food.

To make things easier, you can prepare the cornbread batter in advance, simply bring it along in a zip lock bag. Grease up your Dutch oven and let it heat up in the campfire before pouring in your cornbread batter.

For the best results, try to bury your Dutch oven in the embers of the fire, so the heat can be truly spread evenly across all sides, and both the top and bottom of the cast iron oven.

Dutch oven camping recipes takeaway

These are our favorite Dutch oven recipes for camping, but the beauty of the Dutch oven is that you can cook so much more over the campfire with it too!

Get creative, and cook up some delicious one-pot meals at the campsite or in the backwoods. Why not bookmark our camping recipes for Dutch oven for later inspiration?