Campfire Recipes to Optimize Your Next Trip Out

Nature enthusiasts often cherish the time they get to spend around a campfire. While you don’t have to be a world-class chef to make delicious campfire recipes, a bit of preparation, the right equipment and little bit of innovation can go a long way.  That could include using recipes and a cooking style that you already know and are familiar with making at home. Many meals are easily transferable to the outdoors, while others may require a few adaptations.

A pair of foil-packet meals cooks on a grill grate over a campfire. Foil packet meals are simple campfire recipes that are as easy as throwing all the ingredients into a piece of foil, folding the foil into a rectangular shape and cooking over a campfire.

Paige Lackey, a Huron Pines AmeriCorps member serving with the DNR, is putting her campfire cooking skills and recipes to the test as part of Project Rustic, a statewide RV tour of Michigan’s rustic campgrounds. While living in and working from an RV provided by General RV, Paige put together a basic meal plan and some of her favorite campfire recipes that anyone can enjoy.

A selfie of Paige, the explorer behind Project Rustic, as she walks along a Michigan beach.

Paige’s favorite campfire recipes and daily meal plan

The last thing you want to do while camping is spend time inside your camper, slaving over a hot stove. You’re camping to enjoy the outdoors and mealtime should not take up hours of your day! Many of my favorite go-to meals while camping are one-pot meals that can be made over a fire. One-pot meals are easy to prep, cook and clean-up and honestly, what’s better than cooking over a fire?

A man stirs a meal in a pot while it cooks over a campfire. One pot meals are ideal for camping cooking recipes because they mean less cleanup afterward.

Fuel Up for Your Day with these Campfire Recipes for Breakfast

For breakfast, I like to stick to the basics and make a big, scrambled egg skillet loaded with veggies and lots of flavor. My personal favorite veggies to add are sweet potato, onion, spinach and bell pepper. Once the veggies and eggs are cooked, I like to top the dish off with avocado and salsa.

Camping Recipes for Lunch: On the go options are best

For lunch, I keep it simple. No need to disrupt an adventure-filled day by preparing a five-course meal. I always keep wraps or tortillas on hand to throw together a simple meat and cheese sandwich wrap. They’re quick to make and easy to take on-the-go. Let your creativity flow by combining different veggies (spinach, cucumber, bell pepper, kale, tomato), fruits (apple or banana with peanut butter) or spreads (hummus, avocado, cream cheese).

Enjoy these Campfire Recipes for Dinner

Typically, dinners are when I like to indulge myself a bit more, and spend time preparing a meal. I still prefer simplicity and one-pot meals are easy prep and easy clean-up. Some of my favorites are:

Pork tacos with onion and bell peppers

A cast iron skillet filled with chopped bell peppers and other vegetables cooks on a grill grate positioned over a campfire. In the background, an RV and vehicle are parked at a campsite. Two camp chairs are positioned near the fire.

Chicken and kale salad with red onion, avocado, cherry tomato, shredded carrots, broccoli and feta with a poppy seed dressing

Stir fry with lots of veggies, tofu and stir fry sauce

One-Pot Protein Pasta

Campfire Nachos

A large cast iron pot sits on a grill grate over a campfire. The pot is filled with fixings for Campfire Nachos - tortilla chips are covered with beans, cilantro, melted cheese, avocado, onions, and more.

Which one of our campfire recipes will you enjoy on your next trip? Let us know on our Facebook page or tag us in a photo on Instagram!

This blog post is part of our Project Rustic series. Paige, the explorer behind Project Rustic, helped put together these helpful tips while RV camping with her dog Willow. Paige and Willow are traveling and working in a Nexus Triumph Class C motorhome provided by General RV Center while they collect data about rustic campgrounds in Michigan. Stay tuned for more Project Rustic posts on our blog. And follow General RV Center on Facebook and Instagram for more exclusive content from Paige’s adventure across Michigan!