10 Easy Dutch Oven Camping Recipes for Gourmet Grub

I remember it well: a cold, rainy night in the Peak District, huddled under a thin tarp, trying to get a disposable barbecue to work. The best food that night was a pack of sausages that were slightly burned and pink, and a pot of pasta that was warm and watery. To say the least, it was bad. As I chewed my sad meal, I looked over at the next tent site. There, a group of people were gathered around a glowing campfire, laughing as they lifted the lid off a heavy black pot. The steam that came out smelled like heaven.

That was the night I learned how to use the Dutch oven. It’s not just a pot; it’s a portable kitchen that can roast, braise, bake, and fry. You can make amazing meals with it under the stars. It’s the unsung hero of cooking at the campsite, and it’s about to make your outdoor adventures even better.

This post is your new go-to guide for Dutch oven camping recipes that are both tasty and surprisingly easy to make. From filling breakfasts to get you ready for your hikes to comforting dinners and gooey desserts to end the perfect day, we’ll cover it all. Forget about sad sausages and soggy pasta; it’s time to make your camping meals better.

Table of Contents

1. Why the Dutch Oven Camping Recipes is Your Best Mate
2. Getting Started: Quick Tips for Dutch Oven Success
3. 10 Mouth-Watering Dutch Oven Recipes for Camping
   • Hearty Breakfasts to Fuel Your Day
     1. Campsite Shakshuka
     2. Mountain Man Breakfast
   • Delicious Dinners for Under the Stars
     3. Campfire Chilli Con Carne
     4. No-Fuss Dutch Oven Pizza
     5. Creamy Chicken and Dumplings
     6. Braised Beef Stew with Root Veggies
     7. Easy Lakeside Lasagne
   • Sweet Treats to Finish the Night
     8. Gooey Chocolate Brownie Bake
     9. Apple and Blackberry Crumble
     10. Pull-Apart Cinnamon Rolls
4. Your Campsite Kitchen Awaits
5. FAQ

Why the Dutch Oven Camping Recipes is Your Best Mate

If you’re going to carry one heavy piece of cookware into the wild, make sure it’s a Dutch oven. There is no other thing that can do so many things. You can make a pizza, bake bread, simmer a stew, or fry up a full English. These things are almost impossible to break and hold heat better than anything else, so you can cook evenly and consistently, even on campfire coals that aren’t always the same.

To be honest, mine has saved me from eating instant noodles more times than I can count. It makes amazing camping Dutch oven meals out of basic ingredients with very little effort, giving you more time to enjoy being outside.

Getting Started: Quick Tips for Dutch Oven Success

It’s more of an art than a science to cook with a Dutch oven, but these tips will help you get started.

• Heat Management is Key: Controlling your coals is the key to even cooking. Use the “ring of fire” method to bake. A good rule of thumb is to put three more coals on the lid than the pot’s diameter (in inches) and three fewer coals under the pot than its diameter. That means 15 on top and 9 on the bottom for a 12-inch oven.
• Get the Right Tools: Don’t try to be a hero. You need a good lid lifter, a good pair of gloves that won’t melt, and some long-handled tongs. Believe me, trying to lift a hot, heavy lid with a stick is a sure way to end up with ash-covered food.
• Easy Cleaning: Cleaning up after a meal doesn’t have to be a chore. Once you’ve served up, scrape out any big bits, add some water to the pot, and put it back over the remaining heat. A gentle boil will lift most of the stuck-on food, making washing up a breeze.

10 Mouth-Watering Dutch Oven Recipes for Camping

Ready to get cooking? Here are ten tried-and-tested recipes that are guaranteed to impress.

Hearty Breakfasts to Fuel Your Day

1. Campsite Shakshuka

Imagine waking up to a pot of eggs poached in a spicy, fragrant tomato and pepper sauce. It’s great for dipping hard bread into while the morning fog lifts..

• Ingredients: 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 chopped onion, 2 sliced bell peppers, 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of paprika, ½ teaspoon of chili flakes, 1 can of chopped tomatoes, 4–6 eggs, salt, pepper, fresh parsley, and crusty bread to serve.
• Instructions:
  1. Put the Dutch oven over medium coals and heat the olive oil. Put in the onions and peppers and cook them until they are soft.
  2. Add the garlic, cumin, paprika, and chili flakes, and cook for another minute, or until the smell is strong.
  3. Add the chopped tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. Make small holes in the sauce and break an egg into each one.
  5. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny.
  6. Add fresh parsley on top and serve right away with crusty bread.

2. Mountain Man Breakfast

This is a classic for a good reason. This hearty scramble of sausage, potatoes, eggs, and cheese will keep you going all day. This is the best recipe for Dutch oven camping food.

• Ingredients: You will need 500g of sausage meat, 4 medium potatoes (cut into cubes), 1 onion (chopped), 8 eggs, 150g of grated cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper.
• Instructions:
  1. Put the sausage meat in the Dutch oven over hot coals and cook it until it turns brown. Take the sausage out and put it to the side, but leave the grease in.
  2. Put the potatoes and onion in the pot and cook them until the potatoes are soft and golden.
  3. Put the sausage back in the pot. Mix the eggs with salt and pepper, and then pour them over the potatoes and sausage.
  4. Stir very gently until the eggs are almost done cooking.
  5. Put the cheese on top and cover it for a minute or two to let it melt. Then serve it hot.

Delicious Dinners for Under the Stars

3. Campfire Chilli Con Carne

You can’t beat a rich, smoky chili that cooks while you relax with a cold drink. You can eat it with rice, tortilla chips, or just a spoon.

• Ingredients: 1 tbsp oil, 500g beef mince, 1 large onion (chopped), 2 cloves garlic (minced), 1 red pepper (chopped), 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1 can kidney beans (drained), 1 can chopped tomatoes, 1 tbsp tomato purée, 1 beef stock cube, salt, and pepper.
• Instructions:
  1. Put the oil in the Dutch oven and heat it up. Then, brown the mince. Get rid of any extra fat.
  2. Add the onion, garlic, and red pepper and cook until they are soft.
  3. Add the spices, then the kidney beans, chopped tomatoes, and tomato puree. Put the stock cube into pieces.
  4. Add spices, mix well, and bring to a simmer. Put the lid on and move the Dutch oven to a place with fewer coals. Let it bubble for at least an hour.

4. No-Fuss Dutch Oven Pizza

You can make pizza at a campsite, yes! This meal is surprisingly simple and fun for everyone to help with.

• Ingredients: Pizza dough that you can buy, pizza sauce, grated mozzarella, and your favorite toppings, like pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, and so on.
• Instructions:
  1. Grease the bottom of the Dutch oven and add some cornmeal or flour on top.
  2. Make the dough fit the bottom of the pot by stretching it.
  3. Put a layer of sauce on top, then cheese and your favorite toppings.
  4. Put the lid on and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden. Use the “ring of fire” method, which means putting more coals on top than on the bottom.

5. Creamy Chicken and Dumplings

This is the kind of food that makes you feel good. Chicken that is soft and falls apart in a creamy sauce, with light, fluffy dumplings on top.

• Ingredients: 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 chopped onion, 2 sliced carrots, 2 sliced celery stalks, 500 grams of chicken breast cut into cubes, 500 milliliters of chicken stock, and 100 milliliters of double cream. For the dumplings, you need 200g of self-raising flour, 100g of cold butter cut into cubes, and a little milk.
• Instructions:
  1. Put the butter in the Dutch oven and heat it up. Then, add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook them until they are soft. Put in the chicken and cook until it’s lightly browned.
  2. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. To make the dumplings, mix the butter into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs. Then, add enough milk to make a soft dough.
  4. Mix the cream into the chicken mixture. Put spoonfuls of the dumpling dough on top of the stew.
  5. Cover and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the dumplings are fluffy and cooked all the way through.

6. Braised Beef Stew with Root Veggies

A hearty, slow-cooked stew that feels like a warm hug after a long day of hiking. A perfect example of a satisfying camping Dutch oven meal.

• Ingredients: 1 kg of cubed stewing beef, 2 tablespoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 onions cut into quarters, 4 carrots cut into pieces, 4 parsnips cut into pieces, 2 cloves of garlic, 500 ml of beef stock, and 1 tablespoon of thyme.
• Instructions:
  1. Put the beef in seasoned flour. In the Dutch oven, heat the oil and brown the beef in small amounts. Put aside.
  2. Put the onions, carrots, and parsnips in the pot and cook them for five minutes.
  3. Put the beef back in the pot with the garlic, stock, and thyme.
  4. Cover and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook it slowly over low heat for 2 to 3 hours, or until the beef is very soft.

7. Easy Lakeside Lasagne

Pasta, rich bolognese sauce, and creamy béchamel, all cooked over the fire. A dish that is hard but very rewarding.

• Ingredients: One serving of your favorite bolognese sauce, one serving of béchamel sauce, fresh or dried lasagna sheets, and a lot of grated mozzarella and parmesan.
• Instructions:
  1. Put oil in the Dutch oven. Put a layer of bolognese on the bottom, then lasagne sheets, then béchamel, and finally cheese.
  2. Keep adding layers until the pot is almost full. Finish with a thick layer of béchamel and cheese.
  3. Cover and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the top and bottom are bubbling and golden. Before serving, let it sit for 10 minutes.

Sweet Treats to Finish the Night

8. Gooey Chocolate Brownie Bake

A rich, fudgy brownie that is pure pleasure. Serve hot, right from the pot, and if you’re glamping, add a scoop of ice cream.

• Ingredients: 1 box of brownie mix, plus the things it needs, which are usually eggs, oil, and water.
• Instructions:
  1. Put baking parchment on the bottom of your Dutch oven.
  2. Follow the instructions on the box to mix the brownie batter.
  3. Put the batter in the Dutch oven that has been prepared.
  4. Put coals on top and bottom of the pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out with moist crumbs on it.

9. Apple and Blackberry Crumble

A rustic, fruity dessert using seasonal fruit, topped with a crunchy oat crumble.

• Ingredients: Four big cooking apples, peeled and chopped; 200g blackberries; and two tablespoons of sugar. For the crumble, you need 150g of plain flour, 100g of butter, 100g of demerara sugar, and 50g of rolled oats.
• Instructions:
  1. Put the apples, blackberries, and sugar in the Dutch oven and cook for 10 minutes, or until the fruit starts to get soft.
  2. In the meantime, make the crumble topping by mixing the sugar and oats into the butter and flour.
  3. Put the crumble topping on top of the fruit.
  4. Cover and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, with coals on the top and bottom, until the top is golden and the fruit is bubbling.

10. Pull-Apart Cinnamon Rolls

Imagine waking up in the middle of a forest and smelling cinnamon rolls that had just been made. This is the best thing to eat while camping.

• Ingredients: One tube of pre-made dough for cinnamon rolls (like Pillsbury).
• Instructions:
  1. Put baking parchment on the bottom of your Dutch oven.
  2. Put the cinnamon rolls in the pot, making sure there is some space between them.
  3. Cover and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, with coals on the top and bottom, until the food is golden brown.
  4. Put the icing on top and serve right away.

Your Campsite Kitchen Awaits

Using a Dutch oven to cook at the campsite can make your meals go from boring to amazing with little effort. These great camping recipes for Dutch ovens aren’t just about making tasty food. They’re also about getting together with friends and family, sharing a hot meal, and making memories around the campfire.

So next time you go on a trip, don’t eat the same old boring sandwiches. Try one of these recipes instead. What do you like to make in a Dutch oven the most? Please leave your best tips and recipes in the comments below!

FAQ:

• What to cook in a Dutch oven while camping?
  You can make a lot of different kinds of food, like casseroles, soups, stews, baked bread, and even desserts like cobbler.
• What is the rule of 3 Dutch ovens?
  When cooking with a Dutch oven, the rule of three means using coals. To figure out how many coals you need, measure the oven’s diameter, add three for the top, and subtract three for the bottom. This will help the heat spread evenly.
• Is a Dutch oven good for camping?
  Yes, a Dutch oven is a great camping tool because it can do a lot of things, lasts a long time, and keeps heat well, which makes it perfect for cooking over a campfire.
• What should not be cooked in a cast-iron Dutch oven?
  Don’t cook foods that are very acidic, like tomato-based dishes or citrus, for a long time because they can take the seasoning off the cast iron.