Camping Food Foil Packets: How to Make Them + 15 Easy Recipes

Camping food foil packets are about the easiest hot meal you can make outdoors. Chop the ingredients at home, seal them in heavy-duty foil and set the packets on hot coals. Twenty minutes later dinner is ready, and cleanup means crumpling up the foil. Below: how to build a packet that won't burn or leak, 15 foil packet meals for camping, and a short Dutch oven section for bigger groups.

For general fire-cooking skills, see our campfire cooking guide. For more menu ideas, browse camping meal ideas.

How to Make a Foil Packet

A good foil packet steams the food inside it, so the fold matters as much as the filling.

1. Use heavy-duty foil. Regular foil tears on grates and coals. Tear off a sheet about 18 inches long, or double up two sheets of regular foil.
2. Grease the center. Spray or brush oil on the middle of the sheet so potatoes and cheese don't stick.
3. Pile food in the middle. Keep the pile flat and roughly even, about 1–2 inches thick. Leave several inches of bare foil on every side.
4. Add moisture. A pat of butter, a splash of broth or juicy vegetables like zucchini and tomatoes create the steam that cooks everything evenly.
5. Fold the "tent." Bring the long edges together over the food and fold them down twice. Leave a little air space above the food. Then roll each short end in tightly.
6. Label it. Write names on the foil with a marker so everyone gets the right packet.

Cooking Times and Heat

Cook over coals, not flames. Let the fire burn down for 30–45 minutes until you have a bed of glowing embers (our guide on how to start a campfire covers building a fire that makes good coals). Set packets on a grate just above the coals or straight on the edge of the ember bed.

• Thin-sliced vegetables, fish, shrimp: 8–12 minutes
• Chicken pieces, sausage, ground beef: 15–20 minutes
• Diced raw potatoes: 20–30 minutes, flipping once

Open one packet carefully with tongs and check before serving. Steam escapes fast. A camp stove griddle or grill also works if the fire ban is on.

Prep at Home

Every recipe below can be assembled at home and frozen flat in zip-top bags. The frozen packets help chill your cooler on day one (see our best camping cooler picks). Pre-cooking potatoes in the microwave for 3–4 minutes cuts cook time almost in half.

Dinner Foil Packet Recipes

1. Hobo dinner. This is the classic: a ground beef patty, sliced potatoes, carrots and onion, with salt, pepper and a pat of butter. Cook 25 minutes.
2. Sausage and peppers. Sliced smoked sausage, bell peppers, onion and baby potatoes, tossed with Cajun seasoning. Because the sausage is precooked, it only needs 15–20 minutes.
3. Lemon garlic chicken. Chicken breast cut into chunks, green beans, lemon slices, garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook 20 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F.
4. Shrimp boil. Shrimp, corn rounds, sausage coins and small potatoes with Old Bay and butter. Par-cook the potatoes first, then cook the packet 10–12 minutes.
5. Salmon and asparagus. A salmon fillet on asparagus spears with lemon, dill and butter. It's quick and impressive at 10–12 minutes.

Breakfast Foil Packets

These are a nice break from the skillet. See our camping breakfast ideas for more morning options.

6. Hash brown scramble. Frozen hash browns, diced ham, onion and cheese. Crack two eggs over the top just before sealing and cook 15 minutes.
7. Breakfast sausage and potatoes. Precooked links, diced potatoes and peppers. Cook 20 minutes.
8. Cinnamon French toast bites. Cube bread, then soak it in egg, milk and cinnamon. Seal the packet and cook 10 minutes. Serve with maple syrup.

Veggie Foil Packets

9. Garlic parmesan potatoes. Baby potatoes halved, garlic, olive oil, parmesan and parsley. Cook 25 minutes.
10. Mexican street corn. Corn on the cob brushed with mayo and chili powder. After cooking, add cotija and lime. Cook 15 minutes.
11. Mediterranean veggies. Zucchini, cherry tomatoes, red onion, chickpeas, oregano and feta. Cook 12–15 minutes.

Kid-Friendly Foil Packets

Kids love building their own packets. Set out the ingredients and let them choose. It's an easy way to get them involved, and there are more ideas in our guide to camping with kids.

12. Pizza packets. Diced bread or tortilla pieces, pizza sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni. Cook 8–10 minutes until the cheese melts.
13. Cheesy hot dog and tater tots. Sliced hot dogs, frozen tater tots and shredded cheddar. Cook 15 minutes.

Dessert Foil Packets

14. Campfire banana boats. Slit a banana lengthwise in its peel. Stuff it with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows, wrap it in foil and cook 5–8 minutes.
15. Apple crisp. Diced apples, cinnamon, brown sugar and a crumble of oats and butter. Cook 15 minutes, then top with granola for crunch.

Foil Packet Tips and Mistakes to Avoid

• Keep packets out of open flames. The bottom burns while the top stays raw.
• Cut dense foods smaller. Potatoes and carrots need thinner slices than zucchini.
• Pack out every scrap of foil. Foil doesn't burn. It just breaks into litter.

Dutch Oven Camping Food

When you're feeding a group, a cast-iron Dutch oven picks up where foil leaves off. Set the oven on a ring of coals and put more coals on the lid. A rough rule for 350°F is two times the oven's diameter in briquettes, with about two-thirds of them on top.

Easy Dutch oven camping food includes:

• Chili or stew: brown the meat, add everything else and simmer for an hour.
• Cobbler: canned peaches topped with cake mix and butter, baked for 45 minutes.
• Lasagna: layer no-boil noodles, sauce, ricotta and mozzarella, and bake for 45 minutes.
• Breakfast casserole: hash browns, sausage, eggs and cheese.

A Dutch oven is heavy, so it suits car camping more than backpacking. Our camping cooking gear guide covers what else to pack.

Recommended Gear

A few items make foil packet cooking easier:

• MalloMe Camping Cookware Mess Kit: a pot and pan for heating sides, boiling cleanup water and backup cooking if the fire won't cooperate.
• UCO 4-Piece Camping Mess Kit: a plate, bowl and 3-in-1 spork. Unwrap your packet onto the plate without juices running everywhere.
• Black Diamond Spot 400-R Headlamp: dinner usually finishes after dark, and a hands-free light helps you check doneness and handle hot foil safely.

Add heavy-duty foil, long tongs, heat-resistant gloves and a marker, and you're set.