Savouring delicious meals under the sun or a sky full of stars is one of the many joys of summer. And enjoying campfire food made directly in the dancing flames or over the simmering embers is the epitome of summer meals. Building a campfire at home, at a campsite, or at the beach in the great summer weather lets you enjoy all the season has to offer and make great memories with loved ones.
Planning an easy, yet mouth-watering menu of great campfire food for family and friends can take this classic outdoor experience to a whole new level. The key to good campfire cooking lies in mastering a few essential aspects: outdoor cooking skills, carefully selected ingredients, and a collection of versatile recipes. Below, we take you through each one, in turn, to prepare you for your next campfire night.
Easy campfire foods for the whole family
When you think about campfire food, images of toasting marshmallows or hot dogs on sticks might immediately come to mind. While these are timeless classics, campfire cuisine can be so much more than just simple snacks. It is a chance to turn your camping trip or outdoor excursion to a nearby beach or forest, or simply out into the backyard, into a culinary adventure. Everything from snacks to a rustic three-course meal can be prepared over the fire. So, continue reading to learn more about some of the best food to cook on a campfire.
Campfire food ideas for main dishes – perfectly grilled meat and fish
Proteins like meat and fish are examples of the best campfire foods. Most often they hold up well to the intense heat, and their savoury nature lends them well to being imbued with great smoky flavours from the fire. When it comes to selecting your main dishes for a cosy day or night of outdoor cooking, there are fortunately many good campfire food recipes to choose from. Allow us to tell you about some of our favourite ones.
Try, for example, classics like grilled pork roast or grilled spareribs. Both are ideal for campfire cooking. The intense heat from the campfire brings out the smoky flavours that beautifully complement the naturally sweet-savoury, tender pork.
Lamb skewers, like other types of skewered campfire food, are easy to make over the fire. Cooking them this way imbues the already flavourful meat with a lot of smoky, summer taste. Lamb is known for its earthy, gamey flavour that makes it pair nicely with a range of different seasonings like chilli, garlic, or fresh mint.
You can also go for a classic like a burger with grilled cheese. This campfire food idea offers a delectable twist on a classic burger with the real star of the show being grilled cheese. Its firmness allows it to be cooked over high heat without melting, allowing it to absorb the characteristic smokiness of campfire cooking.
Another classic is grilled pizza. Made with tender squash, rich mozzarella, and salty salad cheese, this summer pizza is delectable. Use a pizza stone over the flames or embers and savour the crispy crust and slightly charred, smoky flavour that is simply delicious.
Another campfire food option is grilled salmon. The rich fish is robust and firm enough to withstand the high temperature while absorbing the delightful smoky flavours. The tender, flaky fish is packed with great summer flavour and makes for excellent campfire food for someone who wants to mix things up.
Elevate your campfire night recipes with homemade marinades
An easy way to make your campfire barbecue selections even better is to infuse them with great flavour before cooking them. The simplest way to do so involves marinating them with a tasty BBQ sauce, which also contributes to the tenderness of, for example, the meat to be marinated.
Try our BBQ marinade for your campfire food, for example, grilled meat and vegetables. The Greek yoghurt in this marinade acts as a great tenderiser, ensuring you get sumptuous pieces of meat from the fire. Fiery chilli, fresh coriander, and minced garlic are brought together to create a flavourful marinade that is full of heat, freshness, and depth.
If you are looking for a marinade with more heat or something that will enhance the characteristic smoky flavour of your campfire food, you should try our chipotle marinade. Made with flavourful chipotle paste, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, thyme, and paprika, it is spicy, smoky, and salty. It has a great depth and is savoury but balanced as ketchup and brown sugar are used to tie the flavours together.
Easy and delicious campfire side dishes
Campfire food is only as good as its side dishes. A good dish makes every main course better, enhancing flavours and providing contrasts in taste or texture. And, of course, there are plenty of side dishes you can make on the campfire, too.
Grilled corn on the cob is an easy campfire food side dish; perfect for cooking in the husk or wrapped in aluminium foil with dollops of butter. The result is tender, juicy kernels with a natural sweetness complemented by the smokiness from the fire. Slathered with homemade chilli butter with big, bold summer flavours like chilli, coriander, and lime, this classic campfire food is taken to new heights.
And of course, we cannot miss bread on a stick over the campfire. The heat from the fire helps create this treat’s signature texture with a slightly crispy exterior and a delightfully soft interior. Biting into homemade, warm campfire bread is wonderful, showcasing so much more depth in flavour than regularly baked bread. Serve it straight from the stick filled with grilled sausage, ketchup, or, for a sweet twist, raspberry jam.
Pimientos de Padrón can make for a tasty little side dish to accompany any campfire food ideas. The small, green peppers taste slightly sweet and nutty. Great as a side dish, you can also use the grilled peppers as a snack or appetizer, served simply with a sprinkling of flaky salt to enhance their savouriness.
Sweet Treats – easy campfire food ideas for dessert
Typical campfire food will probably get you thinking about our suggestions above – meat, fish, vegetables, marinades, side dishes, etc. However, you can quite easily make a complete, tasty campfire food menu with a dessert that is also cooked on the fire.
One delicious campfire food suggestion is fried bananas. When these naturally sweet fruits are cooked this way, they are caramelised in a wonderful way that makes their sweetness deeper and more complex. The result is a lovely, sweet treat with notes of that characteristic campfire smokiness.
Grilled nectarines are another fantastic campfire food that makes for a lovely dessert to round off the meal. Sun-ripened nectarines beautifully exemplify the abundance of flavour summer has to offer and cooking them over the fire only enhances their sweet-tangy flavour. It caramelises their surface to up their natural sweetness.
A fun campfire food like bread on a stick can also be served as a dessert. With a few adjustments to the traditional recipe, you can turn the normally savoury snack into a sweet treat. A great way to do this is to add pieces of chocolate throughout the dough to get a gooey burst of chocolate. Or you can serve the campfire bread with a sweet dipping sauce like jam, chocolate sauce, or hazelnut spread.
7 tips for campfire cooking
We hope you feel inspired and ready to try our different campfire food ideas. Because now it is time for some tips. These will make it easier to select the best campfire food and cook it to perfection.
Prepare as much as possible beforehand
Preparing the ingredients beforehand can save you a lot of time and hassle. It also means you can bring fewer kitchen items along with you in case you are not building your campfire close to home. Consider pre-marinating meats for a few hours or overnight and chopping vegetables at home. This will give you more time to relax and enjoy the special campfire atmosphere.
Also, remember that cooking this way can take longer than cooking at home on a stove. So, allow yourself plenty of time to prepare your campfire food without feeling rushed.
Choose campfire-friendly recipes
Choosing outdoor-friendly recipes is an important part of preparing for a campfire night with cooking. Campfires call for special consideration in terms of the types of foods and cooking methods that will work best. Simplicity and adaptability are key as well as considering foods that are easy to carry to and from the campfire, easy to clean up, and durable so they can withstand the heat without falling apart or getting overcooked. And, of course, foods that will taste delicious with a campfire’s smoky notes and aromas.
Experiment with foil packets
Foil packet cooking, also known as pouch cooking, is an easy and efficient method for cooking campfire food. You can combine meats, vegetables, and spices in a foil packet and allow the entire meal to cook together. And, with a generous dollop of butter, everything will get even better. It is easy and can make clean-up a breeze.
Cutting the ingredients into small, uniform pieces is a great way to ensure everything cooks evenly and at the same pace. You can easily prepare these foil packets ahead of time, making them perfect for camping trips or campfire nights – also with a large group of people.
Skewer Cooking
Skewer cooking is another easy way to cook a variety of campfire food. Since it does not require pans or pots, it does not require you to bring a lot of equipment with you and makes cleaning up easier. This style of campfire cooking can be a fun and engaging activity, especially if you are cooking with kids. Everyone can prepare their skewer with their choice of ingredients. Skewers are great for cooking small chunks of meat, seafood, vegetables, and even fruits like pineapple or peach.
Remember to soak wooden skewers in water before using them to prevent burning. If you are using metal skewers when cooking campfire stick food, remember that the skewers will heat up quite a lot.
Use the right cookware and cooking techniques
Campfire cooking is not just limited to grilling. You can also use your campfire for boiling, roasting, or even baking. Get creative with the techniques to add variety to your campfire food meals.
It is important to have the right kind of cookware. Cast iron pots and pans are ideal for campfire cooking. They are durable, hold heat well, and the high heat of the fire will not damage them like it might regular kitchen cookware. Dutch ovens are a good choice for cooking campfire food and can be used to prepare a range of dishes like stews, soups, and even bread.
Remember essential cooking tools like tongs, a good knife, a cutting board, and possibly a grate if you are planning to cook directly over the fire or coals. If you plan to use skewers or foil, remember to pack these as well.
Control the temperature
Controlling the temperature when cooking campfire food is crucial. Unlike a kitchen stove or oven, campfire cooking requires more finesse and experience as well as an understanding of the heat source.
Avoid cooking over large, open flames as they are difficult to control and can easily burn food. Instead, cooking campfire food over hot coals or embers from wood provides a more consistent, controllable heat source.
To create a bed of hot coals, let the fire burn down until the flames subside and you are left with red-hot embers. The layer of ash acts as a natural diffuser, spreading the heat evenly. For steady, medium heat, spread the coals out evenly under your grill or cookware. For more heat, rake the coals closer together, and for less heat, spread the coals further apart.
Another way to control the heat is by using different cooking zones. Move coals to one side to create a hotter zone and leave fewer coals on the other side for a cooler zone. This way, for example, you can sear meat on the hotter side and then move it to the cooler side to cook through more gently or keep cooked campfire food warm without it burning.
With attention and practice, you will be able to cook a wide range of campfire food successfully over the fire in no time.
Enjoy summer in the best way possible: making and savouring food for bonfires
As the sun dips below the horizon, the enchanting glow of a bonfire becomes the centrepiece of an evening outdoors. Gathering around a bonfire is a cherished summertime activity, a union of tradition, recreation, and culinary exploration. With the scent of wood smoke mingling with tantalising aromas, it is a time to share stories, create memories, and, most importantly, savour some incredible bonfire foods.
The comfort of a crackling fire and the shared anticipation of a feast turn an ordinary evening into an unforgettable experience. From the simplest of snacks to the most elaborate of meals, bonfire food spans an astonishing range of tastes and textures. The beauty of bonfire food recipes lies in their adaptability and their ability to turn cooking into a communal activity that is as cosy as the flickering fire itself.
