These campfire meals in foil are the best recipes for an easy camping dinner.
Campfire foil packets are a fun and easy way to cook while camping. All the ingredients cook up together in foil packs on a grate above the campfire or in campfire coals. Or, all of these recipes can also be easily made on a grill.
They are perfect for family camping, because picky eaters can customize which ingredients go in their individual foil packet for a complete meal.
Best of all, you can eat campfire meals in foil right out of the packet, so you won’t need to spend time washing dishes!
After the Recipes, you’ll find my Best tips for Cooking Foil Packets:
You’ll find foil packet recipes with steak, ground beef, chicken, sausage, seafood and veggies, so no matter what your family is in the mood for, there’s a hobo pack recipe here for you, and your whole family!
Steak and Beef Foil Packet Dinners
Let’s start with the popular ingredient that’s found in a traditional hobo packet meal with these beef foil pack meals.
Steak and Potato Campfire Foil Packets
Hamburger Foil Packets
Garlic Butter Steak & Mushroom Foil Pack Recipe
Chicken Foil Packet Meals
Chicken is my go-to protein for foil packet dinners. I’ve found that chicken thighs cook up perfectly in foil packets because they retain their moisture better than chicken breast or sliced chicken, especially for campfire cooking.
Mediterranean Chicken and Veggies Foil Pack
Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Foil Packets
Caprese Chicken Foil Pack with Pesto and Vegetables
Chicken Bacon Ranch Foil Packs
Honey Dijon Chicken Foil Packets
Foil Packet Parmesan Chicken & Veggies
Grilled Caprese Chicken Little Potato Foil Packs
Sausage Foil Packet Dinners
A no-fail option for camping foil packets because all you need to do is worry about is heating the ingredients up!
Sausage Pierogi Foil Packets
Sausage and Veggies Hobo Dinner Foil Packets
Kielbasa and Vegetable Foil Packets
Seafood Foil Dinner Packets
Seafood like shrimp and fish cook up very quickly, so you’ll notice these recipe contain quick-cooking (or pre-cooked) veggies.
Cajun Shrimp Foil Packets
Grilled Shrimp Boil Packet
Baked Cod In Foil With Vegetables and Chimichurri Sauce
Salmon and Potatoes in Foil
Baked Salmon with Asparagus and Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce
Vegetable Foil Packets for Camping
These hobo dinner packets are meatless and a perfect vegetarian meal option when you’re camping.
Curry Cauliflower with Yogurt Sauce
Pesto Butter Veggie Foil Packets
Zucchini Parmesan Foil Packets
Foil and Parchment Paper Tips
Due to the high temperatures when cooking over the campfire, it’s important to use heavy duty foil to prevent burning.
Additionally, double-wrapping the foil packets helps to create a tight seal which improves the steaming process. Plus, you won’t lose any of the cooking juices when flipping if it’s double-wrapped.
a note from Jenny
There have been studies showing that small amounts of aluminum from foil can leach into food, especially when it’s cooked at high temperatures (and a campfire is very hot!).
To minimize this, you can use a layer of unbleached parchment paper first, and then two layers of aluminum foil. Just be sure to cook over a grate if you choose this option, because if not, the paper will burn inside the packet when placed on hot coals.
Be sure to spray the inside sheet of foil or parchment paper with cooking spray so the ingredients don’t stick. This is especially true for recipes with cheese!
How to Fold a Foil Packet
Using two layers of foil sheets will prevent burning and diminish the smoky, campfire taste that can sometimes happen when cooking over the campfire.
- Lay a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil flat. Add the ingredients to the center of the foil, in a rectangle shape. (It doesn’t matter which side, shiny or dull, faces out!)
- Pull both long sides over the food, toward the center. Fold the edges over each other twice for a tight seam.
- Fold both ends in and roll up towards the center of the packet.
- This creates the first layer of your foil packet.
- Place the packet, seam side down, onto a second foil sheet.
- Wrap this packet in the same way as the first layer.
Tricks for how to cook Foil packets
You can cook any of these foil pack recipes using a grill or campfire. Here are a few tips for cooking using each of these methods.
No matter what, be sure to rotate and flip the foil packets while cooking to avoid burning.
Cook Foil Packets Over the Campfire
When using the campfire to cook tin foil packets, you can place an elevated grate over a larger campfire to cook the packets on top of.
If you don’t have a grate, let the campfire burn for about 10 minutes and then pull some of the hot coals to the side of the firepit. Place foil packs right on top of those hot coals to cook them.
Be sure to use fire gloves or long tongs to remove the foil-pack meals from the hot fire.
Cook Foil Packets On a Grill
Foil packets can be cooked on a gas or charcoal grill. Using a grill does help create more even cooking as opposed to a campfire, because you have more control over the hot spots.
Length of Time to Cook Foil Packets
Of course, the type of ingredients will determine how long to cook your tin foil dinners in campfire. Most types of seafood will cook fairly quickly, along with meats that have been sliced. Bone-in meats take longer to cook, especially bone-in chicken. Precooked meats like sausage only need enough time to heat through.
The trick for evenly cooking the perfect foil packet dinner is to include ingredients that take approximately the same amount of time to cook. Each of the recipes in this post have specific tips for cooking time depending on the ingredients.
Of course, using a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the meat is the best way to make sure it’s full cooked.
No matter what, cook times will vary depending on the temperature of your campfire or coals.
Hopefully you’ll enjoy one of these easy foil packet dinners on your next camping trip. Happy camping!