Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Foil Packet Camping Dinner
Add vegetables, rice and chicken to a piece of aluminum foil and you have an easy camping dinner that cooks right over the campfire.
This chicken foil packet camping dinner is easy to prep, easy to cook and healthy!
This foil packet dinner combines chicken breast, rice, broccoli, peppers and onions and cooks over the fire or over charcoal.
Foil packet dinners can be fully prepped and assembled before your trip so they are ready to cook over the fire.
Or, they also be partially prepped and placed in a large plastic bag. Then, all you need to do at your campsite is place the ingredients in foil, wrap, and cook.
Tricks for the Best Foil Packet Meals
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.
How to wrap foil packets dinners
- 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 sheet of foil.
- Wrap this packet in the same way as the first layer.
How to cook foil packets on the campfire
Cooking over the campfire is also a tad bit unpredictable. The temperature of a campfire can varying significantly, and the placement of the grate and foil packets affects this as well.
I recommend always using a cooking grate when cooking foil packets over the fire. This helps to prevent burning and gives the food time to also cook through steaming.
To cook a foil packet over a campfire, follow the steps below:
- Place foil packets on a cooking grate over a small fire or campfire coals.
- I prefer to place the packet with the meat side down first. This helps cook the meat faster without overcooking the vegetables.
- Use tongs to flip the foil packets halfway through cooking time.
- You can open the packets to check that the contents are cooked through. If not, simply wrap it back up and put it back over the fire.
Camping foil packets can also be cooked over hot charcoal on a grill or cooking grate over coals.
If you do need to put your foil packets directly in the fire, just be sure to rotate them often to prevent burning.
Remember:
- Double wrap each packet with heavy-duty aluminum foil
- Place the foil packets on a cooking grate rather than directly in the fire
- Watch out for steam when you open the packet to check on the food
For another easy foil packet camping dinner, check out my Mediterranean Chicken and Veggies.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken Breasts: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts work well in this recipe, but you can also substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs as well.
- Rice: This recipe calls for you to make your rice ahead of time, but you can also purchase a pre-made rice pouch as use it in this recipe as well. It makes for even easier packing and prep for your trip! You can also substitute cooked quinoa or raw cauliflower rice in place of regular rice.
- Onions: Substitute yellow onions for a similar flavor, or omit the onions and add minced onion seasoning instead.
- Yellow Bell Pepper: The recipe calls for a red pepper for the color it adds, but you can use any type of mild bell pepper.
- Broccoli: I prefer using fresh broccoli in this recipe because I’ve found that frozen broccoli cooks too quickly or lets off too much excess liquid. If you only have frozen, I would recommend adding thawed broccoli to the foil packets rather than frozen.
- Cream of Chicken Soup: The soup cooks down into the rice to create a creamy texture with added flavor. You can also make your own homemade cream of chicken and bring that instead. (This is always my plan, but never actually happens before a trip!)
- Parmesan Cheese: Parmesan adds a nice nutty and salty flavor to the vegetables and chicken, but you can use shredded cheese of a different variety instead.
a note from Jenny
My kids like most of the vegetables in this foil packet meal, with the exception of the onions and peppers.
I usually just make a couple of packets without those veggies for them and put extra in mine!
Looking for other camping foil packet dinners or desserts? Linked are a few of my favorites!
How to make chicken Broccoli Rice Foil Packets
In this section you’ll find a step by step tutorial of how to make this recipe with photos. The full recipe with exact measurements, steps and a printable card can be found at the bottom of the post.
Scroll through the images to see the steps –>
Before Your Camping Trip
This recipe can easily be prepared before your trip. Here are two options for prepping this before your trip:
- Completely assemble the foil packets before your trip. Place the packets in a large ziplock bag so nothing leaks out.
- Prepare all of the ingredients and combine everything in one ziplock bag. Then, assemble the foil packets at your campsite.
I prefer option 2 in order to avoid leaky foil packets that can happen as they sit.
1. Pre-cook the rice
Cook rice to make 2 cups of cooked rice. I recommend undercooking the rice slightly so that it is still slightly chewy with a little bite to it.
It will finish cooking in your foil packet.
2. Dice and season chicken breast
Dice the boneless, skinless chicken breasts into large cubes, approximately 1.5 inches.
Season with salt, pepper, onion powder and paprika. Set aside.
3. Slice and chop vegetables
Slice the onion and bell pepper. Chop the fresh broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
Place all vegetables and steak in a bowl or plastic bag. Pour the marinade on top.
4. Assemble foil packets
Place the onions and peppers on the bottom of the foil packet. Add 1/2 cup of cooked rice to each foil packet.
Add diced chicken breast on top (evenly divided between all four packets). Top with 1/4 of the can of cream of chicken soup.
Add chopped broccoli on top and drizzle with olive oil. Follow the steps listed above to wrap up your foil packet.
At your Campsite
5. Cook over the campfire
Place the foil packets over indirect heat or over a small campfire or charcoal.
Cook for approximately 10 minutes per side. Cooking times are approximate and will greatly depend on campfire temperature.
6. Enjoy
Open the foil packets to check that the chicken is cooked and all the vegetables are tender. Chicken breast should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Top with shredded parmesan cheese. Feel free to eat right out of your foil packet for even easier clean up!
If you make this recipe, let me know but leaving a rating and a comment. Thanks!
Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Foil Packets
Equipment
- heavy duty aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice, cooked
- 1 lb. chicken breast
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
- 1 medium onion
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 3 cups fresh broccoli, chopped (approximately 2 medium heads)
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Cook rice to make two cups, or use pre-cooked rice. I prefer to undercook the rice slightly so it still has a little bite. It will finish cooking to become tender over the campfire.
- Dice chicken breast into 1.5 inch cubes. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.
- Slice onion and peppers. Chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
- Divide the onion and pepper between four pieces of aluminum foil. Add 1/4 cup rice to each piece of foil.
- Add chicken breast pieces to each piece of foil and top with cream of chicken soup. (Split each of these ingredients into four equal parts for each packet.)
- Add broccoli on top and add olive oil on top. Close up foil packet following the directions listed in the post.
Cook the Foil Packets
- Place the foil packets over indirect heat or over a small campfire. Placing the packets in large flames will result in uneven cooking. Foil packets can also be cooked on charcoal.Cook for approximately 10 minutes per side. Cooking times are approximate and will greatly depend on campfire temperature. Internal temperature of chicken breast should be 165 degrees F.
- Sprinkle parmesan into each foil packet. Eat right out of the packet and enjoy!