Hamburger Foil Packets for the Grill or Campfire

This hobo foil packet dinner combines potatoes, vegetables and a cheeseburger to make a complete campfire meal.

Meat and potatoes cooked over the campfire is my idea of the perfect camping dinner. It brings me back to the meals I would eat as a kid while camping. Now, my own kids love these hobo foil packets, and I love how easy they are to make AND clean up.

Best of all, these hamburger foil packets can be cooked over the grill or campfire and taste just like a burger and fries meal.

Campfire foil packets are a great choice for easy camping dinners, however sometimes I’ve found that the ingredients can easily get overcooked, undercooked, or a combination of both.

Cooking potatoes and ground beef burgers in one foil packet can be tricky to get right, especially over a campfire. Pre-cooking the potatoes before adding them to the foil packet will ensure that the potatoes are cooked through without over-cooking the burger.

Here are 20 more easy camping foil packet meals.

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

1. 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!)
2. Pull both long sides over the food, toward the center. Fold the edges over each other twice for a tight seam.
3. Fold both ends in and roll up towards the center of the packet.
4. This creates the first layer of your foil packet.
5. Place the packet, seam side down, onto a second sheet of foil.
6. 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 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.

You can also place foil packets directly on top of hot campfire coals after the fired has died down.

To cook a foil packet over a campfire, follow the steps below:

1. Place foil packets on a cooking grate over the fire, or on top of campfire embers or charcoal.
2. I prefer to place the packet with the meat side down first. This helps cook the meat faster without overcooking the vegetables.
3. Use tongs to flip the foil packets halfway through cooking time.
4. 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. Spread coals in a flat layer and place the packets on top. Flip halfway during cook time.

Sausage and pierogi packets or Mediterranean chicken and veggie foil packets are two more easy camping dinner ideas that can be prepped before your trip and cook right over the campfire.

Ingredient Notes

• Potatoes: Be sure to pre-cook the potatoes before adding them to the foil packet. If you don’t want to pre-cook them, you can also grate the potatoes and add them right to the packet.
• Ground Beef: I love using onion soup mix to season my burgers while camping because it’s so easy, but when I’m at home, my favorite burger seasoning combination is salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and a little Worcestershire sauce.
• Veggie Seasoning Blend: Rosemary, garlic powder, salt and pepper is my favorite blend for this recipe, but you can substitute the rosemary with other seasonings such as thyme or Italian seasoning as well.

Looking for other camping foil packet dinners or desserts? Linked are a few of my favorites!

How to Make This Recipe Before Your Trip

To make this meal even easier to prepare at your campsite, you can prep the full packets before your trip, or you can prep the individual ingredients for easy assembly when it’s time to start cooking.

• Prepare the foil packets following the directions in the recipe (be sure to pre-cook the potatoes to avoid oxidation). Store the packets in the fridge or cooler until ready to cook.
• Pre-boil the potatoes and slice the carrots and onions before your trip. Season and store in a sealed container. Season the ground beef with onion soup mix and store in a sealed container. Keep both items in your cooler or fridge until you’re read to make the foil packs.

Steps to Make Campfire Hamburger Hobo Foil Packets

1. Pre-cook the potatoes

The potatoes are the ingredient that take the longest to cook in this foil packet. To avoid raw potatoes or overcooked steak, I recommend boiling the potatoes before adding to the foil packet. (This also prevents the cut potatoes from oxidizing and turning black, if you choose to make these before your trip. )

To do this, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the water to infuse flavor. Place the diced potatoes in the boiling water for 6 minutes. Remove from the water and run under cold water to stop them from cooking.

If you want to prep everything at your campsite, you can grate the potatoes and put them into the packet raw. Or, you can add raw, one inch pieces and plan to remove the hamburger once it’s cooked. Then, place the potatoes back in a sealed foil packet to continue cooking until tender.

2. Slice the vegetables

Dice the carrots and onions. Add a little olive oil and season with rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

3. Assemble foil packets

Spray a piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray, and place the onions, carrots and potatoes on top. Add one burger patty on top of the vegetables.

Follow the steps listed above to form your foil packet.

4. Cook over the campfire

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 over pieces of charcoal (see notes above)

Cook for approximately 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Cooking times are approximate and will greatly depend on campfire temperature.

Open the packet and add sliced cheese to the top. Lightly close up the foil packet and continue cooking for about 3 minutes until the cheese is melted.

4. Add toppings and enjoy!

Top with your favorite cheeseburger toppings and dig in!

Let me know if you make this recipe on your next trip by leaving a rating and a comment. Thanks!!