This pie iron dessert is filled with sweet strawberries with tangy cream cheese for the perfect campfire dessert combination.
We eat dessert, cooked over the campfire, every night when we’re on a camping trip. Thankfully, there are SO many other ways to cook delicious campfire desserts that aren’t the classic s’more.
These campfire strawberry cheesecake hobo pies cook up over the fire in a pie iron and can be easily made with slices of bread or pie crust.
Cast iron pie irons are my family’s favorite way to cook while camping. Although the dessert has many names (pudgy pies, hobo pies, mountain pies, or toasties), the result is a hot, handheld dessert that both kids and adults love.
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Campfire Strawberry Pie Ingredients
- Refrigerated Pie Crust : Be sure to use the sheets of pie crust dough in this recipe instead of the pre-formed pie crusts. You can also use bread instead of pie crusts.
- Strawberry Pie Filling: Instead of canned pie filling, you can substitute one cup of fresh strawberries (sliced) with a tablespoon of sugar.
- Whipped Cream Cheese: Regular cream cheese also works, it’s just much more difficult to spread.
- Butter: Butter helps toast up the pie crust, but you can omit and just rely on the cooking spray to give it a little toast.
a note from Jenny
I made two versions of this hobo pie dessert for my family – one with bread and one with pie crusts. Everyone preferred the pie crust version over the bread (myself included). But, using bread does make it easier, and it still tastes good!
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Equipment To Make Pie Iron Strawberry Cheesecake Pies
Cast Iron Pie Iron (Camp Cooker): Pie irons are made of aluminum or cast iron, but I highly recommend using cast iron as they withstand much higher temperatures for longer periods of time.
However, aluminum pie irons do not require seasoning and can be cleaned like all other dishes, so there are benefits to using them as well.
- Round cast iron camp cooker
- Square cast iron camp cooker
- Double cast iron camp cooker – allows you to make twice as many sandwiches with half the work prepping and cleaning!
- Aluminum pie iron camp cooker – although I don’t like the way they cook as much, they are easier to use because they don’t need to be seasoned and can be cleaned like all your other dishes.
Portable Over the Fire Cooking Grate: While cooking in hot coals or embers is ideal for cast iron pie irons, you can also cook over a fire by using a fire grill grate. It’s perfect for a wide variety of campfire pits and can easily be adapted to work at your site.
It’s also great if you just started your fire and want to get cooking right away! Simply place your pie irons on the grate and turn halfway through cooking.
How to Make Strawberry Cheesecakes While Camping
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 to see step by step photos ->
1. Prep the pies
Spray the inside of both sides of the pie iron with cooking spray. Unroll the pie crusts and cut into four pieces.
2. Assemble the pies
Spread butter on one side of the pie crust and place butter side down in the pie iron. Top with strawberry pie filling and cream cheese. Spread around so it is evenly distributed. Top with another piece of pie crust and spread butter on the top.
3. Cook over campfire
There are two options when cooking with a pie iron: in the coals or over the flame. I find that cooking in the coals is faster, but sometimes can result in over cooking/burning more easily. Cooking on a grate over the fire is usually a few minutes slower, but you have a bit more control over the temperature.
- Hot coals: Place pie iron directly in the hot coals and embers from your fire. If your fire has been going for awhile, simply pull a pile of coals a bit to the side and place the camp cooker on those hot coals.
- Over the flame: Use a grill grate to create a flat cooking surface over the fire. Place the camp cooker on the grate and let it cook.
4. Enjoy!
Remove the sandwich from the pie iron and enjoy! Just be careful – the inside is going to be screaming hot!
Strawberry Cheesecake Pie Iron Dessert
Ingredients
- 2 refrigerated pie crusts
- 1 can strawberry pie filling
- 4 tbsp whipped cream cheese
- 2 tbsp butter, (optional)
Instructions
- Spray both side of the inside of the pie iron with cooking spray.
- Unroll the pie crusts and cut into four pieces. (You may have some excess dough which you could use to form together to make a 5th pie.)
- Spread butter on one side of the pie crust dough (optional) and place the pie crust butter side down into the pie iron.
- Top with a spoonful of strawberry pie filling and approximately one tablespoon of whipped cream cheese. Spread the cream cheese so it's evenly distributed.
- Top with another piece of pie crust. Spread butter on top (optional).
- Close up pie iron and cook over the fire or hot coals for approximately 15 minutes, flipping halfway through.