23 One Pot Camping Meals
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Easy to cook and easy to clean, these one pot camping meals are perfect for your next camping trip.
We love cooking outside, but unfortunately, many home recipes don’t lend themselves well to being cooked at a campground. For most car campers, the relatively limited camp kitchen setup (two-burner stove, no oven, no microwave, no electronic appliances) means you need to be a little more creative with the way you cook.
Thankfully, there’s a simple solution: one pot meals!
One-pot camping meals (or one-skillet meals) can be made with just a single piece of camp cookware. Instead of using separate pans, for example, to boil water for pasta, simmer a sauce, and sauté vegetables, one-pot meals simplify the process and make the camp cooking experience so much easier!
We love making one-pot meals when we’re camping, and here are just a few of the reasons why:
Less Mess: One of the biggest advantages of one-pot cooking is having fewer dishes to wash at the end of the meal. At home, this is nice. But when you’re cooking at a campsite, without a dishwasher (or even a sink!), not having to scrub multiple pots and pans at the end of the night means you get to spend less time cleaning and more time hanging out in front of your campfire.
Timing: Every home cook knows how difficult it can be to get each part of a recipe ready at exactly the right time. This problem can be even worse at a campsite where you can’t just pop something in the oven to keep it warm. By cooking a meal in one pot, everything is ready at once.
Scalability: Whether you’re cooking for two or an entire trail crew, one-pot meals can be easily scaled depending on the size of your group. Although you might find you need a bigger pot!
We’ve collected a variety of one-pot recipes for you to try out on your next camping trip. Spend more time enjoying your time outdoors and less time doing dishes! Enjoy!
Sausage & Tortellini Soup
Plump tortellini and spicy Italian sausage floating in a rich, luxurious broth—this quick and easy tortellini soup is one of the coziest one-pot camp meals you can make!
Blueberry Banana Pancakes
Caramelized bananas and bright, juicy blueberries create an extra special twist on a camping breakfast classic.
Mountain Breakfast Skillet
Fried potatoes, peppers, onions, cheesy scrambled eggs, and sausages—what more could a hungry camper ask for in a breakfast? This mountain breakfast skillet has it all!
One Pot Chili Mac
Blending the best of both worlds, chili mac combines the smoky and spicy flavor of chili with the rich and creamy texture of mac & cheese. It’s a camping classic, and using this recipe, you can make it using just a single pot!
Dutch Oven French Toast
This Dutch oven French toast bake is a great breakfast idea when feeding the family. Toasty edges and tender on the inside, it’s everything you love about French toast—just a lot more of it!
Want to skip the dishes entirely? Try this Foil Packet French Toast instead!
Sloppy Joes
Sloppy Joes are perfect for lunches and dinners at camp! Our recipe gives instructions on how to make them at home before your trip, so all you have to do when mealtime rolls around is heat them up in a pot over your camp stove. Want a plant-based version? Check this one out!
Campfire Nachos
A beloved happy hour classic, now being served at a campground near you. What better way to end the day outside than with a cold beer, warm campfire, and a big pot full of cheesy nachos?
Dutch Oven Chicken and Dumplings
This chicken and dumplings recipe is loaded with tender chicken and veggies and topped with fluffy dumplings. It’s made in a Dutch oven for a one-pot prep that takes just about a half hour to make (but tastes like it simmered for hours!).
Dutch Oven Chicken Marbella
Sweet, savory, crispy, and saucy, this Dutch oven recipe for Chicken Marbella delivers a “gourmet” campfire experience but without any of the work.
Dutch Baby
With a custardy interior and butter-fried golden edges, this Dutch Baby pancake is one of our favorite camping breakfasts. All you need is a Dutch oven!
Red Beans & Rice
Smoky, spicy, and deeply satisfying, this hearty one-pot meal is a camp-friendly adaptation of red beans and rice.
Instant Pot Chili
Make this chili in an Instant Pot at home before your trip, and you’ll be treated to a flavor-packed meal that tastes like you’ve been cooking it over the campfire for hours… but really only needs to be heated up in one pot over the stove. It’s loaded with beef, bacon, beans, and savory spices.
Cast Iron Frittata
This cast iron frittata is bursting with the summer flavors of ripe tomatoes and fresh basil and is topped with melty cheese. It cooks in one skillet right over your campfire or camp stove.
Sweet Potato Peanut Stew
If you’re looking for something hearty, comforting, AND healthy the next time you’re out camping, you need to try this vegan, West African-inspired sweet potato peanut stew.
One Pot Protein Pasta
Combining red lentil pasta with garlicky sauteed kale, this super easy one-pot camping pasta delivers a ton of protein while still being vegetarian-friendly.
Beef Stroganoff
This one-pan beef stroganoff is a camping-friendly adaptation of the classic recipe, featuring steak, mushrooms, and noodles all coated in a creamy sauce.
Chilaquiles
Crispy tortillas simmered in a spicy tomato sauce and topped with a few eggs. Chilaquiles takes less than 30 minutes to make and is vegetarian, too!
Chickpea Hash
A protein-packed update to breakfast hash, this chickpea and vegetable breakfast skillet is a great way to jumpstart your morning.
Cheesy Asparagus One Pot Orzo
Quick-cooking orzo, lots of vegetables, and melty cheese! This one pot orzo is a quick and easy meal that never fails to please.
Dutch Oven Chili & Cornbread
Your Dutch oven does double duty with this Dutch oven chili recipe! Cook up a big pot of chili and a tasty cornbread topping all in one.
Dutch Oven Enchiladas
These Dutch oven enchiladas are packed with onions and peppers, beans, and cheese, making them an awesome vegetarian meal that cooks right on the campfire.
Dutch Oven Blueberry Cobbler
With a delicious blueberry filling, a fluffy biscuit topping, and a dollop of whipped cream, this Dutch Oven Blueberry Cobbler is a perfect dessert to enjoy around the campfire.
Quick and Easy Apple Crisp
This no-bake apple crisp is designed to be an afterthought of a dessert. Something so simple that you’ll be hard-pressed to come up with a reason not to make it!
Hungry for more?
Check out these easy camping meals, great camping dinners, and the best camping desserts to share around the fire!
This post was first published in March 2017 and updated in 2025 with additional recipes.
These all look amazing! Perfect timing too as I’m going camping next weekend with my sisters. Might just have to test out those campfire nachos!!
Wow those vegan kabobs are an amazing idea, for camping and for home! Love this post!!
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I absolutely love the one pot meals, in particular I love just wrapping food in tin foil and throwing it in the fire. Flavors that intertwine give you the opportunity to make some very unique dishes that aren’t only healthy but delicious! Great article!
Thanks! We’ve been meaning to develop some tin foil packets recipes this summer. Do you have any favorite ingredients combos we should try?
Wow, some amazing recipes and photos to go along. Thanks for taking the time to share them with us. We will definitely book mark this and try them out! Found your article on Pinterest. 🙂
Thanks! We’ll be adding more soon too. So stay tuned!
What great recipes and tips! We love to camp, and we are super envious of your journey and adventures! We like to make as much of our meals before hitting the road. We use a foodsaver to vacuum seal the meals and then freeze them. They usually keep for several days.
Interesting. We’ve never used a foodsaver or tried vacuum sealing meals before. So does it help it keep longer or just compress it?
Either way, definitely, we would like to check out at some point. Thanks for sharing.
Do you typically make your cast iron meals over an open fire or on stovetop? Great recipes! Have been follow you on Instagram for some time now. We are getting ready for a three month road trip and will certainly be trying some of these 🙂
Most of the time we cook on a camp stove, but when have the opportunity, we like cooking over an open fire. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of state / county wide fire bans during the past couple of years – especially out west, so often times a campfire isn’t allowed. Excited for your road trip! Sounds like it’s going to be a blast.
Love your recipes! Everything looks so fresh and yummy. Can’t wait to try them. Thanks for sharing.