3 Easy Camping Recipes Using One Pan

Campfire cooking doesn’t have to mean relying on the same basic meals you’ve always made. With a carbon steel pan and these easy camping recipes, you can have a delicious feast in a cinch.

3 min read

Jennifer Billock

May 03, 2023

I don’t know about you, but when I camp, I like to glam it up a little bit. Not in a glamping type way — I’ll take a sleeping bag and pop-up tent, thank you — but in the food I eat. I like to make unique but easy camping recipes, something fancier than the rustic (but fun!) hot dogs on a stick. To make it easy on myself, I always bring my carbon steel pan for camping. It’s an essential part of a proper campsite meal.

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Perks of a Carbon Steel Pan

Here’s the deal: A carbon steel pan makes cooking easier and more fun, whether you’re at home or on the road. It cooks evenly, it’s perfect for using on every cooking surface, and it’s lightweight—so it’s super easy to bring along on a trip. I like to use mine on the stovetop or over an open fire. It may just be my imagination, but when you cook with the skillet over an open flame, the natural seasoning on it seems to get an even better depth of flavor.

Why Use a Carbon Steel Pan for Camping

When cooking up camp stove recipes on summer vacation or on a weekend getaway any time of year, a preseasoned carbon steel pan is ideal—plus it can be stored and transported easily thanks to a detachable heat-resistant handle that folds over onto the pan itself. The skillet’s nonstick surface only gets slicker with time, as long as you keep it in good shape.

Put your carbon steel pan to good use with these three easy camping recipes, which I’ve adapted from my own family’s favorites.

Easy Campfire Cornbread

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Ingredients

Easy Campfire Cornbread:

1 cup medium-grind yellow cornmeal

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon honey

Directions:

Before you leave home, mix your batter: Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix in buttermilk and egg until fully incorporated. Put in a portable container and refrigerate until you leave for the campsite, then pack into a cooler.

Preheat pan over campfire or on camp stove.

Melt 1 stick of butter into the pan, swirling it around so it coats the entire thing. Let it brown but not burn.

Pour batter into pan, then carefully cover tightly with foil or with a lid. Let cook for 15 minutes. If not done, cook for five-minute increments until done.

Remove from heat. Put 1 tablespoon butter on top of the bread and let melt. Drizzle with honey. Cut and serve.

Campfire Cinnamon S’mores Skillet

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Ingredients

Campfire Cinnamon S’mores Skillet:

2 12-ounce bags semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter

1 16-ounce bag mini marshmallows

1 box cinnamon graham crackers

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips and butter together in carbon steel skillet over campfire, stirring frequently.

Sprinkle on mini marshmallows and let cook until they’re gooey.

Crumble 2 sheets of cinnamon graham crackers and sprinkle on top. Use remaining graham crackers to scoop up chocolate and marshmallow mix to eat.

Open-Fire Chicken Enchiladas

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Serving for 5 people

Ingredients

Open-Fire Chicken Enchiladas:

1 medium onion, diced

1 small red bell pepper, diced

1 small green pepper, diced

1 tablespoon diced garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning

1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 10-ounce can red enchilada sauce

5 flour or corn tortillas

1 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese

Sour cream, to serve

Directions:

Make the enchilada filling in your pan over the campfire: Sauté onion and peppers in oil or butter until caramelized, then add garlic and taco seasoning and sauté for another minute. Mix together with chicken until well blended. (If you won’t be making the enchiladas until later, put the filling in a portable container and set it aside.) Wipe out the pan with a paper towel or dishcloth.

Pour half the can of enchilada sauce into your carbon steel pan.

Put a fifth of the filling into a tortilla and wrap it closed like a burrito. Place seam side down in the pan. Repeat with the four remaining tortillas and the remainder of the filling.

Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, and top with cheese. Cover with slightly tented foil or lid and cook over fire until heated through and cheese is melted.

Serve with sour cream.

You can use your carbon steel pan when you wake up, too, to make a great campsite breakfast. Think eggs, bacon, hashbrowns — or even pancakes. Bring along this camp stove cooking set with tongs, a turner, a spoon and a tool rest to make sure you’re covered in the utensil department. Pack sticky but essential syrup in a squeeze bottle. And you’re good to go…camping!

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