Dutch ovens are cast iron pots that are placed directly in the coals of the campfire. They’re great for slow cooking, baking, group meals and even delicious dutch oven desserts too! Our Top 10 dutch oven recipes will surely inspire a bit of the campsite chef in you. Don’t worry if you don’t have a dutch oven, we hire them out at both Beech Estate and Wild Boar Wood Campsites. To give you some help with recipes for your trip we’ve put together some of our favourite Dutch oven recipes.
You can find more recipes on our Campfire Cooking Page
1. Dutch-oven bread
Yes – you can make a loaf of bread on a campfire! You just need a Dutch oven to do it. Make a simple bread dough with flour, water, sugar, salt, and a little oil. Raise a foil tray off the base of the Dutch oven by placing it on top of some stones and then place your dough on your make-shift baking tray. Put the lid on your Dutch oven and place it on over some charcoal or embers – then put twice as many on top of the lid as below. You will need to replace the charcoal or embers every 10-15 minutes to keep the temperature up. The Dutch Oven Dude websiteoffers advice on baking temperatures and more.
2. Chilli
Hot, filling, hearty and wholesome: there’s nothing like a campfire chilli and it can be as simple or as involved as you like. Use your own tried and tested recipe but let the flavours develop in the Dutch oven. Or try Jamie Oliver’s cowboy-style speciality. For our veggie friends out there, try this vegetarian three bean chilli on the campfire. We like to serve these with hot baked potatotes straight from the campfire coals. a great dutch oven campfire recipe!
3. Campfire Hash
A delicious and hearty campfire hash is always a winner for us. Essentially you cook your bacon, sausages, potatoes and anything else you’d like to add in and top with a fried egg. We like this recipe. It’s a simple all-in-one dish that’s packed full of flavour. A great dutch oven recipe for adults and kids and should keep you going for a full day out-and-about in the countryside.
If you’d like your own dutch oven but you’re not sure which to go for, check out this blog from past warden Lou. It will help you find the best dutch oven for you
4. Dutch-oven pizza
Campfire pizza anyone? One of our Dutch oven recipes that was inspired by a camper
We’ve learned that you can cook anything in a Dutch oven – including delicious pizza! The one pictured above was made by one of our campers who brought homemade dough to the site and baked her pizza with our help. Just follow the instructions for baking bread but shape it and size it as a pizza base and bake for 20 minutes before adding toppings and cooking for a further 20 minutes.
5. Cassoulet
Beans and sausages are classic cowboy grub, perfect for cooking in the Dutch oven and guaranteed to fill the stomachs of hungry campers.
6. Blackberry upside-down cake
All the best Dutch oven recipes use local ingredients like this blackberry upside-down cake
If you’re cooking outside – why not make the most of nature’s bounty and use some foraged food in your cooking? Try this blackberry upside-down cake for starters – number two in our list of blackberry recipes. August and September are the best months for picking blackberries and you’ll find them all around our campsites.
Click here for more campfire dessert ideas
7. Bacon spuds
The ingredients list for this dutch oven recipe idea does not extend far past the title but with campfire food sometimes simplicity is best. We like Dutch oven dude’s version. His way with words when describing campfire cooking practices has also tickled our fancy.
8. Chapattis
One of the great things about Dutch oven recipes is that you can use the lid of the cooking pot as a separate pan. It’s possible to use the lid to cook chapattis on – turning it upside down on a grill over the fire. Make a simple bread dough (as in recipe suggestion number one), then roll out small flatbreads. At the same time as they are cooking, you can use the main dish to cook a curry or stew to eat with them.
9. Cinnamon rolls
If you have a sweet tooth, all-American cinnamon rolls are a Dutch oven recipe classic that’s too tempting to ignore. You’ll have to pre-make these so the dough can rise. We’d suggest making the dough at home, letting it rise in the car then baking them over the fire at the campsite. Just imagine the jealous looks you’ll receive from other campers when the scent of freshly baked cinnamon rolls drifts their way.
10. Beef stew with dumplings
An all-in-one stew cooked in the Dutch oven is a great campfire dinner. Cook jacket potatoes in the fire or add them to the stew to make a hearty one-pot-meal.
You can hire Dutch ovens at our two beautiful Sussex campsites; Beech Estate and Wild Boar Wood. Make mealtime into an event and cook yourselves up a treat. Let us know how you get on!
