A camp Dutch oven turns a bag of charcoal into an oven, a stew pot and a skillet. The three recipes here use a 12-inch camp Dutch oven (about 6 quarts, with legs and a flat, rimmed lid for coals): roast chicken and potatoes with heat above and below, a one-pot chili mac cooked from the bottom only, and the classic campfire peach cobbler, baked under a lid of coals.

Camp cooking with a Dutch oven: how many coals

Lodge, the cast-iron maker, gives a simple rule for where the heat goes:

  • Baking (cobblers, bread, casseroles): a 3:1 ratio of coals on the lid to coals underneath.
  • Roasting (chicken, roasts, vegetables): 1:1, the same heat all around.
  • Boiling, stewing and frying: coals underneath only.

More tips from Lodge:

  • Light briquettes 15 to 20 minutes before you need them; a chimney starter is fastest.
  • Set the bottom coals in a circle at least half an inch inside the oven's edge, and the lid coals in a checkerboard. Bunched coals make hot spots.
  • Rotate the oven a quarter turn every 10 to 15 minutes, then the lid a quarter turn the other way.
  • Wind, cold, humidity and elevation slow it down. Above 3,000 feet, Lodge says cook times go up and you should raise the temperature by about 25°F.
  • Lift the lid carefully so ash doesn't fall in, and bring an instant-read thermometer.

Briquettes burn down as you cook, so for anything over 45 minutes, light a second batch in the chimney partway through. Use a fire pan or a cleared patch of bare ground, keep water nearby, and check the campground's fire rules first, including whether charcoal is allowed during fire restrictions.

Dutch oven chicken thighs and potatoes

Recipe · Dinner

Dutch Oven Chicken Thighs and Potatoes

Bone-in chicken thighs roasted over red potatoes, carrots and onion with paprika, garlic and thyme, with coals above and below.

Prep
15 min
Cook
1 hr
Total
1 hr 15 min
Serves
6
Cooked on
Dutch oven

Ingredients

  • 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 1 1/2 lb red potatoes, halved (quartered if large)
  • 3 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 onion, cut into wedges
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried thyme

Steps

  1. Light the coals. Light about 30 briquettes in a chimney starter and let them burn until they're covered in gray ash, 15–20 minutes.

  2. Season everything. Toss the potatoes, carrots and onion in the oven with 1 tbsp of the oil and half the salt and pepper. Rub the chicken with the rest of the oil, salt and pepper and the paprika, garlic powder and thyme.

  3. Layer the oven. Spread the vegetables in an even layer in a 12-inch camp Dutch oven and set the chicken on top, skin side up.

  4. Roast with coals. Put on the lid. Set the oven over 12 coals and put 12 on the lid (Lodge's 1:1 ratio for roasting). Roast for 50–60 minutes or more, rotating the oven a quarter turn every 10–15 minutes and the lid a quarter turn the other way. About 30 minutes in, light 10–12 more briquettes in the chimney so you can top up the lid and bottom if the first coals are burning down.

  5. Check doneness. The chicken is done when a thermometer in the thickest thigh, not touching bone, reads at least 165°F and the potatoes are tender. Lift off the lid carefully so ash doesn't fall in.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
569 kcal
Fat
37 g
Saturated fat
9 g
Carbohydrates
24 g
Fiber
3 g
Sugar
4 g
Protein
35 g
Sodium
780 mg
Cholesterol
190 mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients.

Keep the raw chicken and beef in the cooler, packed below ready-to-eat food as USDA advises, until they go in the oven. The chicken is safe at 165°F, the USDA minimum for poultry. Thighs stay juicy well past that, so don't worry about overshooting.

Dutch oven chili mac

The pasta cooks right in the chili, so there's no draining at camp.

Recipe · Dinner

Dutch Oven Chili Mac

Ground beef, beans, tomatoes and elbow macaroni cooked together in one Dutch oven over the coals, finished with melted cheddar.

Prep
10 min
Cook
35 min
Total
45 min
Serves
6
Cooked on
Dutch oven

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3 cups water
  • 8 oz elbow macaroni
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (6 oz)

Steps

  1. Brown the beef. Set a 12-inch camp Dutch oven over about 20 hot coals, with none on the lid; Lodge says stewing and boiling are done from the bottom up. Brown the beef and onion, breaking up the meat, until no pink remains and it reaches 160°F, about 8 minutes.

  2. Add the rest. Stir in the chili powder, cumin and salt for a minute, then the tomatoes with their juice, the beans and the water. Put on the lid and bring to a boil.

  3. Cook the pasta. Stir in the macaroni, cover, and simmer for 12–15 minutes, stirring every few minutes so it doesn't stick, until the pasta is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Add a splash of water if it gets dry.

  4. Melt the cheese. Take the oven off the coals, scatter the cheddar over the top, cover for 2–3 minutes until melted, and serve.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
521 kcal
Fat
26 g
Saturated fat
11 g
Carbohydrates
43 g
Fiber
6 g
Sugar
4 g
Protein
29 g
Sodium
860 mg
Cholesterol
80 mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients.

USDA's safe minimum for ground beef is 160°F.

Dutch oven peach cobbler

The "dump cake" cobbler: nothing to measure, and it's done by the time dinner is cleaned up.

Recipe · Dessert

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler

The campfire classic: canned peaches topped with dry yellow cake mix, butter and cinnamon, baked under a lid of coals until golden.

Prep
5 min
Cook
45 min
Total
50 min
Serves
8
Cooked on
Dutch oven

Ingredients

  • 2 cans (29 oz each) sliced peaches in light syrup
  • 1 box (13.25–15.25 oz) yellow cake mix
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Steps

  1. Light the coals. Light about 25 briquettes and wait until they're covered in gray ash. A parchment Dutch oven liner makes cleanup much easier.

  2. Add the peaches. Pour both cans of peaches, syrup and all, into a 12-inch camp Dutch oven.

  3. Top with cake mix. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the peaches without stirring, lay the butter slices over the top so they cover as much of it as possible, and dust with the cinnamon.

  4. Bake. Put on the lid. Set the oven over 7 or 8 coals in a ring at least half an inch inside the edge and arrange 16 or 17 on the lid in a checkerboard pattern (roughly Lodge's 3:1 baking ratio). Bake 40–50 minutes, rotating the oven and lid every 10–15 minutes, until the top is golden and the fruit is bubbling at the edges. If the top is golden before the edges bubble, move a few lid coals underneath.

  5. Serve. Lift off the lid carefully so ash doesn't fall in, let the cobbler cool for 10 minutes, and spoon into bowls.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
415 kcal
Fat
13 g
Saturated fat
8 g
Carbohydrates
74 g
Fiber
3 g
Sugar
51 g
Protein
3 g
Sodium
490 mg
Cholesterol
30 mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients.

Don't stir. The cake mix soaks up the syrup from below and the butter from above, and bakes into a crisp, cakey crust. Dry patches mean the butter didn't reach; cover them with thinner slices next time.

More camp Dutch oven ideas

  • Breakfast casserole: frozen hash browns, cooked sausage, beaten eggs and cheese, baked until the center reaches 160°F
  • Beef stew: browned chuck, potatoes, carrots and broth, simmered from the bottom for 2 hours or more
  • Pizza: dough pressed into the oven, sauce and toppings, baked with most of the coals on the lid
  • Cornbread: a boxed mix, baked on the 3:1 ratio, to go with chili
  • Apple crisp: sliced apples under an oat, brown sugar and butter topping
  • Lasagna: no-boil noodles layered with sauce, ricotta and mozzarella, baked about an hour
  • Monkey bread: canned biscuit dough rolled in cinnamon sugar and baked with butter

For dinners that need only a pot or a foil sheet, see our easy camping dinners and foil packet camping recipes. Before you light coals off-grid, check the fire rules in our dispersed camping guide.