Due to our work schedules, it can be difficult to get away for long camping trips. Enter the weekend warrior method of camping. Be ready to hit the road as soon as the Friday workday is done…pull into a camping spot…get that fire started while we set up the tent. By the time our campsite is set up to our liking, the fire should be ready for cooking our easy foil packet dinners.
Because we are getting to the campground fairly late in the day, we need a quick and easy dinner and foil packets are the perfect way to go because we make them up ahead of time at home. Therefore, we aren’t fussing around with meal prep at the campground. We can sit around the campfire with a tasty beverage and wait for dinner to be ready.
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There are so many recipes out there for tasty foil packets. Here are five of our favorite dinners for inspiration. Click on the recipe title for more detailed instructions. Note that cooking times are approximate as temperatures do vary while cooking over fire.
Lemon Shrimp & Broccoli
Combine shrimp, broccoli, and instant rice with a honey lemon butter sauce and herbs in a foil packet. Keep refrigerated or freeze for up to three months. Thaw completely on the way to the campground. Cook for 25 minutes or until the rice is ready. Enjoy with some fresh squeezed lemon juice.
Sausage with Peppers, Onions, and Potatoes
Slice Andouille sausage, colorful bell peppers, and onions. Chunk up some potatoes. Combine them in a bowl with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and other seasonings as you wish. We like garlic and onion powder. Place in foil packets and refrigerate or freeze for up to three months. Thaw completely on the way to the campground. Cook for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. Serve as is or with some hot sauce.
Steak Fajitas
Combine steak, peppers, and onions along with seasonings. Add some instant rice if you wish. Place in a foil packet and refrigerate or freeze for up to three months. Thaw completely on the way to the campground. Cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is ready if using. Throw a packet of foil wrapped tortillas on the fire for the last five minutes. Don’t forget all your fajita toppings such as cheese, salsa, sour cream, and avocado. Some fresh squeezed lime juice is also delightful.
Stromboli/Pizza Log
Roll out a pizza crust and top with pizza sauce, shredded cheese, and whatever toppings you want. Don’t fill too full as you will be rolling this up into a log. Sprinkle tasty herbs on the outside of the log. Wrap in foil and refrigerate or freeze for up to three months. Thaw completely on the way to the campground. Cook for 45 minutes, rotating every 15 minutes or so. Serve with extra pizza sauce for dipping. Alternately, some honey on the crusty bits that have no pizza taste make for a lovely dessert.
Tex Mex Chicken
Take some chicken breasts and chop them into small pieces for quick cooking. Combine with chopped or diced bell peppers and onions, jalapenos if you wish. Mix together some corn and beans. Layer all of these over some instant rice in your foil packets. Add some salsa and seasonings, then refrigerate or freeze for up to three months. Thaw completely on the way to the campground. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until your chicken is cooked through and the rice is ready. Serve with any garnishments you like. We enjoy cheese, salsa, and cilantro.
Notes about foil packets
We use heavy duty aluminum foil and parchment paper for making our easy foil packet dinners. It only takes one time for your foil to fall apart and ruin your dinner for you realize the importance of high-quality foil. We also like to line our foil with parchment paper. This keeps our food from touching the foil and allows the foil to remain clean and reusable/recyclable. We also invested in a pair of heat resistant gloves for camping. We can grab the foil packets for flipping and moving without getting burnt with these.
Delicious. Easy. Tasty. These easy foil packet dinners are the perfect way to start off our weekend camping trip. And seriously. Who doesn’t love food cooked over a campfire? Cooking in foil is easy to do, easy to customize, and easy to cleanup. Which is a triple win for those quick weekend getaway trips. Check out our food category for more deliciously easy camping recipes.