We have been cooking in our pie irons since we started camping. You might know them as camp cookers, or pudgy pies, or even mountain pies. Whatever you call them, just know that these trusty tools make extremely delicious food cooked over the campfire. And we depend on them for easy pie iron breakfasts.
We love how it takes simple ingredients and elevates them into something absolutely divine. Or maybe that’s the hunger talking? Because you know hunger is the best seasoning. Anyway, we love our pie irons for breakfast, for dinner, for dessert, for sides, for pretty much everything!
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There are so many recipes out there for tasty pie iron meals. Here are five of our favorite pie iron breakfasts for inspiration. They are all able to be made in a square or rectangle pie iron. Click on the recipe title for more detailed instructions. Note that cooking times are approximate as temperatures do vary while cooking over fire.
Biscuits and Gravy
We like to make our gravy in advance at home to make these pockets fool-proof at the campsite. The only problem is if we forget the gravy in the refrigerator at home and yes, this has been known to happen. Even so this is probably one of our more elaborate pie iron breakfasts as we then need to reheat the gravy prior to putting it inside the biscuits to cook over the campfire in the pie iron. But if you are willing to put in the work, these make getting out of bed in the morning worthwhile.
Gently reheat the gravy while drinking some coffee (or your morning beverage of choice) and getting your biscuits ready. Spray the insides of your pie irons and carefully stretch and flatten a biscuit before placing in the pie iron. Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of gravy on the biscuit. Stretch another biscuit and place on top of the gravy, pinching the sides to seal. Close pie iron and place over the campfire. Flip occasionally until the biscuits are cooked, roughly 20 minutes in total.
Breakfast Sandwich
This is one of our go-to recipes as it is one of the classics and one of the simplest to create. This makes it a great choice for lazy morning while camping. We get the campfire going while we make our coffee. After a few swallows of our coffee, it is time to make breakfast for the family.
First, we butter the insides of our irons. Next, we insert a slice of bread and sort of smoosh an indentation into it. Then, we crack an egg and pour it into that indentation, adding some salt and pepper. Next, we layer a slice of cheese over the egg and place a few slices of precooked sausage or bacon. Last, we add another slice of bread and close the cooker. Place the cooker over the campfire and cook, turning frequently, until the egg is set, and the cheese is melted.
Egg in a Nest
We love breakfast potatoes of just about any type, but I don’t enjoy frying them up while camping. In fact, we don’t often make any recipe that requires cooking oil while camping. I will make exceptions for dishes such as chilaquiles which don’t require disposing of used oil. Other than that, we save recipes for fried foods for cooking at home. Luckily this recipe includes breakfast potatoes in the form of hash browns but doesn’t require frying.
After starting our campfire, and drinking some coffee (priorities people!), we spray the insides of our hash browns to prevent sticking. Next, we mix our hash browns, peppers, onions, and seasonings. We place these inside the cookers and put them over the fire to cook until the potatoes begin to brown. Then we pull them off and carefully scoop a hole into the potatoes so they create the nest. Carefully crack an egg into the indentation, close the iron, and place back over the fire until the egg is cooked to your liking.
Omelet
The best part of waking up at the campground is being all snug and warm inside my sleeping bag. The worst part of waking up at the campsite is having to get out of that cozy cocoon to make breakfast, especially on a chilly morning. Luckily, there is usually coffee involved and after I smell it percolating, I’m ready to start preparing this tasty pie iron omelet. We can make this in a multitude of sizes and with a variety of ingredients. With one of these filling our bellies, we are ready to face the day!
We get our fire going while drinking that first cup of coffee. Then it is time to crack the eggs into a bowl, whisk and season them, and scramble them. We also like to saute some peppers and onions in a separate skillet, then add those and some minced ham to our eggs. Next it is time to spray our irons, and place some crescent roll dough on one side, top it with some egg mixture and some cheese, then add another layer of dough. Pinch those edges together to seal, close the cooker, and place over the campfire to cook. We recommend turning them every five minutes or so, until the dough is baked. Be watchful as they will burn!
Stuffed French Toast
This is another breakfast that takes a bit longer to make but we think it is well worth it. The way we make it involves cinnamon bread and flavored cream cheese but, in a pinch, it could be made with regular bread and plain cream cheese. Although we highly recommend serving it with fruit in all cases. And don’t forget the coffee!
Start with some buttered pie irons. Spread some cream cheese on one of your slices of bread. Add some fruit on top of the cream cheese, we love berries. Add a second slice of bread to make a sandwich. Make your French toast batter and place your sandwich in it to coat. Carefully remove your sandwich and place in your pie iron. Carefully close the cooker and place over the campfire. Cook, turning frequently, until the French toast is browned to your satisfaction. Serve with additional fruit.
Suggested Go Withs
It’s totally okay to think of these as one dish meals. We typically do. However, if you do want to add something alongside your pie iron breakfast, we recommend some fresh fruit. And, depending on which breakfast you are making, some other ideas might be to fry up some bacon, cook some sausage links or patties, or make some stuffed hash browns.
Notes about cooking with pie irons
We prefer to use our cast iron pie irons for cooking most of our food. We do have two Teflon ones and try to only use those for items that don’t cook as long. Then we have multiple squares and rectangles. Additionally, we have a circle and a waffle (which sells out all the time!) pie iron. These are fun for some recipes, but our squares and rectangles get used the most!
We also invested in a pair of heat resistant gloves for camping. It is very easy to grab something without thinking and pie irons stay hot a lot longer than one would think. Having these gloves on helps protect our fingers!
Delicious. Easy. Tasty. These easy pie iron breakfasts are the perfect way to start our mornings while camping. And seriously. Who doesn’t love food cooked over a campfire? Cooking in a pie iron 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. Then tag us on Instagram @campinganswer and tell us your favorites!