ByFresh Off The GridUpdated
Save this post
This post may contain affiliate links.
Foil packet meals are one of the best ways to cook food over a campfire! But you’re not limited to camping trips when it comes to the beauty of foil packet recipes. Cook them over a grill anywhere, or even in the oven at home–no matter where you are, you’ll love the no-fuss, no-mess benefits!
This collection of foil-pack meals has it all! From the classic sausage, potatoes, and veggies combination to whole chicken breasts Tex-Mex style, vegetarian gnocchi, and gravy-coated ground beef patties, you can easily make veggie sides and even dessert within a foil packet!
These foil packet meal ideas are sure to spark ideas for your next camping menu or for super easy make-ahead weeknight dinners at home. No matter where you enjoy these foil packet recipes, you’ll love how the magic of this cooking method adds so much flavor to perfectly juicy meat, tender veggies, and more.
Make-Ahead Tips
The beauty of foil-pack meals for camping is that they can usually be assembled at home before your trip. At the very least, you can wash and chop your veggies and meat, and mix up the marinade ahead of time.
- Keep acidic ingredients separate. Make sure any acidic ingredients like citrus juices, pineapple juice, tomato sauce, or vinegar are kept separate from the food until you’re at camp, as they can change the texture of the food if they mingle with it for too long.
- Prevent leaks. If you assemble the packets beforehand, prevent any leaking accidents by placing them into zip-top bags or a large water-tight storage container before putting them in the cooler.
Cooking Tips for the Best Foil Packet Meals
- Use heavy-duty aluminum foil. This will help prevent tearing as you handle the packs and flip them over the campfire/grill.
- Take advantage of indirect heat. When cooking over a campfire, you’ll want to use embers/coals, rather than placing the packets right over a roaring fire.
- Flip the packets. Turn the packets over every once in a while to make sure they cook evenly.
- Protect your hands: We like to use heat-resistant gloves or extra-long BBQ tongs when handling hot foil packets.
- Use a meat thermometer. When it comes to foil pack recipes, we highly recommend using an instant-read thermometer to ensure that the meat is cooked through. Take a packet off the fire, carefully open it (it will be full of steam!), and check the temp of a few pieces. If the meat needs more time, re-seal the packet and put it back on the fire to cook for a while longer.
Shrimp Boil
Tender shrimp, smoky sausage, zucchini, and fresh corn mingle together in these foil packets that are inspired by a shrimp boil! Cooked inside a foil packet with a generous amount of garlic butter, these shrimp boil foil packs are summer seafood perfection.
Get the Recipe
Kielbasa and Potatoes
A tangy honey mustard sauce coats baby potatoes and sausage slices in this easy foil packet meal. This one’s especially easy to prep ahead of time for a super easy and fast campfire meal.
Get the Recipe
Grilled Nachos
One of the beautiful things about foil packet recipes is that everyone can customize their own. Once everyone’s nachos are prepared how they like them, they cook super fast over the campfire for cheesy nacho bliss! Open ‘em up and top with fresh avocado, sour cream, and/or salsa.
Get the Recipe
Foil Packet Banana Split
Perfectly ripe bananas, sliced down the middle and stuffed with chocolate and marshmallows, wrapped up, and warmed until perfect? Yes, please! Open them up and top them with cherries and whipped cream for amazing campfire banana splits. Make these along with ice cream in a bag for the full banana split experience!
Get the Recipe
French Toast
A big batch of French toast, foil packet style! This foil pack breakfast recipe is an easy way to cook all your French toast all at once, right over the fire. Top with fresh berries for a sweet addition!
Get the Recipe
Grilled Asparagus in Foil
Perfectly seasoned asparagus spears cook up easy and delicious inside a foil packet! Prep your asparagus before you pack it, then just season it up, place in foil, and cook it over the campfire for deliciously seared spears.
Get the Recipe
Grilled Potatoes
Fluffy inside, lightly crisped outside … These foil packet grilled potatoes are such a delicious way to cook them. With seasonings and fresh rosemary, they make a great side dish for all kinds of grilled entrees.
Get the Recipe
Baked Sweet Potato & Chili
Whether you start with the easy homemade chili recipe, use leftovers, or bring a can of chili along, you’ll love these baked sweet potatoes stuffed with chili! Bake the sweet potatoes in foil until soft and caramelized, then open them up and stuff with the warm chili. Tasty and hearty!
Get the Recipe
Campfire Banana Boats
What do you get when you cross a s’more and a banana split? These campfire banana boats! Bananas are sliced open and stuffed with chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers, then wrapped individually and warmed over the campfire. Customize how you like!
Get the Recipe
Tex Mex White Bean Chicken Foil Packets
With lean chicken and navy beans, these foil packets are perfect for a healthier meal. Customize the spice level however you like–less for the kids and/or more sensitive palates, and more for everyone else. We love the shredded Mexican cheese for a melty topper!
Campfire Cheese Hash Brown Packets
Morning campfires might be the best type of campfire, and now you have the perfect excuse to build one–these breakfast foil packets! With frozen hashbrowns, bacon, and cheddar cheese, this foil packet meal is a rib-sticking way to start the day. Add hard-boiled eggs and pico de gallo for extra heartiness.
Lemon-Dill Salmon Packets
Who says you can’t eat gourmet in the great outdoors? These foil packets with salmon, garlic, fresh herbs, butter, and lemon are the perfect way to enjoy a fancy seafood meal while camping.
Campfire Peach Cobbler
Juicy canned peaches topped with golden biscuits make this peach cobbler a summertime fave! But when you can use sweet canned peaches, you can enjoy this one all year around.
Grilled Peppers and Zucchini
Fresh strips of colorful bell peppers and zucchini cook in a splash of soy sauce and a little butter for a veggie side that’s as vibrant as it is delicious. This is one of those versatile foil packet recipes that goes with everything!
Poblano-Potato Bundles
Fluffy golden potatoes and poblano chile peppers mingle in a rich cream sauce in this foil pack recipe. This creamy, hearty side dish is as versatile as it is delicious.
Bacon Ranch Chicken Foil Packets
We love this idea for cooking chicken! This one’s a full meal deal, with everything you need right in the packet. Each foil packet gets a chicken breast, tender red potatoes, and buttery ranch seasoning, plus shredded cheddar and bacon on top. Yum!
Salmon Foil Packets
With fresh veggies and nutritious salmon, this foil packet meal makes a perfect warm-weather dinner! Tender asparagus, red bell pepper, corn, and flaky salmon, all doused in garlic and herb butter and a squeeze of lemon. So delicious!
Jambalaya Foil Packet
The flavors of jambalaya come shining through in this creative foil pack meal. With an instant rice shortcut, the rice cooks right in the packet along with andouille sausage, veggies, and Cajun seasoning. Brilliant!
Foil Pack French Dip Sandwiches
These sandwiches are such an ingenious foil packet meal. Baguettes are sliced the short way, through the top, creating an accordion for stuffing a butter and seasoning mixture, roast beef, and cheese. Wrap it up, heat it, and everyone tears off a chunk for French dip sandwich bliss. Don’t forget the au jus for dipping!
Salsa Verde Chicken & Rice Foil Pack
For a meal in one, try this inventive salsa verde chicken and rice pack! With tender chicken breast smothered in a creamy sauce, rice, black beans, and corn, this one has it all.
Foil Packet Pork Tenderloin Dinner
Pork tenderloin in a spicy-sweet sauce, along with tender potatoes? We’re in! This foil pack meal is as easy as it is delicious. Just include a green veg alongside and dinner is served!
Grilled Barbecue Chicken and Vegetable Foil Packs
Barbecue-sauce-smothered chicken joins up with zucchini, bell pepper, and asparagus in this simple and easy foil packet recipe. Pack your veggies in your cooler already chopped, and you won’t even have to break out the cutting board at your campsite!
Garlic Parmesan Broccoli and Potatoes in Foil
Potatoes and broccoli, doused in garlic, seasonings, and Parmesan–yum! This one’s a terrific hearty side dish that covers all the bases.
Foil Packet Beef and Vegetable Meal
Pot roast and beef sausage join up with butternut squash, summer squash, corn on the cob and seasonings for a unique foil packet that beef lovers will adore!
BBQ Chicken & Pineapple Foil Packet Dinners
Tender bites of chicken, bacon, sweet onion, pineapple and more with barbecue sauce bring notes of sweet, smoky, and savory all together in one delicious foil packet meal.
Fiery Campfire Vegetables
This is one of those foil packet recipes that brings the heat! Sriracha and crushed red pepper flakes add serious spiciness to this mix of veggies that include zucchini, corn on the cob, bell peppers, and more. Simply cook the vegetables for 10-15 min on the grill or campfire in foil, or until the corn is tender.
Santa Fe Chicken Foil Packets
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts seasoned with chili powder and placed in a packet with black beans, corn, diced bell peppers, and salsa … yum! Love the melty cheese on top and the cilantro, tomato, and jalapeno garnish.
Hamburger & Potato Foil Packets
A full-of-flavor ground beef patty joins up with potatoes, carrots, and onions for a crowd-pleasing foil pack meal. Cream of mushroom soup spooned over the top makes a full-of-flavor “gravy” that sends these over the top!
Garlic Butter Steak & Potato Foil Packs
Steak and potatoes at the campsite? Absolutely! Buttery Yukon golds and marinated strips of flank steak mingle with butter, garlic, lemon, and herbs for a foil pack meal that’s a steak-lover’s dream.
Pineapple BBQ Baked Chicken Foil Packets
Tangy chicken breasts smothered in spicy jalapeno barbecue sauce and cooked with juicy pineapple and bell peppers—this is a foil packet meal-in-one that looks absolutely amazing!
Garlic Butter Mushrooms and Gnocchi in Foil Packets
Foil packet gnocchi?! We’re on board! This recipe features store-bought gnocchi, cooked with mushrooms, garlic, and thyme for an easy and flavor-packed foil pack! This one’s perfect for vegetarians or just as a hearty meatless side for anyone.
Honey Dijon Chicken and Veggies Foil Packs
Tender chicken in a honey-Dijon sauce cooks inside a foil pack along with zucchini and grape tomatoes for a delicious chicken meal you can cook over a campfire! Crushed red pepper flakes bring some heat for those who like it.
Baked Chicken with Asparagus and Garlic Lemon Butter Sauce
A garlic butter sauce coats juicy chicken and tender asparagus in this chicken foil pack recipe. Pass with lemon wedges for a tasty foil pack meal!
Foil Pack Grilled Herb Butter Sausage & Vegetables
Sausage, potatoes, green beans, and corn on the cob join up with Italian seasoning, garlic flavors, and butter in this delicious foil pack meal. This one’s super simple to make and easy to assemble at the campsite with a little prep beforehand.
Easy Chicken Fajita Foil Packets
Bring the sizzling fajita experience to the outdoors with fajita foil packs! Juicy bites of chicken, fajita veggies, and a generous coating of seasonings make the most flavorful foil pack meal. Pass the tortillas or eat them right off the foil!
Apple Crisp Foil Packets
Who said foil pack recipes have to be savory? This foil packet dessert recipe features sweet cinnamon apples with a crunchy crumb topping. Top it off with our ice cream made at the campsite!
Grilled Italian Sausage & Veggie Foil Packets
Flavorful feta crumbles top chicken sausage, quartered mushrooms, potatoes, and grape tomatoes in this easy and delicious foil pack dinner. Prep everything in advance and pack in your cooler for a fuss-free meal.
Quick Mojo Pork Tenderloin Bites in Foil Packets
Cuban flavors are found through and through in these foil pack pork tenderloin bites! Tender pork is marinated in a garlic and citrus mix and cooked in a foil pack for bites of meat that are so juicy and full of flavor.
Smoked Sausage and Potatoes Foil Packet Meal
Slices of sausage, corn, and potatoes cook up tender and perfect in this foil pack meal. These can be completely assembled and packed in your cooler for the easiest outdoor dinner ever!
Grilled Walking Taco Foil Packets
Ground meat joins up with enchilada sauce, veggies, and cheese in the foil packet, then it’s cooked until warm and bubbly. Serve in foil bowls with corn chips, lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, and green onions. The ultimate camping meal!
Chorizo Seafood Paella Foil Packets
Paella in a foil pack?! It’s possible! This one has well-seasoned, flavorful rice with shrimp and chorizo for the paella experience without having to pack the paella pan.
Grilled Pineapple Chicken Foil Packets
Teriyaki flavors in a foil pack meal! This recipe features juicy pineapple, tender bell peppers, onions, and tender chicken in a sweet and savory teriyaki sauce.
Grilled Herbed Chicken & Potato Foil Packs
Chicken smothered with seasonings and cooked until golden and perfect along with potatoes and mushrooms–yum! This is one of those foil pack meals you’ll crave all camping season long.
Steak Fajita Foil Packs
Seasoned steak strips with bell peppers and onions, all cooked up and ready to pile into a flour tortilla. Top with salsa, sour cream, and avocado for a complete fajita meal.
Foil Packet Sweet Potato Tacos
Sweet potatoes pair so well with taco seasonings! Seasoned cooked ground beef is spooned over cubes of sweet potatoes and cooked in a foil pack until tender and steaming. Top with a little cheese and taco toppings for a delicious foil pack meal with Tex-Mex vibes!
Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Foil Packets
Buffalo hot sauce flavors join up with juicy chicken, potatoes, and broccoli in these spicy and delicious foil pack dinner. A melty topping of cheddar shreds completes the scene!
Fresh Off The Grid
Megan & Michael are the creators of Fresh Off The Grid, a blog dedicated to helping you fuel your adventures by sharing camp cooking recipes, backpacking meals, and outdoor travel guides. Their recipes and outdoor cooking expertise have been featured in Backpacker Magazine, Outside, REI Co-Op Journal, Food & Wine, and New York Times Cooking.
