Campfire Nachos That Taste Better Outdoors

Campfire Nachos with Jalapeños

Campfire Nachos with Sour Cream

Cooking over a campfire is one of those things that sounds very rustic and wholesome, until you’re crouched near the fire wondering if your food is actually cooking or just… thinking about cooking. There’s smoke in your eyes, you can't reach your chair, and someone keeps poking the fire with a stick like that will solve everything. 

Still, campfire cooking has a certain charm.  When it works, you feel wildly accomplished for doing something humans have done forever.  It's fun, magical, and memorable. 

It's extra memorable when the marshmallow you're roasting catches on fire, so you shake it violently to put the flames out... and it ends up stuck to your back.  (Yes, that really happened.)

Anyway, we're here for the campfire nachos, not my sticky misadventures.  

Are nachos meant to be made outdoors? Not especially. Do they still somehow work? Absolutely, and they're surprisingly easy!  

They're messy, melty, and endlessly customizable, which makes them the perfect warm comfort food to share after a long day hiking or looking for rocks.  It’s probably dark out, and no one will be able to tell whether that meat is fully cooked or not, so maybe save the steak for another night.

Nachos are ideal because you can eat them straight from the pan, semi-warm, while standing around the fire, and pretend that was the plan all along.

As long as you have a vague idea of what to put on them and remembered most of the ingredients (the chips are the most important part), all you really need is a cast iron skillet, a fire grate, and a can opener. If you forget the can opener, a rock hammer and a screwdriver technically work… but I don’t recommend this method.

Start by separating your ingredients into two categories: things that should be warm, and things that shouldn’t. My “warm” category usually includes the chips (the yellow corn ones are my favorite), plus some combination of black or refried beans, pre-cooked hamburger crumbles, and grated cheese.

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Coat the cast iron skillet with oil.  Vegetable oil works the best.  Olive oil has too low of a smoke point and tends to burn.  Spread the chips evenly in the pan, then add the beans and/or meat.

Sprinkle grated cheese over the top.  You can never have too much cheese!  I usually use a Mexican cheese blend, but cheddar works just as well.   

Once everything that needs to be warm is in the pan, cover it with foil and set it on the campfire grate. Check it occasionally until the cheese melts… or until you get hungry, lose faith in your fire cooking abilities, and decide to eat it warm-ish. It is better if you wait, though, I promise. Toss another log on the fire and listen to your friend’s off-key yodeling for a bit. Just keep the fire fairly small; burnt tortilla chips aren’t great.

I tried using fresh jalapeños once, instead of the kind that come in a jar, and added them with the warm ingredients. It didn't work nearly as well.  The jar jalapeños were way better, less crunchy and way less seedy.  

While the nachos are heating up, prep the cold toppings. I usually bring lettuce, tomato, jarred jalapeños, fresh cilantro, hot sauce, and more shredded cheese. There’s a dedicated camping kitchen knife that lives with the rest of the gear, but a pocket knife works fine too, as long as it gets wiped on someone’s pants leg first.

Set the hot cast iron skillet on a towel, add the cold toppings, scoop on some sour cream, and grab a fork if you’re feeling fancy. If not, just dig in and enjoy!

Here's the recipe: