Campfire Skillet Spaghetti
Ground beef, onion, and pepper browned in a skillet, then canned spaghetti dumped on top.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 14 oz
- cal / oz
- 44
- protein
- 30 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ground beef | 1 lb | rides in the cooler, cook it the first night |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 medium | diced at home to save a cutting board |
| Green bell pepper | 1 to 2 medium | diced |
| Garlic | 2 cloves or 2 tsp minced | jarred minced keeps without a cooler |
| Canned spaghetti in sauce | 2 large cans | the shelf-stable kind, sauce and noodles together |
| Shredded or hard cheese | 4 oz | optional, for the top |
Method
- Set a cast iron skillet on the grate over a fire burned down to coals. Flames scorch the bottom before the beef cooks through.
- Brown the ground beef with the onion and pepper, breaking the meat up as it goes. Ten minutes or so.
- Add the garlic once the beef has lost its pink. It burns fast, so it goes in last.
- Pour off the grease if there is a lot of it. Keep a spoonful.
- Dump in both cans of spaghetti. Stir and heat until it just starts to move at the edges, then pull it off.
- Scatter cheese over the top and let the residual heat take care of it.
This is a car-camping dinner that trades cooking for logistics. Canned spaghetti is already cooked, so there is no pot of water to boil, drain, and dispose of at a site with no sink. All the real cooking is browning meat and vegetables in one skillet, and everything after that is just reheating.
The browned beef, onion, and pepper are what make it edible. Canned spaghetti on its own is thin and sweet; fat, aromatics, and salt from the meat give it something to stand on. Add the garlic at the end so it perfumes the pan instead of turning black in it. If you want this without a cooler, canned or pouched meat works, and the dish stops needing ice entirely.
Packing
Beef and pepper go in the cooler. Dice the onion and pepper at home into a zip bag. Cans, garlic, and cheese ride in the food bin.
Variations
- Swap the ground beef for a pouch of precooked crumbles or canned chili if you have no cooler.
- Half a can of tomato paste stirred in tightens up the sauce, which tends to be thin.
- Bread on the grate with oil and garlic makes it a real meal for four.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/camp-fire-spaghetti