Dutch Oven Blueberry Cobbler Oatmeal
Steel cut oats, dried blueberries, and a granola lid, cooked slow over coals for a whole camp.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 116
- protein
- 11 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 40 min
- water
- 1400 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Breakfast
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Steel cut oats | 2 cups | |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 6 cups | |
| Powdered whole milk | 3/4 cup | replaces the fresh milk; whisk into the dry mix at home |
| Dried blueberries | 1 1/2 cups | they rehydrate in the pot |
| Brown sugar | 1/2 cup | |
| Ground cinnamon | 2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Vanilla extract | 2 tsp | or 1 tsp vanilla powder in the dry mix |
| Butter | 3 tbsp | stays fine unrefrigerated for a weekend |
| Granola | 1 1/2 cups | packed separate, added at the bowl |
Method
- Build a bed of coals and let the flames die down. You want steady low heat, not a fire.
- Melt the butter in the Dutch oven, then add 6 cups of water and bring it to a boil.
- Stir in the oats, dried blueberries, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the milk powder last so it does not clump on the bottom.
- Lid on, pot set on a few coals off to the side of the fire. Six or eight coals underneath is plenty.
- Cook 30 to 35 minutes. Stir every ten minutes and scrape the corners. Rotate the pot a quarter turn each time so one side does not scorch.
- Pull it off the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let it sit five minutes with the lid on.
- Spoon into bowls and top each one with granola.
The original does this with fresh milk and frozen berries out of a cooler. Neither is needed. Powdered whole milk rehydrates in the pot and dried blueberries swell back up in the cooking water, which means the whole batch is shelf-stable and the cooler stays shut.
Steel cut oats are the reason this takes a Dutch oven and not a saucepan. They need thirty minutes of low, even heat, and cast iron holds that better than a burner does. Keep the coals sparse and the pot moving, or the bottom layer turns to carbon while the middle is still hard. The granola goes on at the bowl, not in the pot, so it stays crisp.
Packing
Oats, milk powder, sugar, cinnamon, and salt go in one bag at home. Blueberries in their own bag so they do not bleed. Granola stays in a third bag until serving or it goes soft.
Variations
- Dried cherries or chopped dried apple in place of the blueberries.
- A handful of chopped pecans in the granola if nobody in camp has a nut allergy.
- Thin the leftovers with hot water the next morning and it reheats fine.
https://camprecipes.com/dutch-oven-blueberry-cobbler-oatmeal