Dutch Oven Chili
One pot over coals, feeds a whole site, and it is better on the second night.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 12 oz
- cal / oz
- 52
- protein
- 30 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total time
- 60 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
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ground beef or turkey | 2 lb | |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 2 large | diced at home and bagged |
| Garlic | 4 cloves | |
| Canned kidney and black beans | 3 cans | drained |
| Canned crushed tomatoes | 28 oz | |
| Chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano | 3 tbsp total | premixed at home |
| Beef or vegetable stock | 1 cup |
Method
- Build the fire early. You want coals, not flames, and coals take 45 minutes.
- Brown the meat in the dutch oven directly over the coals. Pour off most of the fat.
- Add onion and garlic, cook until the onion goes translucent.
- Everything else goes in. Stir, lid on, and rake coals into a ring around the base.
- Simmer 45 minutes. Stir every 15 so the bottom does not scorch.
- Taste for salt. It will need more than you think.
Car camping is the one context where weight does not matter at all, and the correct response is to cook something that would be absurd anywhere else. A 12 inch dutch oven weighs 20 pounds and produces dinner for six with a single pot to wash.
Chili is the right first dutch oven recipe because it is nearly impossible to ruin and it forgives an uneven fire.
Packing
Prep the onions, garlic, and spice blend at home. In camp you are opening cans, not chopping in the dark.
Variations
- Drop the meat and double the beans for a vegan pot that nobody complains about.
- Cornbread baked in a second dutch oven turns this into an actual meal.
Adapted from a standard camp chili, tuned over several Outing Club trips.