Foil Packet Campfire Nachos
Chips, seasoned beef, and cheese sealed in foil and buried in coals until the cheese gives up.
- calories
- 780
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 87
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 18 min
- total time
- 28 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
- Foil packet
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ground beef | 1 lb | browned at home with taco seasoning, then chilled |
|---|---|---|
| Taco seasoning | 1-2 tsp | cooked into the beef at home |
| Tortilla chips | half a large bag | thick restaurant-style, not thin ones |
| Bell pepper | 1, diced | |
| White onion | 1/2, diced | |
| Shredded cheddar | 2 cups | |
| Salsa | 1/2 cup | jarred, added after opening |
| Sour cream | 1/4 cup | skip it if the cooler is warm |
Method
- At home, brown the beef with the taco seasoning, drain it, cool it fully, and pack it flat in a freezer bag. Dice the pepper and onion into a second bag.
- At camp, stack two 12-inch sheets of heavy foil. Build a layer of chips, then beef, pepper, onion, and cheese. Repeat once. Two thin layers melt better than one deep pile.
- Fold the long edges together over the top, then roll each end in tight. Leave a little air inside so the top chips do not steam flat.
- Set the packet on a grate over the fire, not directly in the coals. 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted.
- Pull it with tongs and let it sit a minute before opening. The trapped steam comes out first and it is hot.
- Open the top, spoon on salsa and sour cream, and eat straight out of the foil.
Nachos fall apart when they get wet, so the order of operations matters more than the ingredient list. The beef goes in already cooked and drained, and the wet toppings stay out of the packet entirely. Salsa and sour cream go on after the foil is open, once the chips have stopped being exposed to steam.
Two shallow layers beat one tall stack. Heat comes from the bottom of the packet, and a deep pile leaves the top cheese cold while the bottom chips scorch. A grate keeps the foil off the coals, which is the difference between melted and burned. This is a cooler recipe, not a backcountry one: the beef, cheese, and sour cream all need to stay cold until they hit the fire.
Packing
Beef travels cooked and cold in a flat freezer bag on the bottom of the cooler. Cheese and sour cream stay next to it. Chips ride in a hard-sided bin or they arrive as crumbs.
Variations
- A can of drained black beans in place of the beef, if the cooler space is tight.
- Pickled jalapenos from a jar keep for the whole trip and cut through the fat.
- Foil pie pans work instead of a folded packet, covered with foil. Easier to load, easier to serve.
https://campfirefoodie.com/foil-packet-nacho-recipe