Nothing beats a hearty, cheesy meal after a long day of hiking and setting up camp. These Dutch oven enchiladas pack all the comfort of home cooking into a campfire-friendly recipe that feeds a crowd without much fuss. The best part about this camping meal is how forgiving it is for beginners to Dutch oven cooking. You’re mainly just warming ingredients and melting cheese, which means even if your fire runs a bit hot or cool, you’ll still end up with delicious results.
This recipe uses simple ingredients that travel well and store easily in your cooler. Most of the prep work can be done at home before you leave, making assembly at camp quick and easy. Whether you’re feeding vegetarian friends or just want a break from typical camping fare, these enchiladas deliver restaurant quality flavors with minimal cleanup.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1 large onion, sliced thin
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 can (28 oz) green enchilada sauce
- 8-10 flour tortillas
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
- Fresh cilantro for serving
- Sour cream for serving
- Lime wedges for serving
How to Make Them
- Get your campfire going and let it burn down to hot coals while you prep the ingredients. You want steady heat without big flames that will scorch the bottom of your Dutch oven.
- Heat the oil in your Dutch oven over the coals or on a camp stove. Add both bell peppers and cook for about 5 minutes until they start to soften. Add the sliced onion and cook until the onion turns clear and the peppers are tender, about 8 more minutes.
- Stir in the minced garlic, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt. Cook for another minute until everything smells amazing. Remove the Dutch oven from heat and transfer the vegetable mixture to a bowl or plate.
- Spread about half a cup of enchilada sauce across the bottom of your Dutch oven. This prevents the tortillas from sticking and burning on the bottom.
- Take each tortilla and add a generous spoonful of the pepper and onion mixture down the center. Add some black beans and a handful of cheese. Roll the tortilla tightly around the filling and place it seam side down in the Dutch oven. Repeat until all tortillas are filled and arranged in the pot.
- Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the rolled tortillas, making sure each one gets covered. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese evenly over everything.
- Put the lid on your Dutch oven and place it back over the coals. Using tongs, arrange about 12-15 hot coals on top of the lid. This creates an oven effect that cooks from both top and bottom.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes, checking after 12 minutes to see how things are progressing. The enchiladas are done when the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.
Getting Ready Before You Leave
Smart campers know that doing prep work at home makes everything easier at the campsite. For these enchiladas, you can cook the entire pepper and onion mixture ahead of time. Just sauté everything according to the recipe, let it cool completely, and store it in a sealed container in your cooler.
You can also pre-shred your cheese if you buy it in blocks, and portion out your seasonings into small containers or bags. This way you’re not hauling your entire spice cabinet to camp. Pre-draining and rinsing the black beans saves time too, plus you can pack them in a smaller container instead of bringing the whole can.
If you really want to go all out with prep, you can even assemble the entire dish at home. Roll all the enchiladas, arrange them in a disposable aluminum pan, cover with sauce and cheese, then wrap tightly with foil. At camp, just transfer everything to your Dutch oven and cook as directed.
Campfire Cooking Tips
Dutch oven cooking takes a little practice, but these tips will help you get perfect results every time. The key is managing your heat properly. You want hot coals, not roaring flames that will burn the bottom before the top gets warm.
Build your fire early and let it burn down to glowing embers. If you’re using charcoal briquettes, light about 25-30 of them in a chimney starter. For this recipe, you’ll want about 8-10 coals underneath the Dutch oven and 12-15 on top of the lid.
The coals on top should be arranged in a checkerboard pattern, not clumped together. This gives you even heat distribution across the lid. If you notice one spot getting too brown, you can move coals around with tongs to balance things out.
Don’t peek too often. Every time you lift the lid, you lose heat and add cooking time. After the first 12 minutes, you can check to see how the cheese is melting. If it needs more time, replace the lid quickly and give it another 5-8 minutes.
Making It Your Own
The beauty of this recipe is how easy it is to customize. If you have meat eaters in your group, you can easily add cooked chicken, beef, or pork to the filling. Just cook and season the meat at home, then add it along with the vegetables.
For extra heat, throw in some diced jalapeños with the peppers and onions. If you like things mild, skip the green chiles or use a mild enchilada sauce instead of medium or hot.
Vegetarians will love this recipe as written, but you can make it even heartier by adding more beans or throwing in some corn kernels. Different types of beans work great too. Try pinto beans, kidney beans, or a combination of whatever you have on hand.
The cheese can be swapped out based on your preferences. A Mexican cheese blend works perfectly, but sharp cheddar, pepper jack, or even queso fresco all taste great. Just make sure whatever cheese you choose melts well.
What to Serve Alongside
These enchiladas are filling enough to be a complete meal, but a few simple sides make dinner even better. A basic side salad with lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado adds fresh crunch and helps balance the rich, cheesy enchiladas.
Chips and salsa are always a hit around the campfire and require zero prep work. Just set out the bags and let everyone dig in while the enchiladas finish cooking.
If you want something warm to go with the meal, corn on the cob wrapped in foil cooks perfectly in the coals while you’re making the enchiladas. Just wrap each ear with butter and seasonings, then bury them in the coals for about 15 minutes.
Storage and Cleanup
Leftover enchiladas keep well in your cooler for a couple of days and make great breakfast the next morning. You can even eat them cold if your fire hasn’t gotten going yet.
Cleanup is pretty simple since most of the cooking happens right in the Dutch oven. The vegetable bowl and any prep dishes can be wiped clean or rinsed with a little hot water from your camp stove.
Your Dutch oven will need a good scrub, but that’s easier to do once you get home. At camp, just scrape out any stuck bits and wipe it down with a paper towel. The seasoning on cast iron actually improves with use, so don’t worry about getting it perfectly clean at the campsite.
These Dutch oven enchiladas prove that camp cooking doesn’t have to mean giving up the foods you love. With a little planning and some basic techniques, you can enjoy comfort food classics even in the middle of nowhere.