Cast Iron Dutch Oven Recipes

Layered Bacon, Potato and Cheese Supper

As soon as I tried this, it became one of our favorite cast iron Dutch oven recipes. This is camping food at its finest!

It's extremely easy to make: you just prepare the ingredients, layer them in the oven, and cook. You don't need measurements - just make enough for your group.

Layered Bacon, Potato and Cheese Supper in a steel bowl

Dutch oven cooking outdoors is fun. If you haven't yet used a Dutch oven for outdoor cooking, check out these camp Dutch oven cooking tips before you begin.

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How to make this cast iron Dutch oven recipe

Build a fire or light some charcoal.

If you are using firewood, build your fire long before you want to eat. It will take a while for the fire to burn down to coals.

We tried using charcoal briquettes for the first time when we made this recipe. We made a small wood fire and placed 25 briquettes in the fire. They were soon burning, and were very hot in no time.

Cook the bacon

Chop some bacon and put it in the Dutch oven.

Place the oven in the hot coals.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients

While the bacon cooks, slice some potatoes, onions and cheese.

Remove the bacon from the oven

Use a spoon to scoop the bacon out of the grease.

Set the bacon aside for now.

Don't pour off the grease. (I didn't say this was going to be a low-fat meal!)

Add the ingredients to the oven in layers

You are going to do two layers, so use half of your ingredients for the first layer.

First, a layer of potato slices...

...then, a layer of onion slices.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper if you like.

Lay cheese slices over top.

Sprinkle the cooked bacon evenly over the cheese.

Repeat: another layer of potatoes, then onions, then cheese, then bacon.

Layered Bacon, Potato and Cheese Supper ready to cook

Put the Dutch oven in the fire pit

Are your coals nice and hot? Put the lid on the Dutch oven and place it right in the coals.

We left 8 coals on the bottom and put the oven on top of them. We placed the remaining 17 coals on top.

Dutch oven in fire pit with coals on lid

If you are using firewood instead of charcoal, be sure that you have a good big pile of glowing coals. Set the oven on the coals, and place some burning coals on top.

Check periodically

The hardest part of the entire process was lifting the lid!

I used long-handled tongs to remove the coals, one by one, and then used a stick to lift the handle. I wished that I'd had a Dutch oven lid lifter!

Be sure to wear oven mitts or campfire gloves when moving the oven or the lid.

Cook until the potatoes are soft

I checked after about half an hour, but the potatoes were still crunchy.

After another 15 minutes, the potatoes were perfect and the cheese was melted.

Enjoy!

This was one of the best camping meals we'd ever had! I know that everything tastes good when you cook and eat outdoors - but really, this was sublime! Everyone in my family is urging me to make this again, soon.

Clean your Dutch oven promptly

The sooner you clean it, the easier it will be. Here is some more information on Dutch oven care.

Now that I've shared one of my favorite cast iron Dutch oven recipes, please check out the rest of my campfire cooking ideas.

Before you head out on your next camping trip, you might want to have a look at The Camping Family home page. You'll find all sorts of helpful information for making your vacation a success.