Easy 3 Ingredient Campfire Donuts Dutch Oven Camping Recipe! (2024)

These Campfire Donuts are ready in mere minutes and you only need 3 ingredients to make them! The freshly fried warm dough can be coated in a cinnamon sugar mixture or powdered sugar. My family especially loves the donut holes that are gobbled up in one bite.

This sweet treat is one of the most tasty camping breakfast ideas and perfect with a hot cup of coffee or cold glass of milk.

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Ingredients

Here’s a list of the key items you’ll need.

• Refrigerated biscuit dough
• Vegetable oil
• Confectioners’ sugar

Refrigerated biscuit dough: The canned buttermilk biscuit dough works best, particularly the jumbo biscuits. You can substitute plain biscuit dough instead of buttermilk dough and it won’t make a big difference in the end product. I don’t recommend using the regular size biscuit dough because the jumbo dough holds its shape better when you cut holes in the center to create the donut.

Vegetable oil: Canola oil can be substituted for vegetable oil. Make sure the oil is fresh and has not been used to cook other foods with powerful flavors like garlic.

Confectioners’ sugar: Powder sugar is my go-to for these donuts because it adds a nice sweetness with just one ingredient. You can change things up a bit by using a different sweetener for coating the hot dough. For a cinnamon sugar variation, mix 1 cup sugar with 2 tablespoons cinnamon.

Equipment

• 12-Inch, 6 Quart Cast Iron Camp Dutch Oven
• Long tongs
• Sharp knife

12-Inch, 6 Quart Cast Iron Camp Dutch Oven: I like making these donuts right over hot campfire coals in a Dutch oven. You can also place the pot on a standard propane camp stove. You don’t want to overcrowd the pot so you won’t want to use a vessel that is much smaller or you’ll be making lots of batches which can take a long time.

Long tongs: It’s easiest to flip the donuts in the oil using long tongs. You can also just use forks but be careful so you don get burned by the hot pot or hot oil.

Sharp knife: A knife with a sharp point is best when cutting a circle out of the biscuit dough. You can also use a shot glass for this step. The sharper the edge, the easier it is to cut through the dough.

How To Make

What makes these donuts so easy and fast? They are canned biscuit campfire donuts so you are not making the dough from scratch.

Step 1. Start your campfire. You want your fire to burn down to a nice bed of hot coals rather than cooking over big flames.

Step 2. Prepare the dough. Open your canned biscuit dough and separate the biscuits, laying them out on a cutting surface. Using a sharp knife, cut a round circle from the center of the biscuit and remove the “dough holes” creating a doughnut shape. Set the dough holes aside.

Step 3. Heat the oil. Pour oil into a cast iron Dutch oven and very carefully place it on a grate over the hot coals.

Camp Cooking Tip: Use a campfire grate for cooking rather than a tripod anytime you are cooking campfire recipes with oil because it is much more stable.

CAUTION: Oil is flammable! Keep the campfire flames low and a fair distance from the oil. Don’t allow the oil to splash outside of the pot. Use the heat of coals (not the flames of fire) to cook with oil. You can also make these donuts as camp stove recipes if you are more comfortable cooking over propane.

Step 4. Check the oil temperature. Is it a hot tub or a warm bath? You can tell when the oil is hot enough for frying by placing a small piece of dough into the oil, if bubbles form around the dough, the oil is ready.

Camp Cooking Tip: If the dough just sits in the oil without bubbling (like a warm bath) it is not hot enough. If you place dough in oil that is not up to temperature, the dough will just soak up the grease. Instead, you want the oil hot enough to quickly fry the dough creating a nice crispy outer texture and maintaining a fluffy inner texture.

Step 5. Fry the doughnuts. Use long tongs to place dough into hot oil for cooking being careful to avoid splashing the oil on yourself or into the campfire. When the bottom is golden brown, use long tongs to flip the donuts to cook on the other side. This will only take a few minutes per side.

Step 6. Drain, then sugar the donuts. Remove the donuts from the oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate to remove excess grease. Roll donuts in powdered sugar and shake off excess.

Step 7. Make the doughnut holes. Repeat the same process with the “dough holes” that you set aside earlier.

Step 8. Serve warm. Enjoy these fresh doughnuts while they are still warm.

Camp Cooking Tip: You can save the oil and use it to cook something else on your trip. Just let it cool and pour it into a sealed container. It’s a great option for French fries or breaded fish.

Variations

Fried dough is a blank canvas for different toppings. In addition to coating the doughnuts in powdered sugar and cinnamon sugar you may also want to try these:

• Add a simple glaze by combining powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract.
• Frost cooled donuts with prepared frosting. A thin layer of vanilla, chocolate or strawberry frosting is a great “glue” to add other fun toppings like crushed Oreos, chopped nuts, colorful sprinkles or shredded coconut.

Pairings

I love serving these doughnuts with a hot cup of coffee as one of my fun camping breakfast ideas or with a cold glass of milk when I’m serving as one of my super fast and simple camping dessert recipes.

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FAQs

Leftovers

Place leftovers in a sealed container at room temperature and out of direct sunlight. They are delicious cold or can be reheated in a microwave or oven.

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Servings

There are 8 biscuits in a 16 oz can of dough so you’ll get 8 donuts and 8 donut holes when you make these. If you want to scale it to feed more people, adjust the number of servings in the recipe card and it will calculate the ingredient list for you.

If you are making camping meals for two, you can use some of the biscuits to make these donuts and bake the other biscuits according to the package directions, then, top with jam or gravy for breakfast on another day of your trip! Check out my Camping Biscuits And Gravy to get my simple sausage gravy recipe.

More Meal Ideas

After you enjoy these campfire donuts, you might want to try a few more of our fun and tasty ideas on your next trip!