Do you struggle to come up with ideas for meals while you are camping? Or have you just purchased your first Dutch Oven, and you need to know where to begin with it? Cooking and eating around a campfire is arguably one of the best parts of most camping trips. Here are 7 of the best dutch oven cookbooks on Amazon to give you some new ideas, and to make your next camp cookout a success.
One thing you will notice about this list is that most of these books have Kindle editions. Some come in ONLY a Kindle edition. Evidently, I’m not the only person who takes a tablet camping for mealtime or at least uses it at home for planning before my trip. The advantage of having your recipe books in Kindle or ebook format is that you have quick access to ALL of your recipe books in one place. You can read kindle books on any tablet or computer with Amazon’s free app, or you can grab a Kindle here…
I filtered out some dutch oven cookbooks on the Amazon list that are not specifically for outdoor dutch ovens. However, it isn’t hard to translate the recipes meant for cast iron in your kitchen oven into a delicious meal cooked with charcoal in the backyard. But for this list, I’m staying with just the outdoor cookbooks.
At the end of the list is a bonus… one of my all time person favorite dutch oven cookbooks.
Disclaimer, I’ve included affiliate links to the books in this post, so I will get a commission if you buy one. Here is the list!
Best Dutch Oven Cookbooks
- Dirty Gourmet: Food for Your Outdoor Adventures – Emily Nielson, Aimee Trudeau, et al. Many of the books on my list emphasize simple recipes, easy to make at a campsite. That may not be what everyone is looking for though. If you want a more gourmet approach, or if you are just looking for something different, give this book a try. Some of the recipes are for your Dutch Oven, and some do not. This is a book with recipes that you may not normally see on a campsite menu.
- The Camp Dutch Oven Cookbook: Easy 5-Ingredient Recipes to Eat Well in the Great Outdoors – Robin Donovan. This book has only simple recipes with very few ingredients, making them perfect for preparing at your campsite. You don’t want a lot of prep time when you’re working on a picnic table next to a fire pit to prepare your meal, that this book meets that requirement!
- Dutch Oven and Cast Iron Cooking – Anne Schaeffer. This has recently been revised, adding more recipes. There are 125 recipes in this book, for Dutch Ovens, and other cast iron cookware. Most can easily be used over a campfire. Like some of the other books, it also has valuable information about caring for your cast iron cookware to keep it in good shape.
- The Outdoor Dutch Oven Cookbook, Second Edition – Sheila Mills. The author has served as head chef and co-owner of rafting outfitter Rocky Mountain River Tours for 30 years. The recipes in this book have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Every Day with Rachael Ray. Available on Kindle and in paperback.
- Camping Cookbook: Camping Recipes Made Easy: 50 Recipes! Featuring Foil Packet Recipes, Dutch Oven Recipes, Campfire Grilling Recipes, and Campfire Cooking Recipes Kindle Edition – Alexa Frank. Besides Dutch Oven recipes, this book has a variety of other great camping recipes. If you haven’t tried foil packet meals, there are some good ones here. That’s how many of the boys in our scout troop were introduced to campfire cooking before using Dutch Ovens. This book also tells what equipment you need for the recipes, as well as packing tips. It’s a great resource for camping meals and Dutch Oven cooking.
- The Lodge Book of Dutch Oven Cooking – J. Wayne Fears. Besides some delicious recipes, this book provides useful information on the care and cleaning of a Dutch Oven. It also provides information about useful accessories, and how Dutch Ovens are made. Available in Kindle and paperback editions.
- Camping Cookbook: Dutch Oven Cast Iron Recipes (Volume 2) – Louise Davidson. This is part of a multi-book series on camp cooking. It includes 50 recipes specific for cooking in your Dutch Oven at a campsite.
- 101 Things To Do with a Dutch Oven – Vernon Winterton. Get 101 recipes for any meal of the day, as well as dessert. The paperback edition is spiral bound to lay flat when in use. And it comes in a Kindle edition as well.
- Scout’s Outdoor Cookbook (Falcon Guide) – Christine Conners and Tim Conners. This is number one because it is the best Dutch Oven cookbook in my library and my personal favorite. This was my first book of outdoor recipes, and I have had many great camping meals based on it. This is a fantastic book, and I highly recommend it. I actually have this in both softcover and Kindle editions.
Besides these cookbooks, there are a few of my favorite recipes here on MustGoCamping. Try Dutch Oven Lasagna, our Homemade Hamburger Helper recipe, or Buffalo Chicken Pasta in your Dutch Oven at your next campout. Having a good library of cookbooks, as well as some go-to online resources, lets you plan your menu before you leave for your next camping trip. Having the food you want, and what you need to cook it, well organized makes your camping trip that much more enjoyable.