Dutch Oven Chicken And Rice Camping Recipe
This is one of our warmest and creamiest Dutch oven camping recipes that will completely satisfy your craving for comfort food in the great outdoors. Enjoy this Dutch Oven Chicken And Rice Camping Recipe that uses simple ingredients and doesn’t include canned soup!

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Prep Required To Make Baked Chicken And Rice Casserole
When you are making easy camping meals that call for skinless chicken breasts that are cubed into bite sized pieces, it is easiest to prep the chicken at home.
- I put 1 pound portions in quart-sized freezer bags and label it with the contents and date.
- Then, I transport it (frozen) to the campsite and defrost it prior to making the meal.
There are very few veggies to prep for this recipe so I just chop the onion, garlic and parsley (which is an optional ingredient for garnish) at camp.
Methods Of Cooking Camping Dutch Oven Chicken And Rice
You are actually using two cooking methods to make this meal.
- You will be heating your Dutch oven from below to brown the chicken and veggies.
- Then, you will be surrounding the entire oven to bake the dish with the rice.
If you are making this as one of our campfire recipes, you’ll need to get your fire going in order to cook over coals (not flames) … you can also use charcoal briquettes.
You can also make this as one of our camp stove recipes if you have a Dutch oven dome and heat diffuser plate, so get your stove ready for cooking on a level surface.
If you have never used this equipment, I have an entire blog post with a VIDEO to show you how to cook with a Dutch oven dome and heat diffuser plate on a propane camp stove.
Steps To Make Camp Oven Chicken And Rice
Step 1. Prepare your ingredients as directed. One of the ways to make your camping dinner recipes really fast at camp is to do as much prep-ahead at home as possible.
Step 2. Prepare your heat source for baking at an oven temperature of 350 F degrees.
- You will need 25 total coals = 17 top / 8 bottom if you are using a 12-inch Dutch oven.
- If you are using a different oven size, check our Dutch oven temperature chart to see how many coals you will need.
Step 3. Brown the ingredients using heat from below your oven. You’ll melt some butter then sauté the onion, seasonings and garlic. Then, you’ll brown the chicken and add the rice, peas and carrots. You’ll top everything with the chicken broth and cover with your Dutch oven lid.
Step 4. Bake the casserole with heat surrounding the oven.
- Camp Cooking Tip: If you are using a propane camp stove for this recipe, this is the point where you will need to add your Dutch oven dome and heat diffuser plate to circulate the heat up the sides and over the top of the oven for baking.
You will be baking this recipe until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid is almost absorbed.
Step 5. Add the cream cheese and bake till melted. So many winter camping recipes are creamy and cheesy, the hallmark of good comfort food!
- For this chicken and rice bake, the creaminess comes from cream cheese that is added just before serving.
- Camp Cooking Tip: Watch for the liquid to be almost absorbed before adding the cream cheese because if you wait until all of the liquid is totally absorbed, the rice will have a mushy texture. Replace the lid and continue baking a few more minutes until the cream cheese is nicely softened.
Step 6. Garnish and serve. You’ll stir in the melted cream cheese, add a bit of parsley (if you’d like) and serve this hearty meal immediately.
Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in a refrigerator or cooler.
You can just reheat them or reinvent them.
- I like making chicken burritos with the leftovers by adding a little taco seasoning to the mixture as I heat it in a pot on a stove or over hot campfire coals. Then, I wrap it in a tortilla and add a little jarred salsa, cheddar cheese and fresh cilantro if I have some on hand.
Recipes Similar To Campfire Chicken And Rice
There are so many flavor combinations you can do with the base of chicken and rice. Here are a few of our family favorites:
- Dutch Oven Thai Campfire Chicken: This is one of our almost-gourmet make ahead camping meals that you just dump and cook at the campsite.
- Easy Campfire Dutch Oven Dijon Mustard Sauce Chicken: The secret to the amazing flavor in this meal is a really simple sauce made using Dijon mustard. I like serving this chicken over a bed of rice. It’s another great option for gluten free camping food!
- Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breast Recipe: The Mexican flavors in this dish are wonderful. The chicken simmers in diced tomatoes, black beans, corn and cumin until it is cooked through. Then, it is served over rice and topped with cilantro and avocado for a nice bright finish.
- Middle Eastern Inspired Dutch Oven Chicken: Other than AMAZING flavor, the thing I like best about this recipe the comment I got from a reader, Carla. She said:
- I gotta tell ya…this is my go-to chicken dish when I have company. It is phenomenal. I cook it all day so that the chicken gets nice and sticky. It is great to make the day ahead and even better as left-overs. I had people over for a Middle Eastern feast and they kept going back for seconds (and thirds) of this dish. I know some people are wary of cooking with fruit, but, one of the guys at my dinner absolutely hates fruit in meals. In fact, he was telling us, while he was eating this dish, how much he hates fruit. I waited until he was finished and said, ‘Weird. Cuz there’s both dates and apricots in that third helping you’re going for.’ HAH! Thanks for this recipe – it has a permanent home in my ‘winner’s cookbook’.
Meal Planning
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Chicken And Rice Dutch Oven Camping Recipe
Equipment
- Camp Chef Dutch Oven Dome (if making this recipe on a stove top.)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried ground thyme
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cubed into bite sized pieces
- 1 (12 oz) package frozen peas and carrots defrosted
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 1 (32 oz) carton chicken broth
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese cubed into 1 inch chunks
- 4 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped (optional)
Instructions
- This baked chicken and rice casserole requires an oven temperature of 350 F degrees so prepare your heat source accordingly. Initially, you will be using a heat source below the oven to do the browning then you will transition with heat above and below the Dutch oven for baking.
- Heat a 12-inch standard depth Dutch oven over medium-high heat using hardwood coals from a campfire, charcoal briquettes or a propane camp stove.
- Melt the butter in the Dutch oven pot.
- Add the onion to the pot, stirring and cooking until it is tender.
- Stir in the salt, pepper and thyme.
- Add the garlic to the pot, continually stirring and cooking until it is fragrant making sure not to burn it.
- As soon as the garlic is fragrant, add the chicken to the pot. Stir the chicken until the pieces are browned on all sides. This will take a few minutes.
- Now, add the rice, peas and carrots to the pot stirring everything together to combine all of the ingredients.
- Pour the chicken broth into the pot, cover with the lid and bake at 350 F degrees (25 total coals = 17 top / 8 bottom) until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid is almost absorbed. This will take approximately 30-40 minutes. (see * Note)
- While there is still some liquid in the pot, place the cream cheese cubes evenly across the top of the chicken and rice mixture. (see ** Note)
- Remove the lid, stir the melted cream cheese into the chicken and rice then top with fresh parsley. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
More Yummy Camp Meal Ideas
Treat yourself to new and exciting recipes on your next trip.
If you’re looking for awesome ideas for yummy camping food, you’re in the right place! Here’s our entire camping recipes list.
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