How to Make Pancakes Over a Campfire

Camping is about roughing it in the wild for a few days and enjoying life without modern luxuries like running water or electricity. But roughing it in the woods doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your beloved breakfast foods, especially our favorite one: pancakes! Kulick’s Pancake Recipes put together a guide on how to cook pancakes over a campfire so that even when you’re deep in the woods, you can still enjoy the comforts of warm and fluffy pancakes in the mornings (or any time of day).

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How to Make Pancakes Over a Campfire

How Do You Make Pancakes Over a Campfire?

Making pancakes over a campfire is just as simple as cooking them on the stove at home, and our easy pancake recipe is made even easier by premixing the dry pancake mix ahead of time. The first step is to prepare the necessary ingredients and supplies to make pancakes while camping; you can find a detailed list and a recipe for pancakes on our guide. The dry ingredients can be mixed together in a jar or zip-top bag ahead of time to make the process of cooking camping pancakes much easier, plus there will be fewer ingredients to bring to the campsite, a win-win!

Begin making pancakes at the campsite by heating a cast iron skillet or griddle over the embers of the campfire. Then combine the wet ingredients together before adding them to the dry ingredients in the jar or bag. This is where the glass jar or zip-top bag will come in handy! The pancake ingredients can easily be mixed together by shaking the jar or bag, and then you can pour the pancake batter directly onto the hot skillet. If the batter was mixed in a plastic bag, snip the corner of the bag off with a pair of scissors to make it even easier to pour the batter out. From there, all you need to do is cook the pancakes over the fire for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown. Make your pancakes taste even better by adding toppings like maple syrup, honey, or fresh fruit. Finally, it’s time to enjoy your delicious campfire pancakes from the comfort of your camp chair!

How to Not Burn Pancakes Over a Campfire

Pancakes are meant to be enjoyed after cooking them to a golden brown color, but sometimes, the heat gets too hot and the pancakes go from a golden brown to a charred black. So how do you make pancakes that won’t burn? Our best tip to prevent your pancakes from burning over a campfire is to cook them in a skillet or griddle over the embers rather than over the open flames. The open flames can lead to uneven heating, which could end up burning part of, or the entire, pancake. Before putting together your pancake supplies, place the skillet or griddle over the burning coals to get it evenly heated up, then add the butter or oil and the pancake batter to start the process of making pancakes.

Can You Premake Pancake Batter?

Pancake batter can be premade before the camping trip, as long as it is used within a few days. The dry ingredients and the wet ingredients can also be premixed and kept separate until it comes time to actually make pancakes. The dry pancake ingredients include flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and powdered eggs if you choose to use them over real eggs; these can be mixed together in a jar, bottle, or bag ahead of time. The wet ingredients, which include eggs and water or milk, can also be combined ahead of time, as long as they are used within a few days so the eggs and milk don’t spoil. If you’re going on a longer camping trip, powdered eggs and powdered milk are great options to bring, as they will last a lot longer than their fresh counterparts.

Below, you will find our recipe for pancakes over the fire, including the complete list of ingredients, supplies, and steps needed to make your own pancakes at camp!

Campfire Pancakes

Ingredients (for 1-2 People)

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 egg (or 1 tbsp. powdered eggs + 3 tbsp. of water)
  • 1 cup milk or 1 cup water (if using milk powder, add ¼ cup of powder to water)
  • Butter, vegetable oil, or cooking spray
  • Optional: 1 tsp. of vanilla extract

Optional Toppings

  • Maple syrup
  • Honey
  • Chocolate chips
  • Fresh or dried fruit

Supplies

  • 2 glass jars with lids, sports bottles, or zip-top plastic bags
  • Cast iron pan or griddle
  • Spatula
  • Wood for the campfire

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare the pancake ingredients ahead of time by mixing together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, powdered eggs) and adding them to a jar, bottle, or bag.

Step 2: Once at the campsite, heat the cast iron skillet or griddle over the campfire. Lightly oil the skillet with the butter, cooking spray, or vegetable oil.

  • Heat it over the embers rather than over open flames, as that can lead to uneven cooking and burned pancakes.

Step 3: Prepare the wet ingredients by mixing the eggs into the water or milk; add the optional vanilla at this time. Add the wet ingredients to the empty jar, bottle, or bag and shake vigorously to combine.

  • If using powdered milk, prepare it with water before combining it with the eggs.
  • If using powdered eggs, they will already be in the dry mix, and only the water or milk will be added at this step.

Step 4: Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture to form the pancake batter. Shake the jar/bottle/bag to combine the ingredients. Add optional ingredients like chocolate chips or dried fruit to the batter.

  • To soften the dried fruit, let it sit in the batter for a few minutes before cooking the pancakes.

Step 5: Cook the pancakes by pouring the batter right from the jar/bottle/bag onto the skillet. If the batter was mixed in a plastic bag, snip the corner of the bag off to easily pour it onto the skillet. Cook the pancakes for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

Step 6: Remove the pancakes from the pan with the spatula and serve immediately with maple syrup, honey, butter, fruit, or any other topping of your choosing. It’s time to enjoy your campfire pancakes!

Related: Pancake Recipe Without Eggs, Pancake Recipe Without Butter, and Making Pancakes Without Flour.

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This page was last updated by Bruce Kulick and Lisa Lane Kulick