Dutch Oven Lasagna Camping Recipe

If you’re a fan of this page then you probably like cooking great food outdoors.  I’m always trying to take a new recipe and turn it into camp food.  A lot of people see me cooking these great dutch oven recipes and think it’s really hard.  Honestly it’s the way I prefer to cook.  I even cook outdoors with my dutch oven at home sometimes.  A few years ago we were planning our camp menu and I decided to make dutch oven lasagna.  It was even easier than I had hoped and it turned out great!  It’s now one of my regular dutch oven recipes when we want a hearty meal that will fill us all up.  I’ve even been known to bake some fresh bread in the dutch oven before making the lasagna.

Dutch Oven Lasagna

There are a few challenges you’re going to run into pretty quickly with making lasagna at camp.  The first is how do you bake lasagna at camp?  The answer to that question is a dutch oven.  I’ve learned not to assume that people know what that is.  A dutch oven is a large cast iron cooking vessel.  It will often have 3 – 4 pegged feet on the bottom and a rim on the lid.  The feet are so it can be set over charcoal without actually setting on the charcoal.  This isn’t a requirement, but it is a great feature because the coals will burn better without the direct contact and the heat will be more consistent.  The rim on the lid is so you can place charcoal on top without it falling off.  This gives provides heat from the top and bottom which allows you to bake things like lasagna or even bread at camp.

The second problem you will have is noodles.  An obvious possibility is to bring dried noodles and boil them.  The dutch oven can even be used to boil the noodles.  But there are easier options.  One would be fresh frozen pasta.  I’ve seen frozen lasagna noodles at whole foods and other places before.  The other, and my preferred method, is no-boil noodles.  As long as you use enough sauce these are perfect.

Preparation

Before you get the fire started you will want to have everything else ready.  In my recipe I use hamburger, but feel free to use sausage, make vegetarian lasagna, or add whatever other ingredients you like.  Cook your hamburger and mix it with the sauce and set aside.  Note: Alternatively you can pre-cook hamburger and freeze it at home to save time if you prefer.  In a separate bowl mix your ricotta cheese, half your mozzarella cheese, and the eggs and set aside.

Before you start preparing the lasagna in your dutch oven you want to get the charcoal lit.  By the time you have your lasagna layered up the coals should be ready for cooking.  Use a dutch oven charcoal chart to determine the correct amount of charcoal for 350 degrees.  Set them out and start them in a charcoal chimney or on the ground with lighter fluid.

While the coals are starting prepare your lasagna as you normally would at home.  Start with a thin layer of sauce to coat the bottom so things don’t stick.  Then layer noodles, sauce, and cheese mixture until you are out of ingredients or at the desired depth.  Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.

Cooking

You will want a few more coals on top than on bottom.  This helps the cheese brown on top without burning the noodles on bottom.  Cook the lasagna for about 30 – 45 minutes, checking in 15 minute intervals.  If the lasagna is done but the cheese topping isn’t then just remove from the bottom coals and let the top ones continue working.  After the lasagna is done remove all the coals.  If you can manage, let this sit for 30 minutes before serving.  One advantage of all that cast iron is heat retention.  Letting it sit gives the lasagna that extra finishing touch and reach a perfect eating temperature.

Printable Recipe

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