This campfire donuts recipe is one of our favorite kids camping recipes! They are SO easy to make and they are really fun to make too! You can get the kids involved in making them and they will soon be asking for them on every camping trip.
I now add these campfire donuts to our camping recipes menu plan every camping trip because they are so quick and easy and they really are a lot of fun for the kids to help make. For this campfire donuts recipe you’ll need the following:
- cast iron pan
- vegetable oil
- biscuit dough (Pillsbury biscuits value pack is what we used.)
- cinnamon sugar
Begin by building a fire and placing a cast iron pan (I used this one) on the grate over the fire. Fill 1/3 full with vegetable oil. Heat until oil is shimmering. Test the oil’s temperature by putting a pice of biscuit dough in the oil. If it begins to brown then the oil is ready. If it just sinks to the bottom and doesn’t start floating then the oil isn’t hot enough yet.
Give each of the kids a piece of biscuit dough and let them form the shape of their donuts. We’ve done traditional donut shapes by just poking a hole in the middle of the biscuit dough and it works best. The kids have more fun making snakes and shapes but they don’t always cook through the middle when they are a solid shape.
Once one side is browned, flip the donuts to cook the opposite side. Once that side is brown carefully remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to help remove excess grease.
Then let the kids add cinnamon sugar to their donuts. You can either use brown paper bags to shake them and coat them or just sprinkle them on using a sugar shaker over a paper plate. The best thing about camping recipes is that they are made outdoors and it doesn’t matter if the kids make a mess of it!
Let them cool a bit before you eat them as they will be very hot! These taste just like bakery donuts and we absolutely love them. Try them and you’ll see why these campfire donuts are one of our favorite camping recipes!
You can make as many or as few campfire donuts as you want! I always have biscuit dough on hand in our fridge in the camper. You never know when you’ll need to make these. They are great for breakfast or dessert!
Print the Campfire Donuts recipe below:
Favorite Camping Recipes! Campfire Donuts Recipe
Ingredients
- cast iron pan
- vegetable oil
- biscuit dough Pillsbury biscuits value pack is what we used.
- cinnamon sugar
Instructions
- Build a campfire and place a cast iron pan on the grate over the fire.
- Fill cast iron pan 1/3 full with vegetable oil. Heat until the oil's surface is shimmery. Test oil temperature with a small piece of dough. If it starts to float and brown then the oil is hot enough. If it sinks and doesn't cook then the oil isn't hot enough yet. If it burns then your oil is too hot and you need to move the cast iron pan away from the direct flame a bit.
- Shape each biscuit into a donut shape by poking a hole in the center and forming a ring. Once oil has reached the proper temperature add biscuit dough to the oil. Cook until bottom is browned then flip and cook until opposite side has browned. Once both sides have browned remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to help soak up excess grease.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (either in a brown paper bag or just sprinkle over the top of the donut). Serve immediately. Be careful they will be hot!
Kids Camping Recipes Campfire Donuts Supplies:
Lodge L10SK3ASHH41B Cast Iron Skillet, Pre-Seasoned, 12-inch
Crisco Pure all Natural Vegetable Oil – 128 ozWinware Stainless Steel Dredges 10-Ounce with HandleMccormick Cinnamon Sugar, 29-Ounce
Pin the Camping Recipes Campfire Donuts Image below:
My boys would love to make these. You can only make s’mores so many times. Can’t wait to try it out.
The Favorite Camping Recipes! Campfire Donuts Recipe is amazing, and I am going to make these donuts next time I am camping. The kids would love to make these for sure!
I bet these doughnuts taste delicious. Food cooked outside over an open fire seems to taste better.
Oh what a fun idea this is! I have to try this in our yard firepit! How fun!
Do you save the oil to reuse again or what do you do with all of that oil Everytime? I want to do his? I am wondering if it would be feasible for girl scout camp 🙂 do you have a hard time keeping the oild hot enough?
Carla, it is simple to keep the oil hot enough over the fire. This would be a great Girl Scout Camp meal. You can reuse the oil but I would label it and only use it for donuts.
These donuts look not only easy to make, but fun to make as well. I bet they are delicious.
My mom made these for us when I was a kid and I’m happy to say I’ve kept the tradition alive with my own children. ..they’re soooo much better than any bakery/donut shop I’ve ever been to. Should be eaten soon after cooking, which is NEVER a problem in my family!
I totally agree!! I didn’t get the pleasure of trying them as a kid but I enjoy them just as much as the kids lol!
Im in Australia and wondering where or what to use cause I cant find biscuit dough here
I would say you can probly use the same as if you were making whole made bisquits !!!
Biscuits are the equivalent to a scone in England. Being the Australia’s language is more like England, do you have scone mix, or refrigerated scone dough in a can?
No these are not like scones. More like a dinner roll if that helps
Just curious if you can do this on a camp stove, or if it needs to be done on a fire.
Yes, you could do these on a camp stove. Just follow the directions the same and wait for the oil to heat to a shimmer.
Is there another oil I can use? I’d like to avoid veg oil and use something healthier. 😉
Sure, you can use any oil that is suitable for frying.
This looks easy! I have always wondered how to make donuts and can hardly wait to try it – who knew… biscuits! Saw this on the Share Your Style link party. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by Cindy! They are so fun and easy!
This was my favorite camping meal when I was a kid! It was the only time my parents would ever make something so unhealthy, and there were always enough for me to eat as many as I wanted! I’m getting hungry just looking at these pictures!
What a great memory!! Thanks for sharing 🙂 I hope my kids grow up and have the same awesome memories of these donuts that have become tradition for us!
I’ve looked up pilsbury biscuits and there are a few different variations – flakey, country style, grands, original… which works better as a doughnut-type dough? Thanks! 🙂
We’ve used the original and grands and they both work well! The grands are probably a little better for larger donuts but the original work well as smaller mini donuts.
What a great idea!! And so easy everyone would want to help. I’m sure there would be no leftovers, either!
They are so fun and tasty too!
I tried these the last time I went camping. It was easy to follow but they weren’t cooked all the way through. I had hot oil and shaped the donuts like normal. What did I do wrong?
If you make them too thick or don’t put a hole in the middle then they won’t cook. I also suggest using a thermometer to check the oil temperature. Hope that helps!
My kids loved this! Thank you for helping make them happy =)
I’m so glad to hear they loved it! Thanks for the feedback!
Those look amazing! We aren’t campers but I bet if I made food like this my boys wouldn’t mind giving it another try. Pinned.
I use Frozen bread dough thawed and cut into shapes or circles. Same way fry in hot oil. I buy it from grocery store bakeries if not in frozen section of store. Works fantastic. Have been doing this for 20 years for my grand kids. Now grown and still ask for fried bread. We coAt with cinnamon and sugar or my homemade strawberry jam. Can’t make them fast enough for everyone. They cook very fast on stove or over camp fire, better than bought donuts
Great idea!! Thanks for sharing. I’ll have to try this.
Those looks so yummy… Thanks for sharing I am sure my kids gonna love it.
Enjoy!!
Oh, do these bring back memories, great at camp and as a weekend treat as well. Can’t wait to try this with my grandkids. Glad I saw it over at the Homestead Blog hop!
Awe that is fantastic! Thanks Tracy
The donuts look so yummy and easy to make. And better yet, the whole camping group can get involved. I will definitely try these on our next trip!
I made these with a large group of scouts at a Webelos campout. This was their entry in the Commissioner’s Dessert Contest, and our scouts took top honors! We had the scouts prepare the bags of cinnamon sugar, shape the dough, and do the shaking, while the parents did the actual cooking (there wasn’t a lot of hot oil splatter, but there was enough to make it a little iffy for them). The one thing we didn’t think about bringing was a can for the used oil. Luckily, we were able to get one from the camp kitchen. The scouts all loved the donuts… I even heard that they were the best donuts they’d ever had!
Thanks for the detailed recipe and instructions!
This is fantastic! I am so excited for them!! How fun to win the contest. Thanks so much for sharing this! It brought a smile to my face today
Guess we need to buy a camper so we have a fridge for the dough.
You can put the dough in a cooler instead of course