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Mac n Cheese Recipe for Camping

August 24, 2018 · 184 Comments

4.6 from 15 votes

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This Mac n Cheese recipe is the easiest and cheesiest make-ahead meal! Get ready for the best camping dinner experience you’ve ever had.

mac n cheese

Now, a Mac n Cheese recipe for camping? A Pacific Northwest kind of thing.

Probably more of a Lauren’s Latest thing.

Do you camp? You’re going to want to after one peek at this recipe.

You guys, camping for me isn’t just hot dogs over a fire. My mom taught me from a young age that we can eat just as deliciously on vacation at the beach camping then we do at home. It just means a little cooking in advance! So in honor of me having gone on a camping trip sans husband {still trying to figure out why I agreed to go} and providing my fellow campers with oatmeal chocolate chip cookie s’mores, I decided that I should think of more meals that people would probably not want to make or think they couldn’t make whilst camping.

Why macaroni and cheese was the first thing that popped into my head, I’ll never know. But here is the recipe! I do take a few short cuts, but by golly is this stuff amazing!! Try it and see 🙂

Here’s how to make it:

Camping Mac n' Cheese...omg so yummy!! The easiest make ahead dinner for camping!

mac n cheese

Since we’re cooking these on the fire/on an outdoor grill, start by finding these mini aluminum pie tins. Just found these at the grocery store! Spray 4 of them with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. {Yes, you can also use just a regular size pie tin.}

mac n cheese

For the actual mac n’cheese recipe….it’s not much of a recipe. I like to call it a cheaters mac n’cheese because that’s exactly how I feel about it. This recipe is: cooked elbow macaroni, store bought alfredo sauce, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, half & half, salt & pepper. Once the pasta is done cooking, rinse it with cool water and drain well. Then stir in all of these goodies and that’s basically it.

mac n cheese

You want to cool down your pasta so the cheese doesn’t melt. The last thing you want is a glob of cheese in the middle of your dish. It would be so hard to divide!

homemade mac n cheese

Anyways, divide this cheesy mixture in between your pie tins.

homemade mac n cheese

Obviously top with more cheese!

homemade mac n cheese

Now, as for storage: we’re going to cover these with foil because again: foil won’t get completely destroyed in a fire pit. Write out what it is so that in your cooler when you go camping, you’ll know to keep these all together and away from the melty ice water.

homemade mac n cheese

Be sure to spray the other side of your foil with more nonstick cooking spray. I hate when all that melty, gooey cheese sticks to the top {and then I can’t eat it}.

The things I think of….

homemade mac n cheese

Cover these bad boys up and seal them as best as you can. I like to actually put all 4 of these guys into a large ziploc bag so if they do happen to get submerged into that grody, melty ice water in the cooler, it’s no big deal.

mac n cheese recipe

Once you are ready to cook these, get a fire nice and hot and let it burn down to hot coals. Place a grill over top {to prevent the bottoms from burning!!!} and heat up your mac n cheese 8-10 minutes or until hot and cheesy! YUM. Depending on how hot your fire is, this could take no time at all, or could take a little longer. The key is to not set them directly over your heat source. Burnt mac n cheese was never good.

Since everything is more or less cooked, all you have to do is heat it through.

mac n cheese recipe

The best part of this recipe is the edges and the tops got a thin layer of crispy cheese that added a whole new level of deliciousness.

I’m kind of in love with crispy cheese.

Anyways, if any of you are headed out to camp or even if you don’t camp, try this mac n cheese recipe out. It’s so fast, so simple and awfully delicious!

Have a great weekend! xoxo

4.6 from 15 votes
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Camping Mac n' Cheese

This Mac n Cheese recipe is the easiest and cheesiest make ahead meal! Get ready for the best camping dinner experience you've ever had.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 448 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
  • 8 oz prepared Alfredo sauce {just over half a jar}
  • 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4-1/2 cup half and half or whole milk
  • Salt and pepper to taste
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
  2. Stir alfredo sauce into the cooked pasta with the three cheeses and enough milk to keep things loosey goosey. {This is so your mac and cheese doesn't dry out while it's staying cool.} Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Divide between four mini aluminum pie tins {or one big one}, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Spray one side of aluminum foil with more nonstick cooking spray and cover each individual mac and cheese portion, sprayed side down, facing the food. Seal well. Store in a large plastic food storage bag in a cooler until ready to cook.
  3. Prepare a fire and let it burn down to the coals. Place a cooking rack over top that would be 2-3 inches above. Place each pie tin over the hot coals and cook 8-10 minutes or until hot. Remove from fire and serve immediately.**SHORTCUT MAC AND CHEESE DIRECTIONS**You can also just bake these at home in a glass or ceramic baking dish at 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until hot and melted. Easy peasy!
Nutrition Facts
Camping Mac n' Cheese
Amount Per Serving
Calories 448 Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Fat 21g32%
Saturated Fat 11g69%
Cholesterol 74mg25%
Sodium 713mg31%
Potassium 166mg5%
Carbohydrates 42g14%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 18g36%
Vitamin A 350IU7%
Calcium 303mg30%
Iron 0.9mg5%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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mac n cheese recipe

Filed Under: Dinners, Recipes & Food

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Senika @ Foodie Blog Stalker says

    July 24, 2015 at 7:36 am

    LOVE this!!! I always have camper dinner envy when those around me have yummy things like this and I’m stuck with hot dogs. Not anymore! Pinned 🙂

    Reply
  2. Marilyn Brennan says

    July 25, 2015 at 5:43 pm

    Fabulous idea and looks sooo yummy!

    Reply
  3. bettysue says

    July 31, 2015 at 5:53 pm

    great recipe. thanks for the tip about the nonstick spray b/c the first thing I thought of was how to keep the cheese from sticking. smart. cant wait to try this one out next year. (hopefully maybe this year) have a great day!

    Reply
  4. Tonya says

    August 28, 2015 at 4:29 am

    ***grody*** my poor kids… That’s gonna be my word of the day today to torture them with ;). And bc I’m still giggling, gonna use this recipe this week on our camping trip up north. Thx!!!

    Reply
  5. Michelle says

    September 16, 2015 at 9:22 am

    Hi there! I cannot wait to try this for my family on our next camping trip. I was just wondering if I would be able to share it on our Facebook page? (I work for an RV dealer in Alberta, Canada) I think our followers would love this!

    Thanks in advance,
    Michelle

    Reply
  6. Sherri Edwards says

    November 4, 2015 at 4:36 pm

    i just wanted to tell you we cook this on the beach while on vacation and it was amazing. The second time we had my husband passed on everything else and just ate the macaroni, thats for the recipe going to cook this along with my smoked turkey for Thanksgiving.

    Reply
  7. Alyssa says

    December 31, 2015 at 5:26 am

    Made this last night in the oven! Yummy! Nice to make GF and tasted fresh and real verses Kraft shells n cheese 😉 only problem was ours was a little gritty; maybe the Parmesan ? Also do I dare ask how to find the nutrition facts?

    Reply
    • Jennie says

      February 21, 2016 at 7:37 pm

      Could you freeze this before hand to cook on day 2 or 3 of camping? Also, just FYI if you freeze bottled water and use it as ice there will be no more grody ice water in the cooler (and as they slowly melt you’ll have a cold drink)..

      Reply
  8. KACEY says

    March 2, 2016 at 1:12 pm

    CAMPING MAC & CHEESES (LOOKS GOOD)

    Reply
  9. Annie says

    May 11, 2016 at 4:41 am

    For Father’s Day weekend?

    Reply
  10. Jenn Antil says

    June 28, 2016 at 6:58 am

    Do you think I could make them ahead of time and freeze them until my trip?

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      June 28, 2016 at 11:09 am

      sure!

      Reply
  11. Cristal says

    June 30, 2016 at 8:32 pm

    Can you freeze after making and for travel

    Reply
  12. Heather Sellers says

    July 1, 2016 at 10:33 am

    Thank you for the idea! This looks amazing! We are doing 2 nights of tin foil dinners and I didn’t have any new ideas. My kids will LOVE this (so will I!)

    Reply
  13. Zenia says

    July 12, 2016 at 6:28 pm

    Thank you for sharing this amazing camping recipe with us all! We are going camping tomorrow and I am going to surprise my boyfriend with this mac n’ cheese recipe! It is simple and looks super yummy!!! Can’t wait!

    Reply
  14. Jennie says

    July 19, 2016 at 10:16 pm

    We made this for our 4th of July trip and it was great. Word of warning – I couldn’t find the pie tins at my regular grocery store and so used mini loaf pans thinking this would work the same. Not so…the edges were boiling and the middle was still cold (and my super picky mother was flipping out!)…it was still good, just took a lot more effort to get hot than it should. So definitely use the pie tins! We actually cooked moose hot dogs at the same time and then mixed them in. Overall, this was a great hit!

    Reply
  15. Jess says

    July 25, 2016 at 12:41 pm

    Would this be ok over a coleman 2 burner stove instead of a campfire? I’m assuming that the same crispiness might not be there, but otherwise would you foresee any problems? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      July 26, 2016 at 9:39 am

      It might scorch the pasta on the bottom if you have the heat too high. But the beauty of this recipe is you only have to heat it through until the cheese is melted and then it’s done 🙂

      Reply
  16. Vicky says

    July 27, 2016 at 5:34 pm

    I could dive right into that last picture with that browned bubbling cheese on top!

    Reply
  17. Melissa says

    August 9, 2016 at 12:39 pm

    We made this for our camping trip the other weekend and the family LOVED it! I actually made it in a 9×9 foil pan and cooked it over the campfire (indirect heat) with BBQ boneless ribs. This was defiantly a win and will make it again!!

    Reply
  18. Kelley says

    August 16, 2016 at 4:22 pm

    Um, amazing! This could not be any better. Okay, it could be better if it had some bacon in it, but that’s just a personal character flaw. And then my kids wouldn’t eat it. So, yeah, couldn’t be better! What a great idea, thanks for sharing!!

    Reply
  19. Elizabeth Amezcua says

    September 12, 2016 at 3:01 pm

    Wondering how to hear on a propane camping stove? In SoCal we have no a no-fire order.

    Reply
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