When you go camping, there’s nothing like cooking over an open fire.
But did you know you can make so much more than hot dogs and smores?
You probably already have a basic camp stove, but you likely agree with me that your cooking options are somewhat limited.
If you invest in a Dutch oven, you can bake, saute, steam, fry, and simmer almost any foods you can think of.
The Dutch oven is the ultimate multi-functional and versatile piece of cookware for camping and outdoor cooking.
You can make the best foods from meats and vegetables, stews, and delicious desserts.
One of the best fast and easy Dutch oven delights is apple crisp.
Apple crisp is a flavorful apple crumble dessert with a sweet sugary topping, loaded with oats and brown sugar.
In this post we'll cover:
Is it hard to cook apple crisp in a Dutch oven?
Apple crisp is relatively easy to make once you get the hang of cooking in a Dutch oven over coals.
When you cook at home in a gas or electric oven, you can control the temperature at the touch of a button.
Therefore, you’re less likely to burn or overcook your apple crisp dessert.
However, when you cook outdoors in a Dutch oven, you cook directly over live coals and embers, which create a very high cooking temperature.
It’s hard to control, but it takes some experimentation to get it right.
But don’t worry, this tasty apple dessert is very easy to make!
How to bake in a cast-iron Dutch oven
When making apple crips, you light hot charcoal under the cast-iron Dutch oven and place charcoals on the lid.
This ensures a reasonably even temperature on all sides of the pot, so the crisp is well-cooked through.
The key to baking a good apple crisp is distributing the heat evenly on the inside of the pot.
The ground acts as an excellent insulator, so you may need to add more coals on the top lid than on the bottom.
The camp Dutch-oven has a flat lid with raised edges to add charcoal all around. The coals don’t fall off.
Read here about the differences between a Camp Dutch Oven and a Stove Dutch Oven + a Full Review of Both!
Camp Dutch Oven Apple Crisp Recipe
We love this recipe because it’s so simple to make and requires only a handful of ingredients.
Dutch Oven Apple Crisp with Oat Topping
Equipment
- Camp Dutch Oven
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 2.2 lbs apples cut into small cubes Use preferably Jonagold, Pink Lady, or Honeycrisp (you can mix soft and firm apples).
- 3 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ cup cane sugar
- ¼ cup white flour
Oat Topping
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup rolled oats preferably large-sized oats
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup butter at room temperature
Instructions
- To prepare for baking, light the charcoals or embers and wait until they are hot. Do not place your Dutch oven on the fire yet. Instead, prepare your ingredients.
- Peel and cut up your apples into small cubes and put them into the Dutch oven.
- Add the lemon and stir together with the apples.
- Add the sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
- Mix together until the apples are well coated.
- Take a clean bowl and add the oats, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
- Stir the ingredients until they are all combined.
- Add the room temperature butter and mix well. You can use your hands or a mixing fork to stir until it becomes a doughy texture.
- Place the oat mixture on top of your apples in the Dutch oven. Make sure to distribute the oats evenly.
- Set up your camp Dutch oven by placing the pot on the hot coals or embers. Leave the lid off, and let the apple crisp bubble away. The top of the crisp should be golden but not burnt.
- Remove the pot and cool it for at least 10 minutes. You can now serve it. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can make this recipe gluten-free by substituting the white and whole-wheat flour with a gluten-free variety, like buckwheat. There is a variety of gluten-free rolled oats available too.
- If you can’t find large rolled oats, you can always use the smaller instant oat variety, but these have a different texture.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, use vegan butter.
Apple crisp is fun to make, especially when you go camping.
The Dutch oven bakes the apples but still leaves them juicy and full of sweet gooey sugar. This dessert will please adults and kids alike!
Still looking for a main dish? Check out our Camp Dutch Oven Chicken Recipe!