Fall is arguably the best season for food and flavor: apple cider, squash soups, sweet potato casseroles, nutty breads, all kinds of chili, and cinnamon and pumpkin everything. We put together a big list of the best fall recipes that are easy to make as a family in an RV.
Rent a rig with kitchen amenities, gather your ingredients, and hit the road. It might be chilly camping this time of year, but these recipes—for chili, soup, bread, desserts, and beverages, featuring five of each—will warm your bellies and fuel your fall adventures.
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5 Chili Recipes
Five Can Chili: The five cans include two types of beans, chipotles, diced tomatoes, and beer. This recipe includes a couple variations so you can adjust it to your spice preference. Top with yummy things like avocados, cheese, and green onions. (By Fresh Off The Grid)
Simple One-Pot Camping Chili: This recipe is super easy because you combine all the ingredients in one pot. That means less to pack and less cleanup. Ingredients range from fresh bell peppers to canned corn. Serve with a bag of chips. (By Earth in Color)
Rocky Mountain Campfire Chili: If you like ground beef in your chili, this one is a classic. Pickled jalapenos and chili powder add heat, tomatoes add acid, beans add texture, and yellow onions add crunch. This one cooks for 4-5 hours, so it’s best for a day you’re sticking around camp. (By Food.com)
Dutch Oven Chili: Dutch ovens are a packing list staple, and this chili is the perfect reason to put it to use over the campfire. High heat browns the meat and adds the base flavor while the other ingredients and spices—garlic, bell peppers, onions, cumin—build the body. (By Amanda Outside)
Vegetarian Butternut Squash Chili: The veggies at camp will appreciate a recipe that includes them. Butternut squash and black beans add just the right amount of texture you want in a chunky chili. Flavor it with chili powder, salt, cumin, and cinnamon. (Cookie + Kate)
5 Soup Recipes
Potato Soup for 2: Potatoes are perfect comfort food for fall. This recipe recommends prepping all your ingredients at home for making it easy at camp. And even though it’s for two people, it’s easy to double or triple it to feed the whole family. (Everything Ahnika)
White Bean and Tomato Soup: All the ingredients in this recipe don’t need to be kept in a cooler, from the carrots and onions, to the sun-dried tomatoes and canned white beans. Optional ingredients include kale, wild greens, parmesan cheese, and a squeeze of lemon. (Back Road Ramblers)
Instant Pot Campfire Soup: If your rig comes with an Instant Pot or crockpot, try this 20-minute soup packed with herbs and spices for six mouths. Pair it with breadsticks, biscuits, or cornbread to stay full until dinner the next day. (365 Days of Slow + Pressure Cooking)
Easy Pumpkin Soup: You can’t go on a fall trip without cooking something pumpkin. Those are the rules. This recipe takes one can of pumpkin puree, meaning you don’t have to wrestle a squash to make something seasonal. Cook it on the stove, grill, or campfire. (Florida RV Trade Association)
Chicken and Dumplings: It’s easier to make than it sounds. All you have to do is tear biscuit dough into bite-sized strips or chunks and drop it into the soup. You can make the soup from scratch or use canned chicken soup to reduce your prep time. (RV Life)
5 Bread Recipes
Campfire Dutch Oven Bread: Bakers have been making bread for hundreds of years in Dutch ovens over fires, and you can too. All you need is flour, active dry yeast, salt, granulated sugar, butter, and warm water to get the dough rising, proofing, and baking into a warm loaf. (31 Daily)
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread: Good for breakfast, snack, or dessert, this sweet loaf can easily be made in an RV oven. All the ingredients except the eggs are shelf-stable. Add a glaze of powdered sugar and spices once the bread is done baking for extra sweetness. (KOA)
Campfire Bread on a Stick: You’ll want to mix flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast in a resealable bag at home before you head to the campsite. Once at camp, let it rise in a warm spot for an hour (like in your window sill). Then wrap pieces around a stick to roast. (Skandi Baking)
Easy Beer Bread Rolls: Want the perfect buns to go with your chili? Using a 12-inch deep cast iron Dutch oven, these dinner rolls come out browned, round, and beautiful, aided by the beer. Once they cool down, you can tear them apart for sharing. (Beer & Iron)
Camping Skillet Cornbread: We would be remiss to include chili recipes without cornbread. All you need to whip up this sweet and savory bread is a cast iron skillet over the campfire. Pour in the batter and watch it bake before your eyes. (Fresh Off The Grid)
5 Dessert Recipes
Cinnamon Sugar Campfire Donuts: Craving a donut while in the woods with no donut shop in sight? Make your own. You only need four ingredients: a tube of biscuit dough, cooking oil for frying, granulated sugar, and ground cinnamon. (Oma Darling)
Campfire Apple Crisp: Everyone gets their own individual apple crisps with this foil dessert recipe that calls for apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, quick-cooking oats, and butter. Wrap everything up in sugar packets and wait for it to start smelling really good. (The Joy Filled Kitchen)
Dutch Oven Pumpkin Pie Cake: A pie and a cake in one? Plus pumpkin? You’ve gotta put this on your menu. Lemon-lime soda creates a healthy rise, pumpkin puree gives it the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor, and pecans on top add a candied crunch. (Let’s Camp S’More)
Easy Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls: Inject a little bit of fall into your cinnamon rolls with nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and pumpkin puree. These are best made in an RV with an oven, or you could try making them in a Dutch oven over the fire. (The Pilgrim Life)
Autumn Plum Skillet Tart: Plums are an overlooked fall fruit. A skillet over the campfire makes baking this fall dessert really easy. Add some whipped cream to balance out the tartness. (Fresh Off The Grid)
5 Beverage Recipes
Dirty Masala Chai: For something spicy, make this chai with cardamom, black pepper, fresh ginger, fennel, and raw honey. This recipe makes one serving, so double, triple, or quadruple it for the family. Add espresso if you need a boost. (BODi)
Classic Hot Toddy: Mix together bourbon, fresh lemon juice, pure honey, apple cider vinegar, and hot water or brewed black tea for a warm drink that’ll keep you warm all season long. Forgeo the alcohol and it’ll still taste delicious. (Huckberry)
Pumpkin Spice Latte: Skip the coffee shop and save $6 by making your own. Use freshly-brewed coffee if you don’t have access to an espresso machine, and then mix in maple syrup, pumpkin puree, milk of your choice, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract. (Ambitious Kitchen)
Hot Apple Ginger Cider: Treat yourself to this hot apple cider. A touch of ginger adds some spice to balance out the sweetness. Bring a pot of unfiltered apple juice, apple slices, ginger, cinnamon sticks, and whole cloves to a boil, then a simmer. (REI)
Brown Sugar Fig Bubbly: While figs are still in season, make this refreshing beverage to quench your thirst. Lemon juice adds punch while brown sugar smooths it out. Substitute prosecco for your favorite seltzer water to keep it non-alcoholic. (How Sweet Eats)
Stick to this list for all your fall camping trips and you’ll get your fix on autumn foods—from plums to pumpkins to apples to beans. While you’re dreaming up your ideal fall menu, browse RVs with the kitchen amenities you might need to host your feast.
