3 Unforgettable Campfire Breakfasts: Everything Tastes Better Outside

The life-changing magic of outdoor breakfasts in incredible locations. Sparking joy guaranteed.

Throw some mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, eggs and pine nuts in a cast iron pan on a campfire, and get set for a divine breakfast.

Cooking a campfire breakfast makes me feel happy and lucky. It’s fun to play with the fire. There’s anticipation, pleasure, and an edge of hunger. Cooking alone, I relax into birdsong and dawn. In company, I laugh and banter.

I am overcome with a steely determination to time everything perfectly so I have a full, hot cup of coffee at exactly the same time as all the food is ready. This takes more focus than at home.

There’s stress from copping a face full of smoke, danger of dropping stuff in the ash, and risk of food burnt one side and raw the other. But it’s low stakes, and makes me even more absurdly grateful when I finally take the first bite.

Here are three of my favourite outdoor breakfasts.

1. A giant cast iron fry up at Budawang camp

A lightly oiled cast iron fry pan or grill plate is robust enough to survive any campfire, and the chargrilled, smoky flavours mix divinely. I keep a small pan in my camp kit at all times, along with a small bottle of olive oil.

Here’s my deluxe breakfast while I’m mentoring at rewild camp on Budawang country. Scrape out a few hot coals to heat the pan. I like to cook two, three, or all of these ingredients, adding them to the pan in this rough order:

• Mushrooms. Break them up and toss them in. Bonus points for a sprig of rosemary or a crush of garlic.

• Tomato. For a hot, red, juicy burst to breakfast, it’s easy to carry a few little cherry tomatoes and let them char in the pan. No chopping required.

• Pine nuts. Shake and shuffle a handful around the pan until they’re toasted so their nutty crunch can contrast sloppy tomato or eggs.

• Eggs. Balance your pan flat on some logs before cracking them in, and watch closely so they cook just so.

• Cheese. Melt it on top of the eggs just before you scrape them out.

• Toast. Stick a stick in your bread and toast it dry near the radiant heat of the coals. Or fry the bread in the pan with some butter.

• Kale. Break it up and toss it about in some hot oil so it’s a bit crispy. Enjoy the refreshing palate contrast of those green power micronutrients.

• Salt. A sprinkle.

I also cook many of these things in a jaffle iron on the fire, making a tight-packed, way-too-hot sandwich bundle. I have an uncanny ability to time the eggs so they’re perfectly cooked, even though I can’t see inside. Strong, square bread is required.

Avocado, basil and garlic in a jaffle with an egg and plenty of butter will make you the Queen, King or Divine Being of all campers.

2. Brussels sprouts and bacon by an alpine river

Brussels sprouts are marginally edible, but if you add a free range bacon, and char them together, they become next level tasty – healthy and wicked. Here’s a batch I cooked on the stony bank of the flowing mountain river Howqua on Taungurung country.

Add boiled eggs and hot coffee for an epic meal. Boiling eggs is the least messy way to get them ready in a lightweight camp pot.

For perfect soft boiled eggs:

• Boil the water.

• Lower eggs in slowly on a spoon so they don’t crack.

• Set a timer for six minutes and pull them out exactly then.

• Cool them off in cold water.

• Crack and peel.

• Voila! Firm whites with soft yolks.

3. Butterscotch apple crumble with a mountain view

If you’re hiking and cast iron and eggs are too heavy, here’s a super lightweight breakfast to die for.

Most dehydrated camp meals you can buy are horrendous, but Tasmanian outfit Strive Foods are an exception. (I get no kick backs for saying this!) They make a decent laksa. The spicy tomato gnocchi is seriously tasty. I pack a couple when travelling in case of emergency. They also do dessert.

These incredible butterscotch apples were supposed to be dessert, but we ate them for breakfast one sun-soaked morning while gazing north to the Pilot Wilderness from the Cobberas. Next time, I’ll bring a pack of that expensive paleo muesli to throw on top for a breakfast crumble.

Simple pleasures, hey?

I’m taking a break from climate this week to wander outside, because appreciating our beautiful world is just as important as advocating for it. Who else likes eating outside? Tell me your hot camp cook tips or your favourite campfire meal memory.

Kathryn