Campfire cooking recipes for EYFS

If you would like to do some campfire cooking with your EYFS children, or are looking for some new ideas for your campfire cooking activities then this resource is for you.

This resource contains 20 recipes which can be used for campfire cooking with EYFS children. The recipes include snacks, mains and treats all of which are cooked on a campfire.

The recipes have been tried and tested many times with EYFS children at forest school. They are simple and easy so children between 2 and 4 years can get involved in making the food. Although these resources are aimed at EYFS children they can easily be adapted for use with KS1 children if required.

You will need a campfire pit, fire pit or barbeque. Many of the recipes also need a grill rack to rest across the campfire. A full list of equipment is given although you may not need everything depending on which recipes you decide to make. The measurements for ingredients are done by cups so the children can easily measure ingredients while outside. No need to bring weighing scales.

All of the recipes are vegetarian and can be made dairy free and vegan.

Most of the preparation steps in each recipe can be done by the children with some adult support and these steps are flagged in the instructions. The cooking steps are usually done by an adult although recipes which involve toasting things on the campfire allow the children to do the cooking with one-to-one support.

Using a campfire to cook outdoors has multiple benefits. Forest school and outdoor learning involves learning how to manage risky situations. When children are taking part in a campfire cooking activity they learn how to stay safe around a fire. Campfire cooking helps the children to understand the principles of cooking and the concept of recipes and ingredients. They learn how fire can be used to cook different foods and encourages them to try different foods. It helps reinforce the importance of personal hygiene when preparing and eating food.

An editable Risk Assessment is included which covers all the steps in the campfire cooking activities in the resource. This can be adapted as appropriate to your setting and campfire practice.