Campfire Banana Boats

Why You’ll Love This

Easy:  Cooking over the campfire isn’t about creating elaborate dishes. These campfire banana boats couldn’t be easier to make and cook.
Delicious: The banana, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, graham crackers, sliced almonds, and strawberries combine beautifully to make campfire banana something you will crave again and again.
Customizable: Feel free to change the suggested toppings. Anything goes with these and maybe you can have everyone make their own customized banana boat with whatever toppings they want.

Campfire Banana Boats Ingredients

A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below

Bananas: The star of the dish. As the bananas are filled and wrapped in foil, it doesn’t matter if they are slightly under- or over-ripe.
Chocolate chips: Any kind will work in this recipe, such as semisweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, or even white chocolate chips.
Mini marshmallows: Use chopped up regular size ones if you can’t find mini marshmallows.
Graham crackers: To add flavor and texture. Feel free to sub your favorite cookies broken into pieces.
Sliced almonds: To add crunch. You can sub another kind of nut or, for nut-free banana boats, omit them.
Chopped strawberries: These add color and another flavor, but leave them out or sub another fruit or topping instead if preferred.

How to Make This Banana Boat Recipe

For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card

Preheat the grill:  Make sure it’s nice and hot before you start cooking.
Prepare the bananas: Cut the skin open along the banana and scoop out a teaspoon or two of the flesh.
Add the toppings: Add whichever toppings you like to each banana boat and then wrap the topped bananas individually in aluminum foil packets.
Cook them: Give them about 8 to 10 minutes on the hot grill and serve hot as they are or with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream on top.

Substitutions and Variations

Gluten-free option:  If you want a gluten-free version, sub gluten-free cookies for the graham crackers. Most marshmallows are gluten-free but check the label if you’re sensitive to gluten, as some do contain small amounts.
Not a banana fan? You can use another type of fruit, such as pitted peaches or nectarines, or cored apples or pears.
Try different toppings: Any of the following toppings would work in this recipe:

• Peanut butter or almond butter
• Peanut butter chips or peanut butter cups
• Butterscotch chips
• Chopped soft fruits (berries, peaches etc)
• Caramel sauce or any ice cream syrup
• Maraschino cherries
• Shredded coconut
• Sliced or chopped nuts, such as pistachios, cashews or hazelnuts
• Nutella
• Jam or jelly
• A pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg
• Cereal
• Trail mix
• Granola
• Broken pretzels

Serving Suggestions

Appetizers:  Pressed Italian picnic sandwiches can be made ahead and are great to snack on while the campfire is warming up for the main dish and desserts. Cut them into small servings though, so they don’t fill you up too much! Or perhaps you want to start your feast with some Bloody Mary deviled eggs or one of these snack mix recipes.
Camping food main dishes:  Gorgonzola buffalo burgers on pretzel buns are perfect for grilling. And any of these stress-free camping meals would be great. Just make sure you leave room in your belly for the banana boats afterwards!
Other desserts: If anyone doesn’t want a stuffed banana, you might like to have another sweet treat on hand, such as these Lucky Charms Rice Krispies bars. Or lemon sheet cake!

How to Store Grilled Banana Boats

Store:  As these campfire banana splits are delicious served fresh while they’re all hot and gooey, they should be served right away and aren’t really suitable for storing.
Freeze:  This recipe isn’t freezable.

Top Tips

The grilling temperature: If your grill is really hot, this will make the skin of the banana completely black and make the toppings melt too fast, so a moderate heat is best.
Get creative: Don’t be afraid to try different toppings. Any kind of candy, fruit or nuts should work!
Don’t forget the spoons: This is an ooey-gooey dessert and you are going to need spoons (and napkins!) to enjoy it.
Not all foil is created equal: If you want your potato packets to be delicious, don’t use cheap foil which is going to tear! Instead, use heavy duty aluminum foil (my fave here) that will safely enclose all your ingredients and make this recipe a success.