Hot Dog and Potato Foil Packs

Why You’ll Love These

Easy: Obviously campfire food isn’t supposed to be haute cuisine and the easier the better, as a rule. Well, the good news is this is a very simple recipe. It’s basically just adding ingredients to foil packets and popping them on the campfire! Anyone can make these lovely foil packet dinners with ease.
Tasty: Hot dogs are delicious, as are red potatoes, onions, cheese, BBQ sauce, and all the other ingredients in this recipe. Imagine everything melting together and taking on a subtle smoky flavor from the grill and… I bet you can imagine how good these taste!
Customizable: You can make all kinds of changes to these, such as using a different kind of sausage or even a meat-free kind, using different potatoes, adding other kinds of veggies, or using a spicy sauce. There are all kinds of tweaks you can make to really make this flavorful foil packet recipe your own.

Ingredients for Hot Dog Red Potato Foil Packets

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

Red potatoes: These firm potatoes hold their shape while cooking but so would any kind of waxy potatoes so take your pick. Don’t want potatoes? Then try carrots, turnip, yams, or celeriac.
Hot dogs: There are lots of different hot dog flavors and brands to choose from. Use pork, beef or chicken hot dogs, or even a vegetarian version. If you really don’t like hot dogs, then consider subbing extra veggies or using something like marinated firm tofu, cooked shredded chicken or pork, or cooked meatballs. Anything goes! If you’re using a very lean meat, drizzle some olive oil over it before cooking to lock in the moisture.
Colby jack cheese: If you’re more of a cheddar fan or you want Italian blend, Mexican blend, or Swiss cheese, anything works here.
BBQ sauce: Sweet, spicy, extra-spicy, fruity – take your pick. Any kind of BBQ sauce is fine in these foil packs.

How to Make Campfire Hot Dog and Potato Foil Packs

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

Prepare the grill:  Preheat the grill and let it heat up while you work on the foil packets.
Prepare the potato packets: Add the potatoes and onion to a Ziploc bag and then add melted butter, garlic powder, parsley, salt and pepper, close and shake well to mix.
Make the foil packets: Divide the potato mixture between 4 large pieces of foil and add a hot dog to each one plus some BBQ sauce and cheese, then seal the packets.
Cook them: Cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, then serve hot.

Substitutions and Variations

Different meat: Use chopped cooked meat in place of the hot dogs if you want.
Another vegetable: Anything goes in here. Consider mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, scallions, broccoli or anything else you want to use.
Spice things up: Add some red pepper flakes or hot sauce if you want spicy hot dog potato packets.
No campfire? You can use a regular grill or else just pop the foil packets in a hot oven until the potatoes are tender.

Serving Suggestions

Side dishes:  As this is a meal in one and you already have meat, potatoes and veggies, side dishes aren’t compulsory. However, if you want to serve sides, perhaps think about a quinoa salad or Hawaiian macaroni salad.
Dessert: Although it’s unlikely you’ll be hungry after such a tasty and filling dish, you might still want to serve dessert! Suggestions include strawberry mousse tarlets, cream cheese brownies, Lofthouse cookies and strawberry shortcake in a jar.

How to Store Hot Dog Potato Foil Packets

Store:  Keep refrigerated and use within 3 days.
Freeze:  This doesn’t really freeze well because a lot of the flavors will come out muted and the texture won’t be good.
Reheat:  Put the foil packet on the grill for a few minutes or air fry at 350 degrees F for 3 or 4 minutes or until hot.