Whether you are camping or at home, make something special like this Dutch oven chili with cornbread where you bake the cornbread in the same pot as your chili! Also known as cowboy chili, you are sure to be a hit at the campground.
Find more of my cast iron campfire Dutch oven recipes.

I love summer time! My kids keep me busy with pool parties with friends, kayaking in Mission Bay and boogie boarding at the beach. Mix in a few boring days hanging out at home to recover and life is GOOD!
We just returned from a FABULOUS weekend camping along the Kern River with my neighbors. That’s 5 families, 10 adults, 15 kids. FUN TIMES! To help with the meal planning, we split up dinner duties.
We recently bought some new Dutch ovens for our camping trips and they were begging to be used. And what was on our menu for my night to cook: Dutch oven chili with cornbread and baked apples. Mmmmm… my mouth is still watering!
Recipe highlights
- Economical: Camping grub can get expensive, but this recipe uses inexpensive ingredients like ground beef and cornbread mix to feed your hungry crowd. This cowboy chili recipe can easily be adapted and doubled if you need more. I made two pots for our group, where one was spicier than the other, since we were feeding kids.
- Simple: Think of a Dutch oven as a small oven. You can cook with it as you cook in a regular pot on your stove at home, or you can bake with it like you would in your oven at home. You can easily find all the ingredients at most grocery stores.
- Flavor: The chili is cooked to perfection in the Dutch oven and the fluffy cornbread bakes right on top of it. This chili does not use pre-made “chili powder” mixes but from real chiles and and lots of spices. See why so many readers call this the best chili recipe!
Reader’s Reviews
“Maybe the best chili I’ve ever had. And so fun to make!” — Jamie via pinterest
Equipment needed
The size of your oven will vary on need and use. Is it just for you and your family of four? Are you cooking for a crew? For my Dutch oven chili recipe, I was feeding 10 adults and 15 kids. I wish I had a 14-inch pot, but I only had two 10-inchers.
So, I made two batches of chili, one with ground beef and the other with ground turkey (for my friends who don’t eat red meat). I also made one spicier than the other, which was great for the adults and kept the kid-friendly chili mild.
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If you camp a lot and you regularly camp with a crew, I suggest purchasing both a 10-inch and 12-inch Dutch oven. The quantities listed in this chili recipe is good for a 10-inch Dutch oven.
Since you’re most likely camping while you make this recipe, you’ll want to make sure you have all the equipment with you. Don’t worry – it’s not a complicated list:
- 10-inch Cast Iron Dutch Oven
- Charcoal Briquettes
- Chimney Charcoal Starter
- Long Metal Tongs for handling hot coals
- Lid Lifter
- Sturdy Oven Mits
- Matches
- Drain Pan
If a campfire ring is available, you will not need a drain pan. Remember never place hot coals on grass or directly on the ground. Light up coals in a chimney with the chimney in a campfire ring or drain pan.
You will also need the ingredients and equipment to prepare the chili with cornbread. If you do your prep work at home, for example chop all the vegetables and place them in resealable bags, then you don’t need to bother bringing a cutting board or knife. Here is the full list of what you will most likely need:
- mixing bowl
- long metal tongs or wooden spoon
- measuring spoons and cups
- chef knife
- cutting board
- can opener
Ingredients needed
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- Ground meat: You can use either ground beef, ground pork or ground turkey. You can also combine meats for more flavor.
- Peppers: I use a combination of red bell peppers, anaheim chile and jalapeños. Anaheim chiles are mild. If you want more heat, try medium or hot hatch chiles. If you do not want anything spicy, omit the jalapeño.
- Chipotle chile in adobo sauce: OMG this stuff is AMAZING! Yes, it is spicy but it is also smokey and has incredible flavor. Use sparingly if you don’t like spicy, but try not to omit altogether.
- Canned green chiles: This is optional, but by using a variety of different chiles and peppers your chili base will have incredible flavor.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I cook exclusively with olive oil. This is used for sautéing so you can use canola, corn, avocado or any other vegetable oil.
- Onion: You can use white or yellow onions.
- Garlic: I used fresh garlic, but since we’re camping, you could substitute with ½-1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Spices: Chile powder (mild or hot), cumin and salt.
- Canned beans: There is a huge debate on whether beans belong in chili. Me? I’m part of the pro-bean camp! I have used black beans, red kidney beans and even pinto beans.
- Pantry staples: Canned tomato sauce and canned diced tomatoes.
- Cornbread mix: To make camp cooking easier, I used a box mix of cornbread that only required water. I found Marie Callendar’s just-add-water cornbread mix and it was fabulous with our chili.
- Toppings: Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro, green onions and diced avocado with lime.
Step-by-step directions
- Prepare the coals. The key to successful Dutch oven cooking is to control the heat. Light up the coal briquettes and get them good and ready in about 20 minutes. This is all prepared in the campfire ring, so you can also do with this with the ash and coals from your wood.
Remember not to place the Dutch oven directly over the flames, otherwise it can crack. Under each pot I had approximately 18 briquettes. You can also light a wood fire first and then lay the briquettes over the ash to get more heat.
- Sauté the veggies. Add oil to the hot Dutch oven then add the chopped onions, peppers and chiles that you are using. Once the vegetables are softened, add your ground meat.
- Brown the meat. Break down the meat while it cooks. Add your seasonings.
- Break out the cans. Mix in beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chipotle in adobo and canned green chiles
- Simmer. Allow chili to simmer for at least 30 min or up to several hours. The longer the chili cooks, the more flavor the chili will have. Add more hot coals as you need them.
- Bake cornbread. When your chili is almost ready, mix up the cornbread batter per package directions. Spread cornbread batter evenly over the top of your chili. Cover Dutch oven with lid and place approximately 16 hot coals on the lid. Allow chili and cornbread to cook until cornbread is browned and done, approximately 20-30 minutes.
Recipe tips and FAQs
You can also use your cornbread mix to whip up some bacon cornbread pancakes instead. All you need is a cast iron skillet!
You could also make this at home with an oven safe pot. Just make the chili the same way and pour your cornbread mix on top. Put the whole pot in your oven and bake it uncovered per your cornbread recipes directions.
If you want a real chile pepper chili and with a homemade cornbread crust that is crazy good, you can find THAT recipe is in my new cookbook, The Camp & Cabin Cookbook (Countryman Press 2018). I have 100 recipes that are all prepared outdoors and over fire using multiple techniques, including the beloved Dutch oven. Learn more about my camping cookbook!
I have lots of wonderful dutch oven recipes here on my blog, too, like chicken cacciatore or my Italian stuffed peppers. You can also bake in a dutch oven so be sure to try my pineapple upside down cake and this peach crisp.
You can make almost anything in a Dutch oven!
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: If you are home, you can store any leftover chili in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer cooled leftovers to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
The cast iron Dutch oven is perfect for making chili. Always start with a well seasoned pot and you can cook most anything in your cast ironware. The walls of the Dutch oven retain heat beautifully giving you even heat for whatever you are cooking inside of it.
You can cook most anything in a cast iron Dutch oven, like stews to soups and chili. You can also bake bread, cakes, cobblers and cookies and in a Dutch oven too. Think of it as a small oven and you will see that you can make most anything in this versatile pot.
Dutch Oven Cornbread Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded & diced
- 1 anaheim chile seeded & diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper seeded & diced
- 1 ½ lb ground turkey
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoon chile powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 15 oz canned black beans drained an rinsed
- 15 oz canned tomato sauce
- 15 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 3 oz chipotle chile in adobo sauce
- 4 oz green chiles canned, drained & diced
- ½ cup water if needed
- 1 box of cornbread mix
Instructions
- In a fire ring or other fire-safe container add 35 charcoal briquettes.
- Light the briquettes and allow to heat up for approximately 20-30 minutes.
- When flames are down and coals are hot, place over the hot coals a 10-inch cast iron Dutch oven.
- Add olive oil into Dutch oven.
- Stir in diced onions, bell peppers, anaheim chile and jalapeño pepper.
- Cook until vegetables start to soften, approximately 5 minutes.
- Add ground turkey and garlic cloves to the vegetables and cook until meat is mostly browned.
- Season with chile powder, cumin and salt.
- Mix in beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chipotle chile and canned green chiles.
- If your coals are too hot you might need more water.
- Allow chili to simmer for at least 30 min or up to several hours. The longer the chili cooks, the more flavor the chili will have. If you are simmering the chili for hours, remove 10-15 coals from underneath the Dutch oven. Keep an eye on the coals and the heat while it cooks. You may need to to add new coals if the old ones die out.
- Mix together (per package directions 1 box of cornbread mix. There are brands that only require water to be added.
- Spread cornbread batter evenly over the top of your chili.
- Cover Dutch oven with lid and place approximately 16 hot coals on the lid.
- Allow chili and cornbread to cook until cornbread is browned and done, approximately 20-30 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
I’m not a campfire cook, but this looks good! I sometimes make a chili cobbler using biscuit dough — will have to replace it with cornbread.:-) So nice — thanks.
I’m planning to make this on our family camping trip next month. Is this kid friendly with the spice level?
Hi Kasha-
You can use mild chile peppers and powders and it won’t be spicy at all. If you have someone who is super sensitive you can skip the jalapeño, but remember they aren’t super spicy. The chipotle chile in adobo sauce can be spicy, but it adds so much delicious smokiness. So you can either skip it or just add a little of the sauce. All the different kinds of peppers and chiles offer a different flavor profile, but only a few are spicy. I hope your family likes it!
Laura
Can I do this with just a cast iron skillet without a lid?
If you are cooking this at home in the oven, yes, you can use a cast iron skillet. But it needs to be deep enough to allow room for the cornbread to bake and rise. If it is not deep enough, the cornbread will bake and spill over and make a mess.
This is such an awesome recipe! I will be making this on our summer camping trip!
I love this recipe! It makes camping so delicious 🙂
Laura, Great “Pot” for a potluck. My Dutch oven recipe was already started with a Mexican/Chili theme. Below/in the Jalapeno cornbread…3 cups Roasted Corn with Chili Lime , onions and cheese. I set out to top with tortilla strips…but did’.t have time to make or purchase. Jalapeno Corn bread was perfect, and this was my first integrated Dutch oven attempt! Topped with Cilantro, diced onions, and Avocado and more Roasted Corn. Visually appealing, perfect on a cool evening. This will be a new tailgating go to. The first empty Pot is always the best Compliment. And it’s great to only… Read more »
Hi David-
That’s totally awesome to hear! And I’m sure this is the first of many, many happy empty pots to come!
Laura
Is this spicy? If not what do you recommend i add to intensify the heat?
Hi Talia,
It is not too spicy. To kick it up in heat use medium to hot roasted Hatch chiles instead of Anaheim chiles. You can get them fresh in August or get them canned. Also, adding more jalapeños or including their seeds will make it spicier. Another option is using hot chile powder. Different chiles add different flavors and heat options.
Sounds Amazing! Wanting to make it this weekend at the beach for our Dutch oven cook-off. Is it possible to get a list of things I need and how much? Can’t wait to make this!
Hi Kaylene,
The full recipe is here: http://familyspice.com/recipes/recipe/?recipe_id=306.
As far as equipment is concerned: Dutch Oven, coals, tongs, oven mitt. I also have this post all about cooking in your Dutch Oven: http://familyspice.com/how-to-cook-in-a-dutch-oven/