Cheesy Foil Packet Potatoes

These Cheesy Foil Packet Potatoes are an easy side dish for your next family dinner at home or at the campsite! Simple ingredients that are quick to throw together or prepare ahead of time.

One of my earliest memories of camping as a kid was sitting around a fire with foil packs over the coals. If you’re like me, you know nothing tastes better than a meal prepared outdoors and cooked over an open fire. Unfortunately, as I get older I’m not able get out in nature as much as I used to. That’s why I wanted to bring a taste of the great outdoors home with these delicious Foil Packet Potatoes.

While you may not be able to have the atmosphere of setting around the campfire that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the same great taste. Because they are so easy to throw together this may become your new go to side for any dinner, bbq, or camping trip!

Ingredients For This Recipe

• Russet Potatoes – These are my favorite type to use but you could also use varieties such as red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Helps the seasoning stick to the potato pieces while adding a hint of flavor.
• Garlic & Onion – A delicious flavor combination that takes the potatoes up a notch.
• Paprika – Gives the potatoes a delicious yet subtle smoky flavor.
• Salt & Pepper – The classic combination to help enhance the flavors.
• Cheddar Cheese – I love to use cheddar cheese but you could also use colby jack or pepper jack. Regardless of what type of cheese you use, I recommend buying a block and grading it yourself because it will melt much better.
• Bacon – Well, because it’s bacon! You can buy packaged bacon bits or cook your favorite type of bacon and crumble it yourself.

How To Make Foil Packet Potatoes

Making these foil packets are super easy and best of all, dirty up few if any dishes! To start, throughly wash the potatoes and pat them dry. Since they are root vegetables, potatoes can have quite a bit of dirt on their skins. I like to use a scrubbing brush to make sure I get them as clean as possible. You can either peel the potatoes or leave the skin on them. I prefer to leave the skins on because it’s easier and the skin contains multiple nutrients that are good for you.

Next, chop each potato into about 1″ pieces. Once they are cut up, place them in a large mixing bowl while you gather the other ingredients. Pour the oil and spices over the top of the chopped potatoes and stir until each piece is coated. Now that the potatoes are ready it’s time to prepare the foil.

There are different ways to do a foil pack so if you have a preferred method feel free to do it that way. For this recipe, I like to tear off 8 pieces of foil that are about 12″ x 12″. Start by laying out 4 of the pieces and placing 1/4 of the potatoes (about 1/2 of a potato) onto each piece. Next, top each one with another piece of foil and tightly fold each side like the picture above. You want to make sure to get tight folds so the steam doesn’t escape and helps cook the potatoes.

Once they are all wrapped up, place them on a 400° F grill over indirect heat. Let the foil packet potatoes cook for 15 minutes then flip and let them cook for an additional 15 minutes. This was the perfect amount of time for me but it could vary depending on how big you chop them. Take them off the grill and carefully unroll three of the sides. Careful, steam is HOT! If you can easily pierce with a fork they are done, if not roll it back up and place back on the grill for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Now that the potatoes are done, unroll the three sides and top with the cheese and bacon. Then, loosely roll the sides back up and let it sit for 5-10 minutes so the cheese can melt. Once it has melted, remove the top piece of foil and enjoy! If you want easy clean up serve them right in the foil, but you could also scoop them out of the foil onto another plate or bowl.

How To Bake These In The Oven

If you don’t have a grill or have it full of hamburgers, you can easily bake these in the oven. To do this, prepare the packets just as you would if you were going to grill them. Then, place them in a 400° F oven for 30 minutes. You can either place them on a baking sheet or directly on the racks. There is no need to flip them if you’re them baking in the oven. Once you can easily pierce the potatoes with a fork, unroll three sides and top with cheese and bacon. Gently recover with the foil and let sit for 5-10 minutes so the cheese can melt.

Other Side Dishes To Try

• Twice Baked Potatoes
• Broccoli Salad
• Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
• Stuffed Mushrooms
• Baked Beans