One of my favorite ways to make easy camping meals is to “dress up” a plain old lunchmeat sandwich by using good bread and grilling it. That’s exactly what this Pesto And Turkey Grilled Cheese Sandwich Campfire Recipe is all about!
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Recipe Prep
There is absolutely no slicing or chopping for this meal. You just need to get your ingredients ready to assemble.
Cooking Methods & Equipment
I have often made these sandwiches as one of my campfire recipes by grilling them on my pancake griddle. These sandwiches are so versatile, they also make awesome campfire meals in foil! How? Assemble them, individually wrap them in foil and place them on the campfire grill grate for toasting!
Because, I live in Arizona so when we are camping during times of fire restrictions (which is quite often lately), I make these sandwiches as one of my fastest and yummiest camp stove recipes! I use my cast iron skillet over my propane camp stove.
It you want to cook inside, you can also use a sheet pan and just broil the sandwich to toast it.
How To Make These Campfire Sandwiches
Step 1. Prepare your ingredients, heat source and equipment as directed.
- If you are grilling your camping sandwich on a campfire, get your camping fire starters going so your wood has time to burn down to a nice bed of coals.
- If you are using a camp stove, get your camping propane and equipment ready for cooking.
Step 2. Prepare the bread. You’ll be buttering one side of every piece of bread. Then, you’ll spread the pesto on the non-buttered side of 4 of the slices of bread.
Step 3. Build your sandwiches. Next, you’ll be layering all of the ingredients on your griddle or skillet for toasting.
Step 4. Toast your sandwiches. If your turkey and cheese are cold (right out of the cooler or RV refrigerator), you will probably need to cover the sandwiches in order to get the temperature high enough to slightly melt the cheese.
You’ll be grilling these campfire sandwiches using medium heat. Let them toast to your desired crispiness, then you’ll turn them over to toast the other side. Enjoy!
Variations
- Cheese: I like using provolone cheese, but, toasted turkey sandwiches are also good with goat cheese, fresh mozzarella cheese, havarti, swiss, muenster, gouda cheese and parmesan cheese.
- Pesto: I’m using store-bought pesto to make this really easy but you can also prepare homemade pesto in advance. Here’s my easy basil pesto recipe that can be made months in advance of your trip and frozen until you’re ready to use it!
- Turkey: To make this a fast, no-prep meal, I use sliced deli turkey breast meat but if you have leftovers from Thanksgiving, you can make these turkey pesto sandwiches from those.
- Additions: To add even more moisture and flavor, add some sliced or mashed avocado, mayonnaise, tomatoes or roasted red peppers.
Pairings
When I’m serving a hot sandwich, I like to serve a cold side. Here are a few options:
- Polish Potato Salad Recipe: This is a delicious, classic recipe that uses a mayo and mustard base for the dressing along with hard-boiled eggs.
- Refrigerator Cucumber Salad: You can make these easy quick pickles up to 2 months in advance and keep them refrigerated until you’re ready to use them.
- Southwest Salad: Corn, black beans, queso fresco cheese and fresh cilantro make a delicious cold salad packed with protein and fiber.
- Broccoli Sunshine Salad: I cook extra bacon at breakfast when I want to make this yummy salad because the rest of the ingredients are raw.
- Greek Tomato And Feta Pasta Salad: This is a great salad to make at home because the flavory need to marry a bit to create the best flavors.
- Potato Salad With Bacon And Chives: If you like bacon, you’ll love this potato salad!
Scaling Servings
The really nice thing about making sandwiches at the campsite is their ability to scale up or down. They make easy camping meals for large groups when you create an assembly line (like you see at sub sandwich shops), but they are also great to make single servings so they make great camping meals for two or even one!
Similar Recipes
Turkey, provolone, pesto and fresh basil on toasted sour dough bread, it makes easy camping lunches that are hearty enough to make a substantial mid-day meal. I like this as one of my fastest camping dinner ideas that is almost gourmet which is great for preparing after a long day out on the hiking trail.
I want “5 Secrets To Successful Camping Trips” plus weekly camping tips & recipes.
- Turkey Panini with Avocado Mayo: If you have a panini press, try this delicious sandwich.
- If you love pesto, you’ll want to try this awesome Pesto Steak Pasta. It’s a one pot camping dinner that only takes 30 minutes to prepare!
- If you like meat with your grilled cheese, you really need to try this Bacon Wrapped Grilled Cheese! Watch our VIDEO to see how easy it is to make!
- This Pesto Ricotta Pasta Bake is so simple and yummy. We call it our “lazy man’s lasagna” because it has all the flavor without a ton of effort!
- See all of our different camping sandwich ideas that are awesome for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
Print This Recipe
Pesto And Turkey Grilled Cheese Sandwich Campfire Recipe
Camping For Foodies Dinner Camping Recipes: This turkey pesto sandwich recipe requires no prep and is fast to cook.
- 8 sourdough bread slices
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 pound roasted turkey deli lunchmeat sliced thin
- 4 slices provolone cheese
- 4 tablespoons prepared pesto (see * Note)
- 1 bunch fresh basil leaves
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Remove ingredients from refrigerator, allow to get to room temperature before toasting.
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Prepare your campfire, camp stove or oven broiler for cooking.
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Butter one side of all 8 bread slices.
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Spread equal amounts of the pesto on the non-buttered side of 4 of the bread slices.
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Lay those 4 bread slices (butter side down) on the pre-heated griddle (or cast iron skillet or baking sheet).
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Evenly divide the turkey, cheese and basil leaves, layering the ingredients on the bread slices on the griddle.
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Top the layered sandwiches with the 4 remaining bread slices, make sure you have placed the buttered side out.
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You may need to cover the sandwiches with a lid or foil to slightly melt the cheese.
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Cook over a medium heat until the bread is toasted, then, flip the sandwiches to toast the other side. Enjoy
Serving: 1gCalories: 2785kcalCarbohydrates: 477gProtein: 121gFat: 45gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 7174mgPotassium: 1322mgFiber: 20gSugar: 44gVitamin A: 825IUVitamin C: 0.02mgCalcium: 655mgIron: 37mg
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Each meal of your trip should taste amazing while still being easy to make in the great outdoors.