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Hobo Dinner Foil Packets are so delicious and clean up is a breeze. This meal is tasty with hamburger patties, veggies and more. Everything you need for a great meal is in the foil pack.
I don’t know about you but I have some very fond memories of camping and enjoying the best camping foil dinner. We love Hobo Dinner foil pack meals and everyone always raves about them. You may also love this Surf and Turf Foil packs for another complete meal idea.
This hobo dinner is even great to make on your grill or in the oven for an easy weeknight meal. We also love to make side dishes such as grilled potatoes in foil and Grilled Brussel Sprouts in Foil.
What's in this post: Hobo Dinner
What is a Foil Packet?
A foil pack dinners has everything you need for dinner tucked into the foil. You can add any combination you like but we are using ground beef and onions, potatoes and veggies.
The best part is you can cook this on a campfire, cook them on the grill, or even bake them in the oven. No matter where you are, you can enjoy a super delicious hobo dinner foil pack meal.
It goes great with grilled corn on the cob.
Why is it Called a Hobo Dinner?
Hobos date back to the depression era when the homeless roamed the country and cooked dinner over an open fire. These meals were typically whatever could be rounded up and cooked over an open fire.
This meal doesn’t require any fancy dishes or pans. You can make it with just the foil with simple ingredients all cooked together.
Ingredients
- Ground Beef – We used lean ground beef
- Onion – We used white onion that has been sliced
- Green Beans and Corn – Frozen green beans work great
- Potatoes – We like using russet potatoes. Peel and slice into thick slices
- Butter – Unsalted butter
- Simple Spices – Salt and Pepper
Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and ingredients in the recipe card.
How to Make Hobo Dinners
- Step 1 – First, you will need to use heavy duty foil to make the foil pack.
- Step 2 – Second, get 4 large sheet slices of aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil. This will really help everything from sticking to the foil.
- Step 3 – Next, put the slices of potato on the center of the foil. I uses a mandoline slicer and it makes slicing the potatoes super quick and easy. I love using it all the time.
- Step 4 – After you have the potatoes situated on the foil, put the green beans and corn on top of the potatoes.
- Step 5 – Make the hamburger patty out of the ground beef and put on top of the veggies.
- Step 6 – Finally, it is time for the slices of onion. Add the onion, butter and seasoning on top of the burger.
- Step 7 – Seal the foil packet so that all the sides are sealed and continue making all of the foil packets.
- Step 8 – Place on the grill on medium high heat (or a campfire) for approximately 30 minutes or until the hamburger patties are cooked through and veggies are tender.
- Step 9 – Open the foil packets carefully, season with salt and pepper and enjoy this dinner recipe.
Recipe Tips
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil – This is really important because it will be sturdy on the grill. The cheap stuff does not hold up. If you only have regular foil on hand, I suggest doubling it to avoid it breaking.
- Cutting Veggies – When preparing this recipe, we recommend slicing the vegetables about the same size so they cook evenly.
- Seal Packets – To ensure that the ingredients do not fall out, make sure to completely seal the packets.
- Cooking Time – Cooking time will vary depending on ingredients and the size of your hamburger patty.
Variations and Substitutions Ideas
- Change Meat – These hobo dinners can be made with different types of meat. We love to prepare the burger patties with lean ground beef, but you can also use smoked sausage, Italian sausage, or ground turkey.
- Seasoning – Only simple seasoning can be used to make these hobo dinner packet. Feel free to add in Italian Seasoning, garlic powder or fresh herbs such as thyme or rosemary for added flavor.
- Vegetables – Add in your favorite vegetables. We usually add in russet potatoes but Yukon Gold Potatoes work great to. Carrots and zucchini are also a great additions.
- Cheese – You can even top your hobo dinners with slice cheese or shredded cheese. We love the way it taste with the added cheese.
- Creamy Sauce – If you prefer you can add a cream of mushroom soup to the mixture for delicious flavor.
Serving Suggestions
These hobo dinners are a complete meal but feel free to add a side of vegetables or a side salad. Try making these foil pack veggies for a complete meal outdoors.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can easily make this delicious hobo dinner foil packet meal in the oven. I would assemble the hobo dinners like normal but instead of placing them on the grill I would place on a sheet pan and bake. The baking sheet will make it much easier to remove from the oven. Carefully open and enjoy!
Store your leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. They will stay fresh for up to 3-4 days.
Reheat the leftovers in the microwave or oven until heated thoroughly.
More Foil Packet Meals
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Bacon Ranch Chicken Foil Packet
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Foil Pack Santa Fe Chicken Dinner
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Steak and Potato Foil Packs
We love to hear from you. If you make this hobo packets recipe, please leave us a comment or a star review.
Hobo Dinner Foil Packet
Ingredients
- 1 pound Lean Ground Beef
- ½ onion sliced
- 1 cup Frozen Green Beans
- 1 cup Frozen Corn
- 4 small potatoes (peeled and sliced into 1/4" thick slices)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
Instructions
- Form the beef into four patties and set aside.
- Coat 4 large pieces of heavy duty foil with non-stick cooking spray.
- Place one potato (peeled and sliced) in the middle of each piece of foil.
- Place about ¼ of the green beans and a ¼ of the corn on each pile of potatoes.
- Place a beef pattie on top of the vegetables on each piece of foil.
- Top each foil packet with the sliced onions, a tablespoon of butter, and season with salt and pepper.
- Fold up the sides of the foil. Then fold up the other sides to make a foil pack.
- Place on the grill on medium high heat (or a campfire) for approximately 30 minutes or until the hamburger patties are cooked through.
- Open the foil packets carefully and enjoy dinner!
Hobo dinner was awesome. Quick, easy and delicious.
Lanny – So glad it was a winner!
Can you use canned string beans and corn, instead of the frozen will it work OK? Thanks.
Gayle – I haven’t tested that yet but I think it’ll work great! Let me know how it turns out!
This was so good! I made it for six people and everyone was eating at different times. I put them all in the refrigerator in popped them in the air fryer as I needed them. 400° for 22 minutes and it came out perfectly. Perfect dinner for a busy night!
This recipe was so good! Easy meal to prepare too.
Thank you for sharing.
I usually put a big slice of onion on the bottom.
Punch a bowl into the patty and put potatoes (canned)
and green beans or peas and a pad of butter.
Burn the onion as much as you need.
Hi, Carrie, I do remember Hobo Meals!! For a long time I have looked for something my scout leaders made. I want to call it Slumgullion, but I’m not sure that’s it. It was like a soup, but it wasn’t soupy. I remember hamburger, potatoes and maybe a vegetable or two in it. Do you have a recipe that would fit that description?
This is for dinner tonight looks good and I know it’s going to be delicious
I love making these! We always used carrots, potatoes and onion with our hamburger. But either way, they are definitely delicious!
Yes I like that too!
We lived on these last summer! So easy to prep as well as cook! My kids are now EXPERTS at fixing dinner! We totally love this recipe and now just throw in “whatever” we have on hand! Scrumptious!
Boyscouts would put a cabbage leaf then the rest of ingredients so to protect the food from burning
Great tip! Thank you so much for sharing!
Can this be done in oven for how long
Yes, you can bake in the oven at 350 for 35-45 mins until the potatoes are done. Thank you.
I tried this and I really liked it looking forward to trying another one like the Shrimp hobo dinner.
Thanks for sharing.
Can this be done in an airfryer?
Anne – I’m not sure. I’m just now learning the air fryer so I haven’t tried it yet. Please let us know how it turns out if you try it. Thank you!
I made this and we loved it but I don’t know what happened but the potatoes keep burning what am I doing wrong
Brenda – Try reducing your cook time. Some potatoes will cook faster based on how thick they are cut and grill heat. I’m glad you all loved them!
4-20-2019. I ran into your recipe by accident while looking for something else online last night, so today i bought all the ingredients i needed to make the Hobo Dinner. WOW! It came out fantastic. It will now become a regular meal for my household. It was easy to make and full of flavor. Thanks for posting.
Phil – I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing!
Dinner tonight !!
looks yummy. can this be preped but then frozen until you want to use later ??
Wayne, I haven’t done that before. I don’t like the way potatoes freeze so I don’t usually freeze them. Thanks!
this looked great and I love to cook something new