This Rosemary Maple Chicken is super easy to make over a campfire. It's simple, elegant, and delicious recipe - perfect to cook on camping trips OR at home!
This is the other one!
Anyway, this maple syrup chicken is one of our favourite easy recipes to cook over a campfire, for good reason.
The sweet maple glaze takes seconds to whisk together, and the cooking process is quick and very straightforward, producing juicy chicken with very little effort.
The rosemary is a great complement for the earthy notes of pure maple syrup.
That said, if you’re camping over one of the big holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc - this would absolutely suit that occasion just as well as it does a casual meal on a busy weeknight.
Isn’t it fun how certain ingredients and flavours can do the double duty of “super quick and easy meal” and “fancy, festive meal”.
There’s got to be a term for that. Maybe it’s the little black dress of camping meals? LOL.
Anyway, let’s actually look at what you’ll need to make this recipe:
Ingredients
This rosemary maple chicken recipe uses some really simple ingredients - mostly pantry staples. As always, I do have a few ingredient notes for you:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
We generally prefer boneless skinless chicken breast over chicken thighs, mostly for hassle (me) or fat content (Porter) reasons.
That said, feel free to use boneless thighs in place of the breasts. You’re cooking by temperature - rather than time - so not really anything changes.
If anything, thighs are more forgiving to cook with, as dark meat can be cooked to a higher temperature - without drying out - than breast meat can.
Real Maple Syrup
A really wild comment on one of my other food blogs - YEARS AGO - has spooked me to this date, so I always need to specify:
You’re looking to use Pure Maple Syrup in this - as in, the boiled down sap from a maple tree.
Pancake syrup / table syrup is NOT pancake syrup, I don’t care where you’re from. Colloquial use of a label doesn’t change composition or quality of the item being discussed, so ... Just don’t.
If you can’t get actual maple syrup, honey is a pretty good option for a replacement. It won’t have the same flavour, but it’ll still be good!
Dried Rosemary Powder
While you can buy Ground Rosemary, I can’t be arsed to do so.
So, I take regular Dried Rosemary and just run it through a spice grinder to powder it, as needed. Super easy!
Because you want it powdered, I don’t recommend using fresh rosemary in this recipe. Fresh rosemary is too moist to easily break down.
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you will need:
Avocado Oil (or Olive Oil)
Apple Cider Vinegar
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Salt
... I just really don’t have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go. Pretty straightforward!
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How to Make Campfire Rosemary Maple Chicken
The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through:
Get a medium fire going. You can cook this on a charcoal grill, a BBQ, or on a grill plate over a campfire.
Season chicken breasts all over with the garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, vinegar, and rosemary powder.
Cover and allow to cook until chicken is golden brown and reaches an internal temperature of about 150 F on a meat thermometer.
Once chicken reaches 150F, add the maple syrup mixture to the pan, stir, incorporating any browned bits into the sauce.
The actual cooking time will vary based on the intensity of the campfire, and the thickness of the chicken.
Serve hot, garnished with some fresh parsley or fresh rosemary, if you’d like. This Rosemary Maple Chicken is especially good with a side of brown rice.
Leftovers
After cooling to almost room temperature, leftovers can be transferred to a plastic baggie or other airtight container, and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat leftovers thoroughly before serving.
More Main Dish Camping Recipes
Looking for some great meals to cook on a campfire, or in an RV? Here's a few simple recipes to start with!
Beef and Root Vegetable Stew
Camping Breakfast Skillet
Campfire Chili
Hearty Campfire Beef Stew
Grilled Chicken Fajitas
Hobo Eggs
Grilled Shrimp Tacos
Camping Tacos, 2 Ways
Grilled Tuna Tacos
Mediterranean Chicken Kebabs
... But wait, there's more! See our main Camping Recipes page for ALL of our camping recipes - snacks, desserts, mixes to make ahead of time, and more!
Also, we had SO much fun designing gourmet jerky recipes for our camping trips, we started a whole new blog for them! Check out Dried & Tasty for all kinds of fun recipes to make in your food dehydrator!
Rosemary Maple Chicken Breasts
Equipment
- small pan
Ingredients
- 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts trimmed if necessary
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dried Rosemary Powder I use a spice grinder to powder regular dried rosemary
- 2 tablespoon Avocado Oil
Instructions
- Get a medium fire going. You can cook this on a charcoal grill, a BBQ, or on a grill plate over a campfire.
- Season the chicken breasts all over with the garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a small measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, vinegar, and rosemary powder.
- Heat avocado oil in a medium pan over your prepared fire. Add the seasoned chicken to the pan, allow to brown - covered - for a couple of minutes, then flip and brown the other side as well.
- Cover and allow to cook until chicken reaches about 150 F on an instant read thermometer.
- Once chicken reaches 150F, add the maple syrup mixture to the pan.
- Flip the chicken to coat with the sauce, then allow to cook - flipping every few minutes - until the chicken reaches 165 F when stuck with an instant read thermometer.
- Serve hot!
Notes
Nutrition
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Marie & Michael Porter
Rosemary Maple Syrup Chicken breasts are one of my favourite things to cook over a campfire, especially when I'm not feeling like doing a ton of work. Hope you love this recipe, too!