The Easiest & Best Hobo Packets Recipe
Hobo packet foil recipes are one of the easiest ways to eat a balanced home-cooked meal on busy nights, and even while camping or having a BBQ! A hobo dinner is a hearty combination of meat, savory vegetables, melted cheese, potatoes, and seasonings is enough to make your mouth water!

My family loves whenever I make any type of hobo packets recipe for dinner, and I love that it’s super easy to prep after a long day!
A hobo dinner is a dish that pretty much “makes” itself!
How to Make Hobo Packets
The best thing about dinner foil packets recipes, is that they are made from the most basic pantry/ fridge ingredients–and you don’t even need to really dirty a pan, thanks to the foil!
You can tweak foil bag dinners like these grilled hobo packets to suit whatever meat and veggies you have on hand!
Not only is this a great recipe for camping trips, cookouts, and busy nights, it’s also a great recipe when you are running low on groceries, and need creative meal ideas before your next shopping trip.
It’s time to make hobo dinners! It sounds weird, but I promise these hobo dinner foil packets are worth it.
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This Hobo Packets Recipe:
- Serves: 4-6
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients Needed To Make Delicious Hobo Packets
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons dried minced onions
- 1 pound baby potatoes or small potatoes, cut in half
- 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 small white or yellow onion, sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, divided, homemade or store bought
- 8 ounces colby jack cheese, grated
- Fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions to Make Hobo Packets

Step 1
In a large bowl, combine ground beef, mayo, Worcestershire sauce and minced onions and well combined.

Step 2
Form into 6 patties.

Step 3
Clean and cut potatoes, carrots and onion and add to large bowl.

Step 4
Drizzle with half of the oil and sprinkle with half of the Italian seasoning, stir.

Step 5
Then, drizzle with remaining oil and sprinkle remaining seasoning, stir.

Step 6
Divide vegetables into 6 packets and place hamburger patty on top of vegetables.
Step 7
Fold foil over and seal packet.
Step 8
Heat grill to medium heat or 325 degrees F

Step 9
Place packets on grill and cook for 20-25 minutes turning and slightly shaking packet often to prevent burning.
Step 10
Remove when vegetables are tender and hamburger is 150 degrees F for medium well done.

Step 11
Serve immediately.
Step 12
Store leftovers in refrigerator.
Tip:
Use fresh veggies. Frozen or canned will get super mush and while it’ll still be a great meal, it just won’t be the same.
More Ideas For Your Hobo Packets
- Change out the vegetable ingredients in your hobo packet recipe: There are a number of ways to make these! If you don’t like carrots, you can use fresh green beans. Or if you don’t want regular potatoes you can use sweet potatoes.
- Substitute veggies for the potatoes: Cut up onions, green peppers, red peppers, and mushrooms if you don’t want potatoes. It’ll be more of a stir-fry blend.
- Dairy Free Hobo Packets: Can’t have dairy? Dairy-free cheese is great on top of the hamburger patties. If you don’t like dairy-free cheese, then you can top it with a packet of brown gravy mix. I’d break it up between packs, not just put 1 pack in a hobo dinner packet.
- Hobo packet topping idea: You could also top with onion soup mix, but limit it because it is salty. But it would be a great flavor over the top of the veggies too.
- Substitute the beef in your hobo pockets: Not a beef fan? Don’t want ground beef patties? You can use ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground venison as well. Ground venison might need a pat of butter on top because it is so lean. Using vegetarian meat substitute crumbles also works really well in this campfire meal.
The Best Hobo Packets Recipe

I am always on the hunt for quick and easy weeknight meals! That's why I love hobo packets! You pretty much place all of your ingredients into a foil packet, and then set it on the grill, for a simple and delicious meal!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons dried minced onions
- 1 pound baby potatoes or small potatoes, cut in half
- 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 small white or yellow onion, sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, divided, homemade or store bought
- 8 ounces colby jack cheese, grated
- Fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, mayo, Worcestershire sauce and minced onions and well combined.
- Form into 6 patties.
- Clean and cut potatoes, carrots and onion and add to large bowl.
- Drizzle with half of the oil and sprinkle with half of the Italian seasoning, stir.
- Drizzle with remaining oil and sprinkle remaining seasoning, stir.
- Divide vegetables into 6 packets and place hamburger patty on top of vegetables.
- Fold foil over and seal packet.
- Heat grill to medium heat or 325 degrees F.
- Place packets on grill and cook for 20-25 minutes turning and slightly shaking packet often to prevent burning.
- Remove when vegetables are tender and hamburger is 150 degrees F for medium well done.
- Serve immediately.
- Store leftovers in refrigerator.
More Easy Campfire & Grill Recipes From Kids Activities Blog
Not only are hobo packets awesome fro busy weeknights, they are also the number one camping food and BBQ recipe when it comes to convenience! Here are some more yummy ideas for your next cookout or camping trip…
- If you liked this hobo meal, up your camping game with 5 awesome, foil-wrapped campfire recipes!
- Yummy treats, like these 5 sweet campfire dessert ideas, are half the fun of gathering around the campfire and go perfectly after a hobo foil packet entree.
- Making a big pan of candy-loaded campfire brownies is one of my favorite things to do in the summer and balances out the hobo ground beef recipes we all love.
- Campfire cones are an easy and delicious treat that kids love! Perfect for camping or BBQ’s!
- I’m so excited to break out the grill and try 18 flavor-filled backyard grilling recipes!
- A BBQ isn’t a BBQ without yummy summer side dishes!
- Yum! There are so many delicious ways to enjoy s’mores!
What are your favorite ingredients to add into a hobo packet recipe?