Delicious Real Food Alternatives to Roasting Marshmallows

Marshmallows and s’mores may be the quintessential bonfire treat (in fact, we’ve compiled 25+ of our favorite homemade marshmallow recipes here), but it doesn’t necessarily follow that they are the only things you can put on a stick and roast over the fire. With food-allergies and a wide variety of diets to accommodate, my family set out to experiment with alternatives to the usual campfire fare. Here are our favorite tasty (and healthy!) alternatives, plus ways to spice-it-up, dip-it-up, and turn it into a special treat.

Fruits

Use firm fruits that can be cut into sizeable chunks. Pineapple was the hands-down favorite around here, but other fruits worked well too, especially when dipped, sprinkled with spice, or drizzled with a little maple syrup. Here are the ones we tried.

• pineapple
• peaches
• apples
• pears
• bananas
• strawberries
• dates

To prepare, slice larger fruit into chunks. Treat apples, pears, and bananas with a little lemon juice to keep them from going brown. A drizzle of maple syrup or sprinkle of sugar over the fruit will caramelize when roasting and provide an even sweeter treat. To spice things up a bit, sprinkle the fruit with warm spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, or allspice.

Make it feel more like dessert by dipping your roasted fruit in a bowl of chocolate sauce, or melt some chocolate over the fire and use as chocolate fondue. When you’re finished with dipping, add some milk to the chocolate pot and heat it over the fire for a delicious mug of hot chocolate.

Meats

Just about any meat can be cooked on a stick over the fire. Since we weren’t cooking a main meal, we stuck with snack-like selections, including:

• weiners
• sausage
• summer Sausage
• ham

To prepare, slice into chunks. They need to be big enough to stay on the stick, but small enough to cook and eat. If you’re cooking with kids, consider pre-cooking the meat so you don’t have to worry about whether they will roast the meat long enough to cook it through. For dips, mustard, ketchup, and BBQ sauce are all fun.

Breads

Just about any kind of bread will do, even leftover waffles from breakfast! To prepare, cut the bread into large chunks. For an extra crispy treat, slather butter or drizzle oil over the slices. Feeling like a little bit of garlic toast? Spread your bread with garlic butter, garlic-infused oil, or simply sprinkle it with garlic powder before roasting. This is a family favorite!

Cheese

Hard cheeses are fun to roast —  just don’t hold it over the flame too long or it will melt right off the stick! Stack your roasting stick with garlic bread and then a piece of cheese, or a slice of summer sausage topped with cheese. Roast until the cheese is melty and the bread or meat is toasty. For a gooey s’more-esque experience, sandwich your hot melty cheese between two crackers. Yum!

What are your favorite treats to roast over a campfire?