There’s a reason why there are no onions in these Italian Tin Foil Dinners… Sure, they’d taste great. And you’re welcome to add them. But I’m keeping onions out of my tin foil dinners for a bit. Here’s why…
A few years ago, my husband and I hiked to Lake Blanche (beautiful lake in Utah) with my brother and sis-in-law. We had the brilliant idea of making tin foil dinners once we got there! Of course, I took charge of that one, and offered to prep all the veggies, so it’d be ready to cook over the fire once we got to the lake. So, I chopped up some veggies (including red onions), DOUBLE bagged them in ziplocs and we set off for our adventure.
It was a beautiful hike and a delicious foil dinner, but the entire way up, I smelled like red onions. We ate the onions. I still smelled like red onions. We slept over and hiked down. My backpack and everything inside still smelled like red onions. I’m sure everyone passing us on the trail was wondering who that stinky onion girl was…
And there ya go. No onions in this recipe. I learned the hard way, so I’m passing my wisdom onto you. That being said, if you’re just cooking these in your backyard (or on the grill/in the oven), don’t be scared of throwing in some onion! Just avoid them like the plague when hiking (or quadruple ziploc them and seal in a smell-proof tupperware.) Your friends will thank you. 😉
Now to the good stuff. These Italian Tin Foil Dinners are a real treat. No overcooked beef, mushy potatoes or undercooked carrots in this foil dinner! We found that using frozen cheese tortellini made for a fun and unique addition to our veggie-filled, cheesy mound of tin foil happiness. We hope you love it as much as we do!
Ingredients
- Frozen (or fresh) cheese tortellini
- Chicken broth (a few spoonfuls per serving)
- Sun-dried tomatoes (from the jar)
- Cherry tomatoes
- Whole garlic cloves, peeled
- Prosciutto
- Zucchini
- Mushrooms
- Fresh mozzarella
- Grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil for topping
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Allow tortellini to thaw slightly if frozen.
- Prepare your ingredients by chopping veggies, grating pecorino cheese and cubing mozzarella cheese.
- Place one serving of mozzarella cheese in center of double layer of tin foil.
- Add any other ingredients listed, except basil.
- Be sure to add a few spoonfuls of broth so the tortellini can soften/cook.
- Wrap up the tin foil and seal edges to make sure no liquids can run out.
- Place on hot coals, on medium-hot grill or in 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes.
- Check to make sure everything is cooked through and piping hot!
- Top with fresh basil and serve right out of foil.
Notes
*Notice we didn't include amounts. You can be creative, depending on how many people you are serving and how many ingredients you have.
*This is super easy to prep. If you're taking this meal to the hills, you can prep the ingredients beforehand, put in small containers, and pull them out when you reach your destination. Then it just takes a few minutes to assemble.
*If you cook these over a fire, make sure the wood burns down first. The perfect foil dinner fire is when it burns down to just hot coals without any actual flames still burning.
2 Comments
OMG, thanks for sharing this! I’m always looking for an easy recipe 🙂
You had me the moment I saw the sun dried tomatoes! This looks way, way delicious! I’m going to pin it and make it!