Low-Carb Foil Packet Dinner

This tasty Low-Carb Foil Packet Dinner is perfect to make on the grill, but you can also cook the foil packets in the oven! And clean-up is a breeze for this tasty dinner. See tips in the post if you prefer not to use foil.

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There are endless variations on dinners cooked in foil, and when I was a kid we always called these Tin Foil Dinner or Hobo Dinners. And this was something my family always made when we were camping. But that type of dinner almost always had potatoes and carrots, which wouldn’t work for people who were watching their carbs.

So after I started my carb-conscious eating journey I came up with this tasty Low-Carb Foil Packet Dinner. I first made this recipe at a Denny Family Campout, and posted it on my brand new food blog! Then years later I finally realized the recipe had to have some photos before anyone would be tempted to try it!

Foil packet dinners like this are perfect to cook on a gas grill or one of those handy little raised charcoal grills that lots of campsites have, and they can be cooked near the coals of a campfire if you’re extra careful. And dinners wrapped in foil can also be cooked in the oven too if it’s cold outside or you don’t have a grill.

What ingredients do you need?

What if you have family members who won’t eat these veggies?

If you have non low-carb eaters in the family (or picky children who won’t eat red peppers, zucchini, or onions) you could make two separate packets of the veggie mixture and put some potatoes and carrots in one batch for the kids. Cut potatoes and carrots into smaller pieces since they take longer to cook.

How to make the easy marinade used for this recipe:

I don’t have many marinade recipes made of purchased ingredients, but this recipe is a variation of the ultra-easy and popular Completely Foolproof 100% Delicious Grilled Chicken, so if you like this idea you might also want to try that recipe when you’re looking for something easy to grill at home. When you’re using purchased ingredients like this, be sure to check for added sugar and also to be sure they’re gluten-free if that’s needed at your house.

Want a vegetarian foil packet dinner?

If you’re cooking for some people who want a plant-based meal, just leave out the chicken from some of the packets for a tasty vegetarian dinner. You could add a vegetable protein source if you like.

What if you don’t want to use that much foil?

Some people might be willing to make foil dinners when they’re camping but reluctant to use this much foil at home. No problem; just drain the chicken and veggies and cook it in a casserole dish. (I can’t tell you for sure about the timing for that, but I think it would be easy to use my suggestion for cooking the foil packets in the oven and just check a few times while it’s cooking.) You could also cook the ingredients for the foil packet dinner in a Grilling Pan (affiliate link) if you’re careful to drain off the marinade well. The cooking time for that will probably be a bit shorter.

How to Make this Low-Carb Foil Packet Dinner:

(Scroll down for complete printable recipe including nutritional information.)

1. Trim chicken breasts as needed, then cut crosswise into pieces about one inch thick.
2. Mix Newman’s Own Classic Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link), Zesty Italian Dressing Mix (affiliate link), Spike Seasoning (affiliate link)) if using, and a little salt and fresh-ground black pepper to make the marinade. 
3. Put chicken in a Ziploc bag and add a little more than half the dressing mixture. Let the chicken marinate in the fridge or a cooler all day.
4. A few hours before you want to cook, cut up the zucchini, red bell pepper, and red onion and put the veggies into a Ziploc bag.
5. Pour in the rest of the marinade and let veggies marinate for 1-2 hours.
6. When you’re ready to assemble the foil dinners, drain the chicken and vegetables. (If you’re camping you can just snip the corner of the Ziploc bag and let most of the liquid drain out. They don’t have to be completely drained, although it makes it easier to assemble the packets if the chicken and vegetables aren’t too wet.)
7. You need a grill that’s preheated to medium high, or a campfire or raised charcoal grill in a campground that has burned down to just coals.
8. To assemble the packets tear 8 large pieces of foil. (We had heavy-duty foil that was 18 inches wide and our pieces of foil turned out to be a little bigger than we absolutely needed.)
9. Lay out the foil to make four packets with two pieces of foil for each.
10. Put one-fourth of the chicken in the middle of each foil stack; then put one-fourth the veggie mixture on top of the chicken.
11. Fold over the foil, making a series of small folds at the top and at the ends to seal the edges together. Then turn that packet over and fold over the second piece of foil, sealing the ends well again. (This recipe has a good photo of how to fold the packets together.)
12. For a home grill or a charcoal campground grill (where the packets are cooking on a grate) cook the packets about 10 minutes with the chicken side down on the grill; then turn and cook about 10 minutes more on the second side. I wish I knew a good way to tell when they’re done without opening one, but that’s really the only way!
13. To cook near the hot coals of a fire, it’s extra important to have heavy-duty foil. I wouldn’t recommend putting packets directly on the coals, put them around the edge of the fire. I’m guessing cooking time will be slightly shorter for cooking near coals, but it will depend on how hot your coals are. I’d rotate the packets (so the opposite side is near the coals) every 5 minutes and then check one of the packets after 15 minutes to see if they need to cook a bit longer.
14. To cook in the oven, preheat temperature to 450F/230C and cook 30-35 minutes.
15. Serve hot in the packets (or not) with some fresh-ground pepper added at serving time.
16. You can also add some coarsely grated Parmesan cheese if you want to take it up a notch; enjoy!

Make the Foil Pack Dinner into a Camping Meal:

When I’m camping I’d serve this with “camping salad”. Place cut up cucumbers, black olives and cherry tomatoes in a Ziploc bag. Pour your favorite salad dressing over (ranch or blue cheese is good). Serve right out of the bag for no clean up.

More Dinners Cooked in Foil:

Greek Chicken Foil Packets

Fish Foil Packets with Pesto and Tomatoes

Salmon Foil Packets with Tomatoes and Olives

Autumn Tin Foil Dinners

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
With the ingredients used here this Low-Carb Foil Packet Dinner would be great for any low-carb, Keto, or low-glycemic diet plan, including any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Check out Foil Dinners for more easy recipes to cook outside. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first mentioned on the blog as a variation of Completely Foolproof 100% Delicious Grilled Chicken. In 2009 I made it separate recipe and the photos were updated in 2018. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2022.

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