Bake, Grill, Fry, and More: Camp Chef Pro 14 Cooks Almost Anything

Cayenne-spiced chicken, onions, and bell peppers sizzle over a griddle and waft mouth-watering scents around the campsite. In a separate pan, tortillas gently heat in preparation for my increasingly famous Fourth of July fajitas. Towering mountains encircle my group of merry-making compatriots as we gather for our annual midsummer getaway.

We could all sense it: a feast was imminent. I took a moment to absorb the scene … it was time to serve.

Food makes memories, and cooking a meal like that in a beautiful, isolated, secret place only makes them more special. When I got my Camp Chef Pro 14 grill, I had no idea how much I would end up using it, or how many special dinners I’d cook with it. I’ve had it for just about a year, and it’s become an essential part of my car camping kit.

In short: The Camp Chef Pro 14 ($340) propane stove makes campsite cooking feel like cooking in a real kitchen. It has two 30,000 BTU burners, uses matchless ignition, and comes with a three-sided windscreen. Camp Chef also offers a huge array of accessories, like a pizza oven, cast-iron griddle, and BBQ grill box. This stove takes any camp kitchen to the next level and makes cooking for numerous people outdoors easy.

Compare the Camp Chef Pro 14 to others on GearJunkie’s guide to the Best Camp Stoves.

Camp Chef Pro 14 Review

When I first saw the Pro 14, I thought it would be overkill. I was on a media trip, camping on 100 acres of private property, and two Camp Chef reps were, well, camp chefing for us all week. They set up two Pro 14s under a shade tent and cranked out taco meat, pizzas, grilled shrimp, sautéed veggies, and more. Easily, using those stoves, they fed a camp of more than 12 people for two full days.

I never thought I’d need that kind of firepower. But at the end of the week, I took home one of those Pro 14s and I used it that very weekend, camping with my dad for Father’s Day. We grilled steaks and sautéed mushrooms and onions.

Then, I used it again to make pizzas in my backyard with friends, and again at a ski resort parking lot, and again and again into spring, summer, and fall.

Now, if I plan on car camping with friends, I bring the Pro 14 because I know how much it will get used and how much easier it makes camp cooking — particularly for groups.

That’s why the Camp Chef Pro 16 was named GearJunkie’s Best Large Group Camping Stove in our guide to the Best Camp Stoves. It has three burners, whereas the Pro 14 only has two. Otherwise, the two stoves are the same.

Burners

The two 30,000 BTU burners are easy to turn on and ignite (without a lighter or match). I often find that self-ignition systems like this one don’t work very well or stop working over time. So far, I haven’t had any issues with it.

The big red temperature dials automatically spark when you twist them on. It sometimes takes a couple of tries, but they usually ignite without a fuss.

At full blast, you can heat things up quickly and cook a lot of food. Without wind, the burners will heat the griddle or a large pan up to cooking temperature within a couple of minutes. With wind, that time frame extends and becomes less predictable.

Packability & Weight

The Pro 14 stands around 3 feet high and offers 448 square inches of cooking area when set up. Packed down, it’s just 35.2 x 9.1 x 14.2 inches.

It isn’t a small addition to your car camping setup, especially with the 5-gallon propane tank you also need to bring for the Pro 14 (not to mention any accessories you add). And the thing weighs just south of 50 pounds.

Despite its size, it’s still an easily packable rectangular shape, so with some Tetris skills, packing it isn’t too much of a challenge — even if I take the car instead of the truck.

Fuel, Accessories

The Pro 14 uses a 5-gallon propane tank for fuel, like a real grill. It’s much bigger, bulkier, and more expensive than your typical propane or isobutane canister. But if you want the power to cook bigger meals more efficiently, that’s the price you pay.

Now, I’m not normally big on accessorizing, but the add-ons Camp Chef made for the Pro 14 make are rad. The griddle ($90) is a must-have — for burgers, fajitas, steaks, chicken breasts, vegetables, and more, it’s awesome. It perfectly fits over the stovetop, covering a full half of the Pro 14. There’s a grease catch with a hole at one end that can be positioned over a grease trap, so all of your juices drain into a disposable receptacle.

But my favorite accessory is hands down the pizza oven ($180). I love making pizzas. Until I had the Pro 14 and the Pizza Oven accessory, I always used my home oven, which took a while.

The Camp Chef Pizza Ovens heats up fast and gets really hot. Slide a pie in there with a healthy dusting of flour, and it will be done in a scant few minutes. Be sure to rotate it for even cooking, and keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn your food.

Camp Chef also offers a BBQ Grill Box, which I have not used. All of these accessories are available for the Pro 14 in single- or double-burner options.

Camp Chef Pro 14: In the Field

In the year that I’ve had this stove system, I’ve used it a lot. Most recently, it cooked up a bevy of chicken fajitas (can you tell that’s a campsite favorite?) for the GearJunkie editors at our team Camp Test in Twin Lakes, Colo. It was windy and raining, so we posted this thing up under the awning of a truck camper and had a grand old time cooking in the weather while protected from it.

Prior to moving the Pro 14 by the truck, though, it was set up out in the open. The wind was hitting it broadside, and the burner wasn’t heating the griddle surface up enough to get that chicken sizzling. We screwed around with making a cardboard windblocker, but just moved the stove entirely instead.

Once we were out of the wind, it was go time. The stove burner started cranking, and the fajitas weren’t far off. So, be mindful of the wind when you’re using the Pro 14. It can really affect the performance of this stove.

At one of our July Fourth cookouts, we made burgers with 75% ground beef. They were extra juicy. The griddle’s grease trap was working overtime, and I didn’t have one of the fancy Camp Chef disposable tin containers that fit inside the trap. I made my own with some tin foil, though, and it did the trick.

I’m a big fan of the two fold-out surfaces on either side of the stove for staging and prepping food. They feel very stable when they’re locked in place and haven’t buckled on me, even when I put a cast-iron pot on them. They fold down when you store the stove away and cover the burners and cooking area like a lid.

Cleaning the Pro 14

Cleaning this stove can be a bit of a bear. Like all camp stoves, this one is vulnerable to a lot of grease splatter (especially with the griddle). It’s the kind of chore I’m always tempted to put off until I get home, but one that’s far better done in the field.

Keep a rag, paper towels, and soap handy when you use the Pro 14. Clean it while you’re packing up, before you stow it in its bag, and you’ll be very grateful next time you bust it out. Don’t use soap on the griddle.

The grill top and wind block can be removed and wiped down on their own. There’s a stainless steel sheet under the burners that catches a lot of food and grease. You can wipe that down while the grill grate is off, and clean the inside of the Pro 14 before reassembling and packing the stove away.

I have honestly not figured out a way to clean the pizza oven yet. You can pull small pieces of food out and awkwardly wipe the inside down, but there’s no way to pull the top off and really get in there. That’s all right, though, because its easier to avoid making a greasy mess when you’re firing pizza versus griddling some 75% burger patties.

Camp Chef Pro 14: Who Is It For?

If you enjoy cooking outdoors like I do, you’ll love this grill. I use it mostly for car camping, high-country grill days, and backyard pizza parties. But honestly, this could be an ideal and versatile home grill for a patio.

I could see overlanders and RVers using the Pro 14 on road trips. Caterers could use this stove to cook food at events. Families could use them for picnics. Professional pizza chefs could even use it for pop-ups.

The Pro 14 might seem like overkill for many camping trips, but you’d probably be surprised. I find myself packing and using mine way more than I expected to. It’s nice not to feel cramped with two undersized burners that can’t fit everything.

If I’m car camping, and space isn’t an issue, there really isn’t a reason not to bring this stove. It’s made some amazing meals and some fantastic memories for me and my friends.