SOLAR S’MORES

Solar smores are a tasty and educational way to enjoy this time honored snack. With a DIY solar oven you can teach the kids some fun science and get a delicious gooey snack after!

This pizza box solar oven is very easy to make and the items needed are probably in your home right now, unless you need a pizza box- in which case this is a good excuse for a pizza night for dinner! Pizza box solar oven smores are soft, melty, messy and delicious- everything the perfect smore should be. So if you have the time to do this solar oven project, I highly recommend it.

About Solar Smores

Let me just preface this by saying it’s going to take a while to make these smores- it’s not as fast as a campfire, but it is a lot of fun watching the kids stay entertained and excited about something for so long. It’s a perfect way to spend the day outside.

It’s not only a fun activity, but it gave us a chance to teach our kids some basic science principles too. We learned about the greenhouse effect and how the foil flap gathers the sunlight the reflects it into the oven, causing the temperature to rise.

What is a solar oven and how does it work?

Solar ovens are a sunlight powered heating unit made to warm up and bake foods. Professional solar ovens can be used for a wide range of things but DIY solar ovens are a much simpler and less sophisticated product. They use foil and black paper to attract the suns rays and reflect then release the heat back onto the food to cook it.

How long does it take to cook s’mores in a solar oven?

The time that it takes to cook inside of your solar oven is mostly dependant upon the weather. Hotter days with clearer skies will yield a much faster cooking time than a cloudy day. On average you can expect your smores to take anywhere between 30-60 minutes for the marshmallow to get squishy before placing the chocolate on top. Thankfully the chocolate melts much faster.

Solar Oven Materials Needed

-Pizza box

-Pencil and flat edge

-Box cutters/ craft knife

-Aluminum foil

-Scissors

-Glue

-Black construction paper

-Tape

-1-2 clear sheet protectors

-Stick, ruler or dowel to hold the box lid open

Solar Smores Ingredients

-Graham Crackers

-Chocolate Bars

-Marshmallows

How to Make Solar Smores

Draw a square on top of the pizza box that’s about 1-2″ smaller than the box itself. Use the box cutters to cut along the line, on the right, left and bottom of the box, creating a flap that opens upward

Cover the underside of the flap and the inside of the box with foil, shiny side out. Try and keep it as smooth as possible! Glue it down so it doesn’t fall off.

Inlay the box with the black construction paper, gluing it to the bottom so it stays put.

Tape the clear sheet protectors to the lid of the box to seal the opening created by the flap. The seal should be as airtight as possible!

Place your oven outdoors in direct sunlight on a hot day. Assemble your S’mores and have a thermometer nearby if you can!

Close the lid of the box and prop the flap open with a stick. Leave your S’mores to “cook” for about 30 minutes. Depending on how airtight your oven is, you could see temperatures around 200 degrees! As for us, I think ours was rather drafty and the sun going down wasn’t helping. Even so, we saw about 120 degrees.

The chocolatey- marshmallow creation is ready! The messier they are, the better they taste, right?!

Enjoy!

Solar Smores

Print Pin Rate

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

• pizza box
• pencil an flat edge
• box cutters/craft knife
• aluminum foil
• scissors
• glue
• black construction paper
• tape
• 1-2 clear sheet protectors
• graham crackers
• chocolate bars
• marshmallows
• stick, ruler, or dowel rod

Instructions

• Draw a square on top of the pizza box that's about 1-2" smaller than the box itself. Use the box cutters to cut along the line, on the right, left and bottom of the box, creating a flap that open upward.
• Cover the underside of the flap and the inside of the box with foil, shiny side out. Try and keep it as smooth as possible! Glue it down so it doesn't fall off.
• Inlay the box with the black construction paper, gluing it to the bottom so it stays put
• Tape the clear sheet protectors to the lid of the box to seal the opening created by the flap. The seal should be as airtight as possible!
• Place your oven outdoors in direct sunlight on a hot day. Assemble your S'mores and have a thermometer nearby if you can!
• Close the lid of the box and prop the flap open with a stick. Leave your S'mores to "cook" for about 30 minutes. Depending on how airtight your oven is, you could see temperatures around 200 degrees!
• Enjoy your chocolaty- marshmallow creation! The messier they are, the better they taste, right?!

📫 Save this recipe! Send it to your email! 📩

I consent to receiving emails from this site.

Tried this recipe?Mention @jessicalovesbutter or tag #jessicalovesbutter!

Can a solar cooker work on a cloudy day?

While they may work, they will not work well. You should aim to have full sunlight whenever possible for much faster results. Cloudy days could have you outside for hours (not that that’s a bad thing!)

Can you use a solar oven in the winter?

Absolutely. While warm weather is a good way to keep the solar oven warmed faster, what really matters is the direct sunlight. So if there’s a nice winter’s day where you have full sunlight, go for it!

Can you cook normal food in a solar cooker?

Actually, yes. The amount of foods that you can cook in a solar oven is pretty incredible, although it is recommended to leave the more dangerous foods like meat for the professional solar ovens and keep our DIY solar ovens to the simple recipes that can’t get us sick if not properly cooked.