RV Meal Prep for Small Kitchens: Easy, Budget-Friendly Strategies

One of the biggest advantages of RVing is that you can have access to a kitchen throughout your trip. But cooking in an indoor RV kitchen isn’t the same as cooking in a stationary home. Kitchens tend to be much smaller, and overall, you have less space for storage and ingredients. Here’s how to make the most of a small kitchen, and a small budget.

Use Space-Saving Tools

One of the biggest ways to save space in an RV kitchen is to carefully consider the tools you keep in it. Multitasking tools like an Instant Pot allow you to cook in a variety of ways – sautéing, slow cooking, steaming, or pressure cooking – all while using the same appliance. Also, think about standard kitchen tools and whether you can use them in different ways. A saucepan or stockpot can double as a mixing or serving bowl, and cups and bowls can often be used interchangeably.

Kitchen items like nesting bowls or pans are also clever storage solutions that allow you to fit more in a smaller space. You can also look for nesting storage containers with lids, to store any leftover food. Flexible cutting boards require very little room as well. But it’s also a good idea to evaluate how many things you’ll actually use. Do you need a variety of mixing bowls in different sizes, or could you use just one or two? Can one good knife do the job, instead of several?

Finally, a sink or stove cover will give you more precious counter space where you can work. If the RV has a dinette table, that’s another useful surface. If you’re at a campground, you can also take some of your prep work outside. Use a campground picnic table or bring an extra table along to set up outdoors and keep your RV from getting overcrowded.

Plan Multitasking Ingredients

Planning ahead for meals can save you both space and money. Grab some key ingredients and use them several times over the next few days. You can spend one day cooking up ground beef and use it for several meals, in pasta sauces, stews, sloppy joes, and other dishes. Grab a rotisserie chicken and serve that one night, then use it for chicken and dumplings, chicken soup, or a casserole. Keep pasta on-hand and use it in a pasta salad, or for a quick meal with some sauce.

Shop Smart

Before you leave on your RV trip, make a meal plan and a shopping list. To keep costs down, you can buy in bulk or buy on sale. This helps you avoid more expensive groceries in tourist towns or at camp stores. You can save even more by planning meals around inexpensive proteins like eggs, beans, or cheaper cuts of meat. Menu planning also helps you avoid wasting food.

However, just because you’re buying in bulk doesn’t mean you should bring all of that food with you. Which leads us to …

Bring Less Food

If you’ll be gone for a week or so, you probably don’t need an entire bottle of ketchup, salad dressing, or other condiments. Pour ingredients into smaller containers to bring along, and you’ll save some serious space in your RV fridge. Portion out the amount of meat, salad, cheese, or other foods, and just bring along what you need.

Prep at Home

Planning meals ahead of time can also be helpful because you can do some prep at home before you leave. Chopping up ingredients means you don’t need counter space to do it in your RV. Mixing ingredients means fewer storage containers for all your ingredients. You can even cook up entire meals and then just bring them to reheat. That cuts down on the room you need to prep a meal. It also cuts down on your water use.

If you’re boondocking – camping without electric or water hookups – you’re going to want to save water whenever you can. If you can avoid boiling pasta, or can plan for fewer dishes to wash, you can make your fresh water last longer and avoid filling your gray water tank too quickly.

Cook Outside

One of the easiest ways to avoid working in a crowded, small RV kitchen is to get out of it! If you’re at a campsite, you can plan foil packet or Dutch oven meals to cook over a campfire. Bring along a small grill and grill food outside. Or pack a camp stove and set up to cook at a picnic table. You’ll have a lot more room for both cooking and eating by gathering outside when possible.

Taking a little time to plan out your meals and to shop with a list and a budget can save you both money and frustration. You’ll end up bringing less stuff along because you’ll know exactly what you need. And you’ll waste less for the exact same reason.