Easy RV Meals: Cooking in your Camper, Trailer or Fifth-Wheel

RV meal cooking is a challenge in a little kitchen and takes away from your precious vacation time. In this episode, we explore some easy pre-cook or cook on the road RV meals that are easy on your budget, time, and propane.

Recreational vehicle and pickup truck parked in desert at night under starry sky with snow-covered mountains in background. The kitchen light is on because someone had made an easy RV meal.
Reducing your RV meal cooking allow for more time to enjoy where you park the RV. See our full RV trips and tips playlist here.

Not a Foodie. But I am a Roadie!

If we even wanted to be foodies, they would kick us out of the club.

I’m not gourmet in the kitchen or at a restaurant. We are happy to eat to function and stay healthy. But we also like a hearty meal, sweet date nights, and creature comforts (hence the Keystone Cougar 5th Wheel and not a tent).

Gone are the days of my youth when I would struggle hungrily over a campfire reheating overpriced REI MREs, like a Neanderthal. I have learned that it’s okay to hit the easy button when it comes to cooking. Good nutrition with a hearty dose of user-friendliness can happen on RV road trips.

Being on the road, there are times when you just want an easy RV meal:

  • Seat-itis. After a long day on the road getting to the next campsite, the last thing I want to do is cater in the kitchen.
  • Cranky. Coooking in a small kitchen only makes me crankier.
  • Sun-sapped. Being outdoors all day having fun saps my energy for cooking.

Having a meal plan before everyone’s hungry, especially myself, is so helpful. “So, Nikki,” you might ask, “What do you bring for easy dinners along the trip to keep costs down and good nutrition up?”

Hand placing sausages in a bowl next to a slow cooker and toaster on a kitchen counter. Easy RV meals
Watch my short video on pre-cooking RV Meals here: https://youtu.be/Dd5Aebu20G4

Here’s a taste of my “RV Trip Meal” list:

Category: RV meals to cook before leaving for the trip:

  • Lasagna (add a salad)
  • Meatloaf (add boxed mashed potatoes, jar of chicken gravy, and frozen peas)
  • Taco meat (can be used for nachos, tacos, enchiladas, burritos)
  • Italian sausages (sauté peppers and onions and put on a hoagie roll with parmesan or add to any pasta dish)
  • Brats (heat up some sauerkraut, put on a hoagie, and PBR me ASAP)
  • Boilermaker chili (just add shredded cheddar and Saltines, as the Wisconsinese do)

Category: RV meals that are easy cook on the road:

  • Cheese Fondue (quick and sophisticated!)
  • Hamburgers on the porta-grill
  • Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup
  • Frozen pizza
  • Manwich from a can or a packet (just add pre-browned ground beef and chef’s hat)
  • Marinara sauce and tortellini or any pasta
  • Take out (cheating? I think not.)

Easy meals are also helpful when you get on the road fast! Like in this story of being stuck in the mud…

Organizing RV meals

Now that you have pre-cooked RV meals and supplied yourself with easy to cook on the road RV meals, the next task is to organize the chaos.

I use my the notes app that came with my iPhone. I pre-made a list of what RV meals we like to eat, what we need to buy, and what cooking needs to be done. Then I add a check mark to the RV meals, snacks, and fresh supplies that I actually prepare and bring for us. After it’s eaten, I uncheck that item leaving only the bright checkmarks to draw my eye and mind to what’s still available to eat.

Watch the demo in this video below:

More ways to reduce cooking time in the RV with a woman pointing and text saying What's for dinner???
Watch my short video on organizing RV Meal plans here: https://youtu.be/QGGsBY8vPQs

What meals do you make on the road?

Add your RV meal tips in my community on YouTube or in the comments below!

And check our more of our USA RV Travel Tips and Destinations with the link below!

hundreds of millimeters of counter space in these units!

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