There’s nothing quite like hitting the road in your new RV, and enjoying some quality time with family and friends. An RV vacation is an incredible experience, but it requires a bit of preparation. One area that can be difficult for first-time RVers is cooking.
Cooking in an RV for the first time can be a challenging experience, as an RV kitchen may not have the same appliances and storage space as your home kitchen. Planning your meals ahead of time can make that experience much easier. With that in mind, check out these helpful tips on meal planning for your first RV vacation from the RV experts at Lazydays RV.
What to Buy
The food you buy for your first RV vacation can make all the difference in how easy or difficult a time you’ll have cooking. Before making your shopping list, take note of what appliances and how much storage space you have in your RV. If you’re traveling in a Class A RV, you might have a kitchen comparable to the one you have at home. On the other hand, a Class C RV or travel trailer will have less kitchen space.
Buy foods that don’t require preparation. Cutting down on prep time makes the cooking process much smoother without missing out on healthy, great tasting food. Frozen fruits and vegetables, pre-made salads, and bottled marinades are just a few ways to save time in the RV kitchen.
What to Cook
Keeping recipes as simple as possible is an ideal way to meal plan for your first RV vacation. Meals that use few ingredients, little prep time and can be cooked using one or two appliances are ideal. For days with all-day activities like hikes, tours or bike rides, quick meals like a one-pot pasta dish or anything that can be slow-cooked are great. Some other easy, delicious RV recipes include roasted rosemary red potatoes, chicken parmigiana and pot roast.
Other Tips and Tricks
A few other travel-hacks you can use while meal planning for your first RV vacation include:
- ? Bring recipe-ready portions using muffin pans or ice cube trays. Freeze olive oil and herbs, measure out sauces or have ready to go dressing without bringing the full container or bottle on the road.
- ? Invest in do-it-all appliances like a rice cooker, slow cooker or cast-iron pan. With these pieces of cookware, you can easily prepare a wide variety of dishes, while not taking up a great deal of space.
- ? Cook and/or prep ahead if you want to use fresh ingredients. Get your chopping, slicing, roasting, and other meal prep tasks done before your trip to save time and make cooking after a long day of adventuring much easier.
- ? If your RV has one, take full advantage of the grill. You can cook much more than steaks, chicken and fish on a grill. Veggies and fruits can be thrown on the grates and cooked to perfection.
For more RV recipes and trip planning ideas, check out the Lazydays RV blog!
