Campervan Cooking: Over 30 genuinely useful campervan kitchen accessories
Fed up of cooking the same old meals over and over in your campervan? It doesn’t have to be this way. We’ve rounded up the very best campervan and motorhome kitchen accessories to make your campervan cooking better, more varied and far easier.
Whether you need to spruce up your motorhome kitchen storage solutions, find new innovative ways to cook in your campervan while on the road, just need some inspiration or need a proper cup of coffee we’ve got you covered.
General Campervan Kitchen Accessories
Electric Lighter
After Simon gave up smoking we suddenly no longer had lighters coming out of our ears and regularly struggled to find ways to light the hob.
We did briefly use a gas clicker but it was forever running out and wasn’t all that good.
Then we discovered Martian Fire – a rechargeable electric lighter that just performs brilliantly. It’s also very cool!
Campervan Crockery: Melamine vs Bamboo vs Corelle
Go on any motorhome forum and you’ll find passionate debates everywhere about the correct crockery to use in your motorhome.
All have their merits (except porcelain homeware plates – far too heavy and breakable) and to be honest, perform much the same duty.
So it comes down to personal preference and finding a set of either bamboo, melamine or corelle in a style that you like. Don’t fret about this one too much just find something you like made out of those materials.
Collapsible Tupperware, Washing up bowl, Drying Rack, Colander
Storage is key in the RV world. So anything that can fold flat is a real bonus. We have all of the above and they all seem to be durable, functional and lightweight.
We fully recommend replacing any rigid versions of the above that you’re carrying around with these collapsible offerings.
If you’re struggling with space inside your camper then check our favourite campervan and motorhome packing hacks
Stackable Pans and Tupperware
Similarly to collapsible items, anything which is a set which can neatly stack inside of one another is a real win for storage space.
Uniform Sauce Jars
Often overlooked but are you one of those who have different sized sauce jars crammed untidily next to each and getting the desired condiment or just opening a cupboard door causes carnage as everything falls out?
Simply decant your favourite sauces, pickles and dips into a set of uniform sized jars and they will slot into a cupboard or fridge far more neatly.
Gas Toaster
Just chuck out your 12v toaster. It’s rubbish. I know it. Deep down you know it. And Sally up the road knows it.
Grab yourself a gas toaster and with very little practice you will be serving up rafts of hot toast for breakfast just so much better.
The Dreaded Motorhome Rattle
If you’re a motorhome or campervan owner you’ve either experienced the horror of the Motorhome Rattle yourself or heard of it whispered in hushed tones in the quiet corners of the motorhome community.
It’s when your travelling along and no matter how smooth the road, or how well packed your van is, the rattle from the back of the van is shaking your brain in your skull so hard that you feel you might shatter an ear drum.
Well, the good news is, its pretty easy and very cheap to fix – check out a few gadgets below to help you out.
Draw Liners
A simple principle, line all your draws with this stuff to prevent stuff rattling against them, muffle any sound that does occur and it will also help prevent any chips in your crockery and glassware.
Pot & Pan Dividers
Same principle as the drawer liners above, place one of these between each plate, bowl, pot and pan.
Tubigrip
A little tip. A section of tubigrip around each glass (plastic or glass) acts the same as the pan dividers does and costs virtually nothing – the final nail in the coffin for motorhome rattles.
Camping Coffee
I remember on our first camping trip, waking up groggily in the morning, and fumbling about looking for the coffee. When eventually my hand stumbled across a little pot, that read ‘Instant Coffee’…
My heart sank, I felt helpless and lost, waves of sickness coming over me followed quickly by huge bouts of rage and anger.
INSTANT COFFEE!
And to think, many campers still, voluntarily subject themselves to this evil that walks among us.
But fear not. There is a better way!
We got some options for you right here, and a special treat available at the end of this section
Coffee Percolater
Our coffee solution of choice. There’s something nice about hearing your morning brew gurgling away as you lie in bed or take in the morning air.
Easy to clean, can usually make somewhere between 6 & 8 coffees or espressos (make each coffee as an espresso and top up with kettle water if you want a long coffee)
Electric Coffee Machines
Again, the motorhome forums are full of people furiously fighting over whether these are a frivolous waste of space on the road or a nailed on essential.
But either way, if you normally use EHU or have a decent battery and inverter setup and you prefer your coffee out of your fancy nespresso machine – then you crack on and ignore the nay-sayers.
French Press
Similar concept to the Percolater, we use the French Press at home and the Percolater on the road. No idea why. I think I just like the gurgles when we are away.
Fairly easy to clean out and insulated to keep your fresh second coffee warm until you’re ready for it.
Craft Coffee Club Subscription Discount
And of course, that special treat we mentioned.
We’ve teamed up with Craft Coffee Club to bring you guys fresh and exciting coffee straight to your door on a flexible subscription.
A great way to treat yourself to fancy coffee whilst on the road without costing a fortune.
Click on the image to get 20% off your subscription!
Campervan Kettles
Electric Vs Gas
Another argument for the ages.
But it is very simple.
If you always use EHU and never use gas to boil water, you may aswell stick to an electric kettle and save that gas.
However if you use a mixture then it’s probably worth ditching the electric kettle and just plumping for a good old fashioned whistling kettle.
Pro Tip: Use your measuring jug to put the right amount of water in the kettle for the amount of tea/coffee you need to make and you’ll save both time and money.
No Oven - No Problem. Campervan Cooking without an oven or grill!
Campervans have come along way since the humble beginnings back in the 1960’s.
But one problem that, unless you happen to be friends with the Doctor, has been ever present, is space. Or rather lack of.
Self converters and professional setups alike battle with is what to fit into their campervans and motorhomes and what to leave out.
And the chances are that unless you own a relatively large motorhome you won’t have an oven or grill fitted (of course there are some exceptions to this rule).
However, over the years a number of solutions to campervan ovens have come a long and some of them are seriously good, check it out below.
Omnia Sweden
What a fantastic innovation.
Spreading heat evenly throughout the oven means that you can cook virtually anything in here that you can in a conventional oven.
Roast dinner, cakes, pastries, pasta bakes – you name it, you can cook it.
We usually pack up a pasta bake in the oven prior to any road trip departure and then when we pull up for our first night, dinner is sorted and just needs popping on the stove top.
Ridge Monkey
Another fantastic bit of kit that has surfaced in recent years. Use to cook up full English breakfasts, steam veggies or for a bit of cheese on toast on the road.
Two versions are available – the smaller, compact sandwich toaster and the larger, but still compact combi steamer set which is what we use.
Low Wattage Microwave Oven
If you have space and regularly use EHU then don’t let the naysayers put you off one of these.
Versatile and incredibly useful in the right circumstances.
Campfire Cooking
If you’re familiar with us, you will know that one of our very favourite things to do when camping is to relax of an evening with a beer in front of a roaring campfire.
And of course, there is absolutely no reason why you can’t light up the fire a little early and use that to cook up some rustic campfire food.
In fact, campfire cooking is about a lot more than burnt sausages and smoke in your eyes. You can cook up some absolutely unique and delicious meals right over a campfire.
We will have an article covering campfire cooking coming very soon so subscribe to our monthly email blast to make sure you don’t miss out.
Fire Pit
We’ve covered fire pits in depth in the link so won’t go into too much detail here but check out the linked article for our full run down.
Cast Iron Pots & Pans
Do not use conventional cooking pots and pans on a fire pit – they’ll burn, warp and get ruined extremely quickly.
If you plan to use fire to cook on then you need to get yourself a cast iron pot and frying pan.
Long Tongs
We got fed up of burnt fingers and singed eyebrows and got ourselves some very long tongs for campfire cooking and have never looked back – well worth a couple of quid (plus making smores is very fun!)
Kebab Skewers
Cheap and easy way to keep rotating your food on a fire to prevent charred chicken or burnt bell peppers.
Also very useful for toasting marshmallows after dinner.
Tripod
If you have space then an adjustable tripod is a great way to control the heat of your grill or dangle a stew pot.
Top Campervan BBQs
And if campfire cooking is still not for you – then perhaps a good old fashioned bbq is!
Whether you’re a coal aficionado or a gas grillmaester these are the best options.
Cadac Safari Chef 2 Pro
Surely the king of the portable gas bbq world. A top performer, insanely multi functional and packs down into a very compact little unit for storage.
Breakfast, bbqs or stir frys – this guy can do it all.
Weber Smokey Joe
If the Cadac is the top dog in gas then Weber takes the gold for coal.
We’d recommend the Weber Smokey Joe for performance and durability.
We recently got rid of Simons Dads Smokey Joe from the early noughties – it lasted well over a decade, probably almost two.
Cobb
A different offering from Cobb. We’ve yet to actually use it but we are very intrigued and can’t wait to get our hands on one. Comment below if you’ve got one with your thoughts! Check out the full details here
Motorhome Recipe & Cookery Books
All the gear no idea?
If you’re after a little inspiration then here’s some culinary books aimed directly at motorhome and campervan owners.
The Camper Van Cookbook
From the Author of the Take The Slow Road Series (reviewed here) and Sarah Randall comes a camping cookbook. These guys know their stuff, write very well and Martin Dorey is a well established authority in the campervan world.
Camper van Cooking
From one hob meals to sweet treats and family feasts, plus packed with useful tips and advice this one is a great buy and well worth having on your shelf.
The New Camp Cook Book
While not expressly for cooking in a campervan or motorhome but more generally camping this is still extremely relevant and can elevate your outdoor cooking to the next level
Campervan Cooking Smmary
And that’s it – you’re all clued up on the very best campervan cooking gear and you’re ready to hit the road to (as Guy Fiery would say) flavour town!!
Let us know in the comments the best and worst campervan kitchen accessories you’ve ever bought.
And don’t forget, if you can’t be bothered to cook then you can always hit up Brit Stops and stay overnight at a great pub and have dinner cooked for you!
Go Explore!
