7 Tips for Cooking in an RV
Meal Prep for Campers
Many of our favorite camping recipes include chopped veggies, diced onions, sliced or shredded cheeses and marinades. Because prepping these ingredients can take extra time and space at meal-time, having many of these ingredients ready to go before you hit the road (either you “weekend warriors” or full-time RVers) those camp meals will be much easier to prepare. These are our tried and true methods of meal prep that make cooking in our RV much easier:
1. Chop and blanch vegetables
Having veggies already washed, chopped and slightly pre-cooked saves a ton of time. Store them in glass containers – we do not recommend plastic food storage containers. We use Snapware glass containers with leak-proof BPA free lids, Made in the USA !
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2. Chop onions
Slice, dice or chop onions ahead of time. Although I hate this job, having it done before traveling is a big advantage! Also, if you run the whole onion under cold water before cutting it, it helps keep the fumes from releasing and causing your eyes to burn and tear up.
I usually keep some raw onion and also sauté some a little before putting them into glass containers.
3. Brown ground beef
Saute ground beef or meatless grind and save in glass containers. You can use it later for a quick taco meal or casserole – or for some of our awesome pudgy pie recipes!
4. Prep marinades in jars or other glass containers
We definitely keep marinades in glass. Most good marinades always have some type of acid like vinegar or citrus juice. Even though I think it would take quite a long time for the acid to start breaking down a plastic container, I just feel safer keeping it in glass. Try out our rotisserie chicken recipe – this marinade does not have an acid, as we don’t really need to tenderize the chicken, just make it tasty! This is THE BEST chicken I have ever had. It is Greg’s special recipe!
5. Pre-cook bacon
You can store precooked bacon in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, and in the freezer for 2-3 months. I love having it ready for topping off salads or sandwiches, or just warming up on the griddle in the morning. Another tip is to leave it a little less than crispy, so you can crisp it when reheating it.
6. Boil pasta
Any pasta can be boiled ahead of time. To reheat, just place it in a colander and run it under hot water. Add your favorite sauce for a really quick, convenient dinner. We keep this collapsible colander set in our RV.
7. Slice and grate cheeses
No explanation needed here… cheese goes with everything ! Save the counter space in your RV during meal prep by having cheese ready to use in recipes.
Doing this prep before embarking on a journey really pays off later. If you’re traveling in an RV and have to do some overnight parking lot stops, you know you won’t be able to use your grill or microwave. Without a doubt, having pre-prepped food makes it so much easier to throw something together on your RV stovetop.
Tell us your tips for making your RV or campsite cooking easier!