Summer RV Cooking Tips and Recipes

Man, do I love summertime camping. There’s nothing like sitting underneath that RV awning, drinking a cold bevvy, and just taking in the scenery. 

And nothing tops it all off better than some delish food. Oh yes.

But of course, unless you have a wonderful 5th wheel RV kitchen or something, there are a few hassles to having the meal of your dreams in the RV.

Keep these RV cooking tips in mind: 

Plan Your Meals in Advance

Before you pull into camp, do yourself a favor. Plan your meals and sort out the ingredients you’ll need. This way, you’ll know exactly what you’ll be making, so you won’t have to worry about scrambling to decide on a last minute dinner idea when everyone is hungry and grumpy. 

Not to mention hot because #summer.

Sometimes, you can make things easier by preparing ahead of time. 

Pre-measure your ingredients, chop up those veggies, and pre-cook what you’re able to. This can significantly cut down on the time it takes for your meal to come together. Which will come in real handy when you don’t get to the campground until dusk because Sparky wouldn’t stop barking to go to the bathroom 10 times that day.

Who the heck decided it was a good idea to feed him 5 hot dogs at the campfire last night, anyway?

If you’re like me and need wicked help in the kitchen, there are many meal-prep apps out there that can help organize recipes, ingredients, prep info… all of that. Use them!

Avoid Complicated Meals

Let me tell you something. The KOA probably isn’t the best place to make an extravagant meal with multiple courses. When you’re on the road, keeping meals simple makes things go much more smoothly. Trust me when I tell you so to stick with the basics.

Meals that don’t require a ton of elaborate ingredients or steps are your best buddy, okay?

And like I was saying earlier, most RV kitchens are small and just suck in general.  One-pot meals are your best bet so break out the Crockpot or InstantPot as much as possible. It makes the ENTIRE proccess easier. Even cleaning up is much more convenient. 

And just FYI– there are a ton of recipes out there. And their yummo. Do not resist the one-pot meal.

Minimize Heat In Your RV

A major downside of RV cooking in the summer is that it’ll make your RV hot as hell. Yeah, I said it. There’s really no other way to do describe it. 

So instead of suffering through a hot, steamy meal time, do this instead:

• Prepare cold meals. I’m talking sandwiches. Fresh salads. Some fruit medleys if you’re feeling froggy.
• Use a crock-pot. Yep. I’m bringing this thing up again. It’s just so damn useful while camping.
• Cook outside. YESSS. You might be hot outside, but at least your AC isn’t competing with the stovetop for 45 minutes. 

Make Enough Food for Leftovers

I don’t care what your problem is against leftovers, the fact of the matter is making leftovers is a godsend to RVs and camping. Make a little extra one time and have enough to eat for two days.

I really don’t see a downside, here. (Just eat the day old chicken, Bob!)

Try New Summer RV Recipe Ideas

There are countless recipes out there to try. But in case you’re too lazy to use Pinterest, here are a few meals you can easily and quickly put together:

Overnight Oats

Overnight oats are a great breakfast idea, especially when you wake up hot because you decided to camp in Tampa during the summer. 

They’re also easy to get creative with. Here’s a basic recipe:

Ingredients:

• ½ cup old fashioned oats
• ½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds (optional, of course)
• 1 teaspoon sweetener, such as maple syrup, agave, etc.(optional) You can add more if you have a crazy sweet tooth like my husband
• Dash of vanilla extract (optional)

Steps:

• Mix ingredients together in a mason jar or a tupperware container. Leave in the refrigerator overnight or for at least two hours. 
• Eat as-is, or throw something in there for fun– fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter, ya know 

*This makes one serving, yo.

Black Bean Avocado Salad

Black beans. Avocado. Onion and cilantro. It’ll be like a Mexican restaurant exploded next to the campground and it rained only the best ingredients down upon your site.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of black beans
• 1 can of corn
• 1 garlic clove finely chopped (or more as desired)
• ½ cup red onion
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 2 avocados, diced
• ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper (as desired)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ olive oil
• ⅓ cup lime juice

Steps:

• Whisk together the olive oil, garlic, lime juice, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. This’ll make a delish dressing.
• Combine everything else in a large bowl. Add the dressing and mix it up real good. If you’re not serving right away, wait to chop and add the avocados until right before serving so that they don’t get brown. ‘Cause ain’t nobody eating anything with brown avocados in it, ya feel me?

Marinated Chicken Kabobs

Kabobs and summertime just go together. And they’re easy to make, too. Cook ‘em over the girll for some real #campvibes, my friend.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• ⅓ cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons honey or agave
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• Pepper, to taste
• One pound chicken
• Mushrooms
• Cherry tomatoes
• Zucchini
• Bell peppers
• Red onion 

Steps:

• Whisk olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, minced garlic, onion powder, and pepper together in a large bowl. 
• Cut chicken/tofu and vegetables into cubes and add to the marinade. 
• Cover bowl and put in refrigerator for at least an hour (the longer it sits, the yummier it will be. Trust me.) 
• Take all that stuff outta the fridge and put it on the skewers. Because the ingredients cook at different rates, some find that putting each ingredient on its own skewer (e.g., the mushrooms on one and the tomatoes on another) rather than putting them all on one skewer and rotating helps the kabobs cook better. 
• Protip: Soaking wood skewers for about 30 minutes will prevent them from catching on fire when you forget that you’re cooking something on the grill. Or just use metal skewers. They won’t set on fire and ruin your dinner and your wife’s respect for you.
• Cook over medium-high heat on the grill, or you can use a campfire grill over a fire. They should take about 10-15 minutes. 

Closing Up

Hope this helps your summer RV cooking festivities! Let me know in the comments your favorite thing to cook in the summer time!