If you travel a lot like we do you need a few easy RV meals to prepare when you’re camping or on a road trip! RV meal planning is here to make it easier as well as links to easy recipes you can make when you’re glamping in your RV wherever you go. Here’s my trick to cooking an entire meal in 20 minutes each night!
If you and your family love to travel like we do you have probably used a recreational vehicle for at least one of your trips. If you’re intimidated about how to cook in an RV here are a few easy RV meals you can try. You can find more information about road trips on our road trip blog page. (affiliate links present)
RV Cooking
Others have raved over them and said they use these tips when they’re rv camping or on road trips. I’m all about easy. Back in the day the main source of cooking was a campfire, not anymore. Yes you have the oven and stovetop in your camper too but small appliances can make easier one pot meals and cleanup more simple as well.
When you’re traveling with a family, simplicity is key. even if it is just the two of you, you don’t want to eat sandwiches day in and day out, we have casseroles, Ninja Foodi soup recipes and more that will feel like home on the road.
What should you pack for a trip in an RV?
Whether you’re renting an rv or recently bought one, we’re here to help! Start with printing this RV camping checklist so nothing is forgotten, and here are a few dinner ideas.
RV Meal Planning
The best investment I ever made when traveling in an RV was:
- My Instant Pot
- More recently I bought a Ninja Foodi and it was a game changer!!
- Makes everything really easy to clean up since everything is a one pot meal.
- Ability to make an entire meal for all 5 of us in under 20 minutes when we travel in an RV!
- Create nutritious hearty comforts from home meals easily when you’ve had a long day. Pressure cookers and the Foodi with an air fryer too are fabulous!
- If you swear by your crock pot bring that too!
Looking to cook with NO appliances (that would be tent camping for me), but we have camping food ideas too. They’re cooked over the campfire.
Of course you can cook other meals in one pot which is my focus when I don’t have all the modern conveniences of home. However you literally can make the same dish for usually 1/4 of the time in a pressure cooker which is handy. Try it on your next rv trip and see if it’s as much of a game changer for y’all too!
What is the best way to cook in an RV?
I will tell you my Instant Pot was the best purchase I ever made to cook in an RV or when we’re staying in an Airbnb!! You can make one pot meals with browning the meat at the beginning, adding rice or pasta to make casseroles from there and enjoy in under 30 minutes.
These have been game changers y’all. Especially if you have kids that literally want something to eat every other hour. You don’t want to have them live off snacks but not making an entire meal is great too. This is how to make dinner in the microwave.
Easy Microwave RV Meals
- Did you know you could make an omelette in a mug?
- Make pizza in a mug for dinner!
- or pizza quesadillas
- Macaroni and cheese in a mug.
- Amp up your ramen in a microwave with an egg even!
- Of course you can load up air fryer nachos with precooked chicken and melt the cheese!
- You can even microwave salmon for dinner!
Don’t skip dessert!! Make angel food cake for one in there too!
Instant Pot RV Recipes
You can use a Ninja Foodi too. That pot is bigger but does include an air fryer so you can make more stuff.
- Instant Pot oatmeal – great for breakfast and super cheap to make, add apples, brown sugar, and raisins to change it up
- Simple Instant Pot spaghetti – literally 2 ingredients (if you don’t want meat) and done in 10 minutes.
- Healthy Instant Pot pinto bean soup
- Instant Pot split pea soup – Takes only 17 min. to make beans tender
Our easy 5 ingredient Instant Pot chili uses canned ingredients and you could omit the meat if you needed a pantry meal.
How to make meals in an RV
- Hearty Pressure cooker lasagna casserole
- This Hawaiian pulled pork is great on small tortillas or slider rolls.
- A bunch of Instant Pot hard boiled eggs can be then refrigerated for breakfast. Or made into egg salad sandwiches or snacks.
Instant Pot chili mac – kids’ favorite for sure and super cheap.
Recipes in an RV
3 Ingredient Instant Pot shredded bbq chicken – great for quick chicken tacos, just freeze chicken beforehand & store in cooler
- Easy Instant Pot beans and rice – only needs dry and canned ingredients if you leave sausage out, or freeze and bring with you..delish
- Creamy Instant Pot cheeseburger macaroni – like goulash but better
- Instant Pot hot dogs
- If you bring a Ninja Foodi pressure cooker and air fryer there are endless possibilities. Then you can make sweet potatoes in air fryer and air fryer chili dogs.
- Here’s an entire list of other cheap Instant Pot recipes under $10 each meal
See over 101 more Instant Pot recipes on our site too to choose from.
If you’ve never used a pressure cooker here is a quick tutorial on how to use an Instant Pot and I will tell you it will be an amazing way of making lots of easy rv meals
One Pot RV meals
- Easy bloody mary chili recipe – you don’t have to add alcohol, we don’t
- Our 3 ingredient sloppy joe recipe – super simple and you only need a few ingredients
- Foil packet chicken fajita dinner recipe – just throw them in your RV oven
- Half hour gumbo – make on the stovetop and use frozen chicken and/or sausage that have thawed during your trip
Stuffed pepper casserole – skip putting it into the oven, just make in one pot, top with cheese and done
Slow cooker RV meals
5 ingredient Crockpot chili recipe – my most popular recipe no matter where you are when you cook it
- Sausage and peppers is highly recommended by my husband
- Crockpot loaded baked potato soup – super easy and cooks all day by itself without a lot of prep
- Easy slow cooker split pea soup – healthy and can grab a packet of already cubed ham at the store and throw it all in
- Hearty Crockpot hamburger helper recipe – just can’t go wrong with this
- The best Dr Pepper Chicken
If you’re going to be out all day a crockpot is a great way to go when you’re making easy rv meals.
You can throw everything in your pot, turn it on, go out for the day and when you’re ready your meal is done.
Great way to cook healthy meals too and you can cook dry beans in it as well so that would be easy to travel with and not need to be refrigerated beforehand.
Sandwiches & salads
- Easy French dip sliders
- Super Easy chicken salad sandwich recipe – can use canned chicken too
- If you’re bringing lunch with you put 1 plastic container inside another with ice like you see here. It will stay cold almost all day.
- Avocado and bacon chicken salad
- Of course bagged salads with some precooked chicken and salad dressings can be a quick meal. Keep those in your fridge for easy nights.
If you’re able to throw all your ingredients in and have an entire meal done in under 30 minutes it’s a win.
The last thing you want to do is have to drag out a cast iron pan with olive oil and cook when you’re exhausted. At least I don’t want to! Those items are great if a campfire is all you have though. Just a tip.
What are your favorite easy RV recipes??
I’m in a Class B RV Camper VAN and don’t want to add more than I need to into the RV Kitchen. I have used a Crock Pot, for slow cooking. The Instant Pot seems like a good idea, but it’s so large. Do you have something much smaller sizes, say about half the size of what you were performing your demo with? Thanks
We are going traveling this summer with some family and I hadn’t even thought about bringing our Instant Pot along but now I certainly will be bringing the idea up. It would be so great to be able to quickly make a meal when we get back from hiking and being out all day. Thanks!
Hi,
We just purchased our first RV, and I would love to use my instant pot when we are dry camping. My husband is concerned it would use too much battery power.
Can you provide me any information that I can use to convince him?
Thanks!
It varies I am sure. We mostly have hookups with water and power so it’s no issue. I can’t imagine it would be an issue unless you were dry camping and using a generator for power for quite some time. IPs use very little power and aren’t on very long.
we love our ninja foodi! I never thought about taking it camping with us. We totally should for our trip this week ๐
Totally, especially in an RV
Thank you for this post! We bought an RV for our family and I was panicking about how I was going to easily and affordably feed us all when we are tired and starving from a fun day exploring. There are so many great ideas here!!
This is not travel cooking, but an ad for Instantpot. VERY disappointing.
I agree. There is no room in a RV for that huge pot.
First off all RVs are different sizes and literally you can get rid of all your pots and pans if you use a pressure cooker instead. It’s been a game changer for us and a 6 qt isn’t large at all.
I travel and live fulltime in a 26 foot travel trailer with my husband and four grown daughters. I personally could not live without my instant pot. With so many of us in one space it makes it so easy to cook great meals in a snap. I have no problem finding a place to store my instant pot. It really doesn’t take up that much space when you consider how many pots it replaces.
Amen, it’s been a God send for us in our travel trailer with 5 people. I don’t cook any other way!
Full time RV’r here. I’ve had an instant pot in my 24′ travel trailer, a 41′ travel trailer and now the Foodi in my 38′ 5th wheel. There is NO WAY I would be without this appliance! Thanks for all these awesome recipes, Typical Mom!
Thanks
This is absolutely travel cooking for the modern glamper. Get with the times Tani! Good post! Keep it up! Dont listen to negative nancys
Thanks, enjoy
You must not own an InstantPot. They are an amazing tool
I would appreciate a link to your website if you will share it please? heading to New Zealand in 3 weeks for 3 weeks in an RV and would LOVE to be as organized as possible in advance of leaving so if you are able/willing to share any tips I would be most appreciative. Thank you in advance.
What kind of RV do you have? Weโve been looking into something like yours and no luck!
We have rented RVs, the van we have can be converted into a camper style. We have the full size Ford Transit with the mid level roof and 10 seats (shown on the road trip section of my blog). We remove the back row to travel with the 5 of us. We have rented a variety of RVs.