RV KITCHENS ALLOW YOU TO ENJOY BETTER MEALS than most can manage when tent camping, but those meals shouldn’t be stressful. With the right RV cooking accessories, it’s easy to manage everything from prep to cooking to cleanup. Because many campers have RV outdoor kitchens these days, we’ll cover outdoor cooking and grilling accessories, too.
Key Takeaways
- Equip for Efficient Indoor Cooking: Essential RV kitchen accessories include stove toppers, nesting cookware, baking sheets, a toaster, a slow cooker, a blender, utensils, and sink covers to maximize limited space and simplify meal prep and cleanup.
- Upgrade Your Outdoor Kitchen Setup: Key outdoor cooking gear includes a portable grill, table or mount, grill cover, propane accessories, dedicated grilling utensils, Dutch oven, cast iron cookware, and campfire tools to expand your cooking options and reduce indoor heat and odors.
- Prioritize Convenience and Cleanliness: Accessories like bug screens, lighters, and smart organization tools help streamline the cooking process and maintain cleanliness for stress-free RV camping experiences.
RV Cooking Accessories For Your Indoor Kitchen
Use this camp kitchen checklist to equip your indoor kitchen.
Stove Topper and/or Cutting Board
Indoor cooking in an RV begins with securing your prep space. Sometimes, that’s not as easy as it sounds, especially in smaller campers. While a cutting board is an RV meal prep essential, stove toppers are a brilliant addition for expanding prep space. In RVs with minimal counterspace, a stove topper converts the cooktop to a prep space until you’re ready to cook.
Stovetop Cookware
The next item on your RV kitchen checklist is a set of pots and pans. Consider the main cookware you use at home. You may need multiple skillet sizes and several pots for pasta, soups, or other dishes. The best RV cookware sets come with lids for the pots and pans, helping you manage splatter to minimize post-meal cleaning. We also recommend “nesting” pots and pans to conserve storage space.
Baking Sheets & Baking Accessories
This might not be a camp kitchen essential for all RVers, especially if your camper doesn’t have an oven. For those that do, you’ll want sheet pans, mixing bowls, and hot pads, at the very least. Muffin pans are an excellent addition for those interested in harvesting local berries for homemade muffins. Be sure to sample the blueberries if they’re in season when you visit Acadia National Park!
Toaster or Toaster Oven
Don’t follow my lead and struggle with toasting bread in a cast iron skillet on your RV stove! Get a toaster or toaster oven. It only requires temporary counterspace in your kitchen or on the dinette. Pack it away between uses. Trust me, the convenience of popping bread, bagels, or burger buns into the toaster is a significant time saver when cooking in an RV.
Slow Cooker
A slow cooker might seem like a luxury for RV cooking, but imagine spending all day exploring and having dinner ready when you return. Prepping in advance allows you to maximize your time outdoors when RV camping. Especially for weekend warriors, a slow cooker is an ideal RV kitchen accessory for increasing adventure time while enjoying quality meals to restock those calories.
Blender/Mixer
Even my most thoughtful meals seem to lack a nice dipping or drizzling sauce—that’s where my partner comes in. But those sauces aren’t as easy to whip up in an RV, unless you’ve equipped your indoor kitchen with a mixer or blender. From sauces to smoothies to homemade ice cream, you’ll find many uses for this camp kitchen essential.
Knives, Spatulas, and Other Utensils
Any camp kitchen checklist would be incomplete without the necessary tools for cutting, stirring, flipping, and otherwise handling ingredients. You know your cooking methods best—maybe you get by with a spatula, mixing spoon, tongs, and a single quality knife. Perhaps you need more than that. Your exact list depends on how you like to cook, but don’t forget camp kitchen utensils.
Sink Cover
There are several sink cover styles for RV campers. Some are designed as roll-up dish drying racks. Others are full surface covers designed to expand your counterspace. You might employ both at different cooking stages, so consider the advantages of an RV sink cover when stocking your kitchen with RV cooking accessories.
RV Outdoor Cooking Accessories
Explore these camping accessories for outdoor cooking. Some make using an RV’s outdoor kitchen easier, while others help you create a DIY RV outside kitchen if your camper doesn’t have one.
Small Outdoor Camping Grill
Expanding your available cooking surface outside has many benefits. Splitting duties between indoor and outdoor kitchens allows you to cook complex meals. Reducing inside cooktop usage keeps your RV’s interior cooler. Unpleasant cooking odors are virtually non-existent when cooking outdoors on a small propane barbecue grill. If you have space to store it and a location to mount or set it up outside, a portable camping grill is a perfect outdoor camper kitchen accessory.
Portable Table or Grill Mount
Not every RV features a mounted grill or griddle. Even if yours has one, you need outdoor prep space, which is where your portable table comes in handy. For RVers who pack a portable gas grill for their RV, you’ll want a table that can hold the grill and also provide prep space. Alternatively, you can use an RV grill mount to permanently secure a compatible camping grill to the rear bumper or hitch receiver.
Grill Bag or Cover
A grill cover or bag is the best way to protect camping grills between uses. If you mount your grill, you must protect it from moisture, pollen, road debris, and other contaminants whenever it’s cool and unused. If you store it in an underneath compartment, a grill bag or cover is the best way to protect the grill while keeping food grease from dirtying your other camping gear.
Propane Essentials
The grill style you choose for RV camping will tell you which propane accessories you’ll need. Larger grills may require a separate LP container unless you plan to remove an onboard container whenever you want to cook outside. Smaller grills and griddles can hook up to an RV LP quick connect with the proper LP hose assembly and fittings. Ensure you have the right LP hoses and adapters to fire up your grill when you reach camp.
Grilling Tools & Utensils
The best RV cooking setups have dedicated utensils for indoor and outdoor cooking. Many campers carry their RV grilling tools in a caddy or briefcase-style carrying case. If you have an outdoor kitchen with storage space, keep your outdoor cooking utensils and accessories there. You may need multiple spatulas, tongs, a meat thermometer, and anything else your cooking style requires.
Dutch Oven
A Dutch oven is the perfect outdoor RV cooking essential for exploring campfire cooking. From build-your-own pizzas to homemade stews, a Dutch oven can involve the whole family in meal prep. Stoke the coals, prep the ingredients, and cook with care. Ensure you have multiple extended grill tongs and heavy-duty oven mittens for safe Dutch oven handling. Research Dutch oven recipes online to inspire your next campfire culinary creation!
Cast Iron Cookware
In addition to a Dutch oven, adding a cast iron skillet or flat-top griddle to your outdoor cooking accessories expands your options. Cook the morning bacon outside while the rest of the family is still asleep. A flat griddle allows you to convert a traditional camping grill to a flat surface for pancakes or other novelties.
Campfire Cooking Accessories
If you like cooking over a wood fire, you’ll need the proper grilling grates and cooking utensils to handle everything safely. Don’t count on your campgrounds to always have a fire grate. Bring your own to roast bratwurst or skewered veggies over hot coals. Don’t forget S’mores skewers, a cast iron pie iron, and possibly even a mesh grill basket for cooking fire-roasted hamburgers!
Bug Screens
The bigger our camp meals, the more likely we are to cook in stages. But you don’t want your prepared foods exposed to the elements while finishing something else. You especially want to keep flies, bees, and other bugs away from them. Aluminum foil is always an option, but bug screens are also a smart addition to your camp kitchen.
Lighters
Lighters are essential for indoor and outdoor RV cooking. Piezo ignition systems on camping grills can be unreliable. Even the auto-ignition for your RV’s indoor cooktop can be finicky if not maintained properly by having your LP and electrical systems inspected by an RV technician annually. Keep lighters handy so you’re prepared whenever you need to light a camping grill, cooktop, or campfire.
Keeping your RV cooking accessories clean and organized is essential to stress-free camping trips. Explore these additional resources for RV cleaning and organization:
- RV Organization Hacks for New Campers
- Packing List for RV Camping
- How To Clean Your RV After a Trip
Did we forget any RV cooking essentials you use on every trip? Let us know your favorites in the comments below.
