Ah, living the van life. You've completed the hardest step which is actually getting yourself in a working, drivable, and livable campervan! With all your cross country adventures to some of the most beautiful destinations, now it's time to plan out what you're going to eat. All the hiking, biking, and even just driving from place to place will get you some roadside munchies, and fast food will get old...fast. You can't keep eating peanut butter for every meal no matter how good it is. Thankfully, you probably built yourself a little kitchenette or a table space where you'll be able to whip up some five-star van life meals for life on-the-go.
Of course, if you're living full-time or even just taking a roadtrip in the van, you're already accustomed to the smaller space and limited capacities that the campervan offers, including limited electricity, running water, and reduced ventilation.
How to Cook & Eat in Your Van
Image by Mikala Lugen
With almost a year of co-owning a 2020 Ram Promaster van and driving to state-wide destinations for week-long trips, I've compiled a list of some of my personal favorite and easy-to-make van life meal hacks for your next adventure. Most of these campervan cooking recipes are customizable, including the serving sizes, and ingredients can be easily interchanged based upon taste and preferences.
Disclaimer: Most of the meals and van life recipes listed below do require basic cookware like pots and pans and a camp stove. When living in a van, electricity is very precious and must be used very carefully, which is why we recommend cooking with a Coleman Compact Propane two-burner stove. While some vans have built-in burners, we appreciate being able to store away our propane stove to save on counter space, as well as cook outside when the weather allows!
1. Oh-So-Cheesy Broccoli Pasta
Image by Mikala Lugen
This is our favorite and quickest easy-to-make van life recipe we like to make in our Ram Promaster. Not only does it combine the comfort food of cheesy pasta, but we throw in some fresh veggies, our favorite being broccoli, to boost the serving size and make us feel not as bad for going all-in on this dish. Another thing we love about this recipe is while some pasta requires you to drain the water, this pasta will soak up all the water and milk, making it less mess and worry. Warning: No leftovers will be made available once meal is made due to it being overly easy and delicious.
Ingredients:
(1) Package of Knor Family-size Cheddar Broccoli Pasta Side
(1) Package of Frozen Broccoli -OR- (1) Fresh Broccoli Head
(3) Cups of Potable Water
(1) Cup Milk
(2) Tbsp. Butter (optional)
(1) Tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Onion Powder
Optional: Add pre-cooked packets of salmon, tuna, or chicken to add even more flavor and sustenance to the meal.
Instructions:
- Bring 3 cups of water, 1 cup of milk, and 2 tablespoons of butter (optional) to a boil in a medium frying pan or cast iron pan.
- While waiting to boil, rinse broccoli head and cut into bite-sized pieces. If using frozen pre-cut broccoli florets, then you're ready to go.
- On a separate burner, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Add cut-up broccoli pieces onto hot pan, stirring occasionally until the broccoli is softened. Add salt, pepper, and onion powder to taste. Note: Feel free to leave the broccoli on longer if you want to make it more charbroiled and crispy.
- Once water is boiling, add in packet of cheddar broccoli pasta and stir regularly. Reduce heat. Continue boiling gently for 11 minutes or until pasta is tender and all of the water is soaked up.
- Dish out the cheesy pasta into bowls, topping it with your broccoli. Add additional salt and pepper as needed.
Voila! 15-minute cheesy broccoli pasta at your fingertips.
2. On-The-Road Again One-Pan Teriyaki Stir-Fry
Image by Mikala Lugen
On the road again...and so is your next meal! Why not get fancy and get a hearty dose of all your veggies and protein with a simple recipe only using one pan for easy clean-up. Because we all know that the worse part of cooking in a campervan is washing tons of dishes after. You can also make this meal as easy or more complex as you desire, with switching out frozen packages of stir-fry from the store or buying all the veggies that you want and cutting them into bite-sized pieces.
Ingredients:
(1-2) Packets of Simmer Sauce *Flavor and spice level is up to you! Our favorite is Saffron Road's Korean Stir Fry Simmer Sauce which comes in a plastic packet so its easy to store in a campervan's small cabinets and is shelf-stable.
(1) Packet of Riced Cauliflower *Again, many different brands for this. Our favorite is Fullgreen Riced Cauliflowe
(1) Package of Frozen Stir-Fry -OR- opt for fresh veggies from the grocery store, including carrots, green beans, peppers, broccoli, bok choy, mushrooms, and more. Get creative with it!
(2) Tbsp. of olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Optional: Add pre-cooked packets of salmon, tuna, or chicken to add even more flavor and sustenance to the meal.
Instructions:
- In a large non-stick frying pan or cast iron pan, heat (2) tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat.
- Add in the whole packet of riced cauliflower, adding salt and pepper to taste.
- Add in freshly-cut veggies and/or frozen stir-fry mix into hot pan. Mix with the riced cauliflower and sauté together.
- Stir occasionally for around 5 minutes or until veggies are fully cooked.
- Pour 1-2 packets of your desired flavor of simmer sauce. Reduce to low heat and let simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes.
- Dish out into bowls and enjoy!
RELATED: 10 Camping Hacks From a Seasoned Veteran
3. Early Morning Mountain Bagels
Image by Mikala Lugen
One thing about van life is you need to start the day with a solid breakfast if you want to crush all your adventure goals of the day. A healthy, strong breakfast will set you off on the right foot, but getting out bed to cook is just...exhausting. If you find yourself lagging in the chilly morning mountain air, try out our favorite go-to breakfast.
Disclaimer: This recipe does require a toaster for the easiest method to toast the bagels. Toasters can suck a lot of a campervan's electricity up, so make sure to monitor your battery percentage and wattage of your toaster oven so you don't end up with a dead solar battery to start your day. An alternative to this would include toasting the bagel halves on a pan on your propane stove. A little more of an extra step but would save you a lot of battery power!
Ingredients:
Your favorite flavor of bagels. We live in Utah and start our day with Smith's freshly baked cheesy bagels. They are THE BEST bagels we've ever had (sorry New York). Once toasted, they are so cheesy and honestly quite greasy, we can't get enough of them. We literally will buy multiple bundles of these and freeze them to have them at all-times. Other great options include everything, onion, and more.
Cream Cheese
Avocados
Lox (optional)
Instructions:
- This one is pretty straightforward! Cut your bagel in half and place both halves in the toast to your desired setting. If you like a crispy bagel in the morning, crack it up!
- While toasting, take out the cream cheese and lox and cut an avocado in half. Take out the pit. Fork or spoon out the fruit and cut into pieces.
- Place the toasted bagel halves on a plate. Spread one half with cream cheese and top with lox (if desired). Spread avocado on the other half, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Your morning just got better. You're welcome.
Pro-tip: If you're in a time crunch, these easily travel in tin foil in your hiking backpack to eat at the top of a mountain summit!
4. Campervan Ramen Noodle Melting Pots
Image by Mikala Lugen
Mmm, we love us some hot noods. Yeah, Ramen Noodles may have been a boring meal when you were younger but we've really spiced up these easy-to-use noodles. I mean, who doesn't like a hot bowl of pho after a full day of epic adventures? Once you make this and customize it to your liking, you'll be adding this to your van life cooking recipe book in no time. There's really no "right" way to cook this recipe, as there are infinite amount of ways to jive up this classic bowl of soup. Below are just a couple examples to lively up your nice bowl of hot soup on that cold mountain or desert evening.
Ingredients:
(1-2) Packets of Chicken or Beef flavored Ramen Noodles
(1) Package of Fresh Spinach
(2 1/2) Cups of Potable Water
Cilantro
Bean sprouts
Chili Bean Sauce
Lentils
Black Beans
Chickpeas
Tofu
Curry Powder
Cumin
Paprika
Instructions:
- Okay, it's not like you've made Ramen Noodles a hundred times...haha! Bring approximately 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. If you want to avoid using your propane stove, we love using our collapsible electric kettle. There are so many options out there to get one, but we have a small one that can heat up and boil one liter of water in less than 5 minutes!
- While the water is boiling, prepare your added ingredients and bowls. To make things easy and less clean-up, we break open the ramen noodle packets and break the noodles into pieces that fit in our bowls.
- Carefully pour boiling water over the ramen noodles in each bowl. Use a fork to fully submerge the noodles in the water, stirring for around 5 minutes.
- Add the flavor packet and stir. Now its time to get creative in the campervan kitchen! While the water is still steaming hot, add in cut-up tofu, spinach leaves, cilantro, bean sprouts, curry powder, cumin, and paprika, for a fresh van life vegan pho noodle bowl. If you're feeling adventurous, once the noodles are soft, stir in some chili bean sauce, black beans, and chickpeas for a more robust and protein-packed noodle bowl.
You just found yourself your new favorite hot noods!
5. Egg-Cellent Veggie Tortilla Burritos
Image by Mikala Lugen
We love this recipe because you can eat it for any meal that suits your fancy. Breakfast or lunch will usually see us making these burritos to fulfill our craving, and we love the boost of protein to start our morning or keep us energized in the afternoon.
Ingredients:
Tortillas
Eggs
(1) Package of Shredded Cheese *We prefer sharp cheddar, Mexican mix, gouda and/or parmesan
(1) container of Feta Cheese
(1) Package of Fresh Spinach
(1) can of mushrooms
Avocados
(1) Tbsp. of olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Optional: Add pre-cooked bacon, sausage, or desired meat protein.
Instructions:
- Add one tablespoon of olive oil to a medium frying pan or cast iron pan.
- Crack 2 eggs per wrap into a bowl and scramble with a fork until yolk is completely beaten. Add a dash of salt and pepper.
- Pour eggs into hot pan and use a spatula to lift up and continue scrambling into pan.
- Add desired cheese and mushrooms into cooking eggs. Once fully cooked through, place onto tortilla wrap.
- Decorate with slices of avocado and spinach. Feel free to also add tomatoes, peppers, beans, and anything else that you may crave for your burrito!
Breakfast, breakfast for lunch, breakfast for dinner...we love these egg-cellent tortilla tacos and hope you find them just as fulfilling.
If you're like us, then cooking inside of the van is a fun part of our day while out on-the-road. Of course, there are so many different ways to make the best use of your limited space and resources within the van. We're always experimenting with new DIY recipes, making our van life adventures that much more fun.
Mikala Lugen is an avid adventure lifestylist, rooting her life around music, mindfulness, and travel. She's currently based in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she works among the mountains every day, writing about some of the country's best musical events, as well as hiking, skiing, rock climbing, and playing with her dog Jameson in-between all of her adventures.
What are your favorite camping meals to eat? Share your answers with us on our Wide Open Roads Facebook!
