RV Cooking: No-Oven Meals for Hot Summer Days 

While the greatest part of being out on the open road is the change of scenery, of course, a close second is a change in the chore of cooking. In the middle of summer, there’s not much worse than heating up the old house oven for some bake time. The same is true while on RV adventures. Avoid heating up the ol’ RV with traditional oven meals. Instead, consider these various RV cooking methods: air fryer, microwave, and campfire.

Meal preferences and meal preparing can vary as much as other lifestyle choices, different strokes for different folks, as the old TV song goes. What might be right for you, might not be right for some. With that mind, this article will provide several samples for a variety of meals, ranging from no cook time to some quality time around the firepit, and everything in between.  Keep it healthy while gone from home, or let your diet take a vacation from the norm as well. Choice is up to you, we just serving up a variety of recipes!  

Healthy Salads for Hot Summer Days 

Bringing along pre-made salads that are cool and refreshing on hot summer days is a great idea for a few reasons. Not only are these salad recipes quick and easy to make before leaving, they are healthy choices for a light lunch or dinner. Toss together with no baking, store in fridge and have a one-bowl dish that needs no prep time. Easy Peasy! 

A fruit salad that is sure to be a hit with everyone is the Watermelon Strawberry Salad (B). When making ahead, it’s suggested that you mix the watermelon, strawberries, and cucumbers together in a bowl, but store the dressing, feta cheese and mint leaves in three separate baggies or small containers. By storing the ingredients this way, the accumulated moisture at the bottom of the salad won’t be as heavy. When ready to serve, drizzle the dressing over the fruit, then toss with cheese and mint leaves.  

Play around with the recipe, making it your own, by possible additions/amendments such as basil, goat cheese, tomatoes and cotija cheese. 

For something with more pizzazz, consider a 10-minute Mediterranean Chopped Salad (c) 

Again, this is one of the meals where the prep work can be done at home and stored in the fridge until mealtime. A no-cook meal is likely the best type there is, especially when the cooking needs to be in a confined area like an RV kitchen. As with the strawberry salad mentioned above, it would be best to keep the dressing separate and add it into the mix at mealtime.  

Quick and Easy RV Cooking

While this next meal is more of a nod to the old cowboy lifestyle, it is so quick and easy that it had to be included. This no-cook recipe can be altered a bit, for instance, roast the hot dogs over the open flame of a campfire. Not only will this still resemble an Old West-style meal, but it can also let the kids join in the fun. But this recipe calls for cold hot dogs and canned, 3-bean salad. Fancy, it is not. But, if cool-temperature foods coupled with no culinary work required, this back-to-the-basics meal just might be perfect for your next road trip.  

Another no-mess meal mashup is rotisserie chicken and….anything! Truly a one-size-fits-all kitchen staple, the rotisserie chicken is versatile enough to be paired with an unlimited number of options.  

Campfire Favorites 

For these campfire recipes, one staple is almost always required; aluminum foil, don’t leave home without it! Of course, if you travel with a cast iron skillet, that is also an optimum piece of equipment for open flame cooking.  

Loaded campfire nachos (g) are sure to be a great hit for any crowd. It can also be a bit of a hit to a grocery budget, as it calls for a good amount of items. But, if chips smothered in Mexican-style cheese, queso fresco, diced green chiles and more vegetables, than be sure to add this recipe’s ingredients to your shopping list before hitting the open road.  

What would a campfire cookout be with the cowboy’s favorite meal? Serve up grilled steak and skillet potatoes (h) for a blast from the (old west) past. This is where the cast iron skillet can be awfully handy to have. Bring it into the cook game and rustle up some grub just like they did it generations ago. 

 

Of course, s’mores (i) will always go hand-in-hand with an open camp fire. Bring along some graham crackers, marshmallows, Hershey’s chocolate bars and some skewer sticks and make some traditional campfire s’mores. Fancy it up a bit, if you would like, by adding sliced bananas, swapping the chocolate bar for a Snickers or Reese’s peanut butter cup, or adding some Nutella on the bottom graham cracker.  

Air Fryer 

Whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, an easy meal awaits with just a loaded basket in the air fryer. Depending on how many groceries you bring along, air fryer meals in the RV can be as low-key or detailed as you would prefer. And, be sure to bring along the air fryer basket liners to make cleanup a breeze, especially when choosing the bacon and eggs recipe.  

To experience air fried bacon and eggs (d), plan on about six to eight minutes for the bacon, and another three to four minutes for the cracked eggs. Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees and let it work its magic!  Add a side of hash browns (e) by cranking up the heat to 375 and letting the seasoned and grated potatoes become a crisp-brown in about ten to fifteen minutes. Don’t forget to flip them halfway through the cook time for even levels of crispiness.  

Perfect for lunch, dinner or even a healthy snack, the veggie medley (f) is a great option for those not having a lot of storage room inside the fridge. All ingredients can be stored on the counter or in a cabinet, with the exception of the grated cheese, but it is optional.  

The most amount of work for this recipe is the chopping of the vegetables, and that won’t cause you to break a sweat at all. In a preheated air fryer, add the seasoned vegetables in a single layer and cook them for about ten to fifteen minutes, pulling them when the veggies are soft yet with slight crisp. If there is parmesan cheese in your RV’s fridge, sprinkle the perfect amount over the vegetables and be all set.  

Microwave 

Of course, just as easy is the ‘cook before you leave and let the microwave do the work’ method of food prep. Put that RV fridge to use and reheat those homemade meals with love.  

A quick and easy microwave oven recipe (a) is one that the whole family will love, and the best part is there won’t be any large pans to wash afterward. While not traditional, a recipe does outline how to make a grilled cheese sandwich in the microwave. Gather your favorite bread, choice of cheese, butter and some paper towels and have an ooey, gooey cheese sandwich ready in less than a minute. Make it a fancy version by adding bacon, tomato slices or sandwich deli meat. Just be sure to add the extras after the cheese melts in the microwave.  

Bringing along pre-made casseroles, pasta dishes, or cooked meat could also be some options for the microwave. To skip out on any cooking at all, this is a great option. Plus, leftovers such as spaghetti, depending on the preference, wouldn’t necessarily even have to be reheated, as it, like revenge, could be thought of as a dish best served cold.  

While serving up meals for yourself and your travel companions is a must, these recipes will allow the oven to be avoided like the plague. Spend more time chilling, and less time heating up the RV with these simple alternatives.  

Campfire Nachos (g)  

Recipe Link

Variety of S’mores (i):

Recipe Link