One of the difficulties in becoming a full-time RV family, when you are moving from a home to an RV 5th wheel, travel trailer or motorhome, is that you lose a bunch of kitchen space. Losing all of that kitchen space really hurts at first, but over the months and years, I have found a few RV Kitchen Accessories and Gadgets that have helped me to cook efficiently in my kitchen.
When you have growing kids, being able to cook effectively is important. We simply cannot afford to eat out a lot and besides, I love to cook at home. This is the RV cookware that I use just about every day and could not live without. All of them do BIG jobs and take up small spaces. Perfect for mobile living.
Here is our list of must have kitchen items that we recommend you have when starting your RV life.
RV Kitchen Accessories You MUST Have
1. Measuring Cups:
No set of RV cooking supplies is complete without stackable measuring cups and spoons. I found these cups for our kitchen on Amazon. I have used plastic measuring cups before and I just don’t like them. They get chewed up in the drawer and look all worn out. But having heavy traditional stainless steel cups adds weight, something we always try to avoid.
Stainless Measuring Cups
So I was overjoyed when I found these Bellemain Stainless Steel cups. They really hold up well to daily beatings in the utensil drawer. They are accurate AND they are lightweight which is very important for mobile living. Someone found just the right thickness to keep them lightweight, but also durable. They even double as circle templates for art class. Great set!
Plastic Measuring Cups
If you DO dig plastic measurers, here is a nice set. It is quite complete as it has about every possible size of measuring cup and spoon and would also work well to round out your set of kitchen gadgets.
2. Stackable Mixing Bowls:
I LOVE my stackable mixing bowls, honestly I pretty much use them every single day for storing fruit or mixing eggs. They really have become essential kitchen accessories! These are a great set of bowls that can handle being tossed around in an RV – this is important to us RVers.
They are melamine so they will not break, but again are lightweight. My set comes with snap-on airtight lids that won’t let liquid out – even if you turn them upside down. I have used mine to take dishes to the beach for a picnic, or to carry food to a cook-out.
The size range is great so they can be used for thawing out large roasts or pork loins or to mix up small quantities of Franks “Super Secret Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce.” (Hint- it has honey, mustard, and BBQ sauce in it- sorry babe).
Stackable Mixing Bowls
This is a great little set of stackable bowls by Joseph Joseph. The set comes with 2 bowls, a sieve strainer, a colander, and 5 measuring cups. I love that they include a sieve in here that is stackable, that’s a huge space saver in an RV.
3. Cutting Boards:
Cutting boards are essential kitchen tools for RV living. It is really important to have a set that is versatile and lightweight as you will use them inside and out.
Plastic Cutting Boards
Our favorite Fu Store cutting boards set comes with 4 boards marked and color-coded for vegetables, fish, fruit, and meats. These are a little thicker but we like that. They are still very light and easy to store, I love that each board is labeled for a particular food group. I need the reminder lol!
Bamboo Cutting Board
This set is really nice with a bamboo board and seven plastic boards inside. It won’t save a lot of kitchen counter-top space but has a ton of great uses. The boards are super thin. We love wine and cheese so this bamboo board is perfect for us and again it fits nicely in our 5th wheel.
4. RV Kitchen Utensils:
Every RV kitchen needs the best camping utensils. You want to cover all of your bases without having a lot of duplication as space is tight.
RV Kitchen Utensils
I bought this set when we were moving into our rig, I was pleasantly surprised at the different utensils included in the set. I never had a tongs in my kitchen at home and now it’s my favorite utensil! This set has any kitchen utensil you will need in my opinion.
5. Microwave Cover:
If you use the microwave a lot, and chances are that you do if you are living on the road, you must have a plate cover. Such a simple thing that saves SO MUCH time and effort. This is one of those things that you wonder why you didn’t have one 5 years ago.
Microwave Cover
This microwave cover is freaking awesome, it saves me so much time and clean up, best of all it collapses flat so it can be easily stored.
6. Cast Iron Cooking:
There is nothing like cooking on cast iron. I know we are always harping on things being lightweight and not adding too much to the overall weight of your rv, but when it comes to cooking outdoors, you want to be cooking with cast iron!
Cast Iron Pan
This Lodge cast iron skillet is one of the must-have RV kitchen essential. A cast iron skillet cooks more evenly and lasts forever. It is also safe to use over a campfire or on the grill. Do keep in mind they are heavier than regular pans.
7. Collapsible Strainer:
I like that I can fit all my vegetables and fruits in one strainer to wash them!
Collapsible Strainer
Another wonderful product that saves space in your camper kitchen. The handles slide out to provide a platform to hang it over the sink- hands-free operation. Then the whole thing flattens out for easy storage.
Stackable Strainer
If the above strainer is too big for your motorhome, these might work instead. I have a pair of these also, I’ve had them for years. I use them when I don’t need the bigger strainer. They fit easily in my cabinet.
8. Space Saving Knife Holder:
Someone was thinking of tiny living spaces when they came up with these genius RV kitchen accessories!
Space Saving Knife Holder
Friends of ours use this space saving knife holder and it works beautifully. This steel wall mounted knife holder will save you a ton of space. Space is always at a premium in an traveling kitchen so why not use the walls?
9. Camper Dishes:
One of the first things we purchased was a set of melamine dishes, I love that I don’t have to worry about them breaking on RV travel day. Lightweight is key with all of your camper kitchen accessories.
Camper Dishes
With all of the shaking and jostling, it is smart to use RV kitchen accessories that are as close to indestructible as possible. These melamine dishes are just the ticket and come in many colors.
10. Acrylic Tumblers:
Same applies to your glasses. RV glasses take a good deal of pounding so get a set that will be safe indoors or outdoors and you won’t have to worry about them.
Acrylic Tumblers
We purchased this set of acrylic glasses for ourselves and so far they have survived! They are nice looking, affordable, and fit nicely in our cabinet.
Stainless Tumblers
These cups are perfect to use around the campground when the kids are running around. They ensure that we always have cold water when we need it. I purchased one of these for everyone, I love that it came with a straw.
11. Acrylic Wine Glasses:
We love nothing more than having a glass of wine at the weekend, we have tried several glasses and these are our favorite by far. If you love wine as much as we do, try using a wine aerator, it enhances the flavor of the wine in a big way! Trust me.
Acrylic Wine Glasses
We love drinking wine from actual wine glasses. These glasses are stackable and we never have to worry about them on travel day. They can literally be thrown anywhere and they will be fine. We prefer stemless because they won’t get blown over by the wind :).
12. Dish Drying Rack:
This is an awesome accessory to have in your RV kitchen. This collapsible dish drying rack fits nicely in your sink so you can dry your dishes off the countertops.
Dish Drying Rack
A space saving dish rack will fit over the sink and hold all of your kitchen gadgets and dishes, while not taking up counter space. This Prepworks unit includes a wash basin and works great.
13. Space Saving Pots and Pans:
Although we now live in a tiny home, we still use pots and pans when cooking but I don’t have a lot of room to store them and that’s why I love these stackable pots and pans.
Space Saving Pots and Pans
We love these stackable pots and pans. A great set of pans is a necessity in any RV. A space saving set from Calphalon that nests together is a HUGE bonus!
Tiny RV Kitchen Essentials
14. Magic Bullet:
We LOVE smoothies. A bag of frozen fruit medley, some yogurt, a bit of milk and it’s “Happy Days” in the Foley camp. The kids always get excited about smoothies and it is a great way to get a TON of nutrition into them without the usual WAH-WAH that comes with nutritious foods. I also use the Bullet for dicing up veggies and making homemade hummus.
Magic Bullet
Then there is, of course, the rare “margarita night” with hubby. Those always end well! For many smaller campers or travel trailers, where space is really at a premium, the smaller “Bullet” is an awesome space saver.
Nutri Bullet
If you are looking for a LARGER MARGARITA, Nutri-Bullet makes a larger blender size as well. This works great for larger fifth wheels or motorhomes where there is a bit more organizational space.
15. Kettle:
Many people are coffee drinkers. We drink tea here so a coffee maker is not a priority in our RV kitchen. That being said, we did start our adventures with a Keurig. It made a nice cup of tea, it was just too big for the rig.
With very little counter space, it didn’t make sense (although I did hang onto it for almost a year!). Besides, those little K Cups can get kind of expensive. So we went back to tea bags!
Stainless Kettle
I love my Hamilton Beach electric kettle. This is a nice little kitchen gadget. It heats up just enough water for 2 LARGE sized cups of tea. It is lightweight and the heating base is separate from the pot, so you can just pick it up and move around without having to unplug.
