Camper Van Kitchen: Our Recipe of Vanlife Cookware & Appliances
Our kitchen is hands down our favorite part of our van (and no, that’s not just because our kitchen takes up about half of it).
We’ve lived in a lot of different apartments and houses together, most with far more actual counter space than our van. However, due to design flaws we have almost always been dissatisfied with the practicality of our kitchens. Despite our van’s kitchen being less than half the square footage, we find it's easier to use together (without getting in each other's way) than any of our past dwellings.
When planning your van build, prioritize your camper van kitchen and really make sure you design that, of all things, in a way that will make you happy.
But being able to do that involves having a rough idea of what all is going to need to fit in the kitchen. That’s why we’re here to provide a glimpse at ours.
While we’ll be touching on more specific vanlife appliance recommendations and comparisons in some upcoming articles, we wanted to start with a brief overview of our vanlife kitchen and every single piece of gear that makes up our gourmet (if pancakes count as gourmet!) kitchen-on-wheels.
*This post contains affiliate links.
Navigation for Camper Van Kitchen
Vanlife Kitchen Appliances
Vanlife Cookware
Vanlife Dinnerware
Vanlife Food Storage
Vanlife Dishes
Kitchen Appliances for Vanlife
Dometic Fridge
Image credit Dometic
Dometic’s line of CR-X Compressor refrigerators is widely regarded as some of the best refrigerators for vanlife. There are different sizes and designs to suit every need and can run off either an AC or DC circuit.
Ours is the 65L single-lid variety. While sometimes a stock-up at a cheap grocery outlet can leave us cramming a bit, for the most part, that fridge holds all the perishables we require for at least two weeks.
In two years, we have no complaints about this fridge.
We rarely reach even that point and if it becomes more pressing of an issue in the future, we could change the two batteries from running in a cycle to running parallel to each other. That’s just more electrical work we’d rather not do!)
If you need help deciding which one, take a look at our guide on how to choose a camper van refrigerator.
Find it here: Backcountry / REI / Amazon
Image credit Coleman
Coleman Triton+ Propane Stove
We played with the idea of a lot of different camper van stove options, but ultimately decided on something simple, cheap, and efficient: propane. Whereas other stove options (like induction cooktops) are generally considered safer, they cost more, are more breakable, and require hefty inverters and considerable power banks.
A propane stove will last you years and years and only requires the fuel itself, which is extremely cheap. We hooked our Coleman (which is designed to run on the little green 1 pound canisters) up to a full-size 5 gallon tank via an adaptor hose. We only have to fill that tank once a month, give or take a little depending on the season, and it usually costs no more than $10.
The Coleman Triton+ also boasts 11,000 BTUs of heat output. It boils 1L of water from nearly frozen in just a couple of minutes and even doubles as an emergency heater in a pinch for those moments of deep winter vanlife (we just never run it as such overnight or even before bed).
Pro Tip: Keep a backup cooking option just in case! While we’re pretty good at monitoring our propane levels, it’s always unfortunate when we accidentally run out in the middle of the mountains right as we’re trying to boil water for coffee. That’s why we keep a small backpacking stove and fuel canister on hand for such emergency cases. We use the MSR PocketRocket 2.
Find the Coleman Triton+ here: REI / Amazon
Find the MSR PocketRocket 2 here: MSR / Backcountry / REI / Moosejaw
Maxxair MaxxFan Vent
While this isn’t technically a kitchen appliance, it’s one of the most crucial vanlife appliances that allows you to cook safely in your van.
Especially if you go the propane route, make sure you also install a vent fan above your kitchen. Though even if you don’t have a propane stove, you’re probably going to want a vent fan to help reduce how hot and smokey it gets when you cook in a confined space.
We’re not going to get into how to install one of these bad boys (yet… but hint: it was the part of our van build we dreaded the most), but we will recommend the Maxxair 0007500K. It has a huge swath of speed settings, manual or remote operation, and, most importantly, can switch between intake and outtake modes, depending on which you need. Take our advice and DO NOT get a fan without this feature. You pay a little more for it but it is 100% worth it.
Find it here: Amazon
Portable Rechargeable Blender
Many people assume a microwave would be the hardest kitchen appliance to give up. It’s absolutely not. In fact, we gave our microwave up LONG before moving into the van in order to help us prepare for vanlife (and of course the 7.2 magnitude earthquake our city underwent which broke it provided the needed push to do so).
The hardest appliance for us to give up was our Ninja blender. We used that thing for everything but it unfortunately simply has too much draw for an off-grid electric system.
We really enjoy making smoothies and protein shakes, so we searched for an alternative and behold: the cordless blender.
Is it as powerful as a standard blender? Not even close. In fact, this thing wouldn’t touch frozen fruit, but oh well… it’s not like we have a freezer anyway! For our purposes, we find it works totally fine to blend things like bananas, almond butter, milk, yogurt, and fresh berries.
To charge it, all you need to do is plug it into your van’s DC port while you drive.
Find it here: Amazon
Image credit Wacaco
WACACO Nanopresso
Bet you didn’t think you could take your espresso machine with you in the van! Well, maybe you can’t take the full machine, but you can replace it with the WACACO Nanopresso.
This nifty little handheld device makes a single shot of espresso using only the power of pressurized water, no cartridges needed.
Because it’s unique and not overly common to have one already, this is one of our favorite van life gifts and road trip gifts, alike!
Find it here: WACACO
Milk Frother Wand
What espresso machine (handheld or not) is complete without a milk frother?! We don’t much like foofy coffees, but on occasion, making a latte or cappuccino is a great treat.
Plus, we use ours sans the Minipresso for making things like golden lattes (an anti-inflammatory drink made by frothing turmeric powder, ginger powder, and a touch of black pepper with milk and honey).
Find it here: Amazon
Cookware for Vanlife
Image credit Stanley
Stanley Classic Stay Hot French Press
While we like the Wacaco device for those special coffees and midday pick-me-ups, our go-to morning brew maker is a good ol’ fashion french press. Sure, they take longer to make coffee with (especially considering we like ours good and strong and thus let it steep for 20 minutes), but they’re also super simple… and make good coffee!
Stanley makes tons of great products for vanlife and the Stanley Classic Stay Hot French Press is perhaps one of the best.
This is now our second french press after we upgraded from a smaller, less insulated one. This makes double the coffee of our one, totally 48oz of sweet, sweet go-juice, or 4 mugs (so two each, for us).
The best thing about this press is how insulated it really is. When full, it will keep coffee hot for over an hour. By the time we roll around to our second cup, it’s never cold.
Find it here: Stanley / Backcountry / REI
Image credit MSR
MSR Ceramic Pot
Once upon a time, we actually survived for 9 whole months with one tiny MSR 1L pot. One! Upgrading to two (and ones with non-stick ceramic interiors no less) has been downright luxurious.
They nest easily within each other and feature a universal detachable handle, so there’s really no reason to not get the set. However, if you only want or need one, we recommend the 2.5L. You can always make small dishes in a big pot but you can’t make big dishes in a small one!
Now there are a lot of camp cooking pots on the market, but we LOVE these ones in particular because they’re super compact and lightweight (considering the body is aluminum). The set also comes with a single lid that works for both pots. It has a rubberized handle so you can touch it even after it’s been sitting on a building pot, and a built-in strainer, eliminating yet another thing to store and wash every time you make pasta.
Find it here: Backcountry / REI / Moosejaw
GSI Outdoors Steel Skillet
Of all our camper van cookware, the skillet is the most invaluable. We cook almost everything on a skillet: flatbread pizzas to pancakes to big batches of pan-seared chicken.
We like the GSI skillet because it's just as big as a normal skillet with sloped sides (unlike the ones from MSR) but still has the benefit of a detachable handle for easy storage.
Find it here: Backcountry / Moosejaw
MSR Pika Teapot
Again, this is our second teapot, though our first was also from MSR. The thing we hated about the first one was the tiny, almost non-existent pour spout that always led to us spilling every time we poured water from it. This one has an actual spout and a lid with grooves to help it stay on (though not infallibly) making for much easier pouring.
This featherweight teapot is made of hard-anodized aluminum and weighsMSR only 5.2 oz. At 1L in size, it’s about the perfect size for making tea and coffee, though it can’t quite fill up the whole of our Stanley french press.
Find it here: MSR / Moosejaw / Amazon
Coghlan's Camp Toaster
We carry this in our van but don’t actually find yourselves using it terribly often. Mostly because we’re lazy and opt to toast bread on the skillet rather than set up the wire legs on the toaster.
However, the skillet method is only effective for one or two pieces of bread, so anytime we’re toasting more bread than that, this piece of camp cookware comes in handy.
Considering it’s so slim and cheap, we figure there’s really no harm in keeping it around!
Find it here: REI / Amazon
Wall-mounted knives:
One of our favorite features in our camper van kitchen is our wall-mounted knife rack, hung just above the stove for convenient use. The five different knives drop neatly into the slots for a safe and secure ride on even the bumpiest of roads.
For full disclosure, ours are actually an antique passed on from my grandfather, giving them extra sentimental value. However, had we not had that, we would 100% still buy a wall-mounted knife rack, whether magnetic or drop-in slots.
Find it here: Amazon
Dinnerware for Vanlife
GSI Outdoors Pioneer Enamelware Table Set
Image credit GSI Outdoors
Vanlife dinnerware can be pretty much anything...as long as it’s not ceramic or anything breakable, that is. Or disposable. A lot of vanlifers pick disposable options like paper plates, but considering we’re all about trying to make vanlife a little more sustainable, we urge you to invest in a one-time purchase (that will also save you loads of money in the long run!).
That means you should opt for things like plastic or metal, like this set.
Plus, who doesn’t love the nostalgic value and vintage aesthetic of the classic speckled enamelware?!
Find it here: REI / Amazon
For silverware, you don’t need any any basic old stuff you probably already own will do.
We do recommend storing it in a silverware caddy as opposed to a drawer but we suppose that all comes down to personal preference. If you do opt for a caddy, go with wood so our silverware won’t clank as badly when on the road.
Also get something with a solid bottom so you can physically stick it to your countertop if necessary. We actually just put a layer of cabinet liner on the bottom which gives it enough stick that it doesn’t slide unless we really slam on the brakes. It’s only toppled out silverware once.
Food Storage for Vanlife
OXO Good Grips
If you’ve done much car or RV camping in deserted and forested areas, you’ll know that one of the biggest problems posed to this lifestyle is mice. They’re cute, but they’re also dirty, disease-carrying, food stealing little sons of you-know-whats.
Our mouse sagas are some of the most harrowing of all our van stories. Thankfully, we’ve had relatively few due largely in part to the fact that we store almost all our food in airtight plastic containers that even the most determined mouse couldn’t chew through.
Specifically, we use the OXO Good Grips pop-top containers. These slim cubes and rectangles come in all manner of sizes to store all our non-perishables and pantry staples, from cereal to dried fruit.
When building our countertop, we installed a three-layer Rev-A-Shelf metal drawer which, with a little Tetris to learn the right configurations, fits these containers super well.
Find it here: Amazon
Magnetic Spice Board
Our DIY spice board!
Ah, the spice board: an Instagram-worthy camper van essential. The spice board is usually the first thing folks comment on when touring our van.
But they’re not just cute; they’re super practical. Even before vanlife, we hated digging through a spice cabinet to find that perfect combo. The spice rack makes spices super accessible when cooking and keeps your cabinets much more clean and organized. Trust us, you won’t want all kinds of little jars bouncing around freely!
You could also make one yourself out of a simple decorative wood slab (we used one like this), some aluminum craft tins, and some strong mini magnets (you’ll want to use a few magnets for each tin to be safe, but be warned, gluing the magnets close enough to each other as they try to repel each other is a lot of work).
Alternatively, spend a little more money and less time to pseudo-make one using a metal sheet and pre-made magnetic tins.
Whatever option you go with, we just recommend avoiding glass tins in favor of metal ones for pure durability. Ours have never come loose, but if they ever do, spices are easier to clean than a spice/glass combo.
Find it here: Etsy / Amazon
Hydro Flask Oasis
For drinking water storage, we use the gallon version of the double wall insulated Hydro Flask Oasis. This jug is easy to tote in and out of places (like gas stations) to fill up from purified sources (whereas for the sink, we’re fine with just plain old potable water).
For two people, the 128-oz one (though they also make a 64oz half gallon size) provides us with enough drinking and cooking water for about a day on average (depending on how hot it is and how much physical activity we’re doing).
If water temperature doesn't matter to you, the Reliance Jumbo-Tainer can hold much more water (7 gallons) with a convenient pour spout. Just don’t use this if it’s freezing, because the BPA-free plastic will not keep your water from freezing.
Find it here: Hydro Flask / Backcountry / REI / Moosejaw
MSR Dromedary Bags
Looking to go off-grid for longer periods of time but don’t have a ton of space for various rigid plastic jugs? Us, too. That’s why we have about four of these dromedary bags in various sizes. They’re super durable, hold tons of water, and then fold neatly away when they’re empty.
They also make Drom Lite bags that fold away a tiny bit better but vanlife isn’t like ultralight backpacking. A couple of extra ounces won’t kill you, but having a more durable sack to hold gallons of water just might.
Find it here: MSR / Backcountry / REI / Moosejaw
Vanlife Dishes
Now time for the dread D-word (and no, we don’t mean desert because who in their right mind dreads that). We’re talking about dishes.
Doing dishes is never a pleasant task. Doing dishes in a camper van is even worse because it involves rationing your precious water supply. Not to mention a lack of hot water (since we opted not to install a hot water heater) can make cleaning certain things more difficult.
Image credit Dr. Bronner’s
Here are all the things we use to do dishes on the road:
Whale Water Systems Gusher Galley foot pump: We are firm believers in the foot pump. It saves tons of water and is hand-free operated so you can do dishes with ease. If you need extra help with how to set up your campervan sink and install a foot pump, read our van plumbing post.
Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap: Not only is Dr. Bronner’s all-natural and totally biodegradable, but it’s also an 18-in-1 formula you can use for pretty much everything in the van, from washing clothes to washing yourself. It’s also super concentrated so a single bottle can last you forever.
Bamboo dish brush: We HATE sponges. They stay wet forever and smell terrible (and even make your hands smell terrible!). That’s why we use a dish brush with a handle. We like wood and bamboo ones because they’re biodegradable and often have replaceable heads so you can keep the handle even after the brush itself gets gross.
MSR Alpine Dish Brush/Pot Scraper: If you cook with cast iron (we don’t but plenty of vanlifers swear by it because you actually aren’t supposed to use soap), a steel wool works the same way.
Drop-in dish rack: We have a double bay sink, so we wash in one side and have a dish rack in the other. This simple grate protects the bottom of our sink so we can drive while dishes are drying. For rare instances when we have more dishes than will fit in that one bay, we also have a roll-out dish rack to create more drying space above the sink.
More tips for doing dishes in your camper van:
Lick your plate clean: We’re not kidding. Licking your plate clean not only helps you reduce food waste and get the last of your delicious meal, but it saves a lot of water and hassle when it comes to doing dishes. If you can get most of the grease and food bits off au natural, all you’ll need to do to finish is give it a quick scrub with a drop of soap.
Use a paper towel for anything really greasy: Seeing as we strive for zero waste vanlife as much as it's possible, we really try to avoid using single-use paper products. Sometimes, however, it just can’t be helped and you need to choose between gumming up your grey pipes and using a couple of paper towels to wipe off the grease from cooking pans.
Don’t wash meat or dairy down the drain: Again, paper towels are your friend here. Remnants of these types of food will make your grey tank STINK, especially in the hot weather of summer vanlife. Even if you’re careful, hot weather can make your grey tank stink, so we use Camco TST Grey Water Odor Control to combat this.
Before You Drive Away…
We hope this recipe has helped you successfully create the gourmet go-kitchen of your dreams.
Just don’t forget to shake up your recipe with some washboarded backroads and add a pinch of dirt on top for the finishing touches.
**This post contains affiliate links to support the continued creation of these van life guides. This just means that if you purchase something from one of the links above, I get a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Read more here or reach out with more questions.