29 RV Kitchen Accessories and 10 Tips For Your RV Kitchen

We have lived in an RV for over 8 years so we know a few things about what RV kitchen accessories are a must have versus those you can leave at home. Come see what our recommendations are based on cooking 1,000 of meals in our RV!

RV kitchens are small. But that’s OK. You really do not need to bring everything and the kitchen sink into your RV kitchen when taking an RV road trip, long-term traveling, or moving in your RV full-time. The list below will help you with what you should bring for your RV kitchen accessories.

We strongly believe that to make the most of your RV trip you want as few things as possible. Reason being most RV’s are small and the less things you have the less cluttered your space will feel and the more relaxing and enjoyable it will be.

With just a few basic RV kitchen gadgets you will be equipped with everything you need to make pretty much every meal you would make in your house kitchen. Granted you are not going to have your fancy shredder or kitchen aid mixer. But even without these essentials, you will still get by I promise. We have been feeding our family of 6 from our camper kitchen and RV fridge for the last 2 1/2 years without any issue.

RV Kitchen Accessories

Cast Iron Skillet

We prefer a cast iron one (Lodge Cast-Iron Skillet 12 inches) since cast iron is very healthy for cooking on. This is totally your own preference. Yes, they take some getting use to (you can’t wash them with soap and you should dry them right away, plus things stick to them so clean them quickly – or just boil a little water to help remove the food). But we feel the health benefits are worth it.

Cast Iron Dutch Oven Pot

This is our only pot we have for cooking. Yes sometimes it is larger than what we need but it always works for what we are trying to do. Mac and Cheese, Spaghetti, Corn on the Cob, Hot Dogs, it all works in the Cast-Iron Dutch Oven With Dual Handles. Just be aware these pots and pans are heavy! 

 

9X13 Glass Baking Dish

You have to have something to make cookie bars and cake in right?! The 9X13 Glass Baking Dish is perfect for that. TIP – make sure the propane oven or convection microwave you have in your RV can fit a pan this size. If not you may be going for an 8X8 size pan. Also if you plan on taking a lot of meals or cookie bars places you may want to get a dish that comes with a cover. 

9 X 13 Small Cookie Pan

I use to bake all the time so this felt like a necessity to me. I have used it a few times so am glad I had it. Again measure the size of the oven or convection microwave to see what size will fit. For us the 9 X 13 pan fits great. 

You can also check out these great baking dish options from Camping World. They have a wide variety of sizes that fit into RV ovens and microwaves – which can be hard to find other places! Also, things like drying racks and other RV sized RV kitchen accessories.

Toaster 

We have room for a toaster so we kept one plus I splurged and got one that matched the color scheme of the RV. After a few times moving I quickly learned it was easier just to put it away in a drawer. I still love the way it matches our colors any time we bring out the Toaster. If you like toast find space for it. You will be glad you did.

Donut Maker

Necessities remember! We actually do use our Babycakes Nonstick Coated Donut Maker quite a bit and are happy we have it. If it isn’t donuts for you but something else that you know you make more then once a month and need a special appliance bring it with you. P.S. We know this is non-stick but hey once they make a cast iron donut maker like this we will be all over it! 

Coffee Pot/Espresso Maker 

This lifestyle is all about having more time. So we make complicated coffee – but it is good! And we have been really happy with our Moka Express Espresso Maker – I actually prefer our coffee to Starbucks now! 

A regular coffee maker would work too. Or if tea is your thing then an electric kettle would be the route to go.

Dishes

We have 1 plate for each person. We travel with glass plates and have had no issues. Nothing goes between them when we travel and they have been fine. We have 8 inch size square plates and they work great. 

Checkout these great RV dishes from Camping World:

Bowls

We have 1 glass bowl per person. Again all we need. 

Glasses 

We use mason jars for all of our glasses. We have a few in each size (8 ounce, 12 ounce, 32 ounces) We use them quite a lot so I would highly recommend them and again no issues on travel days. However, with these, we do sometimes put a kitchen towel in-between them since they can clatter and make noise. It can be hard to find these in individuals so you may want to find someone else to split the dozen order with. The only place I have found them in individuals is at Party City. 

32 ounce size:

Coffee cups 

We have 2 one for Craig and I and that is it. If one breaks we go buy another one or use a mason jar for a while. Those things are darn useful! Craig got me one for my birthday from Starbucks that says Wisconsin on it – representing the hometown. Craig bought one for himself down in the Florida Keys – to remind us of our time there. 

You could also get one of these cool camping mugs!

Cutting boards 

Another thing you will want to have. Even just a small one or one that can go over your sink.

Blender 

We have a Vitamix blender and use it almost every day. It is well worth it for us to have a blender with us so we make room for it!

Silver Ware 

1 knife, 1 fork, and 1 spoon for everyone. You just wash them when you are done – this also makes us stay up on the dishes! 

Cutting Knives

A nice set of knives with covers on them is useful. I really like the covers since it makes it easy to bring them with us when we go on hikes or are gone for the day and want to pack a lunch. We got ours at Costco. 

Essential oil diffuser

RV’s can get stinky. Small space, black tanks, pets . . . an essential oil diffuser can really help with smells!

Mixing Bowl 

One large mixing bowl. For mixing doughnut and pancake mix! Again check the size of your rig and where you will be storing your bowl to see how big you can go. We also use this bowl for popcorn on movie nights. 

Ziploc Containers 

Come in really handy on travel days. But we are trying to move away from plastic and will use paper plates or mason jars when possible. For now Ziploc containers work great. 

Hydro Flask Water Bottles

Everyone has their own Hydro Flas water bottle and this is what we mainly use for drinking throughout the day, on hikes, in the car, we basically take them everywhere we go. We use a cooler bag to carry all 6 of them around. 

Berkey Filter

Our Berkey filter is essential for nice fresh water no matter where we are. Did you know water tastes different depending on where you are in the country? Seriously! But with a Berkey it always tastes fresh and clean. We currently have the Travel Berkey. 

Utensils 

Your basics. 1 spatula, 1 can opener, 1 wine bottle opener, 1 bottle opener, 1 large plastic spoon, 1 coffee grinder (since we make coffee from beans). We have a few other things too like a can opener, lemon squeezer, wooden spoon, random things like that – that we have collected over the years. 

If we don’t use it we get rid of it.

Oven Gloves

Gotta have the ‘Ove Glove’ for cooking

Kitchen Towels 

3 should be plenty. Check out these awesome camping ones!

Air Fryer

We recently bought a stainless steel Air Fryer for our rig that fits under our cabinet on the shelf next to the oven. Craig did have to cut the bottom stand down a little bit – but not much to make it fit. You can check it out here. It has become one of our favorite RV kitchen accessories!

Others might recommend an instant pot (pressure cooker and also a yogurt maker) or a crock pot but we don’t prefer those and are much happier with the air fryer!

Propane Grill

We don’t cook outside much at all. We use to romanticize about being in an RV and cooking outside every night . . .  The reality is it is a lot of work to bring everything outside to cook! And the RV kitchen is so accessible and easy to use.

We do eat outside at the picnic table from time to time but normally will cook all our food inside and then bring it outside. But when we do get around to wanting to grill the Coleman Classic Propane Stove is great! Just don’t forget the propane! It is the worst when you get all set up and then realize you are out of propane.

Blackstone Griddle

We recently got a Blackstone griddle. We love it when we take it out and use it! If you enjoy cooking outside we definitely recommend a Blackstone. It is also easy to clean.

Tension Rods For The Fridge

Things move around in the fridge when you are driving. We purchased tension rods for the fridge and they have been very helpful.

Sink Strainer 

This inexpensive little gadget can save you from having a gray tank clogged up with coffee grinds or seeds. Get a sink strainer. 

Colander 

Great for straining food. A collapsible one is even better and is a great space saver! 

We cleaned out our kitchen before moving into the RV and it was amazing how many cups and bowls and wine glasses we had! How the heck did we accumulate all of that? Now we know you just really don’t need that much and one of everything is more than sufficient and keeps you on top of cleaning. Plus we never lose anything in our kitchen and know where everything is and what is in each cabinet.

RV Setup and Organization Tips

1 – Usually RV cabinets are really deep or really high and just don’t make a lot of sense. For that reason, it can be very helpful to go and get cabinet organizers. Or to add your own additional shelves in a cabinet.

We added 2 extra shelves to our cabinet and it made a big difference. We also got some organizer items for in the cabinets and were really glad we did.

2 – RV pantries are usually the same thing. I ended up going to Bed Bath and Beyond and spending $300 on pantry organizers . . . it took time to measure and trial and error to find what would fit. But it made the pantry much more functional!

3 – Paper towel. There usually isn’t a paper towel holder in your rig. We opted to get a portable one so we could bring them outside with us when we eat at the picnic table.

4 – Baskets – we added baskets on the side of our island for fruit and water bottles. It is great to have this extra space!

Every rig is different so it is good to get into your rig. Measure the spaces and after that figure out what is going to fit. But take the time to work through it and make your RV kitchen work for you!

RV Kitchen Tips:

1 – Plan your meals ahead of time so you don’t overbuy. This is annoying when you have to get your list together. But really nice when you have limited space.

2 – The fridge and freezer are usually not that big so buy smaller size items when you can. But don’t overstress. Most RV fridges can easily fit a gallon of milk.

3 – Don’t buy everything you need for a whole 2 or 3-week trip. You can easily stop at the grocery store with your rig.

4 – If you are going to buy frozen pizza check your freezer size and if you have just take the pizza out of the box to store in the freezer. It is a great space-saving trick. 

Your rig will most likely have either a propane stove or a convection microwave for an oven.

5 – Propane stove – don’t be afraid of it they really do a great job cooking your food!

6 – Convection Microwave – As long as you preheat it before you use it it will work out great. I also recommend if you are cooking 2 pizzas (and they won’t fit in there together) then when one pizza is down let the fan run to cool it down and then preheat again before cooking the next one. I don’t know why but this really made a big difference in the second pizza outright.

If you preheat the cooking time is normally pretty close to what the box says. However, there will be times you have to cook a little more – have never had to cook less.

Also, the convection microwave can act as a storage space too.

Summary

Above all remember you need the basics and it is good to simplify but if there are RV kitchen accessories that you really enjoy then bring them with (the donut maker in our case). Just try to limit what those things are to 1 or 2 things. And guess what if you end up wishing you had something with you – you can always stop at the store to buy one. More often than not you will realize you didn’t really need it anyways.

Living in an RV doesn’t mean you have to settle for food you don’t like – just be sure you get the right RV kitchen accessories! If you are in a motorhome, 5th wheel, or travel trailer you can set up your RV kitchen to work for you!

Learn more about how we shop and eat in our RV here: Grocery shopping, meal planning, cooking and eating in an RV

Is there anything you would add to your list of RV kitchen accessories?

Learn more about full-time RV living and RV tips:

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Full Time RV Living – 31 Things We Have Learned After 3 Years On The Road

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