The best 8 Van Life Kitchen Accessories

The best campervan kitchen gadgets are space-saving, practical and lightweight. Here is our finely selected van life kitchen gadget checklist.

Campervans, converted vans and even motorhomes all have the same problem when it comes to the best kitchen setup, and that is size!

Having a practical campervan kitchen is equally as important as having practical equipment within it. 

As van life foodies ourselves we hate the thought of other van lifers sacrificing good, nutritious meals to cook and eat whilst travelling due to a lack of knowledge of these van life kitchen essentials. 

Before we delve into the our list of the best van life kitchen gadgets here are a few things for you to consider whilst you plan your ultimate campervan kitchen setup.

Weight

Speaking from experience, it’s amazing just how quickly the weight within your van builds up. Keeping the weight of your van as low as possible will keep your van running costs down and reduce clutter within your cupboards.

As a foodie, I’ve tried having cast iron pots and pans and fancy crockery of all shapes and sizes but it’s just not practical. My van now consists of plastic cups and plates, silicone bowls and stackable pots. Less clutter, less weight and less internal clattering around.

Stackable items

Unless you have a huge RV then you are probably limited on kitchen cupboard space. Thankfully there are more and more items available these days that are designed to be super space saving and also low cost.

It’s worth checking out some of our recommendations for stackable camper van kitchen items. Having a nicely arranged kitchen cupboard makes your on the road cooking experience a zillion times better!

Collapsible items

On the same page as stackable, it’s equally important to invest in some collapsible kitchen items. It all aids in having tidy cupboards and items at hand whilst you are cooking away.

Clattering 

When you are on a journey in your van, the sounds of your items clattering away in the back really does grate on your nerves. Particularly pots and pans, plates and cutlery! 

Thankfully the world of silicone and it’s heat resistant properties has transformed the sound of kitchenware available for your campervan. 

Most of the collapsible items are made of silicone so these are lightweight, space saving and noise free. Win win win!

It’s worth investing in silicone coated or bamboo kitchen utensils for your van. Trust me!

Cleanability

Certainly one of the worst chores of van life is washing up pots and pans after cooking. Being limited on space and splashes going everywhere, it’s worth taking advantage of the items that make cleaning up after yourself easier and less stressful such as nonstick and easy wipe.

Hard-wearing 

It’s happened to all of us I’m sure, leaving a cupboard upon and upon entering a corner..CRAAASH! 

Make sure the items in your van kitchen are hard-wearing. These items usually state that they are suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. 

Multi-function

Some of the best kitchen gadgets are the ones that do multi-function tasks. This is a huge advantage to building a practical van life kitchen. 

Once again it’s all about space saving and keeping the clutter and weight down.

So that’s our advice for you to consider when purchasing items for your van kitchen.

As van life foodies and given the nature of the website we run, we speak with hundreds of van lifers across the globe and discuss kitchens, food and recipes daily. With this knowledge in mind here is our essential van life kitchen gadget list. 

Omnia Stove Top Oven

You’ve probably heard everyone raving about this buy now and quite rightly so! 

Chips, pizza, and cake are amongst the delights made easy for you to cook within your van with this gadget! Certainly a game changer for any van life kitchen!

It’s a simple ergonomic ring shaped pot that sits upon your stove and relies purely on the heat from your hob to cook evenly within the ring. Steam is then disspersed through the side vents to ensure you aren’t left with a soggy mess. 

With only three parts in the box, it’s super simple to setup and start using instantly. There is also a free recipe book on the Omnia website. 

We’ve seen some of the most basic van life chefs achieve some fantastic dishes when introduced the Omnia to their van life kitchen.

XL RidgeMonkey Toaster 

This dual sided, enclosed pan is yet another van life kitchen game changer! 

It comes in two sizes and we would suggest the XL models as it’s the perfect size to cook for two. 

Being multi-purpose, made of a lightweight die-cast aluminium and with a non stick coating it definitely ticks the box for being campervan kitchen friendly. 

Simply cook on one side, and without having to open up the lid and let the heat out you can just flip the entire pan over and cook from the other side. This helps with a faster and a more even cook on each side. 

Originally designed for fisherman for cooking fish, but this eventually ended up being branded as a sandwich toaster simply because it does such an amazing job at toasting a sandwich. The versatility of the RidgeMonkey is awesome! We have cooked chicken breasts, steaks and even omelettes and frittatas in ours! 

Zyliss Easy Pull Manual Food Processor

We were often asked how we power our blender in our van, and although ours was 240v we totally understand the importance of minimising items running off the inverter. 

With this in mind we asked around and found we were introduced to the Zyliss Easy Pull. Wow! Yet another game changer! 

No more bits of onion on the floor, no power, less work surface required for chopping and easy to clean. Best of all my protein shakes and smoothies no longer have a hint of onion! 

The Zyliss Easy Pull can coarsely chop by giving it 3-5 pulls, finely chop at 8-10 pulls and even purees at about 12-15 pulls. Don’t worry, it’s not a workout to pull as it has a great action on it! 

Kitchen Craft Collapsible Nesting Measuring Cups

If you are cooking and baking from recipes like we do then you will know the importance of getting the measurements right. 

When living and cooking from your van, it makes it a real challenge to have the space necessary to carry all the common measuring equipment. 

There are literally hundreds of these available on the internet but we are going to put forward the brand we use. 

They collapse completely and fit perfectly in a draw and are also non-stick which also makes them so easy to clean. 

What more can we say other than we consider these essential for following a lot of recipes!

Bamboo Dining Set

Not really a gadget but certainly a van life kitchen essential. 

As I mentioned earlier, I used to have all the fancy plates of all shapes and sizes simply because I loved making my food look fancy. I totally don’t miss the breakages, the clatter and clutter and now ride with minimal noise coming from my cupboards.

Treating your kitchen to a nice bamboo dining set, will give you a nice edge on presenting you food and also plays a role in helping the environment with an eco friendly solution.

Unbreakable Wine Glasses

Another upgrade essential for me personally. I spent two years drinking wine from a beaker. Rock n’roll right? 

We had a valentine’s dinner in our van once and I borrowed two glasses for us to drink from and guess what! Smash!! 

These virtually indestructible wine glass changed all of that. For the low cost that they are, I wish I had just done it in the first place. Now it feels more like I’m drinking a proper glass of wine! 

Joseph Joseph Folding Scales

How cool are these! When I saw these I had to get them for the van and they are used every time I cook from a recipe, and when I am not cooking they are folded up in my cutlery draw. 

The scale weighs/measures in the following units: gms, lbs, ozs, fl.ozs and mls. It will weigh a maximum capacity: 5 kg/176.4 fl.oz/11 lb/5000 ml. More than you are ever likely to need Inna van. 

If you are following recipes then these are worth every penny!

Silicone Heat-proof Mats

I don’t have the largest amount of work surface in my van and quite often I need to place a hot pan or hot kettle somewhere. 

Having a silicone mat out whilst you are cooking will allow you to safely place hot pans on the table or sideboard without the worry about scorching the surface. 

The ones we use are also really handy to use as a hot handle gripper too.

Again not necessarily a gadget, but coming from a full time van lifer with a passion for cooking, this is an essential.

To Summarise 

Here are my top recommendations to spice up your van life kitchens. 

I can think of so many other nifty utensils and items that I use in my van and I’m sure I’ll be posting more about those soon, but for now there you have my top 8 essential Van Life kitchen accessories. 

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Lots of Love
Mark & Sophie