“MeShell’s Diner Tex-Mex Chilli con Carne” is a hearty and flavorful dish perfect for campervan cooking. This recipe is perfect for those craving a hearty, flavorful dish while on the road. Packed with rich spices, tender meat, and a variety of beans, it’s a one-pot wonder that’s easy to whip up in a campervan kitchen. The blend of Tex-Mex flavors ensures each bite is bursting with taste, making it an ideal meal for chilly evenings or a comforting lunch. Serve this chili with a side of cornbread or over rice, and you’ve got a satisfying meal that brings a touch of home wherever your travels take you.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch Oven or pot over medium-high heat.
Add the beef to the pot and brown in batches so as not to overcrowd the pot.
Once browned, add the onion and bell pepper, stirring and cooking until they are soft.
Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, cocoa powder, marjoram, and cayenne pepper.
Cook for 1 minute while stirring constantly.
Add the beef broth and bay leaves, cover, and simmer for about one hour.
Add the can tomatoes, red kidney/ black beans, Cover and simmer for about 2 more hours or until desired consistency. Make sure to stir often to avoid sticking to bottom of pan.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with sour cream, minced jalapeno, and cheddar cheese.
This kashmiri banana curry was demonstrated at the 2023 Vanlife Eats big picnic. The Kashmiri banana curry was demonstrated by Shelley of you.trition. Shelley has worked hard to create an amazing recipe book, In celebration of food. This recipe book has 30 incredible recipes (including this curry!). It has a range of dishes to suit most dietary requirements and tastes. Meals range from a quick 20 minute dish, to a showstopper if you have the time. The main thing is that it celebrates the joy that food can bring. If you would like to buy a copy of Shelley’s recipe book (and let’s face it – who wouldn’t?!) you can buy it from here.
In the meantime, if you have overripe bananas that need using up, give the banana bread a miss and make this beauty instead!
Peel and dice the onion. Crush or finely dice the garlic. Finely dice the green chilli. Peel and thinly slice the bananas. Drain the chickpeas.
In a frying pan, fry the onions in the ghee over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring regularly, until soft and slightly browned. Add the garlic and green chilli and fry for a further minute. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 2 minutes. Add the turmeric and curry powder and fry for a further minute, adding a drop of water to loosen if needed.
Add the sliced bananas to the spices and stir to coat. Cook for 4-6 minutes until they have broken down into the sauce. Add the coconut milk, ½ tin water and chickpeas and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the chickpeas have softened slightly and the sauce has thickened.
Remove from the heat, then stir through the garam masala and salt to taste. To serve, scatter with the toasted flaked almonds, green chilli and freshly chopped coriander.
Notes
Be sure to use super ripe bananas in this dish – the ones that are going brown on the kitchen counter are perfect! These are much sweeter than yellow bananas and give the curry its moreish flavour and silky texture
This Ligurian stockfish stew is a simple one pot dish, making it ideal for vanlife. Liguria is a region in North-West Italy. Liguria is the birthplace of pesto. Stockfish is usually made from cod, but can be other kinds of white fish also.
In Liguria this stew is called Stoccafisso Accomodato Alla Ligurie. You can find our other recipes here.
Liquria stockfish stew
vwt4_furbone
Pescatarian
A Fish-based recipe, which is very simple to prepare
Vanlife is all about embracing the simple joys of life on the road, and that includes enjoying delicious homemade meals from the comfort of your campervan.
Simplicity
One of the key appeals of cooking in a campervan is the simplicity it brings to your culinary adventures. Limited space and resources can inspire creativity, and the Tagliatelle Carbonara is a perfect example of how a few quality ingredients can come together to create something truly remarkable.
Minimal Ingredients, Maximum Flavor
With just a handful of key ingredients – pasta, eggs, pancetta, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper – you can create a dish that bursts with flavour. This simplicity not only makes it easy to prepare in the compact kitchen of your campervan but also allows you to fully appreciate the quality of each component.
Time-Efficient Cooking
When you’re on the road, time is often of the essence. The Tagliatelle Carbonara recipe is a blessing for vanlife enthusiasts because it’s quick to prepare. In under 15 minutes, you can have a steaming plate of creamy pasta ready to enjoy by the campfire or under the stars.
The Ultimate Comfort Food
Campervan living can be both adventurous and exhausting, and sometimes all you crave is a comforting, hearty meal. Tagliatelle Carbonara fits the bill perfectly. Its rich and creamy sauce combined with the satisfying chew of fresh pasta makes it the ultimate comfort food, helping you recharge after a day of exploration.
Embracing Authenticity
While campervan cooking often involves making do with what you have, there’s something special about treating yourself to an authentic dish like Tagliatelle Carbonara. It’s a reminder that even in the simplicity of vanlife, you can savor the tastes of distant places and cultures.
Tagliatelle Carbonara is the perfect addition to your vanlife menu. Its simplicity, quick preparation, and comforting appeal make it an ideal choice for campervan cooking. So, as you embark on your next adventure, don’t forget to pack those essential ingredients and savor a taste of Italy while living the vanlife dream.
Tagliatelle Carbonara
Meat Based
Indulge in the rustic charm of Italian cuisine on the road with our authentic Tagliatelle Carbonara. Cooked to perfection in the cozy confines of a campervan kitchen, this classic dish combines creamy egg, crispy pancetta, and al dente pasta for a taste of Italy wherever your adventure takes you.
5 from 1 vote
10 Ingredients or less – 30 minute meal – 5 ingredients or less – Family friendly – Less washing-up – One-pan – Quick cook – Stove top meal
Yet another Vanlife Eats Big Picnic passes and the new ideas are already flooding our minds for our 2024 event!
This year we had incredible cooking demos, frustratingly inspiring vanlife adventure tales, priceless social media tips, legendary van build advice as well as pet activities, a hand picked craft market, an awesome variety of caterers, the LARGEST fire pit in Vanlife history, the LARGEST vanlife banquet in history, the LARGEST vanlife picnic in history, dance lessons from around the world, incredibly talented music acts all set on the beautiful farmland in the rolling hills of Hampshire.
We have been flooded with emails stating that it was their favourite vanlife event of the year yet again. 😊 But we wont take all that credit, its the amazing vanlife community that make it. Amazing people, inspirational vans and a deep respect for one another. ❤️
Here are some photos of the event to relive the fun..
Want to know when tickets go on sale for 2024?
We owe a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped make this year so amazing as well as to you guys who attended. You are all so incredible and make the whole Vanlife community just the best!
The ultimate campsite gnocchi is the perfect dish for when you want something warming and satisfying but really don’t want the dishes that come along with a vancooked meal! It’s one pot, uses minimal tools and can be ready in about half an hour. This ultimate gnocchi is one of our favourites for using up leftover vegetables and it uses so much cheese that it’s a great way to get children to eat their greens! You can switch it up to make it vegetarian friendly or it works for a group of meat eaters and vegetarians. You can also switch out the vegetables depending on what you have in your fridge or what you need to use up – gnocchi keeps well in the fridge so you can have this recipe on the backburner for a night towards the end of a trip when you’re not sure what you’re going to have to hand.
The Ultimate Campsite Gnocchi
@lifeinthebricklane
Meat Based
All you need is a decent frying pan (a cast iron pan is our favourite) and a wooden spoon, some gnocchi, parmesan and spare veg and you’ve got yourself a winning campsite supper.
Ingredients (serves two, scale up for more people):
Olive oil
250ggnocchishop bought is absolutely fine
6rasherssmoked streaky baconignore if vegetarian!
2clovesgarlic
2shallots
1bunchfresh thyme
3medium sized tomatoesthe fresher the better; or switch out the medium sized tomatoes for a good handful of cherry tomatoes
1courgette
Chicken stocka stock pot or cube is fine
Water
50gParmesana small handful is just right
150gSpinach
125gmozzarella(1 ball)
1sprinkleChilli flakes
Salt and pepperto taste
Instructions
This looks like lots of stages, but it’s very easy…
The first stage depends on whether you’re cooking for meateaters or vegetarians or both. If you’re cooking for vegetarians, skip to stage 2! If you’re solely cooking for meateaters, start by splashing some olive/rapeseed oil into your frying pan, let it heat through slowly and chop your bacon into 1cm cubes. Fry the bacon in the pan until it’s crispy. Remove and set aside. (If you’re cooking for a combination, do the bacon in a separate pan at the same time as step 2.)
If you’re cooking for vegetarians, the first stage will be softening your shallots. Add your oil, shallots and a sprinkle of salt, but don’t be too generous with the salt as the later ingredients are quite salty. Finely chop the shallots and cook slowly on a low heat, for 5-7 minutes or until translucent.
Finely chop your garlic and add it to the pan. Rustic chopping is fine – we are in a most likely to be in a field, after all!
After a minute or two, when the garlic is fragrant, add some fresh thyme leaves and cook for a few seconds.
Chop your tomatoes as the garlic is cooking and add them to the pan. They can be fairly chunky, as they’re going to cook down as you move through the recipe.
As the tomatoes are cooking, chop your courgette into 2-3cm chunks and fry it off so it’s slightly golden. You’ll want to turn the heat up to medium for this stage. It will soften as you continue to cook, so if it’s any smaller it will start to disintegrate and you’ll lose the fresh courgette flavour in the finished dish.
Once you’ve got your golden courgette (don’t cook for any longer than 5 minutes!) add your gnocchi. Make sure you stir well but also allow the gnocchi to brown and crisp slightly. This will add some fun texture to the gnocchi for later.
If you’ve cooked bacon, add half of your cooked bacon to the pan and stir in with the gnocchi. If you haven’t – ignore this step…
When your gnocchi is starting to turn golden (after 3-5 minutes), add your stock cube and enough water to cover the ingredients in the pan by about 2/3s. Bring to the boil quickly before bringing to a simmer and then turn right down.
Add your spinach. Stir well, so the spinach wilts in the pan. It will look like you’re adding way too much spinach to start, but wait until it’s wilted and then you’ll have the perfect balance.
Grate in your parmesan. Mix well as you’re grating it in and you will see the parmesan melt and the sauce start to thicken.
Rip the mozzarella into small balls and push into the gnocchi mix. Try to spread it out around the pan.
Simmer on a low heat for a few minutes, as the mozzarella melts and does its gooey mozzarella thing in the pan. Check for seasoning and add more salt if it requires.
Finish by sprinkling some chilli flakes, black pepper and fresh thyme on top.
Serve, and enjoy! If you’re cooking for a group, add a fresh green salad and some French baguette to keep it simple but tasty.
Notes
If you don’t quite have the same ingredients but want to try something similar, use the following guidelines to adapt the recipe:• If you have firm vegetables, fry them off before you add the gnocchi – at the same stage as the courgette.• If you have leafy veg, add them at the same stage as the courgette.• If you don’t have bacon but have sausages, take the sausages out of their skin and follow the same steps above with the sausage meat as with the bacon.Essential tip:Don’t forget the Parmesan!😉
I love mexican food and cooking it. MeShell’s kick a** guacamole is a great edition to any mexican meal. This guacamole is chunky, and perfect for dipping tortilla chips into.
The beloved Tex-Mex starter or side dish originated with the Aztecs. It is hard to pinpoint the exact birth date for guacamole but there are records that it has existed for over half a millennium. During the 1500s, Spaniards were introduced to avocado mixtures that appeared to be extremely similar to guacamole during their explorations of the new world from the Aztecs. The Spaniards thought that the creation would be a huge hit back home, so they brought the concept back to Spain.
The mixture originally included avocados, tomatoes, and chili’s since those ingredients were native to the Americas. Over the years, Spaniards started adding their own ingredients and spin on the recipe, like onions, cilantro, and lime juice.
MeShell’s Kick A** Guacamole
amerimanx_travels
Vegan
I love to cook and eat Mexican food. This guacamole is the perfect side dish. Tip – I add the Avocados last as I like my Guacamole a bit chunky and not to pureed.
5 from 1 vote
Family friendly – Less washing-up – No cook – Prep ahead
This bejewelled couscous salad is the perfect side dish to so many different main meals. It’s versatile and looks gorgeous so it’s great to share with others. This is a vegan recipe but can also be an accompaniment to many dishes. This bejewelled couscous salad is no-cook and can be made using a kettle, you can boil water on the stove instead. A great recipe for if you are low on gas, or it’s too hot to cook.
This bejewelled couscous salad is great for solo vanlifers too as it stores well in the fridge in an airtight container. It can be packed up for a picnic lunch too! Check out my other recipes here.
MeShell’s Diner Bejewelled Couscous Salad
amerimanx_travels
Vegan
When you're looking for the perfect side for a BBQ, a Curry or even on it's own, this cous cous salad is it. It's better left overnight to chill and the flavours and aroma to mingle.You can also add additional dried fruit to your taste such as dried cherries, dates, sultanas. The choice is up to you. Initial purchase of ingredients may seem a lot but I guarantee having them on hand is worth it. 👌Serve with grilled chicken, fish or even halloumi. This is a winner all round.
5 from 1 vote
Less washing-up – No cook – Prep ahead – Solo travel
Place couscous in mixing bowl, pour hot water till it slightly covers the couscous, cover with tea towel.
Dice apricots to small chunks
Roughly chop Coriander
Finally chop Mint
Toast almonds
Wash the insides of the green stems of the spring onions to remove any dirt. Shake and pat dry, remove any wilted stems. Slice stems about the width of a pound coin.
Cut and juice lemon
Remove tea towel, fluff couscous with a fork, generous drizzle of olive oil, mix to coat couscous, add lemon juice and stir, add all the ingredients you’ve prepared and throughly combine, taste at this point, you may need more olive oil or lemon juice, add salt and pepper.
Place in air tight container in fridge.
Notes
If you are travelling solo this will store well in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
This Omnia vegan carrot cake proved very popular at Camp Quirky 2023. Vegan cakes can be difficult to make as it can be difficult to get them to rise. The mixture of baking powder and vinegar in this recipe is the key to a well risen vegan cake. The acid from the vinegar interacts with the baking powder and forms bubbles, don’t worry you can’t taste the vinegar in it. It is important to wait until you are ready to put the cake into the oven before adding the wet ingredients because of this process. If you really don’t like the idea of adding vinegar in your cake you can use lemon juice instead.
This vegan omnia carrot cake can be made with the addition of chopped walnuts for some texture. You can also add some cinnamon for an extra depth of flavour.
As always with the Omnia, we would advise cooking this carrot cake low and slow, but in the case of this cake giving it a quick blast at the beginning can really help with the rise. If you would like any tips when cooking with the Omnia oven we share them here.
We used pre-made icing for ease when making this carrot cake, especially when at a festival. However, vegan frosting is pretty easy to make. It cooks quickly and stores well in an air tight container for a couple of days. Great for sharing with friends when at events and get togethers.
If you try this recipe be sure to rate it for us, and we would love if you took the time to comment too. If you have any great vegan recipes you can share and inspire others here.
Vegan Omnia carrot cake
Vegan, Vegetarian
We baked this vegan carrot cake in our Omnia stove top oven at Camp Quirky 2023. We have to say it went down a treat, and so now we're doing what we do best, sharing the recipe with you!
Pre-heat the Omnia without the silicone mould in, while mixing the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, ginger and nutmeg.
When the oven is hot add in the wet ingredients to the bowl. Mix in the plant based milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla extract. The mixture will begin fizzing which is normal. try to mix the ingredients through without over beating.
Fold through the grated carrot & raisins. You can also add chopped walnuts at this point if you would like to.
Pour into the mould and then place into the Omnia oven.
Bake on a medium / high flame for the first 5 minutes to help the cake rise. Then turn down to a low medium heat and bake for the remaining 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Take the mould out the oven and leave to cool for 10-15 minutes until cool enough to turn out.
When cool, ice with the pre-made vegan frosting, or make your own! See the recipe notes for a link.
Featured vanlifer Tasha Kiff aka Miss Kiff, shares the amazing support of the vanlife community and the support offered by fellow vanlifers. This is a wonderful feature of the vanlife community coming together to help support Tasha build her van Luna for full time vanlife while living in there!
How did Miss Kiff become a vanlifer?
As with many vanlifers Tasha found herself living full time in a van due to homelessness. In Tasha’s case she sadly lost her Mother and within less than a month, she had to leave her uni accommodation. Although many would worry in this situation, Tasha felt excitement. She had been watching Nic Roams on YouTube and had to begun to manifest getting a van and living vanlife.
Knowing she had to find somewhere to live, Tasha made the decision to look for a small van, she had a very limited budget and felt this would be more manageable for not only her handiwork skills but also her funds. With this in mind, she found a Vauxhall Vivaro for sale only 15 minutes down the road, and within her budget. Fate! She used half her tuition fee money to buy it. It was an empty van, and on her first night she had no option to sleep on the floor on top of a broken Ikea cupboard. Being due at work in 48 hours time, Tasha didn’t have long to make her van more comfortable. During this time she managed to get the van insulated and a floor down, and at 2am one morning a friend helped her screw her bed into place.
Converting a van with little experience, few tools and nowhere to complete the work is a massive challenge as Tasha experienced. Luck was on Tasha’s side once more and her friend no longer able to make the Vanlife Eats big picnic gifted Tasha her ticket. This helped Tasha to meet some amazing members of the vanlife community who would go on to help her continue with her van build.
The van build
Having seen some vanlifers on YouTube Tasha had a sense of the community, but she had no idea just how supportive they would be. She met several vanlifers at the big picnic who put in place support to help with her van build. Simon, Tom, Darren and Liam the Terrible were some of the community who offered support initially.
After trading tips and advice, when the event finished Tasha headed up north where Liam helped show her how to drill into metal, and how to complete her roof. From there Tasha headed to the Peak district. This is where she painted her ceiling, and added some curtains.
Darren had previously told Tasha about the South central van build meets. These are events when the community come together and exchange help and support. It’s a fantastic way to get jobs completed on your van and help others. Everyone in the community has different skills and being able to share these with one another really demonstrates the great sense of community. At this meet up the van got the addition of some tongue and groove, as well as a solar panel and charge controller. From there the van build continued with the diesel heater installation on the Isle of Wight and the electrics completed at Stonehenge. Luna had cupboards installed in the Brecon beacons, and a kitchen cupboard added while on a campsite in Swindon. Slowly vanlifer Miss Kiff is making the van more homely although it is still not yet fully complete – as with many vans!
Vanlife adventures
Over a year later, feeling happy with her home on wheels, Tasha feels very proud of what she has achieved. She says the van feels cosy, has a homely feel and she absolutely loves it. Living vanlife has opened up many opportunities, not only to be a part of an amazing community, but also to see some incredible places and enjoy them in a way that isn’t possible for others.
A highlight for Tasha so far has been spending New Years eve in the Brecon beacons, including a cold water swimming session in 3 degrees 🥶. Obviously not afraid of the cold, Tasha also scaled Pen Y fan in -8 degrees Celsius. Of course she also adds the Vanlife eats big picnic to one of her highlights, where she fully submerged into the sense of community. She also learnt one of her new regular go to meals in the van of one pan Turkish eggs from The vanlife cookbook.
There are more exciting adventures ahead, Tasha has managed to get seasonal work on a beautiful campsite. It is at this campsite that she plans to run some wellness retreats for vanlifers you can find out more on her Instagram @kiffcampoutretreats. After this she plans on heading to Scotland, and next year a 3 month trip exploring food, champagne and vineyards in France.
Not all adventure
With the good often comes the bad, in this case it is no different. It’s time for some vanlife reality. As a solo female vanlifer, life on the road can sometimes be scary. Tasha spent 7 months stealth camping in Cardiff which overall she enjoyed. However, being in a big city can sometimes be intimidating when in a van on your own and she said she often spent nights unable to sleep in ‘fight or flight’ mode.
There have been difficult times in winter where she has found it too cold to get to sleep, but one of the most difficult times is losing her van, even though it was brief. As with many vanlifers, if your van needs repairs, it often means you have nowhere to stay. Unfortunately this happened to Tasha and she ended up being without a van or home for 3 weeks. One of her tips for fellow vanlifers is to make sure you put aside some money for accommodation, for if/when this happens.
On a brighter note, if you end up sitting with Tasha round a campfire, be sure to ask her about the time she got back to the van slightly worse for wear with a full bladder…..
Luna the van
Tasha loves the van and the cosy feeling she has in there, there’s a definite sense of pride and achievement when she describes it. As time goes on she is realising things that work well and things that could be better. As with any tiny home, space is crucial, and so Tash will be making some improvements with the cupboards in her van for more space. Organisation is also key, and having little boxes to be able to organise teas, nuts, oils etc has been a game changer for her. Having a portable hob means Tasha can cook inside or outside if the weather is good and the mood takes her.
Tasha loves a van kitchen gadget and has an Omnia, a blender for perfect lattes and smoothies, plus she’s planning on getting an electric oven. All of this is made possible by her 300w inverter, she says it’s one thing she can’t live without.
Tasha loves to cook in her van and often makes protein pancakes, ramen and of course the turkish one pan eggs. Obviously she loves to make her black bean nachos, the recipe can be found here. Sometimes cooking can impact on her other hobbies though, and she once ended up with her podcast mic covered in pancake batter. Miss Kiff’s podcast provides truthful experiences about her life on the road which you can find on Spotify, it’s called My Van Life Perspective Podcast‘.
If you would like to hear more about Tasha’s vanlife experiences, and living in a van full-time while converting it, then you are in luck. She is currently writing an ebook all about her experiences, and it will be available very soon.
Advice for fellow vanlifers
Do it! Life is too short to wonder, it’s tougher than it looks. Van Community is Everything! Start trusting strangers (the right ones of course), go to van festivals to meet like minded people. Even if you have no skill or resources it can be done. The first year will be testing you to the limit, take your van to a mechanic before you start converting it. And get a reliable mechanic!
To apply for a featured post on vanlifeeats.com simply follow this link and fill out the application form. We promote all featured van lifers across all our social media networks, we send out a “featured Van Lifer” sticker for your van as well as awarding you a prestigious badge for your profile on our website.
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