This meal of crumpet breakfast muffins is quick and easy to make. It can all be cooked in one pan saving on washing up. We love making these on family trips and at festivals.
The eggs crumpets just add an extra layer of deliciousness for breakfast, and we’re here for it!
Crumpet Breakfast Muffins
Meat Based
A twist on the classic breakfast muffin. Super easy to make, but super tasty. All in one pan so less washing up. What's not to love?
While the bacon is cooking. Crack the 2 eggs into a bowl and whisk
Dip the crumpets in the egg, being sure to cover both sides.
Stack the bacon up in the pan to make room for the crumpets. Toast one side of the crumpets, turn over and add the cheese, pile on the bacon and the other crumpets.
Turn over to toast the other side.
Notes
You can add extra cheese, sausages, whatever you like! This great one pan breakfast meal is delicious and easy to tidy up when you’ve finished eating it!
Combine the 250g tub of Ricotta cheese, the nutmeg, the eggs and the Parmesan Cheese to form a paste.
Slowly add the flour until a soft dough forms.
Roll into a ball and leave the dough to one side. (30 minutes is best but we don't often wait)
In the skillet pan add the olive oil, tin of tomatoes, the puree, the sugar and with the lid off let simmer on a very low heat.
Take the ball of dough and on a lightly floured tray cut it into 8 even portions.
Roll each portion of dough into long cylindrical strips.
Cut the strips into 2cm pillows.
Using the back of a fork and placing each pillow cut side down, using your thumb roll the pillows off the fork. This will leave you with a small dumpling with ridges and a curl. This does take practice but any old shape still works with the recipe :)
place the dumplings into the sauce and simmer with the lid on for 7-10 minutes.
Serve with some fresh basil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
Spaghetti alla carbonara is another amazing vanlife recipe from @vwt4_furbone_. This italian recipe uses guanciale, similar to pancetta. However, rather than being cut from pork belly guanciale is cut from pork cheek. If you are unable to find this then you can substitute it for bacon, which will still be super tasty. It is quick to cook, making it great for a hungry family in the van.
Spaghetti alla carbonara
@vwt4_furbone_
Meat Based
Simple and fast but super tasty! As soon as you try it you will fall in love with it. Suitable for all seasons. This recipe is Italian precisely born in Rome.!
5 from 1 vote
30 minute meal – 5 ingredients or less – Family friendly – Stove top meal
Start by putting the water for the pasta on the heat.
-Cut the guanciale into strips about 1 cm thick, then put it in the pan and brown it, being careful not to burn it otherwise it will leave a bitter taste (about 10 minutes).
-Throw the pasta into the water, cooking as indicated on the package.
-Put the eggs (yolk) in a bowl, adding the cheese and a little pepper.
The compound must be a smooth cream, use a fork or even better a whisk.
-Set aside the bacon but do not throw away the sauce that has been created.Put the pasta in that pan and sauté it to flavor it, then remove it from the heat.
-Pour the component of the bowl and stir quickly so as to mix everything.
We love biscoff and we love our Omnia, what better combo! We recently saw a 3 ingredient biscoff cake on social media. We thought it would be ideal for vanlife with such few ingredients. We had to try it. However, it was a disaster. It looked gorgeous, but the texture was all wrong. We only bring the best recipes to you guys so this just wouldn’t do.
We went away and worked on our biscoff cake recipe, and here it is for us to share with you. This biscoff cake baked in the omnia is light, airy and delicious.
Biscoff Omnia cake
Vegetarian
We know, we know who can resist biscoff? If it's in a cake, resistance is futile. We have perfected this delicious biscoff cake and can't wait for you guys to try it. We baked it in our Omnia stove top oven, scroll to the notes section if baking in a conventional oven.
3/4cupbutter / margarine(softened if using butter)
3/4cuplight muscovado sugar
3eggs
3/4cupself raising flour
1tspbaking powder
1tspvanilla extract
1.5tbspmilk
200gbiscoff smooth spreadhalf a jar
For the topping
200gbiscoff smooth spreadhalf a jar
6biscoff biscuitscrumbled
Instructions
For the cake
Add the softened butter and sugar to a bowl and cream together
Add all 3 eggs and mix in
Add in the self raising flour and baking powder and mix through
Add the vanilla extract & milk and mix through until all combined
Spoon in half of the jar of biscoff and stir through
Pour into the silicone mold and place in the Omnia oven
Bake over low/medium flame for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer is inserted and comes out clean
Leave to cool until it can be removed from the mold easily
For the topping
When the cake has cooled, melt the other half of the jar of biscoff. We did this using a metal dish over a small flame. Stir regularly
Pour the melted biscoff over the cake.
Crumble up the biscuits and sprinkle over the top
Enjoy with a good brew!
Notes
This can also be baked in a conventional oven in an 8 inch tin. We would suggest doubling the ingredients and baking in 2 8 inch tins if baking this way. This will provide a better looking cake that you can fill.
Another classic from MeShell’s diner. This recipe for chicken tortilla casserole is full of flavour, crunch and cheese! What more could you want?! This vanlife recipe does require an oven, although we would love to see some of you try it in your Omnia! This recipe uses many ingredients which may already be in your van pantry. The majority of them such as chicken soup and tortillas have a long shelf life too meaning you can stock up on them before your adventures for this recipe.
This chicken tortilla casserole is a great mexican dish with a twist, meaning the whole family will love it. It is also a great sharing dish for mexican nights with fellow vanlife friends.
You can find more of the recipes we love to make right here.
MeShell’s Diner Chicken Tortillas Casserole
amerimanx_travels
Meat Based
Easy, low cost week day Mexican style family/couple casserole. You'll probably have the ingredients in your pantry. Recipe is easily adapted for Vegetarians. Swap the chicken for kidney or black beans and use Cream of Celery or Mushroom soup. Serve with a salad, spanish rice or refried beans. Salsa, sour cream or guacamole on the side.
2cupschicken cooked and shreddedeither roasted or rotisserie
1cancondensed cream of chicken soup
1cupsour cream
1canblack beansrinsed and drained
1packettaco seasoning
1bagtortilla chipscrushed
250gramsshredded cheddar divided
1cupfresh tomatoesdiced
1jalapeno peppersliced
2Tablespoonscilantrochopped
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9×13 baking dish by coating with non-stick spray.
Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, black beans, taco seasoning, crushed tortillas and ½ of the cheddar cheese until fully incorporated.
Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with rest of cheddar cheese, fresh tomato, jalapeños and cilantro.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until the chips are golden brown and the casserole is bubbly throughout.
De-seed and slice your red peppers and lay them in a hot pan and cook until they soften and start to burn. Remove from the pan and leave to cool.
Meanwhile, season with salt and lay the 6 chicken thighs top side down in the hot pan. Keep checking these but you want to keep them topside down until they get some colour on them. This will be for around 6 minutes.
Take your slightly cooled pepper, a garlic clove and 300ml of double cream and place in your manual blender. Season with salt and pepper and whizz up until you have a cream smooth texture.
Turn your chicken thighs over, they should be nice and brown on top. Turn down the heat to a medium heat and pour in the sauce around (not on top of) the chicken.
Cut up your goats cheese into bite size chunks and place in the pan around the chicken and in the sauce.
Sprinkle over some smoked paprika and some fresh parsley.
MeShell’s diner is dishing up the goods again. These maple pecan pie bars are to die for! A brilliant recipe for vanlife, campervans & motorhomes everywhere. Each slice brings the taste of a good ol’ american diner.
Maple syrup and pecans are a match made in heaven, and the flavour combo is something else. Pecan pie is such an American classic, these pie bars take it to the next level, and it will be hard to eat just one.
MeShell made this for the bake off at the Vanlife Eats Big Picnic and she was crowned a worthy winner. This recipe does require an oven and a fridge. They are great to prepare in the van and take on picnics, hikes, or treks. To be honest we could eat them all day regardless.
MeShell’s Diner Maple Pecan Pie Bars
amerimanx_travels
Vegetarian
MeShell won 2nd place at Van Life Eats Big Picnic 2022, with these yummy maple pecan pie bars.
Sinfully delicious
This campervan recipe of chorizo & mozzarella gnocchi cooked in the RidgeMonkey is ideal for vanlife. A quick one pan meal with 10 ingredients, perfect for a mid week treat in the van. If you want to keep it veggie – for meat free Monday perhaps, add some smoked paprika for some smokiness and do away with the chorizo.
Amanda & Paul cook this on their vanlife adventures and we can see why it’s a favourite. Follow their adventures on Instagram here.
For now though make do with making this Ridgemonkey Chorizo and mozzarella goncchi yourself. You could even cook the gnocchi in the pan first to crisp it up before adding the tomatoes & cheese. Delicious!
Don’t forget to rate this campervan recipe and leave a review if you try it!
Chorizo & Mozzarella Gnocchi
amandaanddarcy
Vegetarian
This campervan recipe is super quick, and doesn't need an oven. We don't even use a pan, we cook it in our ridgemonkey!
5 from 2 votes
10 Ingredients or less – 30 minute meal – One-pan – Stove top meal
Have you ever thought about trading the school run for a full time vanlife adventure? That is exactly what featured vanlifers Mum Delanie & son Qunicy decided to do in their van Penny Pilotè. What an fabulous substitution full of amazing experiences & memories to share together!
Worth every penny…
So what made Delanie decide to venture into the world of full-time vanlife with son Quincy?
Having previously been enjoying vanlife part-time, a property falling through gave Mum Delanie a life changing opportunity. A chance to visit many amazing countries with Quincy and see what the world has to offer. She decided to look for her first ever motorohome. When looking for a motorhome Delanie knew she wanted something vintage, unusual & boxy in shape and luckily she found Penny, a Pilote City Van CV60. It must have been fate, it was definitely love at first sight. Less than a week later they were headed to somewhere Quincy was desperate to visit – Scotland.
“One day I just woke up & realised that there is more to life than existing in one corner of the world & I wanted to see more & explore more”
Delanie admits full-time vanlife took some adjustment. Getting used to the motorhome water, electrics etc. She quickly realised it isn’t all perfect instagram opportunities. Speaking of which, if you want to follow their adventures you can check them out here. Very soon their travels led them overseas to Europe.
While in Portugal they stayed in a campsite high up in the mountains. The next day they were driving down the narrow winding roads to their next location. Being fairly new to motorhoming and being on the narrow roads they were taking it quite slowly. The car behind was flashing their lights and beeping their horn, but Delanie didn’t feel comfortable going any faster. It was only when there was an oncoming car on the same side of the road that Delanie realised why the car behind had been flashing. She was driving on the wrong side of the road! Even after this hair raising experience, it was still their favourite country to visit. They loved the warmth of the people, culture and rich history. Also the tolerance to the vanlife community. Quincy shares his Mum’s sentiments and his favourite part of their journey so far has been the portugese mountains. He also has lovely memories of a beautiful, happy and colourful market in Barcelona. One of his favourite things to do is in the motorhome itself and is having dancing competitions with his Mummy in the van.
The penny shaped bathroom is Delanie’s favourite feature of the motorhome. Which is just as well as she couldn’t live without the toilet in the van. She detests using public toilets, saying they give her the ick. At least having her very own throne to sit upon in Penny when nature calls means the visits to public loos are infrequent.
Vanlife meals
If you have kids, you are most likely familiar with the call of ‘I’m huuuuuunnnnnnggggrrrry’. This is no different when living full-time in the van. Quite often the pair will eat meals that are quick to make, with pasta being a firm favourite. Easy to prepare and you can throw anything you like in to mix it up. Being a foodie means Delanie will eat most things, and enjoys trying vegan, vegetarian and meat based meals in the van. However, this self professed foodie did manage to burn a pizza in the van once – happens to us all! Plus when starting out in vanlife and getting used to cooking in a van can result in some interesting meals.
Delanie is not one for fancy gadgets in the motorhome kitchen. Her must-have kitchen gadget is a can opener. Perfect for when making her featured recipe Vegan Sweetcorn Fritters.
They have a small kitchen set-up, ideal for the mum and son duo. They are kitted out with a good size fridge & freezer, an oven/grill & a 3 burner hob. The only downside is Delanie feels there isn’t a decent amount of worktop space. However, as with any resourceful vanlifer, Delanie has a solution. She uses a chopping board over the sink to get some more space while cooking. There is also a decent sized table if more space is required.
Mum and son travels
As with any big decision, it is diffcult to know whether you have done the right thing and many a sleepless night was had. The main dilemma was whether taking Quincy out of mainstream school for a life of home schooling on the road in a motorhome was the right thing to do. On reflection now, Delanie said that aside from becoming a Mum, it was the best thing she ever did. The experiences they have had has given them an unbelievable bond, and wonderful memories to cherish. One of Delanie’s highlights so far was a breathtaking drive through the French Pyranees. That was a real pinch me moment!
“I did this! – It was freaking awesome”
It’s not all smooth sailing! On their first voyage heading to Scotland there was a bit of a bump in the road – or on the head. The over cab bed hadn’t been tied up properly, resulting in it falling and landing on Delanie’s head while driving. Luckily it was a country road and not a motorway meaning they could pull over and tie it up. On a very early vanlife experience there was also a time Delanie drove away not realising they were still attached to the electric hook-up.
Sometimes the adventures are a lot closer to home & Delanie has enjoyed girlie nights in the motorhome with her friends – perfect! Delanie & Quincy managed to join us at the Vanlife Eats Big Picnic in 2022 and it was great to meet them and Penny in person!
Advice for fellow vanlifers
Vanlife has made me feel alive and refreshed. Being close to nature makes you realise what’s important in life. Having done this journey alone with my son has made me feel empowered and proud of myself. Just be prepared – vanlife isn’t always as glamorous as it looks on Insta!
Do you travel full time with kids, or are you thinking about it check out previous featured vanlife family The Howls, who also travel full time with their children.If you are based in the UK and thinking of travelling with children and want to home school, here is some advice from GOV.UK.
If based in the US you can find some useful information here.
Some great resources listed here for those of you in Canada.
Australian vanlifers can get more information about home schooling children here.
Want to be featured on vanlifeeats.com?
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.
These sweetcorn fritters are a firm favourite of featured vanlifers Delanie & Quincy @mumandsontravels. If you would like to read their feature it is right here! The recipe is from her friends book which can be found here, and she was happy for Delanie to share it with our community.
They are ideal as a starter or snack, and being as they don’t require too many ingredients they are suitable for vanlife cooking. Although not in this recipe Delanie likes to mix it up and add some chilli for a bit of a spicy kick.
Vegan Sweetcorn Fritters
@mumandsontravels
Vegan
Jamaican saltfish (salted cod) Fritters are something my mum would cook for the family when I was growing up! These vegan versions are just as tasty!
5 from 1 vote
10 Ingredients or less – Family friendly – One-pan
In a medium bowl, combine the chickpeas, plain flour, yeast flakes, wet seasoning, salt & pepper.
Add 2 tbsp water and use a fork or masher to combine the ingredients until they are well blended.
Add the sweetcorn & mix well
Divide the mixture into 6 equal parts & form thin patties.
In a large pan heat the oil until it's shimmering.Then add the sweetcorn fritters & cook until browned and fully cooked through. About 2-4 minutes each side
Place on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
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