So, you’ve downsized your life, quit your nine-to-five, and moved into your dream home on wheels. The days are all yours to spend as you like and the open road stretches out in front of you and the sun is shining on your brand-new lifestyle. Opportunity awaits, the sense of adventure is strong and all you’ve gotta do to stay satisfied is keep yourself clean, warm and fed.
Clean and warm are somewhat subjective terms, but what about food? Have you planned how to choose and store travel friendly food that won’t spoil, requires little or no refrigeration, and isn’t just the same old boring house menu? Are you planning on resorting to dehydrated packaged military style MRE meals or reconstituted powder designed for astronauts and space folk?
First, let’s talk about the tools required. In order to be Van Life’s next Gordon Ramsay, you should have (at least) a two-burner camping stove, preferably one with an oven underneath. A large cooking pot is essential, look for cast iron which is also campfire friendly. A good skillet or frying pan, a smaller pot and a kettle for water.
Utensils like a ladle, large mixing and serving spoons, a thong, a spatula, a whisk, a grater, measuring spoons, a masher, and a good set of knives. Use a range of plastic nesting bowls in various sizes which suit every need in the van. Pyrex casserole dishes are great for grilling and serving your culinary masterpiece. Don’t forget the tin opener!
I think you get the idea.
Table of Contents
f you sometimes feel restricted in the smaller space, are confused with what you can and cannot cook in your tiny kitchen or are otherwise dreading the thoughts of feeding yourself four times a day every day for the rest of your van-living life, fear not! We at VanFocused are here to help you master a few simple meals to fuel your adventures and keep you feeling full and healthy all-the-live-long-day.
If you want to awaken your taste-buds and broaden your horizons in the kitchen, add to your existing culinary repertoire, or try something brand new to you, check out the first in our series of easy, delicious and van friendly recipes.
Preparing your own meals in your van is cost effective, satisfying, and easy once you get the hang of it! What are you waiting for?
Cooking a gourmet meal in a van is not out of reach with our unique, tried and tested recipes, using mostly shelf stable ingredients. These meals are guaranteed to fill you up, impress your guests AND save you money in expensive takeaways.
In this edition we are going vegetarian, and if you are currently a van dwelling carnivore, after reading our delicious, fresh and tasty ideas, you might just be converted. See what I did there?
All our recipes are also easily fine-tuned to suit a vegan diet, check out the Make It Vegan section under each recipe!
Happy eating vanners!
Breakfast
Breakfast is the best part of our day, no matter what time we happen to eat it. Some mornings we wake for sunrise and sit at the back door, dangling our feet and drinking coffee, watching the colors change the skies. On colder days we might sleep until noon, wake slowly and keep the van doors closed to conserve the heat.
Whichever kind of morning we have, it is always served with a generous amount of strong black coffee, to help our brains defog and get the day going with energy. We have detailed some of our favourite van breakfasts here, they are easy to assemble, quick to cook and always full of nutritious and healthy ingredients. We hope you enjoy trying these recipes in your van!
Make sure to check out our “Vanfocused Guide to Camp Coffee”
1) Overland Oats
My personal favourite breakfast to wake up to in the van is overnight oats.
Why? Because it can be a simple as turning on the gas.
Prep the ingredients the night before by pre-soaking the oats in a pot on the stove and adding whatever else takes your fancy. In the morning, simply add any extras, heat and eat!
Method:
For two servings of Overland Oats: Break out the pot, add a cup of oats and 3 cups of water (or whatever ratio your oats call for). Season with a pinch of salt (or a pinch of dried seaweed) and add your favourite flavors. We like chopped raisins, sultanas, figs or dates. Or you can add nothing but a teaspoon of cinnamon.
In the morning, chop in fresh fruit like apples or pears instead. Sprinkle on some milled flaxseed, chopped nuts or chia, serve piping hot and Voila! A real restaurant quality hot breakfast bowl, a great way to start your day!
MAKE THIS VEGAN!
There are no modifications required, it already IS vegan!
2) Vancakes
Any day can be “Pancake Tuesday” when you live in a van. We are guilty of eating vancakes for breakfast, lunch AND dinner on occasion.
Easy to assemble, easy to cook and even easier to eat–vancake batter mix can be premade and stored in a plastic bottle until use, making it the perfect camp friendly meal.
Add fresh fruit like bananas, choco spread, nut butter or fruit jam, make it as messy or as healthy as you wish. Just take care flipping these bad boys in a low roof situation! Serves four half-starved souls, guaranteed you’ll be fighting over the last one!
- 1.5 cups All-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons butter, melted
- 1 ¼ cups milk
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Butter or oil for frying
Method:
Add dry ingredients to large bowl and mix. Pour in wet ingredients. Whisk until smooth and bubbly. If you can bear it, and you probably won’t starve in the meantime, leave the batter to sit for 5 minutes. Brew up the coffee while you wait!
Use 1/3 cup measure to scoop and drop the batter onto a smooth, medium heat pan that is lightly oiled. Cook for one minute or until golden brown, flip em over and repeat. Serve warm with fruit, choco spread, or a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of sugar. This is quality food worth getting out of your van bed for!
MAKE THIS VEGAN!
To make your vancakes vegan, you’ll need a different recipe entirely. First, you need to make a “flax egg” by adding 1 tablespoon ground flax seed to 3 tablespoons warm water in a small bowl and leave it to settle.
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 flax egg
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 ¼ cups soya milk
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- Sunflower oil for frying
Method:
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisk until smooth and bubbly. There you have it, vegan vancake batter! Now flip away to your hearts content!
3) Sunday Sunrise Scramble
We like to take it easy like a Sunday morning, especially on an actual Sunday morning. What says “it’s the weekend” like a classic creamy scramble, some sizzling veggie sausages and multiple rounds of golden-brown toast?
This recipe serves two hungry souls in a lazy Sunday mood.
- 4 veggie sausages (whatever is your favorite brand)
- 1 punnet of mushrooms
- 2 tomatoes, halved
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 – 14 oz can baked beans
- Oil for frying
Method:
Fry ‘em up, warm ‘em up and eat ‘em up, in that order! A fry is the easiest dish in the world.
Start with the sausages, with a little oil, in a large pan. When half cooked, add mushrooms and tomato halves.
In another pan scramble up your eggs with a knob of butter/oil, some salt and pepper.
Warm the beans, grill some toast and put the kettle on for more coffee. A veggie fry up will keep you feeling full and happy for the day, no matter what adventure awaits. Warning: Do not attempt to recreate this recipe naked as oily splash back is unavoidable! Put some trousers on man, have some shame!
MAKE THIS VEGAN!
Make this vegan by scrambling 100g tofu instead of eggs. Dice the tofu, add turmeric, yeast flakes and garlic salt, and cook in a pan or griddle on medium heat until it resembles eggs. Delicious and nutritious!
4) Vantastic Vandwich
Ok, ok, we know its highly subjective what should and shouldn’t be considered ‘vantastic’, but this quick and tasty sandwich is a go-to in our van and appears magically on our plates at least once a day.
There is really nothing like a thick slathering of rich crunchy nut butter, a mashed-up banana and a sprinkle of your favourite seeds piled high on thick fluffy slices of a freshly baked loaf. I can attest to corn-flakes and cheerios being excellent vandwich fillers too, especially when quantity matters over quality.
This combo makes the perfect lunchbox sandwich too, for day trips away from your van. The vantastic vandwich is best paired with a cup of juice or a flask of coffee and best enjoyed on a snow-capped mountain side!
Method:
Slice the bread thick. Add any combination of the below:
- Nut butter, banana and chia
- Banana, honey, cereal and flaxseed
- Nut butter, fruit preserve and flaxseed
- Chocolate spread, cornflakes and banana
- All of the above, all at once, Why not?
Really there is no end to the ingredients you can put between bread and call it a meal. The ball is in your court, now go out there and create the best, most mouth-watering vandwich you can dream of!
We would love to see what you can create, post your favourite combination in the comments!
Maybe we should start a hashtag?! #Vandwich
MAKE THIS VEGAN!
The vandwich is all vegan, all the time.
Lunch
Lunchtime in our van is usually spent outside, and our meals tend to be eaten from lunchboxes as we walk, hike and sightsee.
Packing a lunchbox will save you money as the temptation to spend on food when you get peckish while out and about is hard to ignore! These meals can be prepped in advance, are perfectly portable and, most importantly, won’t spoil sitting in Tupperware.
Keep your lunches light, fresh, healthy and affordable, your body and your budget will thank you for it.
5) The Convoy Combo
The Convoy Combo got its name as we first enjoyed it while travelling through the country with friends in their van. We were halfway to our destination and had limited ingredients in stock, and still managed to whip up a delicious fresh lunch to satisfy both drivers and passengers alike.
Tomato soup and a toasted cheese sambo is a worldwide favorite lunch combo but you can swap both out for whatever suits your tastes. With a pot of soup prepared ahead of time, this quick and hearty meal is warm, satisfying, it fills the hole and keeps you moving onwards to your destination.
For Tomato Soup:
Method:
We cheat with a tin of tomatoes instead of fresh but if you find a fresh food market or vegetable stall on your travels, add a couple of fresh chopped tomatoes that have been blanched and skinned to take your version of this recipe up a notch.
- 2 teaspoons salted butter
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 28 oz can crushed Roma tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 veggie stock cube
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Choose a large pot. Sauté onions in butter until translucent. Add all the other ingredients. Simmer uncovered in the pot for 40 minutes. Blend if required, add fresh basil to fancy it up and enjoy with the melty, toasty sandwich below.
Store extra soup in a sealed Tupperware container between journeys and always have a quick meal on hand when you need one!
For Toasted Cheese:
Method:
While the soup is reheating, activate your grill or griddle, lay the fresh bread and toast it halfway towards brown. Pile one side high with grated cheese, add onion, ham, tomato or gherkins, close the lid on the sandwich, butter up the lid and flip it over. Butter the other slice and return to under the grill to toast a few minutes each side until the cheese is melting magically and the smell fills the air. Delightfully cheesy!
MAKE THIS VEGAN!
The vegan Convoy Combo is the very same but substitute the butter for veg oil (or Miyoko’s Vegan Butter!) and a cheese substitute grated on top instead. Choose a good melty one, smoked for a more intense flavour, or add a smear of mustard inside. Easy Cheesy!
6) No Fuss Cous Cous
Cous cous is a very versatile ingredient in your tiny kitchen. It lasts forever and requires just boiling water to reconstitute, giving you a great, filling meal in just 5 minutes and leaving you plenty of time to get on with your daytime hobbies.
Some cous cous comes flavored with curry or dehydrated apple and raisin chunks… this is a meal in itself!
I like it best served cold, mixed with a tablespoon of mayo into a salad of chopped tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions and any leafy greens we have lying around. Add feta, pine nuts, red onion, or peppers, and any spices that take your fancy for a big healthy cold cous cous salad.
For a real Mediterranean feel, impress your van-fam with your own version of the recipe below.
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small red onion, chopped into chunks
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped into chunks
- 1 medium carrot, chopped and sliced thinly
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 cup water
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 cup couscous
- 2 lemon wedges for serving
Method:
Prepare the couscous with boiling water as per instructions on the packet. Cover and put aside for five minutes. While you wait, prep the veggies. Add oil to the pan, fry onions and garlic lightly. Add the rest of the vegetables and sauté until tender. Add water, stock cube and salt. Bring this to the boil and add raisins.
Mix through the couscous and serve warm with fresh herbs and lemon wedge.
MAKE THIS VEGAN!
MAKE THIS VEGAN! No Fuss Cous Cous IS vegan! Hazzah!
7) Vroomous and Chips
Some call it humus, some say hummous and because we love a good van pun, we call it Vroomous. Some call them garbanzo beans, to others they are chickpeas. Potato, potatto. Either way it is a delicious way to get your protein and refill your energy levels without being bogged down by a very heavy meal.
We like ours vroomous a little chunky, a texture that is easy to achieve without a blender. Serve with a pile of crispy pita chips, breadsticks or crackers, add fresh veggies like carrot and celery cut into sticks or fancy things up with some cauliflower florets.
- 1 14 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- Juice of one fresh lemon
- 2 teaspoons tahini mixed with 2teaspoons of water
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed to paste
- ¼ teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Mash the garbanzo beans in a large mixing bowl with a potato masher or the back of a fork. In another bowl, mix lemon juice and tahini, add the oil and whisk until light and smooth. Add this mixture to the smashed garbanzo, season with salt, pepper and cumin.
Toast pita bread and let cool to chop into rough triangles. Serve the vroomous with paprika sprinkled on top pitta chips and veggie dippers. Enjoy!
MAKE THIS VEGAN!
Too late, it already is!
8) Guac and Roll
This is an anytime snack, just like a hipsters avocado on toast but mashed into a thick wholemeal bread roll instead. Fresh herbs, sharp lime and raw onion makes this bread roll a party in your mouth.
Guac travels well in Tupperware and is a wonderful addition to the vegetarians weekly meals planning. We often make it from the very leftover veggies like sad looking tomatoes and wilted leaves right before we go to restock our supplies.
- 4 tomatoes, diced finely
- 1 red onion, diced finely
- 2 fresh avocados
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 jalapeno pepper, diced finely
- 4 spring onions, diced finely
- 1 bunch fresh coriander
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Method:
As this meal is raw, there is nothing much to do except assemble the ingredients. Mash one avocado until smooth and leave the other a little chunkier for more texture. Add the ingredients and toss to combine, squeeze in half the lime juice. Season with a little more salt and pepper if required and serve with remaining lime wedge on a thick brown wholemeal bread roll.
Alternatively, you can use crackers, bread sticks, pitta pockets or tortilla wraps, whatever medium is going! Guac and roll baby!
MAKE THIS VEGAN!
Provided the bread you have chosen is vegan, it already is.
Dinner
By dinnertime, we are usually exhausted, exhilarated and looking forward to our rest so a couple of quick and easy recipes are the ones we keep going back to. One pot dishes are great to cut down on washing up, because, well, who likes washing up?! Not I, I would rather chow down on a curry or a big bowl of steaming hot stew and go to sleep full and satisfied. Add your own flair and ingredients to our recipes, play around with what you have and always choose high quality local ingredients for the freshest taste, right from your tiny van kitchen!
9) Campervanner's Curry in a Hurry
You wouldn’t believe it, but this delicious veggie curry is ready in 10 minutes! Perfect for those late arrivals at your park up, when the night is falling fast and your hunger levels are peaking. Minimum fuss, maximum taste!
This recipe feeds 4 hungry vanners from one pot.
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- ½ inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes, drained
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 14oz can of garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), drained and rinsed
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 package fresh spinach leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 14oz can coconut milk
- 1 lime
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups rice
Method:
Prepare the rice as per instructions on the packet.
Heat a large pan or skillet. Melt coconut oil, add onion, garlic and ginger. Sauté until onions are slightly sweet and caramelized, brown but not burned. Add spices and cook out for a minute.
Add chopped tomatoes and garbanzo beans and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer, add spinach and when wilted, the juice of the lime.
Season with salt and pepper, serve with a portion of rice and a fresh coriander garnish. Bowls of mango chutney and toasted naan bread optional!
You can also add optional tofu or your meat of choice.
MAKE THIS VEGAN!
Again, this recipe is already vegan!
10) The Gypsy Goulash
This quick and easy one pot dish is deep in flavor and rich in taste. A classic Hungarian dinner, it is spicy, filling and adaptable to whatever veg you have in your kitchen. Throw in some carrots or any winter vegetables for a thicker stew.
A perfect recipe for campfire cooking, it takes 30 minutes and smells great bubbling away on the stove. Bring some crusty bread chunks for dipping!
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 3 teaspoons butter or oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- ½ teaspoon caraway seeds
- ½ lemon peel, grated
- 1 14 oz can whole Roma tomatoes
- 3 medium onions, chopped
- 1 large sweet potato, chopped into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Method:
Fry the onions and garlic in butter or oil for 5 minutes. Add spices and cook on medium heat. Add tomatoes, sweet potato, salt and pepper, water and stock cube, bell pepper and lastly, the sugar. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender.
Serve with a big pile of mashed potato for a van life version of a classic Hungarian staple!
MAKE THIS VEGAN!
The Gypsy Goulash is vegan if you choose to use oil instead of butter for frying. No other mods needed!
11) Chili Van Carne
Chili and rice is another of our van favorites. Its cheap, cheerful and full of beans and dry ingredients you can store easily. Melt a high-cocoa content dark chocolate square in at the very last minute to amaze your guests and take the taste up a notch!
We love to make this meal on an open fire, one pot for the chili, one for the rice. I am guilty of ‘checking’ the chili way too much and eating my fair share before its even served!
This recipe serves 2 with leftovers for the last recipe in our list.
- 1 ½ teaspoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 glove garlic, crushed
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon hot chili powder
- 5 fl oz water
- 1 veggie stock cube
- 1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
- 1 ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon tomato puree
- 1 square dark chocolate
- 1 14 oz jar chargrilled bel peppers, drained and chopped
- 1 14 oz can mixed beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cup rice
Method:
Prepare the rice as per instructions. Meanwhile, fry the onion and garlic on medium heat until soft and translucent. Add spices and cook gently. Add tomato puree, water, stock cube, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes.
Add beans, chopped peppers, oregano and cook for a further 5 minutes to heat the beans through. Add square of chocolate, melt in right before serving. Serve with rice, sour cream and chopped toasted pitta bits.
MAKE THIS VEGAN!
Great news, it IS vegan, as long as you substitute the sour cream for a thick plain soy yogurt!
12) Next Day Vanchiladas
We all know some foods just taste better the next day. The flavors develop and intensify overnight and by adding a couple of extra ingredients, your todays leftovers can be the star of the show tomorrow!
Elevate your leftover chili (if there is any!) into a delicious enchilada for late lunch or dinner.
Simmering the sauce for 30 minutes will heat up the van and you can get washed up and into your PJ’s while you wait. Enjoy the rich aroma of spices floating in the air and the tasty toasty smell of tortillas on the pan!
For the Sauce:
- 1 14oz can tomatoes, chopped and drained
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- Pinch of cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1-2 drops hot sauce
- Salt and pepper
For the Wraps:
- Leftover chili and rice combo
- 6 tortillas, warmed on a dry pan
- 1 cup grated cheese
Method:
Measure all sauce ingredients into a pot, heat until it comes to the boil. Turn the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Reheat the leftover chili. When the sauce is cooked through, ladle into a casserole dish and cover the bottom. Fill warmed tortillas with leftover chili and rice, roll up and arrange in the dish.
Corn tortillas work best here in our experience. Pour the rest of the sauce on top of your vanchiladas, sprinkle liberally with cheese (Monterey Jack is perfect for this job) and grill until cheese is melting, browning and bubbling.
MAKE THIS VEGAN!
Swap out the cheese for a non-dairy alternative. Easy
So now you see how easy it is to cook a tasty, nutritious meal in your van. Our 12 van friendly veggie ideas for breakfasts, lunch and dinner are simple to reproduce and easily adapted to your taste and your store cupboard.
What delicious concoctions are you going to create in your van kitchen today?
