Cooking in the RV can be a challenge, with limited storage, prep space, and tools. Things get even more challenging when you’re also trying to cater to little appetites, with a limited number of acceptable menu items. As a parent on the road, you have a lot to do. Drive. Navigate. Even homeschool your kids while traveling. You don’t want meals to be a battle. No, you need easy RV meals kids love. But, since kids are involved, that’s not always … easy.
There are two tricks I use to make my own little adventurers happy. The first is to crank up the novelty factor. We’ll make “fancy” ketchup. Use cookie cutters to make fun shapes out of same-old-same-old food. Or make kid-friendly versions of staple items (like the overnight oats below). The second trick is to encourage customer participation. It’s amazing how much more adventurous my kids will get if they are part of the food production process.
Here are five easy RV meals kids love that put these master two tactics into play.
PB&J Overnight Oats
Overnight oats are a fantastically healthy meal for both big and small. They’re high in fiber and protein, with plenty of vitamins and minerals in the mix. They’re a breeze to make, with only a few minutes of prep time. They’re also the perfect breakfast item for kids to collaborate on, as they’re almost impossible to mess up.
The gist of overnight oats is simple: Put oats, nearly any kind of milk, and some flavoring in a small container (we like mason jars in my house, not least of all for the cuteness factor). Then just let them sit overnight. There are plenty of kid-friendly versions, but the PB&J variety below pleases palates both big and small.
Sample recipe: This uber-simple recipe from Quaker Oats is a great place to start. I would add a healthy drizzle of maple syrup with the milk to up the sweetness factor. You can keep overnight oats in an airtight container in the fridge for two to five days, so you can prep ahead of time – another RV bonus.
Brunch Burritos
One of the all-time greatest tips for RV cooking is to plan main courses with two or three follow-on meals that use the leftovers, like making a big roast in the slow cooker, then turning it into a pasta dish, and then turning it into breakfast burritos.
Breakfast burritos combine two things my kids love: food items that feel “funny” or unusual, and things wrapped in tortillas. Tacos work too, but my two-year-old lacks the fine motor skills to navigate tacos without a huge mess. Burritos work better. You can make breakfast burritos using any combination of breakfast items your kid loves, and it’s a perfect receptacle for whatever leftover protein you have. Double RV bonus!
Sample recipe: Do you need a recipe for burritos? Not really — all you have to do is put some scrambled eggs, plenty of your kids’ favorite cheese, and whatever leftover meat you have handy in a tortilla. Other kid-friendly ingredients might be avocado, diced tomato, or some crunchy hash browns. Pro tip: Sprinkle some pickled jalapenos in the grownup version.
Quesadillas
I have written entire articles about the greatness of quesadillas. To me, they’re the perfect easy RV meal. Put cheese and something else in a tortilla, and then brown it. Or, if you’re making your quesadillas just for kids, slap them in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds to melt the cheese, and be done with it.
Much like breakfast burritos, you can use your leftovers for the protein. But unlike burritos, quesadillas are another perfectly kid-friendly meal to assemble. They can pick their own ingredients, do the initial assembly, and then pass off the finished product to the grownup for cooking. For bigger kids, flipping quesadillas on a skillet or a griddle is a great introduction to kitchen skills. And for the littlest littles, some large cookie cutters will work on quesadillas just like on a PB&J, adding some creative fun factor to the flavor equation.
Sample recipe: It doesn’t get any simpler than this. Take some tortillas, large or small. Sprinkle some cheese. Sprinkle one or two other kid-friendly ingredients. Spray a frying pan (or the tortillas directly) with some oil, and sauté the quesadillas, flipping every two to three minutes.
Pigs in a Blanket
There’s something special about wrapping sausage in a bread product and baking or frying the bundle. Pigs in a blanket are basically in the corn dog food family, too, so should be recognized as an acceptable food item by even your pickiest little ones.
This is also one of my 5-year-old’s favorite food items to help assemble. Playing with dough is tactile, exactly like Play-Doh, so it’s basically educational. And the finished product is as tasty as it is novel. At our house, we even use them for fancy dinner parties, because the prep time to flavor ratio is extremely high.
Sample recipe: This simple recipe has the basics, but you can also take just about any tubed meat, wrap it in any pre-made dough from the grocery store, and then bake using the original dough instructions for time and temperature, checking throughout the process to avoid over-browning the dough.
Hawaiian Ham and Cheese Sliders
Any food item that can be prepped prior to launching the road-mobile, camper, RV — or whatever you’re packing your weekend adventure in — is a win. These kid-friendly baked sandwiches require only a few ingredients, can be assembled by little hands, and take almost no time to prep. They also pair a simple flavor profile with a slightly sweet bread that should work well to whet “wittle” appetites.
Sample recipe: Take a pack of Hawaiian rolls, slice the entire package in half to make two large top and bottom halves. Layer ham and cheese, with the cheese on top. If you’re ready to eat them, pop them in an oven on broil for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Or bring the prepped sandwiches along in the RV fridge until you’re ready to consume. You can serve as-is, or add my family’s favorites: pickles and mustard.
