Essential RV Kitchen Equipment

 By Sal & Rebecca, The Tin Can Travelers – We use affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, we may receive a small compensation at no cost to you.

Cooking and baking requires some essential equipment. Those who live in a tiny house, however, know space is at a premium. More gadgets require more storage and/or counter space, and this is something a tiny RV kitchen just doesn’t have. Concentrating your efforts on multi-purpose, higher-quality cookware and utensils will allow you to stock your tiny kitchen while reducing clutter and chaos. So, below is a list of essential tiny RV kitchen equipment that will meet all your culinary needs.

Pots and Pans

Some of the most essential pieces of equipment in a RV kitchen are pots and pans. They are necessary for searing, boiling, frying, simmering, roasting and baking. Purchase pots and pans of all-metal construction, that stack together, and only in the quantity you will use for the average meal. Your cooking surface may dictate the type or brand of pot or pan you purchase. Induction cooking requires pots and pans that meet specific requirements, so do your homework. All metal construction allows you to use your pots and pans in the oven and over a campfire. The essential pots and pans we have in our tiny RV kitchen are: 1.5 quart sauce pan, 3 quart pot, 12 inch frying pan and 10.5 inch cast iron skillet. We also have ¼ sheet pan that fits perfectly in our small RV oven.

Spoons and Spatulas

Spoons and spatulas allow us to mix, turn and flip hot or cold ingredients and are essential equipment. We recommend spoons made of metal and ones made of wood. The large metal spoons can be used to stir as well as serve. Wooden spoons are sturdy enough to stir heavy batters. Wooden spoons and spatulas won’t damage pots or pans with non-stick surfaces and seasoned cast iron skillets. They can also be used to toss and serve salads. A silicone spatula can scrape down bowls, spread ingredients and get food out of jars. A flexible turning spatula will make easy work of flipping pancakes, eggs and omelettes. Our essential kitchen spoons and spatulas for our tiny RV kitchen consist of: 1 large metal spoon, 1 large slotted spoon, 1 large wooden spoon, 1 large wooden spatula, 1 medium silicon spatula and 1 plastic turner spatula.

Knives

Knives are essential equipment for a kitchen of any size. They are used to cut and chop meat and vegetables, as well as open packages and slice baked goods and meats. Knife sizes and blade types have specific purposes in the kitchen, so a combination is best. It’s very tempting to have too many knives, but you really don’t need a full chef set. And since nothing is worse than a dull knife, make sure to purchase a knife steel and sharpener. Our essential tiny RV kitchen knives are: 10 inch chef knife, 8 inch knife, 10 inch bread knife, small paring knife, medium paring knife, wet stone and knife steel.

Bowls and Strainers

A tiny RV kitchen has to have something to put food in to mix, serve and/or strain. Bowls and strainers are perfect for this task. A selection of bowls from large to small will satisfy every tiny kitchen’s needs. These bowls should be of metal construction and stack neatly into each other. Instead of a colander, we use a fine mesh metal reinforced strainer. This strainer is big enough to strain pasta, vegetables and sift flour. Our essential tiny RV kitchen bowls are: 1 x-large metal bowl, 1 large metal bowl, 3 medium metal bowls and 3 small metal bowls.

Measuring Cups & Spoons

No tiny RV kitchen would be complete without measuring cups and spoons. We suggest purchasing a large plastic microwaveable measuring cup for liquids and a set of heavy-metal measuring cups that stack within each other. Metal is more durable and forgiving than plastic. We also recommend a set of heavy-metal measuring spoons that are joined together with a metal ring. Measuring spoons can get misplaced or lost if not together… just ask our Granddaughter if you don’t believe us. In our tiny RV kitchen we have: 1 4cup plastic measuring cup, 1 set of metal measuring cups and 1 set of metal measuring spoons.

Cutting Board

Keep from damaging your countertops with a cutting board. Cooking in a tiny kitchen may require you to prepare your ingredients on various surfaces in and around your kitchen. Wooden cutting boards look great, but tend to be bulky if made correctly and also require constant maintenance. We recommend a medium size plastic cutting board. Used correctly, you should only need one. We prep our vegetables first and then our meats to avoid cross contamination. We own and use only one medium sized plastic cutting board.

Misc Equipment

Additional essential tiny kitchen equipment that didn’t fit the above categories are found here. 12 inch all-metal tongs with locking ring. Don’t spend extra money on self-locking or pull-to-lock models, as they fail at the worst of times. The 12 inch tongs are large enough to use on the grill or campfire and short enough to store in the kitchen. We also recommend purchasing a small box grater for cheese and vegetables and an oven thermometer. Our hanging oven thermometer keeps our small RV oven at the proper temps while baking or roasting. In our tiny kitchen we have 2 12inch metal tongs, 1 small box grater and 1 Cooper hanging oven thermometer.

Living full-time in a 23 foot Airstream travel trailer has made us sort of minimalists, but this unconventional lifestyle hasn’t kept us from cooking or baking our favorite recipes. We’ve found that having less makes you concentrate on the technique and increases your cooking/baking skills. The above essential tiny kitchen equipment can be purchased from almost anywhere, but we think restaurant supply stores provide the biggest and best selection at a reduced price.

We’d love to know what you think about our post and what you’re using in the kitchen, so leave a comment below or email us. You can also get additional information on RV gear from our post “Essential RV Gear.”

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