10 Budget Friendly Recipes For RVers

RV Life

Quick, Affordable Recipes You Can Make While Camping

RVing is a lot of fun, but it can sometimes be hard to plan out your meals. Everything either takes too long, costs too much, or requires too many ingredients. Sometimes all three! But meal planning in an RV doesn’t have to break the bank. If you keep your eyes open, there are a lot of budget friendly recipes for RVers.

Below, we have 10 recipes that are perfect for RVers and campers alike. They’re inexpensive, come together pretty quickly, and are absolutely delicious. As long as you have access to a campfire or a stove, you’ll be able to make any of these budget friendly recipes.

There are some options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, so you’ll be covered for the entire day. And best of all, all of these recipes are either individually cheap and/or make a lot of servings for a great value. Check out the list and maybe you’ll find a new favorite recipe for your next road trip.

French toast

Ingredients:

8 slices of bread
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon

First up, we have a classic breakfast option. French toast is excellent if you’re on a budget because the ingredients are cheap, and you can make a pretty big batch. Mix up the eggs, milk, and cinnamon in a bowl until well combined. Then just dunk in the bread slices, making sure to coat both sides.

Cook the bread in a well-oiled skillet and take them out once both sides are golden brown. Top with butter, syrup, fruit, or anything else that sounds good!

This is a nice recipe because you can adjust it to suit your tastes. For instance, the ratio of milk and eggs is up to you. Some people prefer to use four eggs and 1/4 cup milk, or two eggs and a full cup. Experiment and find the consistency that you like the best!

Easy nachos

Ingredients:

1 bag tortilla chips
2 cups shredded cheese
1/2 cup salsa/hot sauce
1 can black beans
2 sliced jalapenos

Who doesn’t love some nachos? They’re crispy, cheesy, and delicious. It’s also quite easy to make them over a campfire and split the portion between a large group.

For this recipe, you can either use a cast-iron skillet or a disposable foil dish. Begin by layering about 1/2 of the chips in the bottom, then top them with a healthy sprinkle of the cheese, salsa, beans, and jalapenos. Add the rest of the ships on top, then put the rest of your ingredients.

Once all your toppings are in, cover the pan and set it over the campfire for 10–15 minutes. Once the cheese has melted, remove it from the heat and garnish it with fresh cilantro and lime if you want to add a bit of freshness.

This is a good recipe because you can add any other toppings you want. For instance, many people like to add some type of shredded meat, avocados, olives, sour cream, tomatoes, onions, etc.

Campfire quesadillas

Ingredients:

1 package flour or corn tortillas
3 cups shredded cheese
1 can of refried beans
1 small chopped onion
1 can of cooked and shredded chicken

Quesadillas are another camping classic. They’re perfect for a meal or even a snack, and even the pickiest eaters will enjoy them.

Lay out a square of tinfoil and assemble your quesadilla with the ingredients listed above. If you want to add a little extra flavor, try adding a dollop of salsa, or some salt and pepper to the mix. Wrap the quesadilla completely in tin foil and nestle it in the campfire coals. Check it after about 5 minutes to see if the cheese has melted.

Chicken and dumplings

Ingredients:

2 cans of chicken noodle soup
1 package of Pillsbury biscuits (or a similar brand)

This is one of my most beloved budget friendly recipes because it comes from my childhood! After a long day, nothing quite hits the spot like chicken and dumplings. And the best part is, you don’t even need to mix or bake anything in this recipe. You just open a couple of packages and dinner will be ready in a few minutes!

Pour the cans of soup into a pot and heat them over the stove or campfire. Add any extra ingredients you might like, such as extra vegetables, spices, or cheese. Once the soup is simmering, pop open the biscuit can and place a layer on top of the soup. You can cut them into smaller chunks, but full biscuits will work too.

Simmer the mixture uncovered for 10-20 minutes or until the biscuits are no longer doughy.

Crockpot baked beans

Ingredients:

2 cans baked beans
1 diced onion
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
8 oz. of cooked, crumbled bacon

One of the advantages of traveling in an RV is that you have access to electricity and various cooking appliances. That means you can use your Crockpot to make tasty meals like these baked beans.

Just throw all of the ingredients into your Crockpot, set it on low, and simmer everything for five hours. It does take some time for this meal to finish cooking, so it’s a good idea to start it as soon as you set up camp. Or cook it at night and reheat it for dinner the next day!

Cheesy bacon-wrapped hot dogs

Ingredients:

8 hot dogs
8 hot dog buns
1 package of bacon (16 oz)
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Bacon and hot dogs are a match made in heaven. Although you can always go the simple route and enjoy some good old-fashioned hot dogs, why not step things up to the next level?

Slide all the hot dogs length-wise and insert cheese into the slit. Wrap each hot dog in 1-2 slices of bacon. You can use toothpicks to secure the bacon while it cooks. Then just wrap them in tin foil and place them in the fire until the bacon has cooked and the cheese has melted. This usually takes about 10 minutes.

Finally, you can pull them out, place each hot dog in a bun, and garnish it with your favorite toppings!

Queso mac and cheese

Ingredients:

1 bag elbow macaroni noodles
1 jar of mild queso spread
1 cup of shredded cheese

This is one of the best budget friendly recipes for RVers, but I made good use of it during my college days! Macaroni and cheese is delicious comfort food, but sometimes you just want to enjoy the ooey gooey goodness without wasting a lot of time.

It’s super easy to throw this dish together. Just boil water in a large pot and add the noodles until they’re fully cooked. Strain them, then stir in the entire can of queso. Top the mix with shredded cheese, salt and pepper, and enjoy!

If you want to add some vegetables, I also think that a cup of frozen peas is pretty good in here. To go above and beyond, cook some chicken nuggets, chop them up, and stir them in! That’s college cooking at its finest.

Twice baked potatoes

Ingredients:

4 large potatoes
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
1/4 cup chopped onion
8 oz sour cream
4 Tablespoons butter

Baked potatoes are easy and delicious. But have you ever had twice baked potatoes? It elevates a simple dinner into something you will want to eat every night!

Bake the potatoes as usual. You can either use the RV oven or wrap them in tin foil and bake them over the campfire. This will probably take about one hour. Once they are tender, cut them in half and scoop out the baked interior.

In a large bowl, mash the potatoes and add the butter, sour cream, cheese, bacon, and onion. You can also add a bit of milk if the mixture is too thick. Spoon the filling back into the potato skins and return them to the fire/oven for 10 more minutes.

Chocolate banana wrap

Ingredients:

Bundle of fresh bananas
1 bag mini marshmallows
1 bag chocolate chips
Crushed graham crackers or cereal for garnish

Now let’s talk dessert. A banana boat is both a campfire classic and one of the best budget friendly recipes for RVers. To begin, slice open the banana peel along the concave side. Peel back the outer layer and stuff the banana with marshmallows and chocolate chips. You can also add peanut butter, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, or anything else that sounds good to you.

Wrap the banana in tin foil and place it in the fire for 10 minutes. Once the entire thing is warm and mushy, remove it from the heat and open up the peel. Now you can garnish it with graham cracker dust, chocolate syrup, or other final toppings.

Campfire monkey bread

Ingredients:

2 cans of pre-made biscuit dough
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup butter

Finally, no list of budget friendly recipes would be complete without a shout-out to monkey bread! This is so easy to make, and it will make everyone in your group a happy camper.

Separate the biscuit dough and chop each piece in half. Blend the cinnamon and sugars into a separate bowl and coat each dough ball with the mixture. Drop them into a greased Dutch oven and pour the melted butter over the entire thing.

Cover and cook at 350 degrees for around 30 minutes. You can either use the oven or the campfire for this. Top with chopped almonds and store-bought caramel drizzle if you want to take things to the next level.

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