Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

We love having the ability to cook in our motorhome no matter where we may end up parking. That said, it took us a while to get used to our RV oven. Not only is lighting the thing a little bit complicated, but even once we figured out how to light it, we had trouble getting the right temperature and dispersing the heat to avoid burned spots.

Now though, we use our oven on a regular basis. Here are our top tips and tricks for getting the most out of the oven in your RV.

Get an Oven Thermometer

First, I highly recommend grabbing an oven thermometer. You see, we’ve found that the ovens in our RVs rarely meet the temperature we set them to, resulting in prolonged cooking times. An oven thermometer allows you to see exactly how warm your oven is so you can adjust the dial accordingly.

Check the Door

Another common RV oven problem? The door doesn’t shut all the way. If you find that your oven is never coming to temperature, check the door to make sure there isn’t a gap that’s letting heat escape. If there is, you can solve the problem very easily by leaning something against the oven door to keep it shut tight. We use a simple folding step stool for this, which comes in handy for all sorts of other things too!

Use a Pizza Stone

Perhaps the biggest RV oven complaint is that the heat in these tiny ovens is hard to disperse properly. This leads to hot spots, resulting in food that burns in one spot—usually the middle of the bottom—and is undercooked in other areas. One way to solve this problem is by placing a pizza stone under whatever you’re baking.

…or Put In a Muffin Tin

Some people say the pizza stone doesn’t quite do it for them. If you find that the stone isn’t working for you, you might turn to a muffin tin instead. That’s right: a regular, cheap muffin tin turned upside down under your baking dish will actually help evenly distribute heat! The end result is food that is cooked evenly throughout.

Turn on the Vent Fan

Obviously, RV ovens are hot, and that heat can spread into the living space of your RV while the oven is doing its thing. This leads to an uncomfortably hot tiny home during the summer months, especially if you can’t run your A/C for any reason.

Not only that, but because RV ovens run on propane, they also release moisture into the air. This leads to issues in the colder months, as the moisture tends to create condensation on the walls.

Fortunately, there is an easy solution to both of these problems. Running the vent fan helps get rid of the heat and moisture in the air while the RV oven is running. This trick works equally well when using the RV propane stove. Therefore, you should always run your kitchen vent fan while cooking.

Turn to Other Appliances

Our last tip for using your RV oven? Don’t use your RV oven! While this isn’t always the best option, it is a good option to have. There are a number of small electric kitchen appliances that you can use for baking purposes. When you have access to electricity, it often makes more sense to use one of these instead of the RV oven.

Some of our favorite small kitchen appliances to use in place of the oven include:

That said, absolutely any air fryer, countertop oven, or toaster oven should do the trick just fine.

Hopefully, these tips help you get some baking done in your RV so you can have cakes, casseroles, and all of those other delicious baked goods you enjoy at home while out on the road. What will you bake first?

About the author: Chelsea Gonzales

Chelsea has the amazing opportunity to take part in full-time RV living and traveling with her tiny tribe. She homeschools her five-year-old son as they travel, and takes full advantage of their unique situation by using the entire world as her son’s classroom. A group of total Disney fanatics, Chelsea and her family often find themselves in the Orlando area in order to visit the Disney parks, but they have also visited over 25 of the 50 states with plans to see many more along the way. No matter where her travels take her, Chelsea enjoys riding bikes, gazing at beautiful sunsets, finding new coffee shops, Irish dancing, and sitting around a campfire with her family.

You can join her adventures through her blog, Wonder Wherever We Wander.