After seven years of full-time travel through North, Central, and South America, we have had lots of experience preparing quick, healthy meals on the road. While hot dogs and bush pies might be okay for weekend camping, they’re hardly sustainable or nutritious for long-term travel. When we started building our truck a decade ago, our electrical setup of 2.5 kilowatts of solar power and 11.5 kilowatt-hours of battery storage was groundbreaking. Now, this robust setup has become increasingly common among overlanders. Check out our video showing our expandable solar wings, designed to maximize solar availability.
One of the main considerations when we were building the truck was prohibiting the use of propane. In doing our research before building, we already knew that obtaining propane in different countries was a real pain. It can be incredibly difficult to source consistently across different countries due to varying connector styles, different tank sizes, gas mixtures, regulator pressures, plus the further complication of ferry safety regulations. Choosing an all-electric kitchen was one of our best decisions, simplifying our travels immensely. If you’re concerned about the electricity usage of some appliances, don’t be, we’ve conveniently provided this spreadsheet breaking down power consumption for various meals, and also check out our Bluetti battery backup review video demonstrating real-world usage.
Here’s our list of the top 10 kitchen gadgets that genuinely make our life easier on the road:
1. Aeropress with Stainless Steel Filter
Our most beloved kitchen item is undoubtedly the Aeropress coffee maker. Lightweight, compact, and made from BPA-free durable plastic, the Aeropress consistently brews excellent coffee. Simply add coffee grounds, hot water, brew for a minute, then press down the plunger for perfect coffee extraction.
Although there are disposable paper filters available for the Aeropress, we would highly recommend getting the stainless steel filter which is washable and reusable, and a much better option for long term travel.
Some might wonder why we prefer the Aeropress over a French press. The main issue is water usage. The French presses require significant water to clean thoroughly, while the Aeropress ejects a neat puck of coffee grounds easily discarded with minimal water needed. A quick brush-off of the stainless steel filter, and you’re back on the road, coffee mug in hand.
2. Instant Pot Duo 3 Quart
We acquired our Instant Pot Duo 3-quart cooker in a Mexican Segundo (second-hand shop) for just $20, and it’s now an essential gadget in our overlanding kitchen. It’s particularly invaluable for quickly tenderizing tougher cuts of meats in under 30 minutes. Just grab some fresh tortillas from a local tortillería and a few tomatoes and onions from the market, and you’ll have perfect pulled beef tacos in no time.
Further, at higher elevations water boils at a lower temperature due to decreased air pressure, causing typical cooking methods to be frustratingly slow. In the mountains of Peru, you would be expecting to take over an hour to cook pasta! The Instant Pot solves this issue entirely, significantly speeding up cooking time. Rice and Quinoa, widely available in South America, cooks in just one minute once the Instant Pot is up to pressure. It is an absolute game-changer for making nutritious and quick meals while overlanding the mountains of Bolivia and Peru.
If you need an easy Instant Pot recipe, you can check out my other blog post where you can find one of our favorite recipes “Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls”.
3. Anova Sous-Vide and 6-Can Coleman Cooler
The sous-vide method, originating from French culinary techniques, involves cooking vacuum-sealed food in a precisely temperature-controlled water bath. We use our Anova Sous-Vide immersion heater paired with a compact 6-can Coleman cooler modified to hold the device, keeping heat efficiently contained. This setup allows us to place the cooler in our kitchen sink and cook while driving, making perfect meals ready on arrival!
Overland travel often involves unpredictable delays. Sous-vide cooking eliminates stress because food can’t be overcooked, even if cooking extends several hours beyond original plans. Check out our sous-vide “Marry Me Chicken” recipe—a fantastic, stress-free dish that’s always cooked to perfection.
4. True Induction Cooktop
The True induction Cooktop provides all the freedom that you need to not have to use propane in your overland vehicle. Not only is it a safety concern, as many camper fires happen when people put a towel next to their propane stove, but it also eliminates all the hassles of trying to find propane in various countries. Also, many travelers have struggled with purchasing propane or butane, and then moving to higher elevations and not being able to cook with this strange, unknown gas mix. With induction, cooking is fast, efficient, and safer—no open flames and instant cooling means less risk of accidents.
Our induction cooktop also provides the added benefit of extra counter space since it is flush-mounted. Cleanup is quick, and cooking is precise. Of course, we want to keep things incredibly quick and easy when we’ve had a long day of driving, so here’s an example of one pot recipe that I make often, “Low-carb Egg Roll in a Bowl.”
5. Cuisinart Oven/Air Fryer
If you have ever owned the style of camper that has a built-in propane oven, as we have in the past, you will know there are some major downsides. Traditional propane camper ovens often generate excessive heat, are bulky, and limit cooking flexibility, as well as require propane which I probably do not have to mention all the downsides of again! Our compact Cuisinart oven/air fryer solves these issues beautifully. Portable and efficient, it heats quickly and is easy to use outdoors, reducing camper heat and odors.
Having an oven expands culinary options significantly—crispy air-fried potatoes, perfectly roasted veggies, or quick crispy chicken wings. In Chile, we loved making roasted cauliflower and fresh local salmon, a healthy, quick meal with minimal power consumption. Check out our recipe for “Garlic and Anchovy Cauliflower and Salmon.”
6. Dash Mini Waffle Maker
The tiny Dash waffle maker, consuming only about 350 watts when heating, is an incredibly versatile way to make all sorts of gluten-free and keto-friendly bread substitutes quickly. Although local bakeries (panaderías) are abundant in Mexico and Central America, dietary needs aren’t always easy to accommodate. This is a fantastic appliance for travelers with dietary restrictions, or just for travelers that like waffles! Our keto-friendly, “Gluten-free Waffle Recipe” has become a favorite staple for waffles turned burger buns, on demand.
7. Volcano Grill with Hood
We discovered the versatile, collapsible Volcano Grill nearly a decade ago while watching another overlanding channel, and loved it so much we’re now on our third unit. It’s high temp folding hood accessory transforms it into an oven, expanding cooking capabilities significantly. While we’ve had issues with the steel rusting over years of full-time use in humid climates leading to the eventual demise of our first two units, stainless steel models we’ve seen used by other overlanders are a promising upgrade for long term travel. But with that being said, we absolutely love our volcano grill and use it quite often, which is very easy to do in countries like Argentina where the meat is always incredible.
8. Hand or Stick Blender
Our immersion blender has proven surprisingly versatile for sweet treats and everyday cooking tasks. It effortlessly makes whipped cream, mousses, cake batter, smooth soups and homemade mayonnaise, significantly enhancing our culinary creativity on the road.
The stick blender that we have has two attachments, one for whisking and another blade attachment for blending more hearty items. Its compact size and multiple attachments make it indispensable in our overland kitchen.
If you are traveling through Mexico and Central America, you will see an abundance of avocados, and as they are a very sensitive fruit, they can easily spoil. Our avocado chocolate mousse recipe, made effortlessly with this blender, is both delicious and nutritious and an excellent way to use up your extra avocados.
9. A Good-Quality Knife
When we left Canada, we brought along our good quality Zwilling Henckels knife. A single premium-quality knife is invaluable when traveling long-term for precision cutting. Often meat that is purchased at the market needs a little bit of extra trimming up, so with a good knife and some kitchen-specific scissors, meal preparation is streamlined and efficient.
Space constraints make carrying multiple knives impractical so investing in one durable, high-quality knife simplifies maintenance and usage. A compact sharpening kit ensures our knife remains razor-sharp, ready for any culinary challenge.
10. Food & Spice Storage Containers
Our glass storage containers with gasketed locking plastic lids have proven incredibly useful. Although many overlanders resort to not using glasswear, we have been very happy with these and have not broken any in 7 years! They’ve safely stored chopped veggies, doubled as baking dishes, and even served as eating vessels conveniently serving directly from oven to table. Multi-Use!
Spice management is equally important. Purchasing uniformly-sized spice containers and labeling them simplifies storage, especially important when buying spices in local markets, which often sell spices in non-resealable plastic baggies. These containers ensure freshness and consistency in our cooking. Consider purchasing a spice set like these, although we just bought ours at the dollar store in Canada. Also as you move into South America you will find all sorts of beautiful spices in the market that you have probably never tried before, so do bring some extra spice containers and try something new.
These kitchen gadgets have revolutionized our cooking experience on the road, making nutritious, varied meals easy to achieve wherever our adventures take us. Be sure to check out our other blog post for other helpful tips and road-tested recipes, and follow our journey on YouTube!
Everlanders 