When it comes to camping, I am a more of a minimalist than a glamper. I love the simplicity of tent camping, or even better, car camping with an air mattress in the back of a minivan. There’s a lot of freedom in not being attached to an RV.
But space in a car is highly limited. When it comes to packing kitchen supplies, you have to be very selective about what you can bring. So it helps to have a list of your kitchen box essentials before you start packing.
What is a camping kitchen box?
Your camping kitchen box is the container where you store all your kitchen supplies. It’s the key to making quick and easy road trip dinners. When you are settled into your campsite and it’s time to cook dinner, you don’t want to be rummaging through your car to find the frying pan. Or hauling four boxes out of the trunk just to find everything you need to make pasta.
All of your kitchen necessities should be in ONE box, so you can carry it over to the picnic table and know you have everything you need in one place.
Your camping kitchen box can be anything really, from an actual cardboard box to a tote bin to a custom storage box. Personally, I like to use a crate. It’s the perfect size for my kitchen supplies, it’s easy to carry, and the holes in the side make it easy to find what I’m looking for.
Green crate on the left is my kitchen box. Underneath it is the propane stove.
A crate is pretty basic, so you might want to go for something fancier. If you are looking for something more sophisticated, click here to read REI’s tutorial for building a kitchen chuck box. Just keep in mind that you will be carrying your camp kitchen box to and from your car pretty often. So I don’t recommend building a huge storage box out of wood unless you are trying to get in a workout!
This is my usual kitchen setup, with my propane stove and my green kitchen crate.
Essential camping box supplies
Once you have picked out or built your own camping kitchen box, you can start packing your kitchen supplies.
With a little bit of Googling, you will find lots of kitchen packing lists (like this one). While you can go all-out for your car camping kitchen, I keep it simple. When packing my kitchen, I try to include everything I will need for cooking outside, as well as everything I will need for a kitchen clean-up.
As it turns out, that’s only twelve items!
Serving & eating utensils. When it comes to packing utensils, I usually include one serving fork, one serving spoon, and a spatula. Then I pack several forks and spoons, as well as a couple paring knives. You may want to pack one large knife as well.
Paper plates & bowls. These can take up a lot of space, so you don’t need to keep very many in your kitchen box. Just stock your box with a dozen or so paper plates and bowls, and keep the rest of your paper eatery somewhere else in your car.
Pots & pans. My propane stove has two burners, so I only pack one pot and one pan. You can pack as many as you want, but one pot and one pan is all you really need.
Washcloths & towels. How many washcloths and towels you need is really dependent on how many days you are camping. I usually reuse the same washcloth and towel for two or three days, so I don’t pack very many.
Paper towels. When you make messes—and you will—you will definitely want paper towels. I also use paper towels instead of napkins when I go camping, so that I don’t have to pack both.
Aluminum foil. Foil comes in really handy if you are trying to cook food over a campfire. It’s also useful for wrapping up any leftovers you might have.
Ziploc bags. Just like foil, Ziploc bags are useful when you need to store leftovers, or when you have an open food container and you want to put it in something else to keep it sealed. Plastic bags take up a lot less space than Tupperware or other storage containers, making them perfect for camping.
Dish soap. Dish soap is an essential for washing dishes. I recommend buying the smallest dish soap bottle you can find, because you don’t need much for a camping trip.
Vegetable oil. Where I normally use butter at home, I use vegetable oil when camping. Butter just makes too much of a mess when melted, and I don’t like having to pull it out of the cooler every time I cook. Instead, I keep vegetable oil in my car kitchen camping box and use it almost every time I cook.
Propane. Don’t forget a propane cannister! Your camp stove is useless without propane, so always make sure you have enough on hand. I like to keep one cannister in my car camping kitchen crate, and keep another cannister stored in my vehicle for a backup.
Matches or a lighter. Obviously, you can’t cook anything unless you have something to light your camp stove. I suggest packing both matches and a lighter, so you have both options available.
Trash bags. Most campgrounds don’t provide trash cans at each site, and you don’t want to walk to the nearest trash can while cradling all of your dirty paper towels and plates in your arms. A trash bag is a must-have for your kitchen clean-up! I just use old grocery bags, or you can buy regular trash bags.
Propane camp stove. Okay, I know I said this list was only 12 items…and it is for me. I carry my propane camp stove separate from my camping kitchen box, simply because it doesn’t fit in my crate. Plus, it’s heavy enough that I would want to carry it separately anyway, instead of trying to carry it with all my kitchen supplies.
However, if you end up building a custom chuck box for yourself, you can choose a design that includes your camp stove in your kitchen box. Or, if you have a lightweight one-burner camp stove, you can probably make space for it in your camping kitchen box. So it’s really up to you whether your camp stove is included in your box or not.
What about groceries?
Should you pack your groceries with your kitchen supplies?
Well, that’s really up to you. Personally, I prefer to keep all of my food in a separate bin or crate from my kitchen supplies. Not only am I more organized when I pack my food in separate boxes, but it also saves me from carrying a ton of extra food around with my camping kitchen box.
Ideally, I like to have one kitchen box, one box for non-refrigerated food, and one cooler for cold food. And, of course, my propane stove.
However, you may find it easier to include seasonings in your camping kitchen box, especially salt and pepper.
Your setup may look different from mine, and that’s okay. Find what works best for you and helps you stay organized. Having a system for your kitchen setup makes car camping & tent camping so much easier!
For more tips, click here for a guide to planning your road trip.