7 Ways To Maximize Kitchen Space In Your RV

Planning a home cooked meal for your next RV trip and feeling uneasy about having enough space? Don’t be! There are so many ways to maximize kitchen space in your RV that you won’t have to leave anything behind. Plus, you’ll have more than enough counter space to work with even in the smallest of RVs when you follow our steps to create space anywhere.

When it comes to saving space in an RV, there are two golden rules to adhere to. 

Everything must be multi-use, and every space has both vertical and horizontal real estate potential. 

With these rules in mind, we’ll come up with seven different ways to maximize kitchen space in your RV rental. All of the tips and items below are perfectly removable, or can become permanent in your own RV!

Magnetic Fridge Racks

The side of your RV’s refrigerator offers tons of vertical real estate to utilize. By using magnetic kitchen racks like these, you can clear up counter space by storing just about anything on them.

Paper towels, spices, cooking utensils (including knives), coffee supplies, and ingredients like flour and sugar can all be perfectly stored on magnetic racks. Plus, since they’re within reach of your cooking station, they’re even more conveniently placed than in traditional kitchen setups!

If your RV has a mini-fridge, you can still save some space on a smaller scale by using this method. Just be mindful if you have children or pets in the RV.

Kitchen Sink Workstation 

The horizontal space of your kitchen sink, no matter how big or small it is, is another incredible space saver. There are a number of different ways to go about utilizing this area depending on what your priorities are. 

Using a kitchen sink workstation that covers the sink like this or this can extend your counter space seamlessly. Bamboo is an amazing material for this because you can use the new space itself as a cutting board. Just remember to keep it sanitized and stored appropriately. 

You can also place dish drying racks inside the sink or on top of the bamboo board. Basically, any time you’re not using the sink, you should be looking at it as an extension of your countertops. 

Bamboo Stove Covers

Bamboo covers can also be used on top of your stove for the same effect, but you need to be careful about using them. Though it should go without saying, do not use the covers when any of the burners on the stove are being used or the oven. But as long as you use common sense and keep an eye on things, this is another great option if you’re looking to keep your sink open.

Stackable Containers

To make sure your pantry space is maximized, keep your dry goods stored in airtight stackable containers. Already popular in traditional kitchens, they’re a no brainer to bring with you on RV trips. For anything that isn’t a canned good, like cereals, baking ingredients, trail mix, etc., lose the empty space inside boxes and bags and keep better organized with transparent containers. 

Inside your fridge, you can do something similar. Airtight containers are great for things like fruits and vegetables if you need extra space or your fridge doesn’t have storage specifically for them. For unopened meat or seafood, you can use organization bins and trays to keep them stacked on top of each other.

The trays are another great way to organize your fridge, period. But they work especially well for when you can’t store your pre-cooked meats and meals in airtight containers yet.

Tension Rods

Not only great for closets, simple tension rods are a nifty way to make room in the cupboard beneath your sink. Plus they’re super easy to store, install, and take apart.

If your pantry is already crowded, a tension rod will free up some space for things like cookware, cleaning supplies, or even more food. You can hang spray bottles by their necks off of the rack or place a caddy on it that can hold all your cleaning materials in it. That frees up the bottom of the cupboard.

You can also place books on the rod and use it to hang some pots and pans as well. Make sure the hook is firmly fashioned, and you’re all set to go!

Instant Pot Cooker

This is our luxury RV camping MVP and it more than delivers.

To simplify your cooking experience on the road, we highly recommend investing in an Instant Pot cooker. The beauty of Instant Pots is the multi-use design that allows from 6 in 1 up to even 10 in 1 methods for cooking meals. You can steam, slow cook, sear and saute, pressure cook, air fry, bake, broil, and more with these units! With an Instant Pot, there’s quite literally nothing you can’t cook up in such a convenient space saver. For larger meals, like Thanksgiving or Christmas, you’ll be able to free up lots of oven space.

The pots come in three sizes: 3 quarts, 6 quarts, and 8 quarts. If you’re only cooking for one or two, you’ll do fine with 3 quarts (or 6 if you like to have leftovers). Eight quarts is great for bigger families.

There are over a dozen Instant Pot units to choose from, so you can fit the design to your budget and cooking needs. 

Nesting Bowl and Cookware Set

The favorite of apartments and RVs alike, nesting bowls and cookware sets are the gold standard in space saving. If you’re keeping to our list, having nesting bowls and cookware alongside tension rods can make a world of difference for creating storage space in your cabinets.

We also recommend finding a set that has a collapsible colander as well. Every single item that can be condensed should be when you’re operating in smaller spaces like RVs. 

Over The Sink Rack

Finally, our list of ways to maximize kitchen space in your RV ends with the classic over the sink shelving. Sink organizers or racks come in a multitude of sizes, so make sure you know how big the sink space is for your RV before selecting one. They can be as multifaceted as this one, with slots for dish soap and cutlery as well as a drying rack for dishes and hooks to hang cookware from. Or they can simply be a wooden shelf or side caddy that rests in the sink to store extra items. 

Regardless, sink racks and organizers can benefit people looking to ring every last drop of vertical storage space possible out of their kitchens. Or simply to create stations for things to be!

There are so many ways to maximize kitchen space in your RV. Which of our tips have you used in your RV rental? Let us know in the comments below!