If you want to cook a truly delicious Thanksgiving dinner in a tiny kitchen, then you are in good hands! I have made the last five Thanksgiving dinners in three different RV kitchens, and am still alive to tell the tale.  RV #1 was the tiniest. RV #2 was the biggest but was a loaner (not ours). RV#3 is my current kitchen.

This guide will help you plan your meal in 4 steps and then spread the work out over 4 days. Each of the 4 steps has it’s own post plus a bonus post at the end with links to recipes and extra tips.

If, after reading this guide, you want to pick up a fully cooked meal from Publix and reheat it, or get take-out plates from Cracker Barrel, there is no shame in that. You do you. I am shooting for a homemade meal with shortcuts no one will notice and I will lay out my time-tested plan so that you can have the homemade meal you are picturing too. 

Let’s quickly run through the tiny kitchen challenges we will overcome:

1. The teensy, tiny countertops make it hard to prep, period. It also takes longer to prep because you can only do one thing at a time. 
2. A limited number of small kitchen appliances, pots and pans, and casserole dishes.
3. A limited amount of space to store or stockpile food.
4. Storing food in a refrigerator that might not hold standard size pans. My fridge was a regular size but that definitely could be a hurdle to overcome. 
5. Needing to eat and live and wash dishes in the tiny space while simultaneously preparing food in advance.
6. Reheating all of the prepared food with one small oven and a microwave. 

RV #1 had approximately one square foot of space for prep. To the left was a stovetop and to my right was the sink. Technically I could cover the sink and increase my prep space; however, I needed to fill pots, drain pasta and put the dirty dishes somewhere so that wasn’t super practical. 

This is a picture of my prep space for three years. If I can make a Thanksgiving dinner here, you will be able to as well!

With a bit of planning you can ace this tiny kitchen thing. It’s a four-step plan. 

1. Make a reasonable menu. 
2. Find shortcuts. 
3. Spread out the work. 
4. Do a dry run. 

If you are ready, let’s do this!

For Step 1 – click here