When you're cooking in a camper van, the dream meal is simple: one pot, plant-based, ready fast, and barely any washing up. Here are five I make on repeat — all vegan, all comforting, all forgiving.
1. Three Bean & Sweet Potato Chilli
The one I come back to most. Onion, spices, sweet potato, a tin of tomatoes and three tins of beans — twenty minutes later you've a big pot of proper comfort food. It's cheap, freezes brilliantly, and tastes even better the next day. (Full recipe is in my free pack below.)
2. Creamy West African Peanut Stew
Tastes like you've been cooking all afternoon; you haven't. Peanut butter melts into tomatoes and stock to make a rich, creamy base, with sweet potato and greens stirred through. Serve over rice with a scatter of crushed peanuts. Pure cosy.
3. Creamy Corn Chowder
Sweetcorn, a potato, a splash of oat cream and smoked paprika. Blitz half of it for a silky base and leave the rest chunky. Ten minutes of effort for a bowl that feels like a hug — ideal for a rainy night parked up somewhere.
4. Smoky Tomato & White Bean One-Pot
Store-cupboard hero. Soften garlic and smoked paprika, add tinned tomatoes and cannellini beans, simmer until thick, then wilt in spinach. Pile onto toast or eat from the bowl. Five ingredients, endlessly riffable.
5. Coconut Red Lentil Dal
Red lentils, coconut milk, a little curry paste and a tin of tomatoes. It cooks itself while you do something else, thickens into something deeply satisfying, and costs pennies a portion. The ultimate plant-based van staple.
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Send me the recipe pack →The thread running through all of these? One pot, in stages. Build flavour first, let everything cook together, and keep the washing-up to a single pan — exactly what a tiny kitchen needs. If you'd like to make them all but truly hands-off, that's where my Thermomix earns its keep — you can book a free demo to see how.
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