Are you getting ready to head out on vacation? If you’re renting a house or condo, you need easy vacation meals that fill bellies but don’t ruin the vacation vibes. I’ve got you covered!
It’s summer vacation season! The kids are out of school, the weather has finally warmed up, and families everywhere are preparing to journey to the beach or the mountains for their annual summer break from reality. My family is headed to the beach for a week later this summer, but I’m a planner so the prep for vacation starts now.
The first things I like to prep for summer vacation are the vacation meals we will eat, particularly the dinners. If you’re in the camp of people who say “I go out to eat on vacation,” more power to you. I have two small children who can’t tolerate seven dinners out in a year, never mind a week. We might go out to dinner once or twice while on vacation, but the rest of the nights, I’ll be cooking.
But, cooking on vacation is not the same as cooking at home. There are specific considerations you need to keep in mind when you’re planning your vacation meals. Let’s talk about these considerations and then I’ll give you some examples of meals I like to cook on vacation.
Vacation Meals Criteria
Easy
Let’s face it, moms draw the short straw when it comes to family vacations. Moms are usually in charge of packing, planning, and meals, which leaves little time for rest and relaxation. Because this is just the reality of family vacations for many of us, it’s important that mom lighten her vacation load wherever she can.
One easy way to do this is to plan easy vacation meals. Vacation is not the time to try elaborate meals. Dump and go meals, sheet pan meals, one pot meals, now that’s more like it.
Use common kitchenware
One annoying thing about planning vacation meals is that you never truly know what kitchenware your vacation rental will have. Trust me, they are not all equipped with the same bakeware, pots and pans, and utensils. Because of the extreme variability here, I like to plan vacation meals that I know I can execute with the most common kitchenware. Things like a big pot or a sheet pan. Vacation is not the time to plan a meal that requires a springform pan.
Although I largely rely on using whatever is in the vacation rental kitchen to make our vacation meals, I do like to bring a sharp knife with me. I don’t know about you, but I have never seen an adequately sharp knife in a vacation rental. Good thing a knife is easy enough to wrap in a spare piece of cardboard and slide into one of the 6,000 bags that get shoved in the trunk of my car.
Use complete food items
The hardest part of planning vacation meals, in my opinion, is that I don’t have a fully stocked pantry or fridge with all of the basics in it at my disposal. I don’t want to have to buy full bottles of things that I will use once and then leave it there or find a way to cart it back home. My preference is to plan vacation meals that use discreet food items and use them up. I don’t use a whole lot of pre-made ingredients at home, but they are my best friend on vacation. Think jars of pasta sauce, cans of tomatoes, etc.
I do like to bring a few things with me from home to round out my kitchen arsenal. These mostly consist of spices. I’ll only take a handful of spices (like Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper), and they don’t take up a ton of space but they add so much to my vacation meals.
Feed a crowd
If you just vacation as a nuclear family, this criterion might not be that important to you, but if you travel as a group of friends or extended family, you’re going to want your vacation meals to feed a crowd. We are headed to the beach with my husband’s mom, his two brothers, their wives, and kids, my husband’s aunt and uncle and their sons, significant others, and kids. It’s a lot of people. Not all dinners are full-family events, but when they are, they need to be easy to scale up.
Delicious
You don’t need to sacrifice taste when you’re planning your vacation meals. Dinners that satisfy all of my vacation meals criteria can still be absolutely delicious!
Examples
Now that we have gone over what to look for when choosing vacation meals, let’s talk about some examples that have worked well for me on vacation over the years. These are all tried-and-true winners!
Spaghetti & meatballs
Who doesn’t love spaghetti and meatballs? I really think this is the ultimate vacation meal. All you really need is a big pot and a colander to pull this off, which most vacation rentals have on hand. Then you just need to buy a box of pasta, a bag of frozen meatballs, a jar of pasta sauce, and maybe some cheese. You’ll use it all up and everyone will be happy to eat it.
Ravioli casserole
Sticking with the Italian theme for a minute, ravioli casserole is another great vacation meal option. Here you just need a baking pan (like a Pyrex), which is another super common item to find in any vacation rental kitchen. You need to buy frozen ravioli, a jar of pasta sauce, a tub of cottage cheese, and a bag of shredded Mozzarella cheese and you’re set. Layer, bake, and voila, the king of vacation meals!
Shepherd’s pie
If you’re looking for another casserole option, you can’t beat shepherd’s pie on vacation. You just need a skillet and a baking pan to make this happen. Brown your ground meat of choice in a skillet and season it with some of those spices you snuck in your luggage. Stir in a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. Then dump a container of pre-made mashed potatoes in the bottom of your baking pan, and layer with your skillet concoction, followed by some shredded cheddar cheese. Bake it in the oven and you’ve got yourself a satisfying dinner.
Chicken & rice casserole
Here’s another vacation meal I’m taking directly from my childhood. I think this was my favorite meal from about age 10-17 and it was the first recipe I asked for when I moved into an apartment with a kitchen my junior year of college. This is a perfect addition to your list of vacation meals too. All you need is a baking pan in terms of equipment, and the ingredient list is short too. Here’s my mom’s recipe if you’re interested.
What you need
1 can chicken breast meat
2 cups Minute rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can milk
1 cup cheddar cheese
How to make it
Add rice and chicken to baking dish. In a bowl, whisk together milk, soup, and ½ the cheese. Pour over rice and mix well. Add another splash of milk to moisten. Cover with cheese. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Chicken enchiladas
Although not technically a casserole, it’s casserole-esque, so I’m covering chicken enchiladas next. Although I like to make my own enchilada sauce when I make these at home, when I’m on vacation, they work almost as well with canned sauce. Take this as a reminder that you don’t have to go the extra mile for your vacation meals. Shortcuts are your friend!
Tacos
If it’s Tex Mex that you want, but you’re not into rolling and baking, simple tacos are a great vacation meal. Vacation is the time to buy the Old El Paso taco kit. It has practically everything you need. Just add meat and veggies and you have a hearty, delicious meal. Ole!
Jacket potatoes
Another assemble-yourself option that works great as a vacation meal is the humble jacket potato. Pop a few potatoes at a time in the microwave (don’t forget to prick them with a fork first!) and prepare some toppings to go in them. Baked beans, steamed broccoli, cheese, canned chili, whatever floats your boat!
Pigs in a blanket
While we are on the subject of foods with textiles in the name, pigs in a blanket are another wonderful vacation meal. Buy a pack of hotdogs, a can of Crescent rolls, and some cheddar cheese. Roll a hot dog and a half slice of cheese up in each triangle of dough and pop them in the oven. This meal screams vacation to me. Is it even summer vacation if you don’t have pigs in a blanket?
Burgers & dogs
If you’d rather make use of your vacation rental’s grill, take those hotdogs and throw them on the coals with some pre-made burgers. Grab some buns, a handful of toppings (ketchup, mustard, tomato, lettuce), and a bag of chips and dinner is served.
Grilled chicken
If you have a grill at your vacation rental and you want to make the most of it, add grilled chicken to your list of vacation meals too. Baste your chicken with BBQ sauce or cube it into chunks and thread it on a skewer with some veggies to make kebobs. You can’t go wrong or get much easier.
Sheet pan meal
Speaking of easy, my favorite easy meal both on vacation and at home is a good old sheet pan meal. All I do is slice up some smoked sausage, dice up a sweet potato or two and a veggie (truly, any veggie), and mix it all together with some olive oil and spices. Roast in the oven at about 425°F for about 30 minutes and you’ve got a delicious meal.
Pizza
No one ever said you had to actually cook anything on vacation. A frozen pizza or pizza from the local pizza joint is a perfectly acceptable vacation meal.
These aren’t all of the possible vacation meals you can cook, of course, but I hope it gets you started. Don’t overthink it!
Other posts
Want more ideas to feed your family without driving yourself crazy? Check out these posts:
I know I’m pumped for summer vacation, and I hope you are too. What vacation meals are you planning to make this summer? Let us know in the comments down below or over on Instagram @sarainseason.