Karen Wright is a self-taught baker and cook, and a former Great British Bake Off contestant, who brings her love of good food to life both on the road and on air. Karen has shared a number of her favourite recipes with listeners on Caravan Radio, and you’ll also find a selection of them right here on our website.
Karen is the author of Meals on the Move: A Campsite Cooking Journey, a beautifully illustrated hardback book that follows her 30-day motorhome adventure through France, Italy and Switzerland. Across more than 200 pages, Karen combines candid diary entries with stunning scenery, honest reflections on life on the road, and practical inspiration for touring cooks of all experience levels.
Each day of the journey features a carefully crafted recipe inspired by the local region, all designed to be cooked easily on a campsite using basic pots and pans. The book proves that self-catering while touring doesn’t have to mean compromise — it can be a truly mouth-watering culinary experience.
Meals on the Move is perfect for seasoned caravanners, motorhomers, and anyone dreaming of their first adventure on the open road.
👉 You can buy Karen’s book here:
https://www.karenwrightbakes.co.uk/product/mealsonthemove/
Fasten your seatbelts, prime your taste buds, and get ready to discover Meals on the Move.
Check out the great reciepes below
Sausage Cassoulet
In SW France cassoulet is on nearly every menu. Authentic cassoulet has lots of different pork-based meats in it which are cooked with white beans to make a big pot of comfort food.
To make a van version start by taking some fat pork sausages, smoked lardons and maybe some chorizo. Cook the sausages in a frying pan and then add the lardons and chorizo. Chop up an onion and add that to the pan with garlic, smoked paprika,and salt, and pepper.
Next, add a squirt of puree, a tin of chopped tomatoes and some tinned beans; you can use baked beans, butter beans, or any combination of beans.
Bring to a bubble and simmer for ten minutes or so before scattering with parsley and serving with crusty bread.
Bon Appetite!
Sunshine Pasta
Are you dreaming of sunshine? Make this sunshine supper and be transported to those warm summer nights (cue for song!)
Heat a little oil in a frying pan and sweat off a chopped onion and a chopped red pepper. When the veg is soft, add diced chorizo and sundried tomatoes. Add garlic, tomato puree, oregano and salt and pepper.
Add some cooked pasta and a little of the pasta water, stir it all together and finally mix through a dollop of creme fraiche and torn basil leaves.
Feet up, glass of something and relax!
Gammon Pineapple Egg Fried Rice
Take inspiration from a pub classic and twist it into fresh and fruity egg fried rice.
Beat a couple of eggs and cook them into a soft omelet and then put to onside. Cook a chopped onion in the pan using oil and then add a diced-up gammon steak, a handful of pineapple chunks and a pouch of basmati rice. Cook for a few minutes and then add a splash of soy sauce, salt, pepper, and the cooked egg. Break up the egg with a fork and then throw in a few peas if you have any in the van and then your twisted meal is ready to serve
Mushroom Stroganoff
Do you love a Fungi? If so, here is an easy way to use up mushrooms. This is a stroganoff without meat or cream, so it is a fabulous accidentally vegan plate of Posh Nosh!
Add oil to the frying pan and soften up loads of mushrooms and chopped onion. Add garlic, paprika, mustard and salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms have wilted a bit, then add a can of coconut milk, cook on simmer for about fifteen minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Served with rice its twice as nice!
Mushroom Stroganoff
Do you enjoy a pie and pea supper? It’s a bit of a northern thing I guess, but it’s a great thing to make in your caravan. Traditionally a pork pie made with hot water crust pastry, often called a Growler! I like to buy mine from a butcher or a farm shop where they are made each day on the premises and are so much tastier than a supermarket pie. Warm the pie in the oven until piping hot and serve with a tin of mushy peas, a pickled onion and a little mint sauce. Dress code for the supper, flat cap and clogs!
Mock Rarebit
Do you love cheese on toast but want to up your game? Try Mock rarebit which is a dumbded down version of Welsh Rarebit. Mix grated mature cheddar, a Tbs of butter, 2 Tsp mustard, 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce or Hendos for vegetarians and a splash of milk. Grill some toast and spread the cheese mixture on top. Grill until bubbling and golden brown. If you want a Buck Rarebit, add a poached egg!
Smashing Breakfast
What do you get if you smash an avocado, poach an egg and griddle a slice of sourdough bread? You get a smashing and healthy breakfast!
I like to smash avocado with sea salt and pepper and then add a squeeze of lemon juice. Poach an egg and spread a little marmite on toasted sourdough then pile the avocado onto the toast, top with the egg and you are done, you smashed it!!!
Potato Hash
I love potatoes, I love them in every way, mash, wedges, chips, roasties, jackets you name it I love it, but I especially like tinned potato, I know, controversial!
Perfect in your van, tinned spuds are a great store cupboard staple.
For the hash, take a chopped-up onion and soften it in a pan with oil. Add a tin of potatoes, smash them up a bit if they are big. Add a few bacon rashers, lardons, or even chorizo. Other things work too if you have them, mushrooms, peppers etc. Add some seasoning and herbs and then when everything is cooked pour in some beaten egg, stir it through and serve when the egg is just set.
No Nonsense Nicoise
I love France, it is a documented fact! I have been on more campsites in France either for work or leisure than you can shake a stick at!
I first tasted Nicoise Salad, the classic provencial dish many years ago, at a campsite restaurant in the Val de Loire. I very felt sophisticated choosing it.
Simply put, it is a mélange of cooked potato, tomatoes, black olives, salad leaves, boiled egg, anchovies, cooked French beans, canned tuna all tossed in a vinaigrette dressing.
I often use good old, tinned potatoes in this salad, so what are you waiting for? It is a no-nonsense salad but so fresh and scrumptious, paired with a chilled bottle of rose wine what’s not to like!
Bon Appetit!
Shake Up Shakshuka
Shake up your brunch, try Shakshuka!
Do you like cooked breakfast or brunch?
Do you like eggs? Do you like a touch of spice?
If you answered yes to all those questions, try Shakshuka!
A North African dish Shakshuka is both easy to make and healthy.
Chop up an onion, peppers and garlic and cook in a frying pan with oil until soft and then add tinned chopped tomatoes, cumin, paprika and chilli flakes. Bubble to thicken for ten minutes and then carefully crack in some eggs. Allow the eggs to poach in the tomato sauce until cooked. Scatter on fresh parsley and serve with sourdough toast!
Belting Beans on Toast
Boost baked beans to the next level by adding a few good quality olives and a couple of handfuls of spinach to a pan with a tin of baked beans. As the bean mixture is warming up, in another pan, warm extra virgin olive oil, dried oregano, dried mint and some chilli flakes, cook for a minute.
Place the bean mixture onto a slice of toast, crumble on some feta cheese, and drizzle over the oil mixture.
Spicy Veggie Fried Rice
Do you fancy a fake away, which happens to be vegan friendly too?
Here’s what to do…
Buy a pack of stir fry veg and a pouch of basmati rice.
Spray a wok or frying pan with oil, add the veg on medium heat and stir fry for a few minutes. Stir through the rice and cook for a few minutes more.
Meanwhile, make a sauce by mixing sesame oil, fresh lime juice, soy sauce, peanut butter and some hot siracha.
Stir the sauce through the veg, plate it up and garnish with crushed salted peanuts, fresh coriander, and sliced red chilli.
Softly Softly Butterbeans
Beans are brilliant but especially butterbeans. They are so soft and deliceous I use them in lots of ways. This recipe is where the butter bean is the hero.
I like to use Queen butterbeans in a jar, I use the liquid too, so nothing is wasted.
Soften a chopped onion in a knob of butter, add garlic, chilli flakes, cumin and salt and pepper. Throw in some cream cheese, veggie stock, and then add the butterbeans.
Simmer until thick and creamy, scatter with parmesan and the beans are good to go!
Pie and Peas
Do you enjoy a pie and pea supper? It’s a bit of a northern thing I guess, but it’s a great thing to make in your caravan. Traditionally a pork pie made with hot water crust pastry, often called a Growler! I like to buy mine from a butcher or a farm shop where they are made each day on the premises and are so much tastier than a supermarket pie. Warm the pie in the oven until piping hot and serve with a tin of mushy peas, a pickled onion and a little mint sauce. Dress code for the supper, flat cap and clogs!
Corned Beef Hash
Ay Up! Here is another Yorkshire meal idea for these cold winter nights on a caravan site.
Corned beef hash is a quick and easy supper to enjoy in your caravan. There are so many ways to make it, but all recipes include a tin of corned beef and potatoes. In my caravan I often use tinned potatoes, onion granules, beef stock, and always a dollop of brown sauce. Great to serve with a Yorkshire pudding which you can buy fresh and heat in the oven for just a couple of minutes. Best accompanied by a big pot of Yorkshire tea!
Chilli non-Carne
Arriba Arriba
Who doesn’t love a big bowl of chili? Why not skip the meat and use some extra beans instead? Whack a tin of butter beans, baked beans and mixed taco beans in a pan with tinned tomatoes or passata, chili flakes, cinnamon, onion and garlic granules and make this Chilli Non-Carne a complete store cupboard dinner! The secret ingredient to add just before serving is a couple of squares of dark chocolate, not so secret now! Use a sachet of rice or some wraps, add cheese, guacamole on the side and enjoy your very own fiesta in your caravan! Arriba!
Stew and Dumplings
There is nothing nicer than getting your caravan pitched up on a cold winter day knowing that you have a ready meal to look forward to later. I don’t mean a meal you have bought from the shop, I mean one you prepared earlier, at home.
Stew and dumplings are top of my list in the comfort food stakes. I use shin beef, potatoes, carrots, and onions and cook everything in my slow cooker the day before we set off. Cool quickly and store in the fridge at home before transporting in a cool box to travel to site.
Reheat the stew in a pan on the hob and add some dumplings for the last twenty minutes of reheating. Easy cheat is to use a packet of dumpling mix from the supermarket. Don’t forget to serve with a generous dollop of brown sauce!
Picky Tea
Do you sometimes get stuck on what to eat in the evening when you are away in the caravan? Sometimes you just don’t fancy a cooked meal, perhaps you ate out at lunch or just can’t be bothered getting organised to cook something. That’s when the picky tea hits the spot. A bit like a buffet at a party, buy some favourite bits to lay out and enjoy over the course of the evening. Think rustic sourdough bread or a crusty baguette, hummus, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, maybe some coleslaw, pickles and slices of ham! Steer clear of the beige buffet, fill the table with colour and relax with a glass of something special, chill out and enjoy your own private dining club.
Pasta Puttanesca
Need to rustle up a very quick dinner? Pasta is always a winner for speed. In the time it takes to cook the pasta, you can cook a sauce to serve with it. No meat involved with this recipe, which is a Neapolitan dish and has a slightly risqué back story! Make a sauce by softening an onion in oil then adding a tin of tomatoes, garlic, capers and olives and oregano, season to taste with salt and pepper and mix through the cooked pasta, Buon appetito!
Cheats Pizza
When is a wrap not a wrap? When it’s a pizza! Tortilla wraps are very versatile and a great ingredient to keep in the caravan. Use a wrap like a pizza base and add a spoon of chopped tomato leaving your pizza margin, add some oregano and mozzarella, warm it gently in a frying pan with a lid and there it is, a cheat pizza, Prego, Prego!
Cheese and Wine
There is something about settling down in the caravan for the evening and cracking open a bottle of wine, I love a red in the winter, and I like to drink it responsibly with a meal! A cheese and wine style meal, how retro is that! Buy two or three cheeses, a bunch of grapes, a chutney and a few crackers, drop those lights down low and create that lovely mellow glow, relax, unwind and enjoy your space!
Sausage Roll!
Did someone say sausage roll! I guarantee, when I put on a spread the sausage rolls vanish almost straight away. Hot rolls or cold rolls however you fancy but either make them yourself at home or buy from a butcher or farm shop, swerve the supermarkets. They make a lovely lunch in the caravan, and you can walk off those calories in the afternoon. Remember that pastry and microwave ovens don’t see eye to eye, always warm them up in a regular oven or air fryer unless you are partial to a soggy bottom of course!
Curry in a Hurry
Are you in a hurry but fancy curry? If so, your caravan store cupboard can solve your problem. Tins of potatoes, chickpeas and chopped tomatoes cooked off with a chopped-up onion and some curry paste and you will have a healthy and vegan curry made in about ten minutes, if you have coconut milk use that too, served with a pouch of rice its twice as nice as a ready meal and less than half the price!
Souper Day
Do you sometimes fancy a bowl of steaming hot soup? When I am in my caravan on cold wintry days, I find the idea of a bowl of soup and some crusty bread with butter very comforting. Soup is easy to make at the best of times, but I recently bought a soup maker and I must admit, it is a game changer. The consistency is always perfect, and you can literally use whatever you like, so it’s often different every time. Throw in chopped up veg, I don’t peel mine, add stock and any seasoning you like and twenty minutes later it is ready, it is so souper and a perfect gadget for the caravan (space and weight permitting of course)
Fridge Raid Frittata
When I am loading up to go off in the caravan, I always take whatever is lurking in my fridge with me. Usually, a couple of peppers can be found in the salad drawer, a few florets of broccoli, you know the type of thing. A bit of cheese and always there seems to be a few eggs in the box. I pack everything up and make a frittata once we are pitched up. Or if you are super organised you can make the frittata at home, wrap it in foil and eat it cold or heat it up when you get on site. Waste not want not is my middle name!
Jacket Potato Hack
If you have a slow cooker in your caravan, did you know that you can slow cook jacket potatoes in them! It’s a fact. Take your spuds, prick with a fork, rub with oil, and sprinkle with salt. Wrap in tin foil and cook on low for about eight hours or high for about five, dependent on the size of spuds. The skins are not crispy, so you finish in the oven or air fryer, but I don’t bother they are as sweet as can be, filled with topping of your choice, they are absolutely scrumptious!
