What to Cook on a Boat – Easy Recipes & Tips!
Whether it’s a few days, a few weeks or many months, there is nothing better than spending time on the open water! One thing is certain… spending more than a few hours at sea will require a meal (or two).
To meet the challenge, I find that knowing what to cook on a boat will be very helpful in getting ready to cast off!
Enough Space to Cook?
Although some people might be intimidated by the limited space of cooking on a boat and be tempted to serve pre-made sandwiches, fruits, and nuts; the fact is that it is quite easy to prepare delightful dishes, of course, spacious yachts are more comfortable to cook on . However, cooking on a boat is different than cooking in your own kitchen at home. Preparing dishes while sailing should be easy and quick to save up your precious time and space!
Can’t decide what to cook on a boat?
if you have a hard time to decide what to cook onboard, then I suggest you take a look at these tasty dishes that I have prepared and had a lot of good feedback!
Here are some useful tips and easy recipes for your sailing experience.
Artichoke Antipasto and Penne and Vodka Sauce
I save time and space by preparing the pasta ahead of time, tossing with olive oil and storing in a resealable bag. When I’m ready to serve the meal on the boat, I simply reheat, toss with sauce and voila!
Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary with Tomato and Mozzarella Salad
I make several dishes with pork when at sea and I find that keeping it in the vacuum packed container until I’m ready to use it keeps it longer. Veggies such as tomatoes, peppers, and onions can be kept at room temperature and to save space they can be hanged in separate mesh bags.
Hobo Beans
This is a mixture of ingredients that usually includes everything left over, but the main ingredients are, of course, beans, ground beef and bacon.
Ranch Burgers with Garden Pasta Salad
I make the patties ahead of time and store them in a resealable bag. Putting wax paper between the burgers will prevent them from sticking together.
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Two Favorites that are Always a Hit!
My personal favorites for great sea meals are Pollo Fajitas and Quick Beef Stir. Each one is relatively simple to make and can be prepared in the smallest of galleys.
Pollo Fajitas
Pollo Fajitas are always a big hit at sea. Although they can be prepared with thighs, I prefer skinless, boneless chicken breasts.
Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Soy sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ lemon, juiced
1 dash hot pepper sauce
1 clove minced garlic
1 thinly sliced onion
1 sliced green bell pepper
Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, combine soy sauce, Worcestershire, vinegar, garlic, hot pepper and chili powder. Mix well. Next, add chicken and turn to coat evenly. Allow to marinate for a half hour or cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours.
In a skillet, heat oil on high heat. Cook chicken for five minutes. Next, add the green pepper and onion and cook for three minutes longer. Remove the items from heat and sprinkle the chicken, onions and peppers with the lemon juice.
Serve the chicken with warm tortillas, sour cream, and salsa.
Quick Beef Stir
I discovered a delicious recipe for Quick Beef Stir to cook on a boat that is not only easy to prepare, but it whips up quickly!
Ingredients:
1 lb lean beef sirloin – sliced into 2-inch pieces
2 thinly sliced carrots
1 chopped green onion
1 ½ cups broccoli florets
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Soy sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
Directions:
In a large skillet or wok, heat vegetable oil over medium to high heat. Cook beef three to four minutes until browned. Move book to the side and add the green onion, garlic, broccoli, carrots and bell pepper and cook for two minutes, stirring while cooking.
Next, stir together the beef and vegetables. Stir in sesame seeds and soy sauce and continue to cook for two additional minutes.
Be Considerate of Passenger’s Needs
The making of a good sea host is to ask passengers if they have any dietary restrictions or food allergies before I plan meals, go to the market to purchase items and set sail. Knowing this in advance will prevent guests from having to skip meals, save on wasted food and quite possibly prevent medical emergencies while at sea.
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Conclusion
No matter how long I spend sailing, cooking on a boat is easy! I find that planning and preparing meals to be very enjoyable – and it does not hurt that my passengers love them too! Happy sailing and Bon appetite!
Click here to read more about 5 tasty cocktails to drink on a yacht
Have you cooked on a boat while sailing? Maybe you would like to share your own special dishes in the comment below? I would love to hear from you:)
Daniella has been passionate about travel, the sea, and nature for many years. As a child, she frequently traveled throughout the Mediterranean and continued with her journeys throughout her adult life.
Her experiences have created the desire within her to share her love for traveling with other passionate and adventurers who want to discover beautiful horizons and new cultures.
Hey Daniella,
Really like your name, your site is aesthetically appealing which caught my attention.
Looking at those olives in an environment like that made me jealous not being there.
Nice list of recipes that I could gladly eat on or off a yacht .
Where did your interest in cooking come from?
Regards,
~Benji~
Hi Benjamin,
Thanks for the compliment:)
Everything you do in life generally comes from your heart and cooking is one of my passions !
Have a nice week end!
You have provided some great cooking recipes and tips here for cooking meals on boats 🙂
I sure would love that boat in the picture because it looks very spacious, and it’s bigger than my kitchen at home. lol.
I’m quite dond of chicken, so the Pollo Fajitas certainly look very appetizing.
Neil
Hi Neil,
Thank you, I am glad you like the recipes and tips .
The picture on the article shows the kitchen of a catamaran , those yachts are extremely spacious and well equipped. In fact, it’s like a luxury home on the water and …yes, it’s very comfortable to cook aboard catamarans. This is one of the reasons I love Cats 🙂
Have an awesome day!
What great ideas and recipes. Not just for on board a yacht but also to cook at home in your own kitchen. The pictures that you had with some recipes, made my mouth water. I noticed that you had some meal ideas but the recipes or ingredients where not listed underneath. Will you be putting these up soon? Thanks
Hi Kate,
Thank you for passing by and for the compliment.
Those are just examples to give you some ideas of what to cook on a boat and how easily and quickly you can prepare meals with these ingredients.
I have another article about what-food-to-eat-on-a-boat-advice.what food to eat on a boat where you can find nice tips and recipes as well
Cheers :).
Hi Daniella, wow, thanks for the great recipes. Artichoke Penne & vodka sauce sounds really good, and fajita sounds fantastic too. I like cooking, I’m a vegetarian, and always substitute meat with vegetarian meat or something else. So these are great inspirations.
If the kitchen is as spacious as the photo shown in here, I guess you can make anything? Is there anything that normal kitchens have but boat kitchens don’t? Or anything that you wouldn’t suggest to cook?
Ray
Hi Ray,
I am glad you found my recipes useful, I hope you will enjoy them because they are extremely tasty:)
Today, boat’s galley are well-equipped and you can cook like at home. They are some boats that don’t have all the materials needed to cook because of the lack of space. So, if you want to cook comfortably on a boat then, you’ll have to choose a spacious boat with all the equipments required to prepare efficiently delicious meals:) I would suggest to make easy and light meals when sailing. they are many important factors to take into consideration, like the storage, the time, limited water, the weather, etc… Here is a helpful article to read about what food to eat on a boat .
I hope it helped and please, let me know if you need more information, I’ll be gld to assist!
Thank you for the comment and wish you a wonderful day:)