When you live off-grid it can feel like your options for cooking and food preservation have been drastically reduced. But I know from experience that they don’t have to be.
Even if you have no established power source, there are plenty of off-grid appliances you can use to kit out your kitchen.
Of course, a self-sufficient home needs to be fully prepared for emergencies and other difficult situations. With these fifteen appliances, you can do just that.
15 Off-Grid Kitchen Appliances for Self-Sufficiency
You don’t have to sacrifice a fully functioning kitchen just because you live off-grid.
Plenty of these kitchen appliances will fit your lifestyle AND keep your family protected during any emergency situations.
1. Off-grid Refrigerator
One of the first things you want in an off-grid kitchen is a place to store your food, and a fridge is the best place to do that.
While plenty of people living off-grid still have a full-sized electrical refrigerator, this isn’t an option for everyone.
Some options for off-grid refrigeration include:
- A small, well-insulated electric refrigerator that draws less wattage
- 12-volt car refrigerator
- Propane refrigerator
- Solar refrigerator with battery bank
2. Off-grid Chest Freezer
Most people use a combination fridge/freezer to store food, but if that isn’t possible in your off-grid setup, you’ll want a separate freezer.
Freezers are essential off the grid – possibly more so than a fridge – because they store food for many months at a time, useful both for everyday life and in emergencies where you might be cut off from your normal fresh food supply.
Chest freezers are the best option for off-grid lifers because having a lid on top is most efficient for keeping temperatures cool.
You can even buy a plug-in device that will conserve energy by turning it off once the freezer reaches the desired temperature and turns back on once the temperature crawls too high.
3. Toaster Oven
Conventional ovens use a ton of electricity and are sometimes unsustainable for off-grid setups.
Consider a toaster oven, which is portable, requires significantly less power (around 750-1000 watts, compared to electrical ovens which draw between 2000-5000), and takes up much less space.
Toaster ovens are a popular choice for small apartments with tiny kitchens, but they can be just as useful for off-grid spaces.
You can use them to cook virtually anything, and a brand-new model can cost as little as $50.
4. Wood-fired Stove
A classic kitchen appliance for off-grid homes is the wood-fired stove, which requires nothing but wood, charcoal, and other combustible items you’d use in any fireplace.
Wood-fired stoves are an amazing two-for-one – they’ll warm up the room in winter, and they’ll heat your water and cook your food on the stovetop.
Wood-fired stoves are a lifesaver for people with no power source, people who live on the grid but experience frequent power, or those who want a guaranteed way to cook food and keep their home warm in a situation where power access is cut off in winter or for days at a time.
5. Solar Oven
On the other side of cooking appliances, you also have the solar oven, a DIY appliance that uses reflective surfaces and insulation to harness the power of the sun and use it to heat and cook food.
It’s a pretty amazing off-grid appliance for people who want the most affordable and sustainable way to make their meals – and you don’t even need a solar panel set up to do it!
As I mentioned, you can build a solar oven yourself with minimal supplies and costs, and there are plenty of DIY guides online.
You can also purchase ready-made portable solar ovens from GoSun, Jwn Green, and other providers.
6. Propane Stove
Propane stoves are a more straightforward appliance for off-grid cooking, and they are also common in camping setups and as backup cookers in emergency situations.
Even if it isn’t your primary cooking appliance, it’s an amazing tool to have on the backburner (if you’ll excuse the pun!).
Propane stoves are energy efficient, can be used without electricity, and have precise temperature controls that make cooking easier than on a wood-fired stove or in a solar oven.
Both propane stoves, tanks, and fuel are readily available and affordable too.
7. Barbecue Grill
Ok, so a barbeque grill technically won’t be in your kitchen, but it can be an indispensable part of your cooking process if you choose to use one.
There are propane and gas-powered BBQs, and ones that are fired by charcoal or wood pellets.
Barbecues aren’t just for parties and backyard bashes. It’s a high-powered off-grid appliance that can keep you and your family fed whenever you need it.
While it probably won’t replace an entire kitchen, it will get you through periods where you don’t have access to electricity, whether that’s in an emergency situation or for long-term off-grid living.
8. Gravity Water Filter
When it comes to self-sufficiency, finding a sustainable source of clean, safe water for drinking and cooking should be your top priority.
While it may be easy to find a spring, creek, or river with drinkable water, you still need a filtration system to remove any dangerous contaminants from your drinking supply. That’s where a gravity water filter comes in.
Gravity water filters consist of two stacked stainless steel chambers that use gravity to pull water from the top chamber through the filter system and into the bottom.
They are a great choice for people living off-grid because they are simple, affordable, do not require a power source to purify your water, and can be used anywhere.
9. Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker
Slow cookers and pressure cookers are great whether you live off-grid or not, but they are especially helpful if you don’t have access to conventional cooking methods like an oven or stovetop.
These cooker types are not the same – pressure cookers cook much faster using internal pressure and an airtight seal, whereas a slow cooker uses lower temperatures to cook long and slow.
While pressure cookers are much faster, slow cookers are more affordable. Both allow you to cook an enormous variety of food with no need for other appliances.
10. Air Fryer
You may have seen it on Tiktok first, but an air fryer is more than just a trendy kitchen device.
It can make a world of difference when you have power set up but may not have the space or money for an oven or other cooking devices.
Air fryers are very small and can be stowed away neatly and easily when not in use.
There are also plenty of low-wattage options that will suit solar and other off-grid power setups.
11. Food Dehydrator
A great way to supplement your kitchen setup, especially where long-term food storage is concerned, is with a food dehydrator.
A dehydrator sucks the moisture out of your foodstuff, allowing you to preserve and store it for much longer periods.
While not everything can be put in a dehydrator, most meats, fruits, and vegetables can.
Dehydrating nutritious food is also an amazing way to prepare your pantry for emergencies if you don’t have the space or funds for a chest freezer.
A basic stackable dehydrator will be very effective and only set you back around $30 to $100. You can also splurge a little extra on a larger model with slide out trays.
I’ve always used the ol’ reliable Sunbeam dehydrator, but there are myriad reliable and affordable brands to choose from.
12. Manual Food Processor
If you’re looking to reduce wattage needs in your home, manual appliances are a great way to do it. That way, you can have a range of helpful tools that won’t overload your power capacity.
A manual food processor is one such appliance that will make off-grid cooking a million times easier.
It allows you to chop, grate, mash, and blend different foodstuffs using a hand-cranking mechanism.
You can purchase processors with a single one of these options, or one with different attachments that do it all!
13. Coffee Grinder
For those of us who need our morning cup of joe, a coffee grinder is non-negotiable.
Coffee grounds only last a few months at most, which is a major pain for off-grid lifers who only get to grocery stores a few times a year.
Coffee beans, on the other hand, can last up to 8 months at a time.
Electric coffee grinders don’t use much electricity, but it’s relatively easy to find an old-school hand-cranked grinder so you can have your coffee no matter what.
You can even find rechargeable USB grinders.
14. Hand-Cranked Mixer
If you’re an avid bread and cake baker, a hand-cranked mixer will save you time and effort without using any electricity.
You can crank out the perfect dough and smooth cake mixes and batters with just a little elbow grease.
Some manual mixers include multiple attachments like dough hooks, whisks, and even detachable motors so they can be used as a stand mixer.
Some models even feature a separate half that operates as a food processor, so you can incorporate many of your essential cooking and baking tasks into a single object.
15. Stovetop Kettle
You may have relied on an electric kettle when you lived on the grid, or maybe you never used a kettle at all.
But in my eyes, a stovetop kettle is a must-have when you’re living off-grid.
Stovetop kettles are usually made from steel, or sometimes steel and glass, and all they need is a stovetop or hot plate to heat the water inside.
These kettles allow you to boil water for tea, coffee, and more in a matter of minutes.
The high-pitched whistling can be annoying at first, but you’ll get used to it quickly, and the convenience makes up for it!
