Enough for potatoes plus a pan, or a soup plus hot drinks.
Two burners · one small fridge · 11 days Cook warm.
Cook warm.
Waste little.
Your Hilux kitchen is capable of real meals. Use campsite kitchens when they are available, but choose recipes that still work with one pot, one pan and Icelandic wind outside.
Your real cooking setup
Plan for the camper—not a home kitchen.
The booked Hilux includes more than a basic camp stove, but fridge space, water and washing-up are still limited.
Use a wash-as-you-go rhythm and keep food scraps out of the drain.
Buy chilled meat and fish in small batches; do not fill the fridge with drinks.
Lotus lists kitchen equipment for four, plus knives and coffee tools.
Kitchen access changes by campsite.
Reykjavík Eco-Campsite has indoor stovetops, sinks and prep counters. At Landmannalaugar, camper and tent guests cannot use the hut kitchen—bring all food and cook in your Hilux setup or use the outdoor grill and benches.
Fast Icelandic mornings
Breakfast before the road.
Choose one cold breakfast for early starts and one warm option for slower mornings.
Road-morning skyr bowl
A practical Icelandic breakfast: thick skyr, oats and fruit. High in protein, fast to clean up, and easy to carry to a viewpoint.
For two
- 2 tubs plain or vanilla skyr
- 6 tbsp oats or muesli
- 1 banana or box of berries
- Nuts or seeds
- Honey, optional
Make it
- Divide skyr between bowls.
- Add oats and fruit.
- Finish with nuts and honey.
Flatkaka or rúgbrauð board
Butter dark rye or soft rye flatbread. Add cheese, cucumber, sliced egg and optional hangikjöt (smoked lamb). No cooking if eggs were boiled the night before.
Warm apple-cardamom oats
Simmer oats with milk or water, diced apple, cinnamon and a pinch of cardamom. Top with skyr after taking the pot off the heat.
Egg + potato breakfast pan
Fry leftover cooked potatoes and onion, add eggs, then cover briefly. Finish with cheese and eat with flatkaka. Best after a long hike day.
Pönnukökur for two
Thin Icelandic pancakes are closer to crêpes than American pancakes. Make these when you have a shared kitchen or time for a little extra washing.
You need1 egg · 150 ml milk · 60 g flour · pinch of salt · 1 tsp sugar · butter
- Whisk egg and half the milk. Add flour, salt and sugar; whisk smooth. Add remaining milk.
- Heat a lightly buttered pan. Pour a thin layer and tilt the pan.
- Cook until the edge lifts, flip, then cook briefly. Serve rolled with rhubarb jam, sugar or skyr.
Two Icelandic dinners
Worth making properly.
Buy the fish on the day you cook it. Save the lamb soup for a settled evening when you are not rushing to arrive.
Camper plokkfiskur
The classic combination is white fish, potatoes, onion and a simple milk sauce. This version is scaled for two and uses the same pot twice.
For two
- 300 g cod or haddock
- 350 g potatoes
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 25 g butter
- 1½ tbsp flour
- 250 ml milk
- Salt + white or black pepper
- Rúgbrauð to serve
Make it
- Boil diced potatoes until tender; lift out.
- Poach fish gently in the same water for 5–7 minutes; drain and flake.
- Melt butter, soften onion, stir in flour, then gradually add milk.
- Fold in fish and potatoes. Season and warm through.
Simple kjötsúpa
Icelandic lamb soup is built around lamb, potatoes and root vegetables. Smaller pieces reduce cooking time and gas use, but give it time to become tender.
For two + lunch
- 450 g lamb stew pieces
- 1.2 L water
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 potatoes
- ¼ small cabbage or rutabaga
- Thyme, salt + pepper
- Optional oats or rice
Make it
- Cover lamb with water, bring to a simmer and skim the surface.
- Simmer 30 minutes. Add chopped vegetables and a small handful of oats or rice.
- Cook 25–35 minutes more, until lamb and roots are tender.
- Season at the end. Cool leftovers quickly and refrigerate.
Repeatable road dinners
Six meals without a recipe book.
Each uses ingredients that overlap, so one shopping basket can become several different meals.
Lamb sausage potato hash
Lamb sausage, potatoes, onion, cabbage, mustardDice potatoes small and fry covered with a splash of water for 8 minutes. Add sliced sausage and onion; brown. Fold in shredded cabbage for the last 3 minutes. Serve with mustard.
Tomato lentil pasta
Pasta, canned tomatoes, red lentils, stock cube, spinachCover pasta and lentils with tomatoes, stock and just enough water. Simmer together, stirring often. Add spinach when the pasta is tender. Finish with cheese or skyr.
Arctic char + crushed potatoes
Char or salmon fillets, baby potatoes, butter, lemon, cucumberBoil potatoes until tender. Pan-fry fish skin-side down, then turn briefly. Crush potatoes with butter and salt; serve with cucumber and a spoon of lemony skyr.
Eggs in spiced tomatoes
Eggs, canned tomatoes, pepper, onion, paprika, breadSoften onion and pepper, add tomatoes and paprika, then simmer. Make wells, crack in eggs and cover until set. Scoop up with rúgbrauð or flatkaka.
Hot soup + loaded bread
Good chilled soup, rúgbrauð, cheese, cucumber, smoked lambHeat soup gently. Build open sandwiches with butter, cheese or hangikjöt and cucumber. Minimal washing, warm food, and no complicated prep in strong weather.
Fish tacos, Iceland edition
White fish, tortillas, cabbage, skyr, lemon, paprikaSeason and pan-fry fish, then flake. Mix skyr with lemon and salt. Fill warm tortillas with fish, shredded cabbage and sauce.
First major shop
Buy a flexible three-day base.
Restock fresh meat, fish and dairy in larger towns instead of trying to carry eleven days of chilled food.
Skyr, milk, butter, eggs, cheese, cucumber, cabbage, carrots, sausage, one dinner’s meat or fish.
Oats, flatkaka or rúgbrauð, pasta, canned tomatoes, lentils, tortillas, stock cubes, coffee, jam.
Cooking oil, salt, pepper, paprika, curry powder, mustard, honey and one lemon.
Harðfiskur, nuts, fruit, chocolate, crackers, cheese and filled flatbread made that morning.
Small kitchen rules
Food safety without drama.
- Keep cold food cold.Iceland’s food authority advises 0–4°C for chilled food. Treat fresh fish as a same-day purchase.
- Cook thoroughly.MAST advises food should reach more than 75°C; reheat leftovers until steaming.
- Separate raw from ready-to-eat.Use different sides of the board, wash the knife, and clean the sink after raw meat or fish.
- Close gas before driving.Follow the Lotus pickup demonstration. Never lower the hob cover while a burner is operating.
- Use cold tap water for drinking.Icelandic tap water is safe; fill bottles and the camper tank whenever reliable facilities are available.
Useful references
Check the real facilities.
Hilux kitchen equipment ↗ Reykjavík campsite kitchen ↗ FÍ hut + camper rules ↗ MAST camping food safety ↗
Photography: “Plokkfiskur” by Jasnaah, CC BY-SA 4.0; “Skyr & Blackberries” by IMG 4512, CC0; “Pönnukökur” by Ahjartar, CC BY-SA 3.0. Images resized only.
