My Vacation Grocery List Only Has 20 Ingredients & Makes 10 (!) Delicious Dinners
Great vacations call for great dinners.
The memories of a great vacation can last a lifetime. From starting new family traditions, to crossing off items on your bucket list, or simply resting and relaxing somewhere new and beautiful, there is so much to love about a trip with friends or family. But there’s one problem we’ve all encountered at least once on an otherwise perfect trip: Rental kitchens are just not always set up for cooking. Whether the only condiment in the house is a single packet of fast food ketchup or there is only one dull knife and no blender, vacation cooking can often be a lot closer to just making do. Good news: It doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve compiled a shopping list of 20 ingredients that you can find easily—just about anywhere—to make into 10 different delicious, easy recipes that don’t require any fancy kitchen equipment.
While vacation rentals generally don’t have too many kitchen supplies, they often at least have salt, pepper, and some type of cooking oil or butter, so I decided to omit those ingredients from this list. With this in mind, I decided to keep things simple here. Many of these recipes can be made in one pan, because, let's be honest, half the time your Airbnb will only have one pan anyway, and this list won’t leave you with a pile of half-used groceries at the end of the trip. For one-pan wonders, check out our one-pan chicken bacon gnocchi, our one-pan creamy chicken & gnocchi, or our creamy Tuscan chicken (some of our most-popular recipes).
You’ll see a few items on this list that give a choice between two interchangeable ingredients, and there you’ll only need to choose one that can work in the place of the other. So there, make the choice that makes the most sense for you, and know that either way the recipe will turn out great. I've chosen chicken as the main protein for this list, but feel free to swap in your desired protein!
Whatever the state of your vacation kitchen, this grocery list and these recipes will make sure that every meal lives up to the standards of your once in a lifetime vacation. Check out all of our other one-pan and weeknight dinner recipes for more quick and easy dinner inspiration.
Cheesy Bacon Ranch Chicken
We’ll say it: Bacon and ranch is an absolute match made in heaven. We created this cheesy creation by topping chicken breasts with ranch seasoning and melty mozzarella before sprinkling them with crispy pieces of bacon. Ready in a little more than 30 minutes, they’re a perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner
Get the Cheesy Bacon Ranch Chicken recipe.
Creamy Balsamic Chicken
If you’re familiar with our chicken piccata, our one-pan chicken & gnocchi, or our creamy Tuscan chicken, you know that for some chicken dishes, it’s ALL about the sauce. This one—with balsamic vinegar, heavy cream, and chicken broth—is a touch sweet, a little tangy, and super-delicious as a full-flavored creamy sauce.
Get the Creamy Balsamic Chicken recipe.
The Original Marry Me Chicken
Whenever I’m looking for a chicken dinner that will make jaws drop, I always turn to this go-to recipe. Chicken breasts are seared until golden brown before being baked in a simple cream sauce that results in a chicken that's packed with flavor in every bite.
Get the The Original Marry Me Chicken recipe.
One-Pan Chicken Bacon Gnocchi
Our one-pan chicken & gnocchi is so beloved, it was an easy choice to upgrade it with another of our favorite ingredients: crispy bacon! The chicken here is cooked in the rendered bacon fat, making it tender and juicy, and the luxuriously rich and creamy sauce comes together almost effortlessly by combining broth, cream, and Parmigiano Reggiano.
Get the One-Pan Chicken Bacon Gnocchi recipe.
Caprese Chicken
I can’t get enough of Caprese salad in all forms. But, when I’m looking for a classic summer dinner, this Caprese chicken wins out as one of my all-time favorite versions. This one-pan meal reinvents the classic salad, complete with cheesy-smothered chicken, balsamic-glazed tomatoes, and fresh basil.
Get the Caprese Chicken recipe.
One-Pan Creamy Chicken & Gnocchi
In this one-pan dinner, chicken breasts pair with pillowy gnocchi in a creamy sauce, complete with mushrooms and spinach. It's the ultimate weeknight comfort food that tastes like it took hours, when in reality, it comes together in under an hour.
Creamy Tuscan Chicken
This chicken dinner comes together in under an hour with minimal effort, but tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen. The sauce is simple but flavorful and creamy—there’s a reason why we’ve added it to countless recipes, and why I turn to this chicken again and again.
Get the Creamy Tuscan Chicken recipe.
Baked Chicken Thighs
Boneless skinless chicken breasts seem to get all the love these days. I get it. They're cheap, they're healthy, and they cook fast. But allow me to make a case for bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. In my humble opinion, they're all-around better. The reason? More fat! As we all know, fat = flavor.
Get the Baked Chicken Thighs recipe.
Sheet-Pan Burrata Caprese Gnocchi
Roasting the gnocchi gives them a slightly browned exterior while still maintaining a pillowy, chewy interior. To accompany the gnocchi, we are utilizing the flavors of caprese without relying on the seasonality of tomatoes. Enter beautiful and perfectly sweet bell peppers.
Garlic-Parm Gnocchi
The truth is sometimes, just like with pasta, the simplest preparations of gnocchi really hit the spot. This dish hits the mark somewhere in between the two. The simple preparation of garlic and butter is finished off with Parmesan, basil, and lemon juice for a stellar dinner.
Get the Garlic-Parm Gnocchi recipe.
