If you want to cook while camping, there are a few options you can try, and our guide to the best portable electric stoves can help point you in the right direction.
An electric stove is ideal to take on camping trips instead of a gas stove, as you won’t have to worry about carrying gas cylinders around with you. But how can you find the best portable electric stove, and which one is the best?
The bottom line up front: we like the CUSIMAX Portable Hot Plate Burner. It works really well, it has a good amount of settings, and it has automatic shut-off in case you accidentally leave it on.
We also like:
- Duxtop Professional Portable Induction Cooktop – a great induction cooker with lots of extra features
- SUNAVO Electric Single Burner – a good choice for a tight budget
We’ll be looking at:
- What a portable electric stove is
- What to look for in a portable electric stove
- Our top 5 picks, including their key features, pros, and cons
- Some frequently asked questions
- Which ones we like the best and why
Hopefully, we can help you find the best portable electric stove for you!
Table of Contents
- Best Portable Electric Stoves Compared
- What is a Portable Electric Stove?
- What to Look for in a Portable Electric Stove
- Top 5 Best Portable Electric Stoves
- Frequently Asked Questions
- To Sum Up – Which Portable Electric Stove is Best?
Best Portable Electric Stoves Compared
What is a Portable Electric Stove?
A portable electric stove is a small stove, usually consisting of one or two burners. It uses electricity, so if you’re camping, you’ll need to find a campsite with an electric hook-up point. They can have multiple temperature settings, so you can cook full meals or just use them to keep food warm while you serve it up.
If you want some ideas, Eureka! have collected 25 easy camping recipes using 5 ingredients or less. There are tons of dishes you can cook in a tent!
You can use a portable electric stove in lots of different settings, not just camping. They work well in both tents and RVs.
What to Look for in a Portable Electric Stove
There are a few things you can look for when shopping for a new portable electric stove:
Number of Burners
Usually a portable electric burner will have one burner, but sometimes they have two. If there are two, the power levels tend to be split, so one burner can get hotter than the other. This is ideal for keeping one dish warm while you cook the next one.
Burner Type
Burners are typically made from two materials:
Cast Iron
This is a durable material that is easy to wipe clean. It heats up evenly but can take a while to cool down. It’s robust and can handle any type of cookware, making it a good choice for camping and travelling.
Induction
Induction cookers have a glass top. They work well if you want specific temperature settings, as they usually have a digital display, so you can see the exact temperature. The glass surface is easy to clean. It doesn’t work with certain types of cookware, and they are a bit less robust than cast iron stoves.
Heat Settings
You can usually control the temperature of your electric stove. The minimum you will normally find are low, medium, and high. Some have a ‘warm’ setting which will allow you to keep a dish warm without it burning or getting too hot. Others have up to 20 different heat and temperature settings.
Safety Features
Safety is important when it comes to cooking while camping (Eureka! have some good safety tips in this article if you want to know more). There are a few features you can look for:
- Non-slip feet – this will stop your stove from sliding around while you’re mixing and stirring
- Automatic shut-off – this will cause the stove to automatically switch off once it reaches a certain temperature, in case you leave it on by accident
- Cool-touch handles or base – this will enable you to carry the stove around without having to wait for it to completely cool down
- Child lock – usually found on stoves with digital displays, this will prevent your kids from accidentally switching it on
- Indicator light – this will tell you when the correct temperature for your chosen setting has been reached, so you can start cooking at the right time
Extra Features
There are some extra features you can sometimes come across when looking for a portable electric stove. Some have temperature displays and built-in timers, which are useful extras to have.
Others have a ‘boil’ setting which will quickly boil a pan of water. This is ideal for filling up your water bottle with fresh coffee in the mornings.
Ease of Cleaning
Portable electric stoves can get messy. It’s always worth checking if your chosen stove is easy to wipe clean once cooled. Outdoor Cooking has a great guide on how to clean your camping stove.
Size and Portability
Electric stoves come in different sizes. A double burner stove will obviously take up more room. If you’re tight on space, it’s always worth checking to see if it will fit in with the rest of your gear.
If you’re travelling, it’s worth checking the weight of the stove to see if you can manage carrying it in your backpack.
Finally, it’s good to check if your stove has handles – this will make it easier to move around.
Top 5 Portable Electric Stoves
Here are 5 of the best portable electric stoves out there. We’ll look at their key features as well as their pros and cons, so hopefully you can find the best one for you.
Cusinart Cast-Iron Double Burner – Best Double Burner
Key Features
- Number of Burners: 2
- Size:
5.75 x 22.50 x 15.25 (in)
15 x 57 x 39 (cm) - Power: 1,800 watts
- Carry Handles Included: No
- Weight: 10.6lbs/4.80kg
The Cusinart Cast-Iron Double Burner is a great option if you need a double burner. It has brushed stainless steel housing and cast iron plates that can be easily wiped clean.
It has a 1,300-watt large plate, and a 500-watt small plate. These can be controlled separately, with 6 settings for each. The lowest setting is ideal for keeping food warm, but the higher settings can be used to cook a meal for the whole family quickly and easily.
It has a couple of safety features. The non-slip feet are great at keeping the whole thing stable as you cook. It has an indicator light that switches on when the temperature is warm enough. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have an automatic shut-off feature, so if you leave it on, it won’t turn off. It would have been nice to see this basic safety feature included.
As it has a double burner, it’s on the larger size in terms of dimensions, which is to be expected. It’s not too heavy to carry, but it doesn’t come with carry handles.
Pros
- Double burners with dual controls
- Ideal for cooking whole meals or keeping food warm
- Comes with an indicator light and non-slip feet
- Stainless steel housing and cast iron plates are easy to clean
Cons
- Doesn’t have automatic shut-off feature
- Doesn’t have carry handles
CUSIMAX Portable Hot Plate Burner – Good All-Rounder
Key Features
- Number of Burners: 1
- Size:
13.5 x 10.47 x 4.25 (in)
34 x 27 x 11 (cm - Power: 1,500 watts
- Carry Handles Included: No
- Weight: 5.94lbs / 2.69kgs
The CUSIMAX Portable Hot Plate Burner is a great all-rounder. It has one cast-iron hot plate burner with stainless steel housing which is easy to wipe down and clean.
It has 7 temperature settings, so it works really well for keeping food warm or cooking meals. The power goes up to 1,500 watts.
It has good safety features, including non-slip feet and an automatic shut-off feature with internal temperature regulation. This means that if it reaches a certain heat, it will switch itself off, so if you do happen to leave it on accidentally, it won’t overheat.
It doesn’t have a carry handle, but it’s a nice portable stove as it’s fairly lightweight (at 5.94lbs / 2.69kgs).
Pros
- Easy to clean
- Compact
- Automatic shut-off feature included
- 7 temperature settings
Cons
- Doesn’t have carry handles
SUNAVO Electric Single Burner – Best for a Tight Budget
Key Features
- Number of Burners: 1
- Size:
11.14 x 9.72 x 3.19 (in)
28 x 25 x 9 (cm) - Power: 1,500 watts
- Carry Handles Included: Yes
- Weight: 5.44lbs / 2.46kgs
The SUNAVO Electric Single Burner is a good choice if you’re on a tight budget. It has one hot plate with an easy-to-clean stainless steel housing.
The burner goes up to 1,500w, and it has 6 temperature settings. The hot plate is made from threaded cast-iron, which helps it to heat up evenly. The hot plate itself does take a little longer to heat up than some of the others on this list, however.
It has pretty good safety features for such a cheap stove – it has non-slip feet and automatic shut-off if it gets too hot. It also has thermo-insulated handles, which will allow you to pick it up and move it around without burning yourself.
The carry handles make it easy to move around. It’s pretty lightweight and quite compact, making it ideal if you don’t have much room to spare.
Pros
- Thermo-insulated handles make it easy to carry when hot
- Lightweight and compact
- Automatic shut-off included
- 6 temperature settings
Cons
- Can take quite a while to get to the right temperature
Duxtop Professional Portable Induction Cooktop – Best for RVs
Key Features
- Number of Burners: 1
- Size:
19.5 x 15.25 x 5.5 (in)
50 x 39 x 14 (cm) - Power: 1,800 watts
- Carry Handles Included: No
- Weight: 13.77lbs / 6.24kgs
The Duxtop Professional Portable Induction Cooktop has a lot of great features, including a digital display and a sensor-touch panel that can display a timer as well as the current heat settings. It has a brushed stainless steel exterior that is easy to clean, and a glass cooktop that is also pretty straightforward to wipe clean. It can only be used with certain types of cookware. To test this, you can try to stick a small magnet to the underside of your pots and pans – if the magnet sticks, it can be used with this stove.
It has a whopping 20 preset power levels, and 20 preset temperature level settings. It’s efficient and fast to heat up, and it has a boil button to easily and quickly bring water to the boil.
It has some good safety features too. It has a child safety lock, so your kids won’t be able to switch it on by accident. The stove also has non-slip feet and automatic shut-off if it reaches a certain temperature.
It’s a neat, compact stove, but it’s definitely on the heavy side. It would work really well in an RV as you can keep it in a permanent spot. It doesn’t come with carry handles.
Pros
- Digital display and control panel
- Easy to clean
- 20 pre-set power and temperature settings
- Good safety features including a child safety lock
Cons
- Only works with certain types of cookware
- No carry case or bag
- Heavier to carry – would work better in an RV
Elite Gourmet Single Electric Hot Plate Burner – Most Durable
Key Features
- Number of Burners: 1
- Size:
10.65 x 9.15 x 3.65 (in)
27 x 23 x 9 (cm) - Power: 1,800 watts
- Carry Handles Included: No
- Weight: 3.64lbs / 1.65kgs
The Elite Gourmet Single Electric Hot Plate Burner is a robust cast-iron hotplate that can survive a lot of use in different situations.
It has 1,000 watts of power (thus not as powerful as other portable electric stoves) with 4 settings (warm, low, medium, and high).
The stove has a few safety features, including a cool-touch base so you can safely carry it around, non-slip rubber feet, and an indicator light that will let you know when the temperature is correct. It will shut off when a certain temperature is reached to stop it from getting too hot, but it doesn’t shut off completely, so it’s not really a proper automatic shut-off, which is something to bear in mind.
It’s a neat, compact little stove and is pretty lightweight at 3.64lbs (1.65kgs). It doesn’t have carry handles.
Pros
- Easy to clean
- Cool-touch base for easy carrying
- Robust and durable
Cons
- No carry handles
- Doesn’t have automatic shut-off
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about portable electric stoves:
Can I take a portable electric stove on a plane?
There are some restrictions around camping stoves on flights, but this usually relates to gas camping stoves. Still, it’s always worth checking the TSA website for more information.
Can I use a portable stove in the house?
Yes, you can! They’re a handy thing to have around if you need extra burners or if your regular stove were to break down.
What can I cook using a portable electric stove?
You can easily make stews, casseroles, curries – basically anything you would make on a stove at home, you can make on a portable electric stove. For some recipes, check out 11 ideas from Camping in the Forest.
Can I take a portable electric stove when backpacking?
Yes, you can take a portable electric stove backpacking. It’s worth checking the dimensions to see if it will fit in your backpack, and you’ll have to look for campsites that have electric hook-ups.
If you’re getting your gear together for backpacking, check out our guide to the best backpacking tents under $100! You can also check out our guide to the best wood burning backpacking stoves.
Do I have to use a portable electric stove outside?
No – you can use them outside or inside. Just make sure you follow the instructions, so you’ll be using it safely.
To Sum Up – Which Portable Electric Stove is Best?
We really like the CUSIMAX Portable Hot Plate Burner. It works really well, it has a decent amount of settings, and the fact that it has automatic shut-off makes it a pretty safe bet.
We also like the Duxtop Professional Portable Induction Cooktop. It’s a more expensive option, but it would work really well for RVs and it would still work in a tent if you have the space for it. The extra settings and digital display make it easy to use.
If you are on a tighter budget, it’s worth looking at the SUNAVO Electric Single Burner. It’s durable and does the job, and it has thermo-insulated handles for easy carrying. Otherwise the Elite Gourmet Single Electric Flat Cast Iron Heating Plate is another great budget option.
We hope this has helped you to find the perfect portable electric stove!
