What I've Learned From 7 Months Without Using A Stove

For the last 7 months my husband and I have lived without a stove, or rather properly run utilities to operate the stove we own. For many small space city dwellers this isn't anything shocking as many homes are without this kitchen staple, but for the rest of us, not owning a stove is like saying you don't wear underpants — it's just not done, or at least not discussed in public. Here's how we're doing so far...

Late this summer my husband and I moved into an old church and for lack of a better term, the "stage" became our kitchen (don't worry you'll get a full tour when it's finished!). We spent the first several months just trying to get working plumbing and a few working electrical outlets so we could keep a refrigerator running and potentially one additional outlet to run an extra small appliance.

We were ready for the challenge and even asked everyone for advice! We psyched ourselves out and told ourselves it was going to be like camping every day and although our 6 year old selves thought that was pretty awesome, the 30 something old selves were very ready to fry an egg without a struggle.

In our kitchen we have the following small appliances that have made life possible:
• Electric Kettle
• Electric Skillet
• Dual Burner Hot Plate
• Crock Pot
• Toaster Oven

We started our swearing not much would change and that our hot plate would suffice during our transitional period. I wish more than anything we would have thought otherwise because one we purchased an electric skillet it was all smooth sailing. The hot plate took forever to heat up, didn't stay consistent and wasn't really able to cook two things at once and you could just forget about boiling water — plus it rusted. The skillet was the way to go and although it has an obvious ring of heat under it, as long as you're aware of it's cooking pattern, it's not really a big deal to work with and it really heats up.... we even made caramel this past holiday season!

The electric kettle has been invaluable when it comes to making things like instant potatoes (shhh don't tell), tea or just boiling noodles a little faster. The crock pot has been the way to go as not having a stove means taking a little longer to do things. A crock pot is always the same and has been a true campion.

The toaster oven has been the real champion and although we've never owned one before, we had heard such gleaming reviews from other writers here at The Kitchn and all of our readers that we were confident in our purchase. So much in fact, we even sold our microwave before leaving our last home. The only thing a toaster oven can't do is bake things other than flat pastries. If you're looking to buy one and want to bake anything at all... bigger is better. Just trust me.

Aside from using smaller appliances to get the job done, we've also changed what we've been eating to help accommodate the circumstances. It will be much easier with summer upon us as it will become more normal to eat sandwiches and grilled foods with more frequency. In the next few months we hope to have our kitchen wired for electricity and gas so our stove can once and for all have a home and become operational.

Although it's been different, it hasn't been impossible and if I were buying a new place that didn't come with this appliance, I would be more than happy to settle for buying a toaster oven and electric skillet and saving my pennies for the exact stove and oven I wanted. Never before would I have thought this was an option, but we've been able to get by, you just have to think a bit harder about what your menu is comprised of to ensure you always have the time to cook what you desire!

Do you live somewhere that doesn't have a stove or an oven? How have you gotten by? Have you grown to accept it or are you still struggling to get the hang of things? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

(Image: Sarah Rae Trover)

Comments (46)

I lived for 5 years in an old loft and we wouldn't have been able to eat without our electric frying pan. Second in line was the toaster oven, followed by a hot plate. Electric kettles weren't so easy to find stateside back then but I have one now in my 'normal' kitchen and use it constantly. Good luck with your enormous project -- can't wait for the tour!

I've just recently gotten an induction burner. They are pricey, and they require metal pans (most non-stick won't work), but they heat beautifully and easily.

We are also fans of the toaster over; I spent the money to get the Breville, and it's been AWESOME.

I'm worried about overloading the kitchen area with small appliances and killing the electricity. I haven't thought much about the electric kettle; we rarely make hot drinks here. What else do you use it for?

The last time I was stuck living without appliances, I was pretty amazed at how well you can do with just an electric kettle (which is all I had--adding a toaster oven and a Crockpot would have been a dream!). Just last week I was mocking my parents electric frying pan. I take it back. Good luck with the renovation!

Wow. Good luck to you. Your project sounds awesome. I've never owned a toaster oven, although like you, I've heard lots of gushing about it. Glad to hear you love crockpot cooking. I'm a big fan of it myself.

@limes - I only use mine for boiling water. I boil water for tea (I drink a lot of tea), when filling a pan to cook pasta or rice, and for cleaning.

I don't know about you but I was able to bake all sorts of things in my toaster oven. And I have a feeling you have one of those big fancy ones whereas I had a very small $60 one. I baked cakes, brownies, and cookies all the time. Lasagna was another favorite. An 8x8 pan is what I used for brownies a silicone round pan for cakes (because it would flex when I closed the door, still came out round!) and a small stone pan for cookies. I may have had to bake them a little longer but it worked!

bluepuppybites - When I bake in an 8x8 it doesn't do too bad, but anything that's loaf shaped has been out of the question unless I make "mini loaves" for quick breads or yeast breads. ... and I only wish my toaster oven was a big fancy one, we sport Black and Decker all the way!

limes - We use our kettle to boil water for pasta or potatoes instead of waiting for it to heat in a pot over the burner. We also use it to reconstitute things like dehydrated mushrooms or soups.

Out of interest, what made you decide against cylinder gas? We were only without our stove for a week or so (the man changing the boiler noticed it was plumbed in with water hose, eek) and just cooked on bottle propane for the interim. I've even seen catering ranges with attached oven running off cylinders...

When I purchased a not very big or fancy DeLonghi toaster oven several years ago my friends laughed at me. However when my oven died right before the winter holidays I used it to make dozens of cookies and several cheesecakes. By the time my oven was replaced my cooking methods had changed and now I rarely use the oven more than once or twice a week. I also decided not to replace the microwave oven when it died. I love my toaster oven.

I haven't turned on my cooker for four and a half years. I use an electric kettle, the hob and a toaster oven, instead.

I have never tried yeast breads in my toaster oven but I did make lots of quick breads in the 8x8 pan since my loaf pans were in storage, they weren't loaves but tasted all the same

I have a large toaster oven inherited from my grandmother. It will be pried from my cold dead hands! It got her through a year or 2 when my grandfather stubbornly refused to repair/replace their oven. It gets me through a lot of my baking during the summer... I bake outside on the patio to keep my house cool. BTW, I remember her baking bread with the turkey roaster and other things that wouldn't fit in the toaster oven... If you can get your hands on one, you can still do larger baking jobs.

What's also interesting about this post is seeing how many appliances one might need to replicate the flexibility of one good range. I do think it's interesting to talk about all the food one can make without an oven/stove, but I also think it illuminates that one could have ONLY a stove--low-heat braise vs. crock pot, toast in the broiler, reheat leftovers in the stove vs. microwave, a griddle pan instead of an electric griddle, etc. It's kind of inspiring in the other direction.

No stove? Easy peas-y. It's living without a kitchen sink that is painful.

eclectorama: you have just sold me on a toaster oven. i never thought i needed one until you gave me the idea to use it outside in the summer! it makes perfect sense, thanks!

sierracreek - We were without plumbing and a functioning sink for quite some time and have had a few hiccups here and there and you're right... that is a far bigger challenge!

zeropixelcount - Cylinder gas meant we had to purchase our own fuel and that seemed like a higher overhead when all was said and done.

My space is about 1050 Square feet, and I do not have a stove either. I have a toaster oven and will soon be buying a hot plate. I do have an electric skillet, but really haven't used it much. My diet has consisted of a lot of raw vegetables, rice & whatever I can cook in the toaster oven.

"I've just recently gotten an induction burner. They are pricey, and they require metal pans (most non-stick won't work), but they heat beautifully and easily."

A Nonstick coating isn't what makes an induction burner not work...
...it requires cookware that's magnetic - such as steel or cast-iron. Aluminum, glass or ceramic isn't going to work.

I did this when I renovated my kitchen. I set up my 'kitchen' on TV trays in the dining room. I had a coffee maker, a microwave, and a toaster oven, FOR SIX MONTHS. I did a lot of take out and paper plates. For refrigeration I used a cooler with ice. It seemed like every time I left the house I returned with a bag of ice.

Toaster ovens rock, redneck or granny as they may be. My mother used to mock them--and me for wanting one, but even after I graduated to a home with a huge and very expensive range with TWO ovens, and even though I have to schlep it out of a pantry cabinet and onto the counter to use it, I still can't let mine go. It actually does some stuff better than a regular oven.

Next time you buy a church, get one with a kitchen in the basement, Sarah Rae :)

I probably shouldn't confess to this, but I lived in a huge warehouse where my roommates (who were all metal fabricators) rigged a stylish, old gas stove/oven to work off of a portable propane tank. It wasn't a legal live-work, and this was just one of the many reasons why.

I have lived without a kitchen sink, that was crappy, but a bucket of water worked decently. I have been living without an Oven for about a month and a half now, AND I AM GOING CRAZY! I don't have the money for a toaster oven, (student) but I think I may go steal one of my in-laws TO for a bit till I can repair the GD oven. Thanks for this post, I can relate. Can't wait to see the place finished!

If that glorious looking sandwich came out of your stove-less kitchen, I'd say we'd all be better off jettisoning our stoves. Otherwise, please give directions to your house: we'll arrive famished.

This has been wonderful to read everyone's comments. I've been using a Toaster Oven a lot, it rarely makes sense for me to turn on the big oven, I'm single and I mainly cook for me. Between my microwave, my toaster oven, my electric kettle and slow cook, I use the oven as storage.

It's sort of embarrassing to say that, after all I have a culinary degree, and I don't even use it any more. LOL

In Hawaii it's very common for studios to not have a kitchen at all. (They are basically hotel rooms that are renting now as a 'studio'.) You'd be surprised how many people live this way. Small appliances are have a very big market here.

That's pretty cool! I actually do have a working oven/stove but rarely use the oven. I have a small toaster oven I bought at a yard sale which I've used to bake fish, chicken, bacon, toast lost of things, roast veggies. It's great. I got rid of my toaster because I didn't see the point of having it anymore.

very helpful, thanks! I'm about to move somewhere without a stove.

My boyfriend and I lived without a stove for a year and a half after Hurricane Ike. We had everything on your list plus a rice cooker, which is now in regular use even after we've moved to a new house.

As far as I'm concerned, a dual burner hotplate IS a stove. You were living without an oven.

It's been about 2 1/2 years that I've lived in an apartment with no stove and no oven. I survive on my single burner hot plate and convection toaster oven. I do have a crockpot, but rarely use it. Everything else is manageable - and I'm the daughter and sister of a chef - we take our food seriously. I've just managed to be super creative. Enjoy it while you can!

I lived without a stove or oven for the first 14 years of my life.

I was pretty happy with one when I got it but it was hardly impossible. And I cooked from age 9, and my we rarely ate out.

We had an electric griddle (used rarely) a breadmaker (used often) a toaster and a microwave. It was fine.

I got by with an electric hotplate and a toaster oven for 3 months while waiting for my proper oven to be delivered. Unfortunately there's no room for the toaster oven now - but I was amazed how much I was able to make in it.

An induction burner is definitely better than a hot plate, once you get used to it. May I also suggest an electric pressure cooker. I love the set and forget feature, it automatically switches to warm when it is done. Cooks fast and your never have dry chicken again.

Ah, I just bought a flat - renovating - and havent gotten a stove yet, and my boyfriend also has a stove that does not fit the 3-phase wall plug in his apartment - we are both stoveless. We use a little gas cooker for frying things, otherwise I can make pasta, ratatouille, even perfectly scrambled eggs in the microwave. Really! I can even do fish fingers in my flatbed toaster...Who needs a stove!

This place looks INCREDIBLE by the way. I want to see more more more more!

We love our George Foreman grill (even with a stove)! It grills veggies as well as meat-- quick and delicious!

Our house doesn't have air conditioning, and when it is 100 degrees outside, the last thing I want to use is the stove and oven. We use our toaster oven and bbq exclusively in the summer to keep the house cool.

We moved into an end terrace with no stove or oven, only the combination microwave we've always had (but until October, have only used as a microwave). We were going to replace it, but gradually learned to live without and we're now loving the space it gives us in our tiny kitchen. So far, the only thing we haven't figured out how to make are pancakes (which is a sad thing on pancake day!)

I wish I could see more "in progress" posts (or at least pics!) of your place! These little sneak peeks you do kill me with curiosity.

I've been living the last... 5 years without a stove, using electric skillets. While I kinda miss the precision and control of a gas stove, centainly it is nothing that you won't overcome with a little practice -thick bottommed dishes help as well. About a year ago I bought home a big toaster oven, and I am very happy about it.

As a weekend DIYer, I've gone a year without a stove during my ongoing home renovation (my "kitchen" currently consists of a microwave sitting on top of my refrigerator and a portable induction cooktop sitting on top of my dining room table...in my living room.) The induction cooktop has been a great amenity (I have a grill, which is great in warmer weather, but the cooktop has helped me survive the winter). The reality is that I cook more at home than many of my friends that have nice, functioning kitchens. And with the steam-in-microwave veggies and really decent microwaveable salmon from Costco, I've actually manage to eat much better than the TV dinners all my friends assume I've been subsisting on. I don't have a toaster oven (though I'm tempted by this forum to get one) but am not actually sure I'd use it all that often (and unless I'm going to keep it on the table saw in my kitchen, I don't really have the space for one anyway). ;)

A toaster oven is so much more useful than a regular toaster! I love it for reheating (and of course for toasting). I haven't tried baking in it, but I think I will now after reading these comments!

@coccyx - an electric griddle or skillet works great for pancakes!

I bake chicken pieces in my toaster oven all the time, along with small batches of cornbread and beer bread, as well as small casseroles I made ahead and froze.

It actually doesn't make all that terrific a piece of toast, but I swear by mine for everything else.

I became unimpressed when you gave the list of other appliances. I did not have a stove in my kitchen through all of grad school and I not only "survived," I cooked all the time. Maybe you should have invested in a better hotplate? You can get some that are essentially cooktops. You can also bake small things in a toaster oven and since it sounds like there are only 2 of you, do you really need to make a 20lb turkey? ever?

TWO electric hotplates, NOT a two in one (limits pan circumference! and one is always a weak one) I recommend the Better Chef label insanely cheap and boils water in pots and regulates better than any other I found.. toaster oven: again a cheap one best (Black and Decker) reliably calibrated for heat, and use pottery baking dishes rather than metal, somehow smooths over the weirdness of the close elements and drafty door, use the top of the toaster oven as a plate warmer, and I love my electric kettle, my Unimax glows blue when off and red when on, very pretty effect... go shopping for these things in a korean or japanese home goods appliance store, those cats UNDERSTAND cooking in these conditions and THRIFT... if you are lacking a sink handy, get a busing tray and two spray bottles, one for soapy and one for plain water and just be liberal with paper towels, the area will stay clean easier.

treat yourself to a big chopping block, cutting board whatev