If you’ve got a cardboard box, you can make yourself a simple DIY solar oven.

MATERIALS USED:
2 boxes – one a bit smaller than the other
Insulating material (peanuts, crumpled paper, etc)
Aluminum foil
Scissors
Duct tape
Black paper
Clear plastic sheet (or old glass picture frame)

I made my first solar oven several years ago when I worked in an office that didn’t have an oven or microwave. (It actually didn’t have a bathroom either, but that’s a whole other story 😉 ) I got tired of just eating sandwiches everyday for lunch, so I built a very simple cardboard box oven. It wasn’t great, but it worked. Gave me a way to warm up leftovers at least.

When You Don’t Have An Oven

Recently I decided to build a new DIY solar oven, as I don’t have a real oven. In the winter I cook on my woodstove’s oven. However, this time of year, I don’t have the woodstove on so I needed an alternative. Enter the DIY solar oven.

While my first build was just a simple little thing to get me through the office day lunches, on this DIY solar oven, I decided to build the “deluxe” edition. Double-thick insulated walls, double panes of plastic “glass,” and a large solar sail, collapsible for easy storage.

Great For Camping

A DIY solar oven is perfect for warming up food during the summer when you’re camping, living off grid, or just don’t want to spend the electric to heat up your whole oven. I use mine almost everyday (except cloudy days of course) to heat up my lunch in the summer. It’s especially great for warming up leftovers.

Just remember to be careful while you’re cooking with a DIY solar oven. The insides of these things get very hot, just like a regular oven, so use potholders to pull out your pans. And don’t rely on a solar oven to cook potentially dangerous meals that require specific temperatures (like meat for example), since a solar oven’s temperatures can vary inconsistently.

My “glass” was a cracked piece of plastic that had fallen out of its picture frame. But pleixglass or even an old glass picture frame would work equally well.

The packing peanuts I used in my solar oven were made of cornstarch. I do not advise using styrofoam peanuts as they may emit harmful vapors (I don’t know, so I wouldn’t risk it). So if you don’t have cornstarch peanuts, use crumpled paper or more layers of cardboard as an alternative to packing peanuts.

Video tutorial by Amber Reifsteck, The Woodland Elf

The information provided on this website is for general information purposes only. If you choose to rely on the information on this website, you do so at your own risk and you assume responsibility for the results. (Full disclaimer here)

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