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Cooking Without Electricity

GridReady Guide editorial team · Updated September 2026

Choose methods appropriate to your home and never bring outdoor combustion appliances indoors simply because the electricity is off.

Reduce cooking dependence

Keep foods that can be eaten safely without cooking alongside foods requiring heat.

Respect combustion hazards

Grills and similar combustion devices can create dangerous carbon monoxide indoors or in enclosed spaces.

Keep reading: food during outages

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Updated: September 26, 2026

Safest first layer: keep several meals that require no cooking. Outdoor combustion cooking can add flexibility, but grills, camp stoves and similar devices can produce carbon monoxide and should never be moved indoors simply because the weather is poor.

Build a cooking ladder

Layer	Examples	Why it helps
No-cook	Shelf-stable foods normally eaten without heating	No fuel, no exhaust, immediate
Low-energy electric	Small appliance only if your backup system can support it	Avoids combustion but can consume battery capacity quickly
Outdoor combustion	Equipment specifically designed for outdoor cooking	Useful for longer outages when operated in a safe outdoor location

Plan the menu with the fuel

Meals that simmer for long periods consume far more stored energy or fuel than quick-heating foods. Pair your emergency menu with the actual cooking method you expect to use, including a manual can opener and safe food-handling supplies.

Indoor air safety sets the boundary

Combustion equipment can create carbon monoxide, an odorless gas that can be fatal. Equipment labeled for outdoor use should remain outdoors and away from openings according to its instructions. A garage with the door open is not a substitute for a safe outdoor generator location, and the same general caution applies to improvised combustion cooking.

If weather makes outdoor cooking unsafe, fall back to the no-cook foods in your plan. Emergency cooking should never require trading food convenience for carbon-monoxide or fire risk.