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Are you always snacking in the car? In this post, we recommend 15 gadgets for eating in the car you didn’t know you needed.
Is It Okay To Eat In The Car?
Whether it’s just a light snack or a full car feast, everyone has eaten in their car at some point.
But eating in the car has its problems.
There are the crumbs to worry about, the constant fear of drinks spilling, and sticky fingers that can cause stains.
And of course, the limited space can quickly make eating in the car an uncomfortable experience.
However, these problems can be easily solved.
With the right tools and accessories, eating in the car becomes totally okay as long as it doesn’t distract you as you drive.
(Remember it’s always better to pull over to enjoy your meal in the car. It’s safer and it just might taste better!)
Below are 15 awesome car accessories that will solve all your problems with eating in the car.
We’ve separated this post into 3 useful sections:
- Gadgets For Eating Meals In The Car
- Car Accessories For Drinks
- Car Essentials For Keeping Your Car Clean After Eating
(P.S: If you’re planning a car date, these gadgets for eating in the car can help keep your date fun and romantic without worrying about making a mess.)
Related: 6 Car Date Ideas You Need To Try
Let’s get started!
Eating In Car Accessories For Meals:
1. Tray For Eating In Car
This steering wheel tray from Amazon is essential for anyone who loves to do more than light snacking in their car.
It’s strong and perfect for supporting your drink, meal, AND sides all at the same time.
It’s super easy to use too!
You simply attach it to your steering wheel, lay out your food, and start eating.
It also doubles as a desk for writing or using your laptop, so you get a lot of use for your bucks.
2. Sauce Holders
Attention all sauce lovers!
These super handy sauce holders might very well change your life.
They easily clip onto your car vents so your sauce is always within arm’s reach.
This makes it super easy to reach out and dip your nuggets, fries, and other snacks in your favorite sauce — without worrying about getting it everywhere.
3. Food Car Tray
Another handy gadget is this car tray — perfect for carrying your food before you’re ready to dig in.
This one goes on the passenger seat and has velcro straps to keep your food secure while you drive.
It’s great for carrying your food safely without any spills and messes.
If you need space for cups or mugs, check out the bundle version here.
4. Car Food Warmer
This portable food warmer is amazing.
All you do is place your food container into the base, zip it closed, and plug it into the cigarette lighter port of your car.
Then, after 30 minutes to an hour, you can have a nice hot meal wherever you are.
This is great if you live in your car or if you like to go on road trips.
It’ll warm up your breakfast, lunch, and dinner and heat frozen meals!
5. Rotating Car Cup Holder & Tray
While the steering wheel food tray is perfect for when your car is parked, this rotating cup holder and tray is great if you’re snacking while driving or if you have a passenger who wants to eat too!
The base of this tray goes into the cup holder of your car while the tray is both adjustable and expandable!
Eating In The Car Accessories for Drinks:
6. Car Electric Kettle
This little kettle does exactly what you think – it boils water in your car!
This opens up a world of opportunities for eating in the car because with this you can make tea, coffee, or even instant noodles if you’re up for it.
Another great item if you live in your car or like to go on road trips.
7. Cup Holder Expander
If you love large drinks, you’re going to want to add this cup holder expander to your wishlist immediately.
This handy gadget goes into your regular cup holder (which is usually too small for very large cups and bottles) and gives you more room to hold your drink.
8. Car Coasters
Coasters are also great car accessories for eating in the car.
Not only are they super cute, but they’re also really useful.
They help to keep your car’s cup holder clean by protecting them from sticky and messy liquids.
Instead of your drink spilling or dripping into the bare cup holder (which can be hard to clean), it will spill onto the coaster which can be easily removed and washed.
9. Insulated Cup Holder
If you like chillers, iced coffee, or milkshakes, you know how annoying it is when the temperature changes.
No one wants a gross, warm milkshake!
With this insulated cup sleeve, you won’t have to worry about that.
You put your drink into it and it’ll keep it nice and cold for hours.
Essentials For Keeping Your Car Clean After Eating
10. Car Bin
We believe a car bin is a must-have for everyone, especially people who like to eat in the car.
Without a bin, you might be tempted to litter or forget your trash in the car for days.
No thanks!
This car bin from Amazon is attached to the back of your center console and is big enough will hold your dirty napkins, disposal forks and spoons, and all your food wrappers.
Just be sure to take out the trash when you get the chance.
11. Odor Eliminators & Air Fresheners
If you eat in the car with the windows up or if you’re spilling things often, your car will smell like a food truck in no time.
If this is your car, an odor eliminator is just what you need.
This one from Amazon is powerful enough to eliminate food smells and odors from your car, so no one can guess what you had to eat in there.
One impressed customer had this to say: “As long as you read the instructions your vehicle will smell great. It neutralized all of the fast food odors in my vehicle.“
You can also use an air freshener like this one to add a more pleasant smell to your car.
Related: How To Make Your Car Smell So Good That You’ll Never Want To Get Out
12. Hand Sanitizer
This next item is absolutely essential!
Eating with dirty hands can quite literally make you sick, and nobody wants that.
Hand sanitizer will help to kill any germs so you can eat with nice clean hands.
13. Soap Sheets
Even better than hand sanitizer is soap sheets.
With a sheet of soap and a bottle of water, you can thoroughly wash your hands before and after you eat to get rid of germs and keep your car safe from the sticky-finger monster.
14. Wipes & Tissues
Car wipes are great to keep if you eat in your car often.
They’ll help to clean up spills and messes as soon as they happen.
Of course, tissue is right up there with wipes. They’re great for soaking up spills and wiping sticky fingers after you eat.
15. Car Vacuum
Finally, a car vacuum.
A vacuum is a must-have when it comes to eating in the car.
This one is powerful and cordless making it easy to clean up crumbs and bits of food on your car seats, car mats, and anywhere else.
This is super important especially if you’re worried about bugs getting into your car.
How Can I Eat Comfortably In My Car?
Our best recommendation for comfortable eating in the car is to pull over.
It’s totally understandable to want to eat on the go if you’re in a hurry, but spills and other accidents are much more likely to happen if you try to eat while you drive.
Once you’ve pulled over though, a steering wheel tray and cup holder can make you feel almost like you’re in your own private restaurant.
Almost.
If you really can’t pull over, we recommend having some light snacks that are easy to munch on and won’t pull your attention from the road.