Enjoying Outside, Inside – Solar Cookers

Kristie Ehrhardt • June 29, 2022

We have some pretty great weather here in the Sacramento Valley. Although, I can’t say I enjoy the days where the temperature hits 105, I do love the long days of sunshine. When it’s really hot outside, using the oven makes it really hot inside too and there isn’t a more surefire way to make me cranky than sticking me in a hot kitchen. While it might be too hot to play outside or cook inside, you can still use the sun’s energy to keep your kids entertained and fill their tummies at the same time by constructing a solar cooker. There are four types of solar cookers: panel cookers, box cookers, parabolic cookers and tube cookers. Each type uses a different design to utilize the sun’s energy to cook food.


The panel solar cooker uses shiny panels to reflect and focus sunlight into a pot. They can heat food up to about 250 degrees and are best for warm climates with little wind.


The box solar cooker uses an insulated box (often two boxes inside of each other with an insulating layer in between) and a transparent plastic or glass top with reflective panels inside to heat the box. The inside of the box can reach 400 degrees and function similar to a crock pot.


A parabolic cooker, sometimes called a curved cooker, uses reflective material to aim and concentrate the sunlight onto the sides or bottom of a pot. It cooks food much faster and gets so hot that you can make popcorn and fry foods! They do require attention and can be a safety concern for children.


The tube solar cooker uses a glass vacuum tube with parabolic (curved) reflective material around the outside of it. The heat is held inside by the vacuum and can reach 550 degrees!


You can purchase or make your own versions of most of these. Homemade versions can vary from recycled cardboard boxes and tin foil to sturdier things like plywood and sheet metal. The one you’re probably most familiar with and the easiest for kids to construct and use is a panel solar cooker. I have to admit, after a few days of an incessant heatwave even grilling sounds tedious so my family orders pizza. And wouldn’t you know, this panel solar cooker is made using a pizza box! Not that you needed an excuse to call Dominos but let’s call it foresight.


Here are some great recipes for yummy treats that use the pizza box solar cooker that will keep your kiddos happy, entertained and full! If you really get into solar cooking, this website has lots of tips, tricks and more sophisticated recipes. If you work your way through all of these, make up your own treats and enjoy the sunshine.



-Kristie Ehrhardt; kehrhardt@tuleyome.org


Tuleyome Land Conservation Program Manager


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