7 Covered Outdoor Kitchen Ideas for Breezy Summer Cooking

The urge to cook outside when warm weather rolls around is natural, and so are the numerous obstacles—like extended sun exposure and unexpected summer storms—that come with it. Fortunately, covered outdoor kitchens will allow you to have your open-air cooking experience and actually enjoy it, too. Whether you opt for a simple solution like adding an awning to your patio or decide to go all out on building a standalone culinary cabana, such fixes will protect both you and your appliances from sunburns and torrential rainfall alike. 

Love the idea of a covered outdoor kitchen but not sure how to incorporate one into your pre-existing abode? The following seven ideas will give you plenty of inspiration and options for whatever your current set-up may be. 

1. Transform a Gazebo Into an Ideal Culinary Oasis

Standalone backyard structures like gazebos are practically begging to be turned into covered outdoor kitchens. They’ve got plenty of square footage for adding DIY outdoor kitchen cabinets, all the necessary appliances (like a grill and a sink) and they already have full coverage built right in, so you don’t need to worry about including another, separate feature. 

2. Utilize Your Camper

If you have an RV or camper that you don’t take on the road very often, it could be the perfect space for a cozy yet cost-effective outdoor kitchen. Pull out the hood to create a shaded area for setting up all the necessary appliances and even a small sitting space for putting up your feet when the heat of the grill becomes too much to handle. 

3. Add a Cooking Pavilion to Your Abode

When in doubt, extend your patio out further into your yard and turn it into a pavilion fit for a five star chef like the one pictured above. What’s exceptional about this set-up is that the vaulted ceilings do a great job of keeping cool air in and pushing hot air out. Plus, they have enough room for added ceiling fans to ensure smoke from pizza ovens and the like doesn’t fill up your space.

4. Use a Classic Pergola-Patio Format 

Outdoor kitchen costs can be pretty hefty depending on the kind of structure you choose to build, but a classic pergola-patio arrangement is a great way to get a lot of benefits from a small budget. While pergolas may not provide the same level of coverage as other options because of their slatted roofs, you can add a layer of protective fabric or grow a vibrant and naturally cooling living ceiling with plants to get shade all the same.

5. Blur the Lines Between Inside and Outdoors With a Sunroom Kitchen 

If you’re enticed by the romance of cooking outside but put off by the thought of developing a whole new outdoor kitchen plan, consider transforming a sunroom instead. This allows you to have the best of both worlds—inside and out. Open up the doors or windows to let a breeze in, or close them while cooking to keep pests at bay. 

6. Stay Shaded With an Awning-Covered Patio Kitchen

Adding an awning to your patio is another cost-effective way to give your outdoor kitchen protection. Depending on the type of material the awning is made of, it can provide just as much defense from sun and rain as any other option on this list (and even more so than solutions like a pergola), and is easier to install to boot. 

7. Build Sunroof Cabana to Let in Light and Keep Out Bad Weather

If you’d like the protection that an awning or a gazebo offers, but would rather not block out the sun rays, consider a cabana with a sunroof built in. That way, nothing gets in the way of you and your tan, plus protection from the elements. Standalone additions like this take time and energy to construct, but you can always hire an outdoor kitchen builder near you if you’d rather not go the DIY route.