Power cut essentials (UK): what to eat when you can't cook

Written by James Frost, founder of Flaming Phoenix and the maker of Phoenix Bars. Updated November 2026.

Quick answer: In a power cut, eat food that needs no cooking and no fridge: dense, ready-to-eat food such as nut butter, nuts, oatcakes, dried fruit and high-calorie bars, plus tins you can eat cold, like fish in oil, corned beef and beans. Eat what is in the fridge first, keep the freezer shut, and keep 3 litres of water per person per day and a torch, radio, power bank and some cash ready. Call 105 to report a power cut in England, Scotland and Wales.

The UK government's Be Ready campaign, launched on 22 October 2026, asks every household to be ready to manage for 3 days if services such as electricity are cut. Most power cuts are short and local, but Be Ready is clear that longer cuts lasting several days are possible. This guide covers the part people tend to leave until the lights go out: what you will actually eat when the cooker, kettle, microwave and fridge all stop at once.

Why I wrote this guide. I started Phoenix Bars as a university project to design a nourishing, very high-calorie food that could replace an emergency ration and still be something people want to eat. Since then I have spent years talking to people who live without a kitchen for days at a time, from desert ultramarathons to a South Pole expedition, so food that needs no cooking, no fridge and no fuss is what I think about every day. The safety advice below comes from the Food Standards Agency, the UK Chief Medical Officers, National Grid, the British Red Cross and the fire service, and is linked at the bottom of the page.

What stops working in a power cut?

More than the lights. Be Ready warns that a power cut can stop electric cookers and gas ovens, boilers and heat pumps, and home internet, and that mobile phone masts and even the mains water supply may be disrupted. In practice that means:

• No cooking. Kettles, microwaves, induction and electric hobs and most modern ovens stop. Plan for food you can eat as it is.
• No fridge or freezer. They keep things cold for a while if you keep the doors shut, then the clock starts.
• No heating. Cold makes people hungrier and more tired, so warm layers and calorie-dense food matter more than usual.
• No card payments or internet. Shops nearby may be shut or cash only, which is why the advice is to have 3 days of food in already.

What to eat in a power cut: the no-cook food list

The best power cut food is calorie-dense, keeps at room temperature and can be eaten straight from the packet or tin. Be Ready's own wording is food with a long shelf life that doesn't need refrigeration or cooking, such as tinned meat, fish or vegetables, dried fruit and nuts, and it asks you to buy food you would usually eat. Here is how the common options compare on calories, because calories are what keep you warm and thinking straight when the house is cold.

Build your power cut food around three groups:

• Dense, dry food for most of the calories. Nuts, nut butter, oatcakes, crackers, dried fruit, chocolate and a few Phoenix Bars. They give you the most calories for the space and need nothing doing to them.
• Tins you can eat cold for proper meals. Fish in oil, corned beef, beans, chickpeas and rice pudding. Our guide to the best tinned food to stockpile ranks tins by calories and shows which ones work cold. Keep a manual tin opener with them, which Be Ready lists alongside the food.
• Drinks that need no fridge. Bottled water first, then long-life (UHT) milk and juice cartons, which also make dry cereal into breakfast.

Breakfast is the meal people miss most without a kettle, so plan it. A Phoenix Bar breaks down in a little water into a thick porridge, and the water does not need to be hot. One customer, Maria, tested it ahead of a desert race and wrote, "I used tepid water to break it down and it didn't take long to turn into a kind of porridge." Cereal with UHT milk works too. For the full list of shelf-stable foods, see our non-perishable food list.

What to eat first: fridge, freezer, then the cupboard

The UK Chief Medical Officers' advice for a long power cut is to eat in this order:

1. Chilled food first. Sandwiches, salads, cooked meats, leftovers and anything defrosting from the freezer.
2. Short-life food next. Bread, cakes, fresh fruit and vegetables, and eggs.
3. Long-life cupboard food last. Tins, dry food and bars, which keep safely at room temperature.

How long the cold lasts, according to the Food Standards Agency:

• Fridge: stays cold for up to about 4 hours if you keep the door shut. A power cut shorter than 4 hours is unlikely to affect the safety of chilled or frozen food.
• Full freezer: food should stay frozen for up to about 48 hours.
• Half-full freezer: about 24 hours.

These are estimates, so open the doors as little as you can. Babies, young children, pregnant women, older people and anyone with a weakened immune system should not eat ready-to-eat chilled food, such as sandwiches, salads or leftovers, once the power has been off for more than 4 hours, even if it was in the fridge. In cold weather, the CMO advice is that you can keep food outside in a clean, dry, sealed plastic or metal container, out of the sun and away from animals. If in doubt, throw it out.

How to cook without electricity, safely

You may not need to. A household that keeps 3 days of no-cook food never has to light anything. If you do want hot food or drinks:

• Cook outside only. Use a camping stove or barbecue outdoors, never indoors, in a garage or in a porch. The CMO advice is blunt that using them indoors carries a very high risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, which can kill, and UK fire services have reported carbon monoxide call-outs during storm power cuts.
• Change gas cartridges outdoors too, away from anything that could ignite.
• Fill a flask before the power goes. National Grid suggests boiling water in advance and keeping it in a flask for hot drinks or a hot water bottle. If a storm is forecast, fill two.
• Use torches, not candles. Be Ready and the British Red Cross both say torches are safer, and fire services are called to candle fires during power cuts.

If you start to feel unwell with a headache, dizziness or nausea while using any fuel-burning appliance, get into fresh air and call 999: those can be signs of carbon monoxide poisoning.

A 3-day no-cook menu for one adult

An adult normally needs around 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day, and more when the house is cold. Day 1 should come out of the fridge, following the eat-chilled-first rule above. Days 2 and 3 can come entirely from the cupboard, with no cooking:

• Breakfast: a Phoenix Bar mixed with water into porridge, no kettle needed (up to 557 calories).
• Lunch: a tin of mackerel in oil (about 240), 6 oatcakes (about 270) and an apple (about 50).
• Afternoon: 50g of salted peanuts and 30g of raisins (about 390).
• Dinner: a tin of baked beans eaten cold (about 335) with 4 crackers (about 140).
• Pudding: a 400g tin of rice pudding (about 370).

That comes to about 2,350 calories with nothing to heat and nothing to chill. For the two cupboard days you would buy 2 Phoenix Bars, 2 tins of mackerel, a packet of oatcakes, a 100g bag of peanuts, a small box of raisins, 2 tins of beans, a packet of crackers and 2 tins of rice pudding, plus a few apples. Add 9 litres of water per person (3 litres a day), as Be Ready advises, and see our guide to emergency water storage for how to keep it.

To scale this up for your household, children and pets, use our emergency food calculator, or work from the full 3-day emergency food supply list.

Power cut essentials checklist

Food and water are the start. Be Ready, National Grid and the British Red Cross also advise keeping these where everyone in the house can find them in the dark:

• A torch and spare batteries, or a wind-up torch.
• A battery or wind-up radio, with local and national station frequencies written down.
• A charged power bank for phones and any compatible medical devices.
• Cash in coins and notes, in case card machines and cash machines are down.
• Blankets, sleeping bags and warm layers. Close doors to unused rooms and draw the curtains to hold heat.
• A manual tin opener, a first aid kit and enough of your regular medication.
• Important numbers on paper, including 105 for power cuts in England, Scotland and Wales, or 03457 643643 in Northern Ireland.
• A car fuel tank kept at least half full, since many petrol stations cannot pump fuel without power.

When the power goes, switch off ovens, irons, electric fires and anything else that should not come back on unattended, unplug the TV and computer to protect them from a surge, and leave one light switched on so you know when the power is back. For everything else the government suggests keeping for 3 days, use our home emergency kit checklist, and if you spend time on the road in winter, our winter car kit checklist.

If you are buying for someone else, our guide to gifts for preppers turns this checklist into presents at every budget.

Power cuts, older relatives and anyone with a small appetite

Be Ready singles out older adults, babies, young children and people with long-term health conditions as most at risk from the cold in a power cut. If you look after an older parent or neighbour, three things help most:

• Sign them up to the Priority Services Register. It is free, run by energy suppliers and network operators, and can mean advance warning of planned cuts and priority support in an emergency. Eligibility includes people of state pension age, households with children under 5 and anyone who relies on powered medical equipment. Register through their energy supplier or at thepsr.co.uk.
• Keep food in that is easy to eat in small amounts. When the house is cold and the routine is broken, appetite often drops. Soft, familiar food works best: rice pudding, porridge made from a Phoenix Bar mixed with water, cereal with UHT milk, nut butter on oatcakes. Little and often beats one big meal.
• Check on them. The British Red Cross asks people to check on vulnerable neighbours and relatives during a power cut if it is safe to do so.

Getting more calories in from small portions is what high calorie bars are built for, and it is why many of our customers keep a few at home. One customer, Samantha, wrote: "Having them at home gives me a great sense of peace of mind, especially in case of an emergency." Our guides to high-calorie foods for older adults and what to eat when your appetite is low have more everyday ideas.

Common questions about power cuts

What food should I buy for a power cut?

Buy food that needs no cooking and no fridge and that your household already likes: nuts, nut butter, oatcakes or crackers, dried fruit, chocolate, high-calorie bars such as Phoenix Bars, and tins you can eat cold such as fish in oil, corned beef, beans and rice pudding. Add long-life milk, a manual tin opener and 3 litres of water per person per day.

How long will food in my fridge and freezer last in a power cut?

The Food Standards Agency says a fridge stays cold for up to about 4 hours, a full freezer keeps food frozen for up to about 48 hours and a half-full freezer for about 24 hours, as long as you keep the doors shut. A power cut shorter than 4 hours is unlikely to affect food safety.

Can I use a camping stove or barbecue indoors in a power cut?

No. Camping stoves and barbecues must only be used outdoors. Using them indoors, in a garage or in a porch risks carbon monoxide poisoning, which can kill. Change gas cartridges outdoors too, and use torches rather than candles for light.

What number do I call in a power cut?

Call 105 in England, Scotland and Wales, which is free and connects you to your local electricity network operator. In Northern Ireland call 03457 643643. If there is a risk to life, for example a fallen power line, call 999.

Is there going to be a 3-day blackout in the UK?

The Be Ready campaign asks households to be ready for up to 3 days of disruption to services such as electricity, water and phones. It is general preparedness advice, not a warning of a planned blackout. The government says most power cuts are short and local, that longer cuts lasting several days are possible, and that national impacts are unlikely.

What is a load block letter?

In the rare event of a national energy shortage, power could be cut in rotation, area by area, for about 3 hours at a time. Your load block letter tells you which rotation your home is in. You can find it on your electricity bill or by entering your postcode at powercut105.com.

How do you make breakfast in a power cut?

Without a kettle, eat cereal with long-life milk, oatcakes with nut butter, or break a Phoenix Bar into a little water, which turns it into a thick porridge in a few minutes without heating. If you filled a flask before the power went, you can still make a hot drink.

Phoenix Bars are rated 4.9 out of 5 from 400+ reviews, and I hand-pack every order myself. If you only do one thing after reading this, put 3 days of food you would happily eat cold in one place, with a tin opener, a torch and the water next to it.

Sources: GOV.UK Be Ready, power cuts; GOV.UK Be Ready checklist; Food Standards Agency, food safety in a power cut; UK Chief Medical Officers, food and nutrition advice during a national power outage; National Grid, 12 tips to prepare for a power cut; British Red Cross, how to prepare for a power cut; Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, power cuts. Food calorie values from UK pack labels and supermarket listings, checked November 2026; Phoenix Bar values from our own pack labels.

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