Review: Pinnacle Foods Backpacking Meals
Pinnacle Foods freeze-dried meals are a cut above the rest, with a solid lineup of great tasting options that provide plenty of calories for outdoor adventurers.
Pinnacle Foods is by far my favorite brand for backpacking food. It’s also expensive, at $16-18 per meal – and in my opinion, totally worth every penny. As a picky eater who struggles with eating on backpacking trips, I used to make all of my own dehydrated meals, but after trying a few new brands of freeze-dried meals, I’m no longer spending hours making my own.
Pinnacle Foods’ meals range from 690 to 850 calories each, which is the amount of calories I look for in a dinner to replenish my body after a day of hiking. Anything less and I wake up hungry and don’t have as much energy as when I get enough calories to sustain me. Each package is one serving, although if you have a smaller appetite, you may be able to split them in half to make two servings out of one package. While I tend to be a light eater, I still usually finish a whole meal because they taste so good and I don’t think half would be enough for me.
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My Experience with Pinnacle Meals
I’ve taken these meal on multiple trips for the past several years and they are consistently the best tasting freeze-dried meals I’ve ever tried. I used to swear that I’d never eat from a bag, but now I’m a total convert. I look forward to these meals every time I take them on trips and have no trouble finishing them – something that used to be a struggle for me. The best part is there are no preservatives or other additives – just real food.
My favorites are the Creamy Tuscan Chicken with Penne Pasta, Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits and Herbed Sausage Gravy, and Herb Roasted Chicken with White Cheddar Biscuit Dumplings, and the Italian Sausage Penne Pasta.
And while I love the meals that are listed here, there a few that I didn’t like quite as much, including the Sticky Teriyaki Chicken & Rice and the Thai Peanut Curry. They do have a good taste, but I just didn’t like them as much as the other meals. Normally, I love Asian food and eat it regularly at home – but when I’m backpacking, I prefer heartier homestyle meals.
Note that I purchased all of the meals on my own and Pinnacle is not sponsoring this post… I just really like them a lot.
Roasted Chicken and White Cheddar Biscuit Dumplings
This is my favorite meal when I’m backpacking. Its creamy herbed sauce complements the chicken and dumplings well without being too heavy – and I love that carrots and green beans are included for flavor and extra nutrition.
- 700 calories | 54g protein
- My rating: 5 out of 5
- Price: $17.49
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Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Penne pasta is combined with spinach and sun dried tomatoes and uses chunks of real chicken, not the tasteless cubes of chicken typically found in freeze-dried meals. The garlic parmesan cream sauce is flavorful and isn’t too salty.
- 860 calories | 77g protein
- My rating: 5 out of 5
- Price: $17.99
Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits and Herbed Sausage Gravy
Wow. I’ve had biscuits and gravy many times and made it myself and home, and this version competes with them all. I like to have this as a dinner since it’s so filling but it’s a good choice as a breakfast for a long day of hiking too. The jalapeño flavor is very light and I don’t find this to be too spicy at all.
- 800 calories | 30g protein
- My rating: 5 out of 5
- Price: $16.49
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Jambalaya with Blackened Chicken, Cajun Sausage, Rice, and Bell Peppers
I was curious about whether or not this meal would be too spicy, but it’s not. There is a slight amount of heat but it’s definitely kept to a minimum. The overall flavor is quite good – it’s well-balanced and a nice alternative to most meals since Jambalaya is not an option available from any other company. The amount of food seemed like it was more than in other Pinnacle Foods meals and I wasn’t able to finish the whole package.
- 690 calories | 44g protein
- My rating: 4.8 out of 5
- Price: $17.49
About Pinnacle Foods
Pinnacle Foods was founded by brothers John and Ben Ritner in Missoula, Montana. The company now prepares all meals from scratch in High Point, NC, using fresh, natural ingredients that are small-batch cooked and freeze-dried to preserve nutrients and taste without fillers or additives.
Disclosure: I purchased these meals with my own funds.