My Favorite Freeze-dried Backpacking Meals
These freeze-dried backpacking meals are my favorites for their flavor and nutrition – and their lack of preservatives or additives.
Review: Gastro Gnome Backpacking Meals
Gastro Gnome’s flavorful, well-crafted meals set them apart from many backpacking brands, with a comfort-food approach that goes beyond typical freeze-dried meals.
Review: Peak Refuel Meals
Peak Refuel offers freeze-dried meals with homestyle flavors, more protein than many backpacking meals, and plenty of options featuring foods I enjoy on outdoor trips.
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.
Review: Bowl & Kettle Backpacking Meals
Bowl & Kettle brings a noticeably elevated approach to backpacking meals, with unique recipes, rich flavors, and a level of quality that sets them apart from most brands.
Review: RightOnTrek Meals
I tried out several freeze-dried meals from RightOnTrek – whose meals are more affordable than most packaged options.
Review: RecPak Ultralight Meal Replacement
RecPak is a high-calorie meal replacement powder. Just add water, shake, and drink — an easy, portable, no-cook solution for fueling long days outdoors.
Meal Planning for Backpacking
The key to meal planning for backpacking is to bring food that is calorie dense and lightweight.
Recipe: Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Instant mashed potatoes are an easy to make meal for backpacking. No cooking on the stove is required, so this recipe is great for those who just want to add boiling water to a meal and will be ready to eat in 10 minutes or less.
Recipe: Artichoke-Spinach Alfredo Orzo
What's not to love about an alfredo pasta dish with spinach and artichokes? Add bacon jerky and mmm... I could eat this all the time!
Sourcing Ingredients for Making Your Own Backpacking Meals
This is a list of dehydrated or freeze-dried ingredients that can be used for making your own backpacking meals.
Review: Mountain House Backpacking Meals
Mountain House is a go-to for backpackers, yet I’d never tried their meals, so I recently sampled multiple options – including three new flavors. From creamy comfort food to some misses, here’s what I thought about each.
Review: Backpacker’s Pantry Backpacking Meals
Backpacker’s Pantry offers a solid lineup of freeze-dried meals that strike a good balance between taste, convenience, and price.
Review: Gomoku Freeze-dried Mixed Rice
Gomoku Mixed Rice is a freeze-dried rice meal with vegetables and subtle Japanese flavors — a unique backpacking option that stands out from typical trail fare, especially when paired with extra protein.
Recipe: Chicken Piccata
Chicken Piccata is one of my favorite Italian meals that I make at home. I adapted the recipe using dehydrated ingredients and used homemade chicken meatballs instead of using freeze-dried chicken.
Recipe: Fall Harvest Stuffing
This backpacking stuffing recipe – with winter squash, mushrooms and sausage – is like having Thanksgiving in the backcountry.
Dehydrating Ingredients for Making Your Own Backpacking Meals
Not only is dehydrating your own ingredients a great way to save money on backpacking food, it’s also a good method for controlling the quality of the items used in meals – as well as being able to tailor the taste of meals to your preferences.
Recipe: Ginger Almond Berry Oatmeal
Instant oatmeal is easy enough to make, but doesn't keep me fueled for very long, so I make my own oatmeal mix with almonds, chia seeds and coconut milk powder for protein.
Recipe: Mac & Cheese with Pulled Pork
Macaroni and cheese is a classic backpacking meal. In this version, pulled pork takes it a couple of notches on the flavor spectrum.
Recipe: Strawberry Pecan Granola
Looking for a fuss-free breakfast for camping and backpacking trips? This no-cook meal uses only four ingredients and is super easy to prepare. Just add cold water, stir and enjoy!
Recipe: Chicken Meatballs
These chicken meatballs rehydrate well and they taste much better than using freeze-dried chicken in backpacking recipes.
Recipe: Salmon Chowder
This backpacking recipe for Salmon Chowder uses canned salmon and shredded potatoes that you dehydrate at home, and adds instant mashed potatoes for a thick and creamy chowder.
Review: Meat Shredz Pulled Pork
Do you need a quick source of protein for hiking and backpacking? Meat Shredz Pulled Pork is a new favorite of mine on the trail. I like it so much that I created a new recipe for backpacking.