The best backpacking meals to fuel your next great adventure

A top-notch product and a personal favorite, Peak Refuel’s Freeze-Dried Meals are camping foods fit for the most dedicated outdoors enthusiasts. Dense and filling, some menu items pack over a thousand calories per pouch plus nearly 50 grams of protein to boot. They fuel hikes just as well as they served me as post-gym recovery treats.

From my experience sampling its chicken alfredo and breakfast granola, textures were spot on, and flavors were far more potent than other outdoor food I’ve tasted without being overbearing. It was hard to believe that they were freeze-dried rocks in a bag moments prior. Preparation was a cinch, with Peak Refuel meals requiring a tad less water to prepare than competitors’, so you could save those spare ounces of water to wash it all down. This was proper food and surprisingly satisfying for what it was, but it does come at a couple of nitpicky costs.

Being a “premium” brand of camping food, Peak Refuel meals sit a few dollars above its rivals near the upper end of the price scale. Far from MRE money, but they’re not value deals either. Their shelf-life also bars them from pulling survival kit duty.

A pleasant surprise and a warmly-welcomed addition to our guide, the Backpacker’s Pantry Freeze-Dried Backpacking & Camping Food lineup is a budget-friendly choice without sacrificing quality. Prices hover below $10 per pouch and between $50 and $60 for a six-pack bundle, a few shillings beneath other brands. Dishes are a colorful array of choices that will have outdoorsy foodies up and giddy. No vomit-inducing, half-baked meals here. They can also be found across many retailers from online companies, outdoor outfitters, and even in-person grocery stores.

A handful of consumers even attest to this brand being far superior and more flavorful than typical “premium” camping food brands. They’re reportedly quite filling with decent serving sizes for most people, which has led many buyers to use these as an easy escape from cooking.

If there’s any bone to pick, it’s how certain dishes include “flavor-enhancing” ingredients that aren’t so well-executed. Consumers noted an odd aftertaste from the bacon that doesn’t quite pair well with the mac and cheese, but the overall dish remains delectable and rich. Additionally, large variety packs with multiple entrees are currently unavailable at the time of writing.

Mountain House Adventure Meals are well-rounded choices for all enthusiasts. Full-send mad lads and casual nature strollers will equally enjoy the appropriate portions and admirable quality of their dishes. My parents certainly did with them, now regularly purchasing pouches from REI in preparation for overlanding trips. Their 30-year shelf life is the freeze-dried cherry on top, enabling them to serve as survival food reserves.

I had the opportunity to sample the beef stroganoff, with tender shards of beef and perfectly cooked noodles, and the breakfast granola, which was crunchy and sweet but paled compared to Peak Refuel. Both were no-brainers to prepare and can be done in no time at all, but they require more generosity from your water supply versus Peak Refuel.

Admittedly, Mountain House backpacking meals occupy a middle ground in terms of nutritional content. As delicious as they were, they didn’t feel as filling as other food items I sampled. Some online consumers give the taste test crown to others, such as Peak Refuel and Backpacker’s Pantry. Their calories and protein content are also a slight step below, which still makes them perfectly fine for lighthearted nature walks and beginner climbs.

Why It Made the Cut

Less dense and relatively inexpensive versus other options on this list, Mountain House’s meals are trailside treats for those leaning on the lighter side without sacrificing quality.

Loma Linda Plant-Based Complete Meal Solutions are the perfect gluten-free, vegan- and vegetarian-friendly go-to for satiating the outdoor munchies. Nearly all dishes are crafted from freeze-dried rice, beans, and veggies. Meats are supplemented by Loma Linda’s soy-based “Chik’n” and “Tuno,” which put up enough of a convincing front to reportedly appease a few carnivorous buyers.

A standout trait for Loma Linda is its dizzying array of dishes, all of which have garnered some level of praise for their quality. The brand is mainly marketed as an at-home alternative to ditch the pots and pans, encouraging them to serve creative meals such as Thai curries, Southwest chili, and Hawaiian bowls. Their rapid and simplistic preparation with hot water, no different than purpose-made hiking meals, still makes them viable commodities for the trail.

Unfortunately, they can’t hold a candle to some hiking meals in terms of nutritional content. Aside from the higher sodium levels expected from freeze-dried, packaged food, they’re not bad for you. They’re just not as calorie-dense, which is what you may need in the wilderness. Additionally, many menu items are sold in small bundle packages but can’t be taken individually.

Outdoor enthusiasts, take note. MREs (Meals-Ready-to-Eat) are hidden gems skulking somewhere in the Amazon listings, and I will die on this hill. Often packing over 1,200 calories per pack, MREs come loaded with the main entree plus a myriad of beverage mixes and snacks to sate your hunger as you wait for the entree to heat — or you can chow down while it’s cold — MREs allow that freedom.

White chicken meat and tuna typically come with tortillas and condiments, Peanut M&Ms and Skittles appear like gifts from the heavens, and the chili mac is indistinguishable from Chef Boyardee. Compliments to the factory that pumped it into its vacuum-sealed pouch.

However, other MREs are more of an acquired taste, as the beef stew tasted akin to wet dog food and had my civilian colleague gagging after I let her sample it. Breakfast items are uninteresting. You’d be lucky to get a sausage patty with the mocha mix. Additionally, the bulky packaging of an MRE does hinder their portability, so pack wisely if you insist on showing off to your hiking buddies that you’re a military enthusiast.

An endangered species among backpacking meals, GOOD TO-GO Dehydrated Food Kits stand as one of the few prepackaged camping foods to be dehydrated rather than freeze-dried. Unlike many methods of dehydration, however, GOOD TO-GO’s practices are on the milder side using a short burst of 165-degree heat to dry out its meals without harshly impacting their nutritional content. Such a method enables it to eclipse Mountain House by a hundred calories or so and approach Peak Refuel in terms of protein.

Its menu is a colorful myriad of choices from vegan- and vegetarian-friendly entrees and various ethnic cuisine, including pad thai, bibimbap, and gumbo. Nearly all dishes have been mostly well-received, with only a few complaints about flavors not being rich enough.

Note that the shelf life of dehydrated foods is typically on the lower end of the spectrum, and GOOD TO-GO is no exception. Expect shelf lives of two to five years, within range of a few freeze-dried items on this list, but far behind products such as Mountain House.