Sometimes I home-dehydrate my backpacking meals. And sometimes I save some money by putting together my own meals from grocery store ingredients. But, I don’t always have the time, so I end up bringing pre-packaged commercial backpacking meals on some of my trips.

I’ll update this post every time I try a new meal so you can read through my reviews and see which ones you should pack for your trips.

This post includes:

• How I choose backpacking meals – what I like and don’t like
• My favourite meals – the ones I buy again and again
• More meals I recommend – these are also good but aren’t my absolute favourite
• Meals that are just okay – these meals weren’t bad, but I didn’t love them a lot
• Meals I don’t recommend – these meals were gross, and you should avoid them

Hey there: I bought most of the meals in this post with my own money, but a few of them where gifts from brands. As you can read below, I am pretty honest with my reviews and don’t hesitate to say when I don’t like something. As well, some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support. -Taryn

How I Choose Backpacking Meals (My Biases)

Taste is subjective. Not everyone has the same favourite foods or the same foods that gross them out.

To help you understand if my meal reviews are helpful for you, I thought it would start by explaining what I like and don’t like, so you can see if my tastes align with yours.

To start with, I’m an omnivore. I eat and enjoy pretty much everything. I’m ok with meat, dairy, and gluten. I also have no problem eating vegetarian or vegan/plant-based meals. (As long as they are delicious.)

While I’m not a picky eater, I do have preferences:

• I like a little bit of spice… but not too much. Super-spicy food can upset my stomach, which isn’t something I want in the backcountry. But I don’t want bland food either.

• I like pasta more than rice. Most backpacking meals use rice or pasta as their base carb. I tend to like pasta dishes more than rice – that’s just a bias I’m going to have.
• I tend to choose Italian or Western backpacking meals more than Asian meals. That isn’t because I don’t like Asian food – in my everyday life, I actually cook and eat tons of East and South Asian food. However, I find that so-called “ethnic” flavours in backpacking meals are inconsistent and often poorly executed, so I’m always nervous to try them in case they are bad.
• I don’t like beans very much. I grew up in a vegetarian household and had hit my lifetime quota of bean consumption by middle school. I will eat beans, I just don’t choose them often. As well, beans are tricky in backpacking meals – if they don’t rehydrate fully, they can give you an upset stomach, which makes me nervous.

My Favourite Meals

West Coast Kitchen The West Coaster

My rating: 9/10

Calories per serving: 760

Protein per serving: 33 g

Servings per package: 1

Rehydration time: 10 minutes

Price: $18.99 CAD

Diet: Omnivore – contains pork, wheat, and dairy

This was the best new-to-me meal I tried last summer. West Coast Kitchen is a small company from Vancouver Island.

The West Coaster is their signature meal – it’s a creamy pasta dish that includes bacon, mushrooms, onions, and capers. The flavour profile is a bit like alfredo, a bit like carbonara, and a bit like stroganoff. And the sauce is made with cream cheese (as well as parmesan), which gives it a bit of a tang.

This is a freeze-dried meal, and all of the components are fairly small, so it rehydrated completely in the relatively short recommended soak time of just 10 minutes.

The stats above are for their single-serving package (they also make a plus package that purports to serve two people). Honestly, this is a decently filling meal for one person – a rarity among backpacking meals when you eat the suggested serving size.

The only downside to this meal for me is that it calls for 1.2 cups of water (280 ml). That is not an easy measurement in the backcountry! Most of the ways I measure (pots or water bottles with gradations) have them measured in 50 or 100 ml increments, so I had to eyeball it.

In the end, I think I may have added too much water since my meal ended up a little bit too soupy. I also expected the sauce to look creamy, but it looks more like veggie soup broth. Still tasty though.

Where to buy:

Peak Refuel Beef Stroganoff

My rating: 9/10

Calories per serving: 400

Protein per serving: 20 g

Servings per package: 2

Rehydration time: 10 minutes

Price: $19.95 CAD/$14.99 USD

Diet: Omnivore (Contains beef, wheat, and dairy.)

I discovered Peak Refuel meals a few years ago, and I think their Beef Stroganoff is the best meal they make. All of their meals are fairly good because they are freeze-dried, so they are full of flavour. They also use chunks of beef rather than ground beef, which has a better texture when it rehydrates. (Ground beef can be a bit like gravel.)

If you measure your water properly, the sauce on this meal ends up nice and thick, which I love since some backpacking meals can feel very runny. However, the sauce tends to separate a bit, which visually isn’t that appealing. (Food science is wild, so the fact that you can go from powdered meal to beef stroganoff in 10 minutes is pretty incredible.)

I don’t know anyone who would be satisfied with the suggested serving size of half a package for this meal. I easily eat the whole thing.

Mountain House Kung Pao Chicken

My rating: 9/10

Calories per serving: 290

Protein per serving: 16g

Servings per package: 2

Rehydration time: 15 minutes

Price: $18.95CAD/$11.99 USD

Diet: Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Omnivore (Contains chicken.)

The Mountain House Kung Pao Chicken reminds me of North American-style Chinese take-out or mall food court Chinese food. It’s sweet with a hint of spice, but definitely not too spicy. It gave me real nostalgia vibes for the Chinese food I ate as a teenager in the 90s.

This rehydrated really well, including the rice. (Sometimes rice can be chewy if it doesn’t rehydrate properly or mushy if it sits too long – this was perfect.)

Texture-wise, it’s definitely a gloopy stew with rice in it, rather than rice with chunks of chicken and veggies, but I didn’t mind. Like other Mountain House meals, the freeze-dried chicken chunks are kind of bland, but the sauce makes up for it.

The portion size on this package is hilarious. I don’t know any adults who can hike all day, eat a 290-calorie dinner, and feel full. I easily ate the whole package on my own and still had room for dessert.

More Meals I Recommend

Alpine Aire Tuscan Style Pasta Roma

My rating: 8/10

Calories per serving: 300

Protein per serving: 17g

Servings per package: 2

Rehydration time: 10-12 minutes

Price: $15.95 CAD/$11.95 USD

Diet: Vegetarian (Contains wheat and dairy)

The Alpine Aire Tuscan-Style Pasta Roma pleasantly surprised me. It’s a rose-style creamy tomato sauce with a cheesy flavour that I really enjoyed.

It’s a vegetarian meal, but it has so much cheese in it, that the protein per serving is pretty good. Although that might also be because it contains soy-based textured vegetable protein. Honestly, I didn’t taste the soy protein in this at all – the cheese really hid it and I had no idea it was in there until I looked at the ingredients after I was done.

I do wish this meal had a few veggies in it, but overall, it’s pretty good for a basic vegetarian pasta.

Mountain House Stroganoff Beef With Noodles

My rating: 7/10

Calories per serving: 280

Protein per serving: 12g

Servings per package: 2

Rehydration time: 9 minutes

Price: $18.95 CAD/$11.99 USD

Diet: Omnivore (Contains beef, wheat, eggs, and dairy)

I’ve eaten the Mountain House Beef Stroganoff with noodles more times than I can count. It was one of my go-to meals for years before I discovered the superior Peak Refuel beef stroganoff.

It’s got a good creamy sauce that rehydrates well and doesn’t feel too runny. The bits of ground beef add a bit of protein and texture, but are kinda bland. While lots of the meals I’ve tried aren’t great to look at, this one is particularly beige.

While lots of backpacking meals have a fair amount of sodium, this one has a ton: If you eat the whole pouch, you are consuming 1540 mg of salt (about 67% of your recommended daily intake). I actually like the salty taste of this meal. And I often plan to eat this meal after a hot day where I’m sweating a lot and need to replenish my electrolytes.

And of course, I eat the whole package. I don’t care what it says – this is not two servings.

SLY Pad Thai

My rating: 7/10

Calories per serving: 1030

Protein per serving: 30g

Servings per package: 1

Rehydration time: 12 minutes

Price: $17.95 CAD

Diet: Vegan, Gluten-free, Dairy-free

I was excited to try a meal from SLY because they are a small plant-based freeze-dried meal company from Quebec. The SLY pad thai wasn’t very traditional, but it is pretty good. I would describe it more as a rice noodle stir fry with a tangy peanut flavour. It’s not pad thai, but it is tasty.

Many plant-based meals don’t have a ton of protein. This one has a decent amount (but still not a ton) thanks to the big pieces of soy protein. I actually found the soy protein in this meal to be pretty flavourful and kind of meaty, thanks to the sauce it’s served in.

However, the biggest issue with this meal is rehydration. I let it sit for the recommended 12 minutes, and the big pieces of soy protein were still quite crunchy and powdery. After another 5 minutes, they were a bit better, but still not fully rehydrated.

I ate the meal anyway, since I didn’t mind the crunch, but I can see that being a turn-off for some people. (It’s worth noting that I did make this meal in temperatures that were slightly below freezing, so rehydration time could be a bit slow because of that. But I did try to keep the pouch warm in my jacket.

The calories on this meal are insane – 1030 for the whole pouch. It honestly isn’t that much food by volume, so I had no problem finishing this on my own.

Meals That are Just Okay

Mountain House Chicken and Mashed Potatoes

My rating: 6.5/10

Calories per serving: 230

Protein per serving: 22g

Servings per package: 2

Rehydration time: 7 minutes

Price: $18.95 CAD/$11.99 USD

Diet: Gluten-Free, Omnivore (Contains chicken and dairy.)

If you’re backpacking with someone who is a picky eater, the Mountain House Mashed Potatoes with Chicken is the meal for them. It’s tasty, but fairly boring – perhaps a bit bland. It’s also very beige. I would have loved to have some gravy to go with this, or even some hot sauce.

However, this is a solid and reliable meal. It’s definitely filling, and the freeze-dried chicken adds protein. I also love how quickly it rehydrates – the potatoes rehydrate almost instantly. The additional waiting time is mostly so the chicken isn’t crunchy.

I recommend this meal if you want something you can just pick up off the shelf and go. However, you can replicate this meal at a lower price by combining a package of Idahoan instant mashed potatoes with a handful of Mountain House freeze-dried chicken.

Like the other Mountain House meals, you need to eat the whole package to get full. It does NOT serve two.

Mountain House Beef Lasagna

My rating: 6/10

Calories per serving: 220

Protein per serving: 11g

Servings per package: 2

Rehydration time: 9 minutes

Price: $18.95 CAD/$11.99 USD

Diet: (Omnivore: Contains beef, dairy, and wheat.)

The Mountain House Lasagna is a good meal for kids or picky eaters. It’s a very cheesy pasta with tomato sauce and ground beef.

This is another meal I’ve eaten tons of times because I really love the cheese in it. You can actually get a bit of a cheese pull going, which helps it feel more like real food and less like slop in a bag.

The meal rehydrates well, although the beef can be a bit gravelly. I do find the tomato sauce a bit on the sweet side, kind of like kids’ pasta, but there isn’t sugar in their ingredients list, so I’m not sure where I’m getting that from.

And of course, I eat the whole package since it’s not enough food for two servings.

Meals I Do NOT Recommend

Thankfully, there’s nothing on this list yet! I don’t know if I’ve just been lucky, or if I’m not a picky eater. Time will tell!

Final Thoughts

I’ve probably tried dozens of backpacking meals over the years. I wish I had started reviewing them sooner so I had a record I could refer back to when buying new meals. Sometimes I just stare at the packages at the outdoor store and guess!

I’ll keep this post updated each time I try a new meal, so stay tuned for more backpacking meal reviews.

READ NEXT:

• Grocery Store Backpacking Meals for Cheap
• Dehydrating Food For Backpacking: A Beginner’s Guide
• 16 Backpacking Breakfast Ideas

The post The Best (and Worst) Backpacking Meals Reviewed appeared first on Dawn Outdoors.

It’s a pretty simple recipe, but it’s got tons of flavour thanks to the mushrooms. I also like to add chicken for protein. And of course, I sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top!

This dehydrated mushroom risotto recipe dispatches most of the cooking at home so you don’t have to fuss at the campsite. And it makes four servings so you can prep multiple backcountry dinners at once. Or do what I do: eat one of the servings right away. You can make tonight’s dinner and a backpacking meal at the same time!

In this post, I’ve got everything you need to know to make dehydrated mushroom risotto. It includes:

• How to adapt risotto for backpacking
• Equipment needed
• Ingredients
• Cooking instructions
• Dehydrating and packing instructions
• Rehydrating instructions

Hey there: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support. -Taryn

How to Adapt Risotto for Backpacking

At first glance, this might look like a pretty standard risotto recipe. But I’ve made a few changes to make this recipe work for backpacking.

It’s dehydrated. Risotto has a fairly long cooking time (up to about 40 minutes), involving lots of stirring and simmering. That uses lots of fuel! So this recipe does all that cooking at home. Then the risotto goes into the dehydrator. At camp, you can just add water and simmer for a few minutes and it’s ready. (Psst: If you’re new to dehydrating, check out my beginners guide to dehydrating backpacking food.)

It’s low-fat. Risotto is usually creamy with lots of butter, cheese, and rich broth. You can’t dehydrate fats and they go rancid, so backpacking meals have to be low-fat. My recipe uses just one tablespoon of oil and a fat-free veggie broth.

But it still has cheese! Traditional risotto has the cheese mixed right in. But that won’t dehydrate well. Instead, I recommend packaging Parmesan cheese separately and stirring it in just before eating. Parmesan travels quite well, especially if it is vacuum-sealed. But if you’re out for a long time or in hot weather, you can also use shelf-stable Parmesan (e.g. Kraft Parmesan).

It uses canned chicken. The chicken is optional, so you can leave it out if you’re a vegetarian (or sub in some pine nuts). But I love it for added protein. The reason I used canned chicken is that it dehydrates really well. If you’ve read my guide to dehydrating backpacking food, you’ll know that canned chicken is pressure-cooked and very low fat – perfect for dehydrating.

It uses dried mushrooms. It might seem weird to buy dried mushrooms, rehydrate them, put them into the risotto, and dehydrate them again. But what you are really getting from that process is delicious mushroom liquid. When you add this liquid to the risotto, it soaks into the rice and chicken, giving the whole dish a wonderful umami flavour.

You can use any dried mushrooms you like. I used a mix of local wild mushrooms I found at my grocery store. But dried porcini mushrooms are the most traditional. If your mushrooms don’t come sliced (for example, many Asian mushrooms are dried whole), slice them thinly after you rehydrate them in hot water. They will dehydrate much better that way.

Equipment

• Deep skillet (a Dutch oven or high-sided pot will also work)
• Dehydrator – I use the Nesco Snackmaster. (Or read my tips for dehydrating in your oven.)
• Dehydrator tray liners or parchment paper.
• Backpacking stove that simmers
• Backpacking pot that holds at least 0.75 L (for one portion)
• Ziploc freezer bags, canning jars or a vacuum sealer (I use this simple Nesco one)

Ingredients

Makes four servings. Approx. 600 calories per serving.

• 1 1/2 cups of hot water
• 1 ounce/28g dried sliced mushrooms (porcini or any other variety)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 to 4 cloves of garlic, minced (depending on how much you like garlic)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice, rinsed
• 2/3 cup dry white wine
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• salt to taste
• 2 5 oz/142g cans of chicken, drained (optional)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking Instructions

1. Add the mushrooms to a heat-proof bowl along with 1 1/2 cups of hot water. Soak until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain the mushrooms in a sieve, but save that tasty mushroom liquid – you’ll use it later in the recipe.
2. Combine the mushroom liquid and vegetable broth in a pot. Warm it up on low heat.
3. In a deep skillet, saute the onion over medium heat with the oil until it browns and softens (about 6 or 7 minutes).
4. Stir in the garlic, thyme, mushrooms, chicken (if using), and rice. Cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the wine and stir until the wine cooks down (about 1 to 3 minutes).
6. Add 3/4 cup of the broth/mushroom liquid mixture and stir until all liquid is absorbed. Repeat with the remaining broth/mushroom liquid mixture, adding 3/4 cup at a time and stirring until you’ve used it all.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I recommend going heavy on the seasoning because the dehydrating process can mellow out the flavours.

Dehydrating and Packing Instructions

1. Line dehydrator trays with parchment or use dehydrator tray inserts for liquids. (You can skip this step if you have fine mesh trays.) Spread risotto on dehydrator trays in an even layer.
2. Dehydrate at 145F for 5 to 9 hours. Check the risotto periodically to break up any clumps. Flip it over about halfway through to speed up drying. When it is done it should be crispy and brittle with no soft spots.
3. Allow to cool, then store in a sealed, airtight container until ready to use. (I recommend vacuum sealing or using a canning jar. You can also store it in a Ziploc bag in your freezer.)
4. Pack the risotto for the trail in a Ziploc freezer bag or a vacuum-sealed bag. This recipe makes 4 portions, so divide the dehydrated risotto into portions before you pack it. Pack the Parmesan cheese in its own bag. (Use 1 tablespoon of Parmesan for each portion.)

Rehydrating Instructions

1. At camp, put the risotto in a cooking pot with enough water to cover – about 1 cup per serving.
2. Let the risotto soak as long as you can – ideally at least 30 minutes. (Soaking is optional, but the longer you soak, the less fuel you will use and the faster it will cook.)
3. Bring to a boil, then simmer and stir until the risotto is rehydrated. If it seems too dry, add water a splash at a time.
4. Stir in Parmesan cheese and eat!

This is one of my favourite homemade backpacking meals and I hope it becomes one of your faves too. If you make it, tell me about it in the comments.

READ NEXT:

• Dehydrating Food For Backpacking: A Beginner’s Guide
• The Best (and Worst) Backpacking Meals Reviewed
• Grocery Store Backpacking Meals for Cheap
• How to Choose the Best Backpacking Meals
• Backcountry Chocolate Fondue Recipe

The post Dehydrated Mushroom Risotto For Backpacking appeared first on Dawn Outdoors.

I’ve backpacked a lot over the last two decades (and I’ve even written two backpacking guidebooks), so I‘ve made countless home-dehydrated backpacking meals. I’ve had some great successes, some spectacular failures, and a few that were just ok. (Although everything tastes better after a long day on the trail!)

I know that dehydrating your own food can seem intimidating, but I promise it’s pretty straightforward. The equipment you need to get started isn’t that expensive either. And oh the things you can make!

In this guide to backpacking food I’ll cover:

• Dehydrating Pros and Cons
• How Does Dehydrating Work?
• What Kinds of Foods Can You Dehydrate?
• What Equipment Do You Need? (Ovens vs. Dehydrators)
• How to Prep for Dehydrating
• Dehydrating Tips and Tricks
• How to Dehydrate Different Types of Foods
• How to Store Dehydrated Food
• How Long Does Dehydrated Food Last
• How to Pack Dehydrated Food for Trips
• How to Rehydrate Food on the Trail

Hey there: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support. -Taryn

Dehydrating Your Own Backpacking Food Pros and Cons:

You might be wondering, “Is dehydrating my own backpacking food worth it?” Home-dehydrating has lots of benefits, but a few downsides.

Dehydrating Pros

• You get to choose exactly what goes into your meals. That means you can always eat things you like.
• It’s way cheaper than commercially packaged backpacking food.
• You can create lots of different meal options by dehydrating ingredients and then combining them in a variety of ways.
• You control the nutrition and ingredients. This is really helpful if you have food allergies or sensitivities. Or if you are trying to keep to a particular diet such as keto, gluten-free, vegan, etc.
• Dehydrating lets you preserve perishable foods that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to bring backpacking.
• Dehydrated food weighs less and packs smaller than regular food.
• It cooks faster and uses less fuel than regular food. For example, regular rice and noodles need to simmer to rehydrate. But if you dehydrate them, you can just add boiling water and let them sit.

Dehydrating Cons

• It takes a long time. You will need to plan your meals days or even weeks in advance. And most foods take at least 6 hours to dehydrate
• Buying a dehydrator is an investment. (Although you can use your oven – more details on that below.)
• Most dehydrators aren’t very big, so you can’t dehydrate a lot of food at once – you have to work in batches. That means it takes even longer.
• Rehydrating food can require a fair amount of water, which can be an issue when you are dry camping.
• Food safety and storage are very important and can be tricky to get right. It can be hard to tell if you’ve gotten all the moisture out of food. You can’t always be sure the fat content is low enough to keep it from going rancid. You also have to be careful with storage so the food stays airtight and doesn’t go bad. But while it’s tricky, it’s not impossible. I’ve got tips and tricks throughout this article to keep you safe.
• Compared to freeze-dried food (which is only really available commercially since freeze-driers are so expensive and specialized), dehydrated food takes longer to rehydrate and doesn’t stay fresh as long.

READ NEXT: How to Choose the Best Backpacking Meals

How Does Dehydrating Work? How Does it Preserve Food?

When you dehydrate food, you remove its moisture. This creates an environment where bacteria, mold, and yeast can’t grow, and therefore, preserves the food.

Many cultures have traditionally dehydrated food by laying it on racks or mats and letting the sun and wind do the dehydration. Modern dehydrators replicate this process in a controlled way by using low heat and a fan.

Dehydration doesn’t remove fat, so it only works on foods that can be preserved by removing moisture. I’ve got lots of tips on what kinds of food you can dehydrate below. But in general, keep in mind that high-fat foods won’t dehydrate well, and any fat in the food is prone to becoming rancid.

What Kinds of Food Can You Dehydrate? What Foods Don’t Dehydrate Well?

When you first get into dehydrating, you might be tempted to dehydrate all your favourite foods. But that will lead to disappointment and possibly food waste since some foods don’t dehyrdate effectively or aren’t food safe when dehydrated.

The best foods to dehydrate are:

• fruits (except high-fat ones like avocados and olives)
• veggies and herbs
• grains like rice
• beans and lentils
• pasta and noodles
• low-fat meats

Foods to avoid dehydrating are:

• Anything fatty or oily. This includes nuts and nut butter. Fats don’t dehydrate and will go rancid.
• Dairy. The low temperatures used for dehydration aren’t enough to curb bacteria growth. Buying commercially dried dairy such as milk powder, butter powder, or cheese powder is easier and safer. Some people (including me) have successfully dehydrated non-fat yogurt, but it isn’t officially recommended and in my experience, you have to eat it within a week or two.
• Eggs. These aren’t safe for the same reasons as dairy. You can buy OvaEasy egg crystals online and even in some grocery stores.
• Coconut milk. It is too high in fat. Thankfully, it’s easy to buy powdered coconut milk.

What Equipment Do You Need? (Ovens vs. Dehydrators)

The easiest way to dehydrate backpacking food at home is to use a dehydrator. But you can also use your oven. I’ve got details on both below.

Using an Oven to Dehydrate Backpacking Food

If you don’t want to invest in a dehydrator, you can use your oven. You can simply place cut-up food on parchment paper-lined baking trays and put them in the oven. For a little more airflow, put chunkier items (think sliced fruits and veggies rather than runny things like stews) on a cooling rack, then put the rack on a baking tray.

You’ll want to run your oven at the lowest possible setting. That’s usually around 170°F (77°C). I recommend using a basic oven thermometer to check. Most oven thermostats are inaccurate, especially at low temps.

The ideal temperatures for dehydrating are 120 to 165°F (49 to 74°C) depending on the type of food you are dehydrating. (More info on ideal temps is in the section on dehydrating different types of foods below.)

You can also leave the oven door ajar a little bit to bring the temp down. Just be careful if you’ve got kids or pets around who could accidentally burn themselves if they encounter the open oven.

You don’t want your oven to be too hot – it will cook the outside of the food and form a crust, which won’t let the inside dehydrate. This is called case hardening and leads to spoiled food.

If your oven has a convection setting, use that. It’s basically a built-in fan and will speed up your dehydrating time.

Choosing a Dehydrator

Compared to most kitchen appliances, dehydrators are actually really simple. A dehydrator is just an enclosed space with trays, a low-temperature heating element, and a fan. The heating element/fan combo is quite similar to a hair dryer.

Dehydrators are also not that expensive. I’ve been using a super basic Nesco dehydrator for about 20 years and it’s been fine.

Here are my tips for choosing a food dehydrator:

Temperature Adjustment: Meats need to dry at higher temperatures for food safety, but those same temps can scorch veggies (more on that below). Get a dehydrator with temperature adjustment.

Fan Location (Front-loading vs. Stackable): I like stackable dehydrators since you can add or remove trays depending on how much you are dehydrating. And you can even buy and add more trays than your dehydrator came with. But the fan on stackable units is in the middle, which is less efficient and uneven since it blows the air vertically. The solution is periodically reorder the trays. I don’t mind doing this because I want to check on the doneness of the food anyway. Front-loading box-style dehydrators have a fixed amount of trays, but their fans are at the back, which creates more efficient horizontal airflow.

Timer: More expensive models come with a timer so you can set it to shut off at a pre-set time. This is helpful if you want to turn it off when you sleeping or out of the house. (Leaving it running too long can over-dehydrate and make the food hard to rehydrate. It also negatively affects taste.) My low-budget hack for a dehydrator without a timer is to use an outlet timer. You can get one for a few dollars at the hardware store.

Capacity: With stackable models, you can buy a smaller capacity dehydrator now, and then buy more trays later. (Nesco still makes compatible add-on trays for my super-old dehydrator.) But most stackable models are circular and have less capacity per tray than square trays. Front-loading dehydrators use square trays, but you can’t add more of them.

Plastic vs. Metal Trays: Plastic trays are cheaper and these days most are made without BPA. But they can be harder to clean and some aren’t dishwasher safe. Metal dehydrators cost more, but they’re more durable and easier to clean. You can also put metal trays in the dishwasher.

Inserts: Dehydrator base models come with mesh or slatted trays but you may want to purchase inserts to make clean-up easier or to dehydrate liquids like stews. You can get fine mesh screens, silicone mats, and plastic fruit leather trays, depending on the model.

Dehydrators I Recommend

I recommend the budget-priced Nesco Snackmaster FD-75A. I’ve had an older version of this for more than 20 years and I haven’t felt the need to upgrade. It has temperature control and it’s stackable so you can add more trails. The only downside: it’s loud. At full price, it’s about $90 USD, but you can often find it on sale.

If you want to upgrade to a more efficient front-loading dehydrator with metal trays, the Cosori Premium dehydrator gets consistently good reviews. People also say it’s quiet. It’s about $160 USD at full price, but it also goes on sale a lot.

How to Prep for Dehydrating

To set yourself up for success, there are a few things you need to do before you start dehydrating to make sure your food dehydrates well and is safe to eat.

To start with, make sure everything is clean and sanitized. That includes your cutting boards, counters, knives, and of course your hands.

Next, make sure everything is cut to the same size. That helps it dry evenly. I like to use a mandoline slicer for fruits and veggies. Get one with julienne attachments so you can make matchsticks. I also sometimes use a spiralizer to make veggie ribbons or noodles.

You may also want to pre-treat some fruits with ascorbic acid or citrus juice to prevent browning. You should also blanche or steam some veggies to help them keep their colour and flavour. It also helps them dehydrate better. More details on pre-treating in the sections about dehydrating fruit and vegetables below.

Dehydrating Tips and Tricks

I’ve got specific instructions for different types of food below, but here are my top tips for dehydrating backpacking food. These apply to anything that can be dehydrated:

• Shuffle the order of your trays from top to bottom every few hours. This gives every tray a chance to cuddle up with the fan and helps food dry more evening. For front-loading, box-style dehydrators which have the fan at the back, give your trays a 1/2 turn as well.
• Line your trays with parchment paper, silicone mats or fruit leather trays to prevent sticking and to contain liquids. Pro tip: use a piece of cardboard to make a template that matches your trays. That way you can trace the template onto parchment and cut it to the exact size you need. This is especially helpful for round dehydrators
• Flip the food part way through. This helps dry the bottom better. You can also remove the parchment paper, silicone sheets, or fruit leather tray at this point to improve airflow.

• Rearrange things. As food dries, it shrinks. Rearrange the food to space things out evenly. Break up any chunks that got stuck together.
• Don’t overload your trays. It will take forever to dry. This is especially important for blended or liquid foods.
• If you wouldn’t eat it together, don’t dehydrate it together. The smells can transfer. You don’t want your apples to taste faintly like garlic!
• Dehydrate stinky things outside, in the garage, or a room with the door closed. The smell of onions or garlic gets into everything. You can also run your dehydrator underneath your hood fan if it vents externally.
• Dial back the spice. It intensifies when you dehydrate things. One time I brought a batch of dehydrated chili backpacking. It was fine at home fresh, but once dehydrated it was so spicy that we couldn’t eat it!
• Make notes about what you dehydrated. That will help you figure out how to portion it later for the trail. For example, write down how many cups of stew you dehydrated or how many individual apples.

How to Dehydrate Different Types of Foods

The process of dehydrating depends on what kind of food you are preserving. Below I’ve got tips for dehydrating fruit, veggies, beans, rice, pasta, meat, sauces, and complete meals.

How to Dehydrate Fruit

Fruit is the gateway food for beginners to dehydrating. It’s really easy to prepare and you can eat it right out of the dehydrator.

If you want to prevent browning, you can pre-treat fruit by soaking it in powdered ascorbic acid (vitamin C). I’ve never used this method, so here is some info on the correct way to pretreat with ascorbic acid. An easier way to pre-treat is to soak the fruit in citrus juice (e.g. lemon, lime) for a few minutes. This will make your fruit taste a bit citrusy though.

Fruit dehydrates best when it is sliced thinly. But you can also cut it up into small chunks. Small berries, cherries, grapes, etc. can be left whole if you blanche them and then put them in an ice bath to break the outer skin. But they take a really long time to dehydrate, so I usually just buy commercially dehydrated versions.

To dehydrate fruit, arrange the slices or chunks in a single layer in the dehydrator. Make sure they don’t overlap and they have enough space around them so air can circulate. As they dry, they will shrink.

You can also dehydrate pureed fruit to make fruit leathers. This is my favourite way to eat dehydrated fruit because so many flavour combos are possible. Plus it gives me all the childhood nostalgia feels. Just make sure your blend is at least half high-pectin fruit (e.g. apples, blueberries, peaches, pears, pineapple, etc.) for the best consistency. Low pectin fruit makes crunchy leather.

The best temperature to dry fruit is 135°F (57°C). If you dehydrate it too hot, it will get crunchy on the outside, stay soft (and unpreserved) on the inside, and spoil easily. (This is called case hardening.) Dehydration times can vary a lot between types of fruit and even varieties within types. Expect to take between 6 and 24 hours.

Check for doneness regularly by touching the fruit to make sure it is not sticky or moist. It should feel like leather. You can also cut a few pieces in half and squeeze them to check if they are done.

How to Dehydrate Vegetables and Herbs

Dehydrated veggies are great for adding to commercial backpacking meals or making your own. I also dehydrate zucchini noodles for a big dose of veggies on the trail.

If you wouldn’t eat a veggie raw, don’t dehydrate it raw. Steam it or blanche it first. I often use frozen mixed veggies since they are already blanched! Just thaw them first. Depending on the brand, you may want to cut bigger chunks down a bit.

Slice veggies thin or cut them up into small pieces, then spread them out onto dehydrator trays with space a bit of space around them for airflow.

The best temperature to dry veggies is 125°F (52°C). Just like with fruit, if you dehydrate too hot, the vegetables will case harden. Typical drying times for veggies also vary. Between 4 and 12 hours is typical.

The process for drying herbs is the same as for veggies. But they do better if dehydrated at 90 to 100°F (32° to 38C). They only take 1 to 3 hours to dry.

How to Dehydrate Beans and Legumes

I’m not a huge bean person (they don’t agree with me) but I have made dehydrated bean chilli a few times. I’ve also dehydrated refried beans to make delicious backcountry burritos.

In general, canned beans work best for dehydration and rehydration. But you can also use beans cooked at home in a pressure cooker. (Rehydration is really important with beans because if they are under-rehydrated when you eat them, they cause wicked bloating. Trust me.)

Spread beans onto dehydration trays and dehydrate at 125°F (52°C) for 6 to 12 hours. The beans will be hard when they are done – you shouldn’t be able to squish them at all. Sometimes beans crack open while dehydrating, but that just makes them dry faster.

If you are dehydrating refried beans, spread it evenly onto a thin layer on parchment paper. You can also use a silicone insert or fruit leather tray if you have one. Dehydrate at 145°F (63°C) for 8 to 10 hours. About halfway through the beans will be crusty enough to flip over for more even drying. It should be crumbly with no moist spots when it’s done.

How to Dehydrate Rice and Grains

I never dehydrate rice on its own because it’s easier to just buy Instant Rice, which is pre-cooked commercially dehydrated rice. (Make sure you get the dry, just-add-water kind, not the kind that has broth in liquid form and needs to go in the microwave.)

But I do make risotto, and dehydrate that. It’s delicious.

To prep rice and other grains like quinoa or barley for the dehydrator, cook it in water or broth without fat. Some people say you should undercook it a little and it will rehydrate better. But I haven’t noticed a big difference either way.

Dehydrate rice and other grains at 145°F (63°C) for 6 to 12 hours until it is hard and dry with no moisture. Be careful with temperature when dehydrating rice. A type of bacteria called Bacillus cereus can grow in rice that isn’t above hot enough during dehydration. The FDA recommends keeping rice at temps above 135°F (57°C) to kill the bacteria and avoid food poisoning.

How to Dehydrate Pasta

I don’t really bother dehydrating pasta since the weight of dehydrated pasta is about the same as the weight of uncooked pasta. However, it can take up to 12 minutes to cook pasta, but you can rehydrate dehydrated pasta just by putting it in boiling water. That can be a huge fuel savings.

Choose pasta shapes that are thin and will dry well. Small shapes like orzo, macaroni, rotini, and fusilli dry easily. You can also use thinner noodles like spaghetti and capellini – but they don’t pack as easily and tend to poke holes in storage bags.

Cook the pasta until it is al dente according to the directions on the package. Drain it and spread it evenly on dehydrator trays. Try to flatten out any kinks or overlaps as they won’t dry well.

Dehydrate pasta at 135°F (57°C) for 6 to 12 hours until it is totally dry. It should be brittle and snap easily. If it bends, it’s not done yet.

How to Dehydrate Meat

Meat can be intimidating to dehydrate. But if you follow a few guidelines, it’s not that hard. The general rules are to use the leanest meat possible, cook it all the way through, then dehydrate it. Blot with a paper towel before you dehydrate and every few hours as you are dehydrating to get any remaining fat.

Below, I’ve got directions for dehydrating beef, chicken, and turkey. I don’t have instructions for dehydrating fish because I’ve never tried it – I always buy it. If you want dried fish, Asian grocery stores have an incredible selection.

I also don’t have instructions for making jerky here since that’s a whole other process. There are lots of methods out there and it would take too long to summarize them all.

How to Dehydrate Beef

Use extra lean ground beef. You can add any spices you want at this point. In the past, I just cooked the beef alone, but I recently read that if you add a little bit of bread crumbs to the meat, it rehydrates better. I haven’t tried this yet, but I’ll report back when I do. (Without the breadcrumbs, dehydrated beef takes a very long to rehydrate and can be kind of gravelly.)

Cook until it reaches 160°F (71°C). Make sure to push it around as it cooks to break it into the smallest pieces possible – this helps it dehydrate. Once it’s cooked, you can blot it with a paper towel to remove fat. Some people also like to rinse it with hot water, but I haven’t tried that.

Dehydrate at 145°F (63°C) for 6-12 hours until it is a hard, dry gravel.

How to Dehydrate Turkey

The instructions for dehydrating lean ground turkey are exactly the same as cooking beef. The only difference is that you need to cook the turkey to 165°F (74°C) to be food-safe.

How to Dehydrate Chicken

Even though chicken isn’t my favourite meat, it’s the one I dehydrate the most often. That’s because it is the easiest to dehydrate!

The best chicken to dehydrate is pressure-cooked chicken breast. You can do it yourself, but I don’t bother. Instead, I just buy canned chicken, which is…. pressure-cooked chicken breast! All you have to do is rinse it and blot for moisture. You may also want to use a fork to pull apart any larger chunks.

Then you dehydrate at 145°F (63°C) for 6-12 hours until it is hard. Pull apart a piece or two to make sure it is dry in the middle. It will change colour from pinkish white to golden when it’s done.

Keep in mind that some canned chicken can be a bit salty. Rinsing it before dehydrating helps get rid of some of the salt. But I usually dial back the salt in any recipe I’m adding home-dehydrated chicken to since I know the chicken will be salty.

How to Dehydrate Sauces

One of my go-to dehydrated items is pasta sauce. You can also dehydrate all kinds of other sauces like salsa and hummus. But you have to remember the number one rule for dehydration – low fat! Fatty, oily or cheesy sauces won’t dehydrate properly and will spoil. Read the ingredients list on store-bought sauces carefully.

If your sauce has any chunks of veggies in it, make sure they are cut up super small. You can also run it through the food processor to achieve a smoother consistency. This will speed up dehydration and rehydration times.

Spread the sauce in a thin layer on parchment paper, silicone mats, or fruit leather trays. Dehydrate at 125°F (52°C) for 8 to 10 hours. About 2/3 of the way through, the sauce will be solid enough to lift. Flip it over for even drying.

Some sauces (especially tomato-based ones) turn into fruit leather consistency when they are done, while others (like hummus) become more of a crumble. For crumbly sauces, you can run them through a food processor or blender after they are dry to give them a uniform powdery consistency and help them rehydrate better.

How to Dehydrate Complete Meals

You can dehydrate ingredients separately and combine them to make meals. Or you can make a one-pot meal like a stew or this delicious mushroom risotto and dehydrate it all together. I prefer to dehydrate complete meals because it lets the flavours mingle. I also tend to make a big pot of something, eat a portion for dinner, then dehydrate the rest.

However, some people prefer to dehydrate individual ingredients because it gives you the flexibility to make lots of different dishes. Dehydrating separately also ensures that each ingredient is dehydrated at the optimum temperature.

If you dehydrate a complete meal, make sure any chunks are small and uniform in size. One of the tricks I use is to take 1/4 to 1/2 of the meal and run it through a food processor or blender until it is smooth, then mix it back with the rest of the meal. This gives you the same taste while improving dehydrating and rehydrating times. The texture will be a bit smoother than if you didn’t blend it, but you will still have some food chunks to remind you that you’re eating stew, not slurry!

If your meal is runny, use parchment paper, silicone mats, or fruit leather trays. Consider what is in the meal, and dehydrate at the highest temperature required for safety. So if it contains meat or rice, dehydrate at 145°F (63°C). This is technically too hot for the other ingredients in the meal so you will need to watch closely to make sure they aren’t getting scorched or case hardened.

When the meal gets hard enough, you can flip it over for even drying. Drying times for complete meals vary a lot based on their moisture content. Expect at least 8 to 12 hours.

How to Store Dehydrated Food

You just spent lots of time getting the moisture out of your food by dehydrating it, so you need to store it properly to keep the moisture out and keep it fresh.

Here are some dehydrated food storage tips:

• Make sure your hands and all your equipment are clean before handling dehydrated food.
• Allow the food to cool before storing.
• Condition your fruit because it’s hard to tell if they are fully dried. This means storing it at room temperature in a sealed glass jar for about a week to check for moisture. If you see moisture, it needs more time in the dehydrator.
• If you see mold on your dehydrated food at any point, throw it out!
• Store dehydrated food in a cool, dark place.
• If you want, pop a desiccant pack or oxygen absorber in with your food. This helps keep moisture at bay.
• Label your food. Be sure to include the date and serving info along with what you’re storing.

What to Store Dehydrated Food In

You have a few container options for storing dehydrated food. No matter what you choose, it must be airtight.

Ziploc bags or reusable silicone bags: You can use Ziploc freezer bags or reusable silicone bags for short-term storage, but they aren’t really airtight. If you use this method, store your food in the freezer just in case.

Air-tight jars: Canning jars are a great way to store dehydrated food at home since they are airtight. You can also use Glasslock containers.

Vacuum sealed: My preferred way of storing dehydrated meals is to use a vacuum sealer. (I have this Nesco Deluxe model.) You can seal individual meals into their own plastic pouch, ready for the trail. (Tip: double bag sharp items like pasta – they will poke through the bag.) Food lasts a long time this way. You can also get a jar attachment for your vacuum sealer to store larger quantities of ingredients at home.

Mylar bags: You can also purchase mylar bags, add an oxygen absorber, and then heat-seal shut. You can eat right out of them on the trail if you buy heat-safe ones. I’ve never tried these because the price per bag is fairly high.

How Long Does Dehydrated Food Last?

You’ll find lots of different info out there about how long dehydrated food lasts. A lot depends on how well it was stored and dehydrated. Properly dehydrated and vacuum-sealed food will last the longest. In general, dehydrated food can last up to a year, but some foods are best consumed earlier.

Here’s how long different types of dehydrated foods last according to health agencies and academic studies:

• Meat lasts 1 to 2 months. It can last 6 months if vacuum-sealed and stored in the freezer.
• Fruit leathers are good for 1 month at room temperature or 1 year in the freezer.
• Fruits are good for about 6 months.
• Veggies, grains, beans, rice, and pasta are good for about 1 year.
• Sauces and meals are good for the shelf life of their most perishable ingredient.

The above numbers are probably conservative since they don’t want to risk people getting sick. Lots of people report that their dehydrated food was good years after they dehydrated it. That can be true, but it’s not what’s officially recommended.

Check food carefully for any signs of spoilage. And even if old food looks ok, it might not taste as good and it may have lost some of its nutrient value. In general, my advice is “your body, your choice“. You get to decide when something is too old to eat!

How to Pack Dehydrated Food for Trips

You’ll need to portion out your dehydrated food to bring it on a trip. Some people like to carry a little pantry of dehydrated items, and then choose what to use each night to make dinner. But I prefer planning out my meals so I’m carrying only what I know I will eat.

If you’re making meals with separate dehydrated ingredients, you can use the notes you made before dehydrating to portion things out. I like to use a simple kitchen scale to divide up food evenly. For example, if I dehydrated 8 cups of stew and I know I want 2 cups per portion, then I’ll weigh the entire dehydrated meal and divide it into four portions. Each of those portions should rehydrate into 2 cups of stew.

While Ziploc freezer bags and reusable silicone bags aren’t great for long-term storage, they are great for packing dehydrated food on the trail. That’s what I usually use. If I dehydrate a complete meal, I usually pre-portion it into vacuum-sealed pouches.

How to Rehydrate Food on the Trail

There are lots of formulas online for how much water to add to rehydrate food. I’ve never really paid much attention to any of them. I just add enough water to cover the food. For some dishes that I know I want to be soupier, I add more water, and I add less to others. You can always add more water but you can’t subtract so be conservative!

There are a few ways to rehydrate food. My preferred method is presoak and simmer. I add my dehydrated food to the pot, cover with filtered water, and let sit for at least 30 minutes or longer if I have time. When it’s time to eat, I put the pot on the stove. If you don’t care about conserving fuel, you can simmer on the stove while stirring until the food is ready.

Otherwise, you can take the food off the stove, and let it rest for about 10 minutes until it is fully rehydrated. A pot cozy (or just wrapping it in a fleece) can help hold in heat.

You can also add boiling water directly to your meals, let sit for 15 or 20 minutes, and then eat. Stir halfway through. You can use this method with a pot, bowl, or mug and maybe a cozy to help keep the food hot. You can also use mylar bags for this.

A friend saves a couple of mylar bags from old commercial meals. She dumps her home-dehydrated meal out of a Ziploc into the reused mylar bag to rehydrate and eat. Then she washes out the bag to use again with another homemade meal.

Whew! You made it to the end! Thanks for reading my giant guide to dehydrating food for backpacking. Now you’re ready to start drying your own meals. Send me your recipe recommendations in the comments!

READ NEXT:

• The Best (and Worst) Backpacking Meals Reviewed
• How to Choose the Best Backpacking Meals
• Grocery Store Backpacking Meals for Cheap
• Dehydrated Mushroom Risotto For Backpacking
• Beyond Oatmeal: 6 Hot Backpacking Breakfasts
• Backcountry Chocolate Fondue Recipe

The post Dehydrating Food For Backpacking: A Beginner’s Guide appeared first on Dawn Outdoors.

It takes a little bit of planning to put together your own hiking dinners, but I think it’s worth it. You save money, you get to choose what goes into your food, and often, they taste better.

I’ve been backpacking for nearly 20 years (I even wrote a backpacking guidebook) and at this point, I’ve eaten literally hundreds of backpacking meals. Psst! If you’ve got more time, I definitely recommend learning how to dehydrate your own backpacking meals.

Here’s my guide to making grocery store backpacking meals. It includes:

• How to choose grocery store food for backpacking – What to look for when you’re shopping
• Where to shop – Which stores have the best options
• Breakfast ideas – Both savoury and sweet options
• Dinner ideas – Broken down into meal bases, proteins, and sauces/seasonings
• Dinner recipes – My go-to recipes that use only 3 or 4 ingredients
• Dessert ideas – Because sometimes you want something besides chocolate
• How to pack food for backpacking – Tips for reducing bulk and mess

Hey there: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support. -Taryn

How to Choose Grocery Store Food for Backpacking

Unlike buying a packaged freeze-dried dinner, if you put together your own backpacking meals from the grocery store, you will need to evaluate each ingredient and figure out if it is worth adding to your food.

If you’re new to backpacking, check out my post about how to choose backpacking food. It’s got lots of tips for food planning.

Here are the “rules” I use when grocery shopping for backpacking:

Non-perishable/Shelf-stable

In general, I look for food that is non-perishable and shelf-stable. That means that it doesn’t require refrigeration and can handle being in my pack for a few days without going bad. I mostly stick to the aisles in the center of the store instead of the produce, dairy, and meat sections around the outside.

Lightweight

It can be easy to end up carrying a lot of heavy food since it often is pretty tasty. I try to reign myself in and choose mostly lightweight foods. In general, try to avoid foods that contain liquid since water is heavy and you can always add water at camp.

Easy to Pack

Look for things that are compact rather than bulky. Avoid fragile foods that can get squished or crumbled. I also skip foods that are messy to pack or prepare.

Easy to Cook

Ideally, the foods you choose should just require boiling water or heating something up. I try to stick to things that only require one pot.

Quick to Cook

Some foods have long boiling or simmering times and will use up your fuel. Look for meals that you just have to add boiling water or where you have to boil or simmer something for just a few minutes. My personal limit for cook time is 10 minutes – I won’t bring anything that takes longer than that.

Calorie-Dense

Read the labels to understand how many calories you are bringing. You want to make sure you have enough. You also want to make sure you are choosing calorie-dense food – it should provide a lot of calories for its weight. Look for foods that provide at least 100 calories per ounce (25 g).

READ NEXT: How to Choose the Best Backpacking Meals

Where to Shop

If you don’t have a lot of time, it’s easy to put together a backpacking menu from your local grocery store. But it can be fun to venture to a few different stores to find more interesting ingredients. Since most items are shelf stable, you can stock up on things to keep in your pantry for upcoming trips.

Here are a few suggestions on where to shop:

• Health Food Stores: Look for freeze-dried and dehydrated fruits and veggies, meat alternatives like TVP and soy curls, vegan jerky, and nut butter.
• Ethnic Stores: I love shopping at Asian markets. They have an incredible selection of ramen and other noodles, miso soup, dried fish and jerky, shelf-stable tofu and soy products, dried mushrooms, and great snacks.
• Trader Joe’s: I make a special trip to get jerky, nuts, snacks, and dried fruit. I love their dried mango!
• Costco: I don’t have a membership anymore, but they are great for bulk-size boxes of granola bars, oatmeal, instant rice, pasta, and more.

Backpacking Breakfast Ideas

Breakfast is one of the easiest backpacking meals to buy at the grocery store. Here are a few ideas:

• Oatmeal: Available as instant oatmeal in packets or as quick-cook rolled oats.
• Cereal or Granola With Powdered Milk: If possible, buy full-fat milk as powdered skim is disgusting. You can also buy powdered plant-based milks. In my experience, powdered coconut milk is the easiest to find.
• Quinoa Porridge With Dried Fruit or Nuts: Make it with quinoa flakes, which just require adding hot water.
• Instant Grits: I like to add cheese and bacon bits.
• Pop Tarts: My friend’s kids love these on the trail.
• Bagels or Tortillas With Nut Butter: Nutella and honey are also great.
• Carnation Instant Breakfast: Remember to bring powdered milk to add to it.
• Granola Bars or Energy Bars: These are kind of a no-brainer.

READ NEXT: Beyond Oatmeal: 6 Hot Backpacking Breakfasts

Backpacking Dinner Ideas

When it comes to backpacking dinners, I think about what the base of a meal is (pasta, rice, etc.) and then what I’m going to add to it (protein, sides, sauce, and seasoning). That way you can mix and match different ingredients to suit your tastes.

Dinner Bases

This is the heart of the meal and is usually carbohydrates. Here are some grocery store dinner base ideas:

• Ramen or Cup of Noodles: I like the ones that you just add hot water to rather than the ones that have to cook for a few minutes. You can also find some really great options at Asian grocery stores. My favourite is Malaysian laksa.
• Pasta: Choose thin/small pasta like angel hair (capellini) or spaghetti. Skip thick or big shapes since they take longer to cook.
• Gnocchi: These shelf-stable potato noodle balls cook really quickly and are pretty filling. They are a bit heavy though.
• Asian Noodles: Many Asian noodles cook just by adding boiling water – no simmering required. Read package directions to be sure. Rice noodles generally cook the fastest.
• Boxed Mac and Cheese: The regular Kraft version cooks pretty quickly, but to save fuel, buy the microwavable Easy Mac version which just needs to be heated up with boiling water rather than simmered for 8 minutes.
• Hamburger Helper: Add your own protein to these pasta and sauce mixes. Heads up: some of them require up to 12 minutes of cooking time.
• Stove Top Stuffing: This is one of my favourite backpacking meals since it is delicious and you just have to add boiling water.
• Instant Mashed Potatoes: I often pair these with Stove Top Stuffing and a packet of gravy for backcountry Thanksgiving vibes. I love the Idahoan brand since they have garlic, cheese, and other flavours.
• Instant Polenta: This Italian-style cornmeal cooks in just a few minutes and is great with cheese and herbs.
• Powdered Soup Mix: Soup mixes from Knorr, Lipton, and others can be a good base for a meal, especially on a cold day. But read calorie counts carefully as they often aren’t very filling so you have to add in lots of other stuff.
• Knorr Sides: These are a favourite for backpackers on a budget since they cost less than $2. They are marketed as side dishes, but with some protein added in, can easily be a meal for one. Read the package as some require milk and/or butter (which you can bring in powdered form) and many require 7-10 minutes of cooking.
• Couscous: It cooks super quickly (just let it sit with boiling water). I like Casbah brand couscous since you can get flavoured versions like garlic and olive oil.
• Instant Rice: Just add boiling water – no cooking required.
• Microwavable Rice Packets: Ben’s and Zatarain’s make microwavable flavoured rice packets that you can heat up in a camping pot in a couple of minutes. They taste pretty good, but they are fairly heavy.
• Flat Bread (Tortillas, Pitas, Wraps, Naan Bread): These travel well and are great for wrapping around all kinds of fillings. You can also fry them to make quesadillas or pizza.
• Ready to Eat Curry: These Indian meals are cheap and super tasty. Some of them are designed so you immerse the package in boiling water while others need to be dumped out and heated in a pot. They are pretty heavy, so I only take them for the first night of a trip.

Proteins

Make sure your backpacking meals have protein as it will help you feel full. It also helps repair tired muscles. Carbs give you fast energy, but you’ll crash quickly without protein.

• Jerky: There are tons of delicious jerky options on the market so you don’t have to settle for the leathery stuff from the gas station. Pro-tip: you can cut or tear it into small pieces and mix it with your pasta or rice while it cooks. It rehydrates a little bit and tastes more like meat.
• Vegan or Tofu Jerky: I’m not a vegan, but some of this stuff is delicious. I also love the spicy tofu jerky you can buy at Asian supermarkets.
• Shelf-Stable Bacon: You can buy precooked shelf-stable bacon in a box. I’ve used it lots of times to make a very high-calorie backcountry carbonara.
• Bacon Bits: These are an easy add-in to lots of meals. I even add them to ramen.
• Salami, Pepperoni or Cured Meats: These are shelf-stable so they don’t need to be refrigerated.
• Tuna or Chicken Pouches: A much lighter-weight option than cans. You can also get flavoured versions.
• Canned Meats and Fish: These are bulkier and heavier, but there are tons of options available. They can be worth it if you are ok crushing and packing out the cans.
• Powdered Eggs: You can buy OvaEasy and other powdered egg brands at some grocery stores. Mix with water, scramble, then add to your meal.
• Cheese: Hard cheeses can last a few days in your backpack in mild weather. You can also pack sealed wax wheels of cheese like Babybels. Unopened Velveeta is also shelf-stable.
• TVP: Textured vegetable protein is made from soy and is a great meat substitute. It also looks a bit like ground beef once it is rehydrated.
• Soy Curls: These dried soy strips just need to soak in water to rehydrate. Then you can use them in lots of recipes where they mimic chicken.
• Bean Curd: Also called tofu skin, you can find bean curd in strips, sheets, knots, and more at Asian grocery stores. They need to be soaked before eating to rehydrate. I love them in soups.
• Instant Hummus Mix: Sold as a powder, this is a bit hard to find, but it rehydrates with cold water and is super filling.
• Nuts or Nut Butter: I like to add nuts to my meals for some added protein. Pine nuts, cashews, peanuts, walnuts, and almonds are tasty in couscous, pasta, and curries. A few spoonfuls of peanut butter are great in Asian dishes.

Sauces, Seasonings and Sides

If you spend some time in the seasoning aisle at the grocery store you will be surprised at all the good stuff you can find. It’s also worth looking in the soup, ethnic food, and produce sections to find other sauces, seasonings, and sides.

If you are buying a mix, read the directions carefully as some require milk, butter or oil. But you can always bring powdered milk and butter or a small container of oil. Some sauces will also work with just water but they may not taste as rich.

Here are a few ideas for sauces, seasonings, and sides:

• Pasta Sauce Mix: You can find powdered bases to make lots of cream-based pasta sauces. However, most require you to add milk.
• Pesto Sauce: It’s not that light, but it’s very high calorie and a little bit goes a long way.
• Gravy Mix: Great for mashed potatoes.
• Mexican Spice Mix: Taco seasoning or burrito seasoning packets add a kick to rice.
• Asian Spice Mix: Packets of stir-fry seasoning or chow mein seasoning are great in rice or noodles. Most require you to add soy sauce so save the ones you get with take-out Chinese food or sushi.
• Curry Paste: You don’t need much to make a flavourful Thai meal. You can sometimes find it in small pouches or use a reusable container to pack a few tablespoons from a larger jar.
• Bouillon Cubes or Powder: These add lots of flavour to otherwise bland dishes. Just be careful as some are very salty.
• Butter Powder: Butter makes it better! Great for adding to meals that call for butter like Knorr sides or mac and cheese.
• Fast Food Sauce Packets: Collect soy sauce, hot sauce, ketchup, vinegar, and more from fast food restaurants, then bring them along to add to backpacking meals.
• Freeze-Dried Herbs: You can find little jars of freeze-dried herbs (chives, garlic, etc.) in the produce section. They rehydrate well and taste better than the dried versions in your spice cabinet.
• Dried Mushrooms: These add an incredible amount of umami to your meal. Great in Asian dishes, pasta, and couscous. Some need a lot of rehydration time, so you may need to soak them for an hour before dinner.
• Sundried Tomatoes: Buy the dry ones, not the messy oil-packed ones. Great in pastas and couscous. My tip – cut them into smaller pieces for faster rehydration.
• Dehydrated Veggies: You can sometimes find dried vegetables at the grocery store and they make great add-ins for all kinds of dishes. But if you see them, buy them as can be hard to find! (They’re also easy to make at home if you learn how to dehydrate backpacking food.)

Grocery Store Backpacking Dinner Recipes

Here are a few of my go-to grocery backpacking dinner recipes. They each have four ingredients or less!

Backpacking Dessert Ideas

For me, dessert is usually chocolate or some durable high-calorie cookies like stroopwafels. But it can be nice to treat yourself to a more elaborate dessert sometimes. Here are a few of my favourite ideas:

• Instant Pudding: Easy to make since you just combine pudding mix, powdered milk, and water, then whisk. I like to eat it with Oreo cookies crumbled on top.
• Jello No-Bake Cheesecake: These mixes are fun to make individual cheesecakes in camping mugs. If it’s really hot out, put the cups in a shallow stream or lake to help them set faster.
• Mug Cake Mix: While these are designed to be made in the microwave, you can also make them on a camping stove set to its lowest temperature. If your pot is wide, make 2 or 3 mug cake mixes at once otherwise your cake will be really thin and burn quickly.
• Chocolate Fondue: You can melt chocolate, add a bit of liqueur, then dip in cookies, dried fruit, pretzels and whatever else you like. My backpacking chocolate fondue recipe has the details.

How to Pack Food for Backpacking

I like to repackage food for the trail so that it is lightweight, compact, and doesn’t leak. It’s much easier to deal with than the packaging that grocery store food comes with. Here’s what I use:

Ziploc bags

I pack most of my backpacking in medium and large Ziploc freezer bags. They are more durable than the regular kind. I bring them home from my trip, wash them, then use them again to avoid creating waste.

If you want to save money and reduce waste, you can also reuse resealable bags that grocery store items come in – just give them a wash first. I also own a few reusable silicone Stasher bags. They are a bit heavier and bulkier than Ziplocs, but they last a long time and are dishwasher-safe.

Vacuum Sealer

I also own a vacuum sealer, which I bought to keep my home dehydrated food fresh for as long as possible. But you can also use it to repackage grocery store food for backpacking.

Using a vacuum sealer is a great way to compress your food as small as possible. That feature is really helpful when you’re trying to pack your food into a bear canister or heading out on a long trip.

Unfortunately, the bags are not reusable, so using a vacuum sealer can be a bit wasteful. I have a basic Nesco VS-12 Vacuum Sealer which came with bags. The version I have is pretty affordable and I don’t feel the need to upgrade to a fancy one.

Resealable Containers

If I’m carrying liquids, I pack them inside small resealable containers. My favourites are the humangear Gotoob+ silicone bottles. They’re mini squeeze bottles with a locking cap and they come in a few different sizes.

I also like the Nalgene mini containers and jars. They have secure screw-on lids and also come in lots of sizes. You can also find tons of small containers on Amazon. Read reviews carefully as some don’t seal very well!

No matter what kind of container I use, I always bag it inside a Ziploc for extra protection. I’ve had leaks, and they aren’t fun!

Bring Cooking Instructions

Don’t forget to include cooking instructions for the food you bring. It’s important to know how much water to add! I sometimes write the instructions on the outside of a Ziploc bag using a Sharpie marker. But that method makes it harder to reuse the bags.

Instead, I cut out the part of the package that has the instructions and pack it along with my food. You can also take a photo of the packaging and store it on your phone.

What’s your favourite grocery store backpacking meal? Leave your recipes in the comments as I’m always looking for new things to try.

READ NEXT:

• The Best (and Worst) Backpacking Meals Reviewed
• How to Choose the Best Backpacking Meals
• Dehydrating Food For Backpacking: A Beginner’s Guide
• Dehydrated Mushroom Risotto For Backpacking
• Beyond Oatmeal: 6 Hot Backpacking Breakfasts
• Backcountry Chocolate Fondue Recipe

The post Grocery Store Backpacking Meals for Cheap appeared first on Dawn Outdoors.