79 Easy Backpacking Food Ideas

ByFresh Off The Grid UpdatedJune 18, 2022

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Meal planning for your next backpacking trip? We’ve compiled our favorite backpacking food, ingredients, and meal ideas to help you get started. Find out what food is best for hiking, discover new ingredients, and get inspired by some delicious new backpacking meals.

Michael sitting with backpacking gear around him and mountains in the distance

Let’s clear the air here: There is no shame in relying on packaged food for your backpacking trips! We get it. Not everyone has time to make their own backpacking meals before setting off on a trip (if you do have time, we have a whole post about dehydrating food for backpacking!).

We’re speaking from experience here: In 2019, we hiked the JMT for our honeymoon. Organizing and dehydrating 18 days’ worth of food was the last thing we had time for while planning a wedding.

So, we did what many people do before a backpacking trip: raid the shelves of REI and our grocery store for anything and everything that looks tasty!

In this post, we share our favorite backpacking food ideas from hundreds of miles hiked over the past few years. We hope this article gives you some new delicious trail food ideas!

Megan is sitting on the ground and is reaching into a bear barrel

What makes for good backpacking food?

There are a few factors to keep in mind when determining whether a food is good for backpacking: shelf-stable, weight, calorie density, and cook speed.

Shelf-Stable: It’s important to use ingredients that can be stored at room temperature. You can get away with bringing some things like cheese or salami if you eat them in the first few days, but for the most part, you want to skip anything perishable.

Lightweight: Since you have to carry it every step of the way, backpacking food should be as lightweight as possible. Dehydrated and freeze-dried foods tend to be lightest, though there are plenty of grocery store options we’ll review as well.

Calorie Dense: Backpacking takes a lot of energy, so you need food that can properly refuel you. When we plan our backpacking food, we try to average 125+ calories per ounce to keep the weight down.

Cooking Time: Consider how much patience you have to cook your food and how much fuel you will be bringing. Quicker cooking foods tend to be preferred by most backpackers for fuel conservation.

Megan sorting through backpacking food that is spread out on a picnic table

How much food should you pack for backpacking?

Backpacker.com suggests that for most backpackers who plan on hiking all day with a heavier pack, you should aim for 25-30 calories per pound of body weight, per day. If you’re going to do a shorter day of hiking (less than 2 hours) or covering less strenuous terrain, you can scale it down to 21-25 calories per pound of body weight, per day.

Instead of eating just three meals per day like you might at home, aim to eat throughout the day and consume 30-60 grams of carbohydrates per hour (source) to keep your energy high and prevent hitting the wall.

These, of course, are just a starting point and you should adjust based on your own experience. If you’re going to do a longer backpacking trip like the JMT, do a few weekend shakedown trips to get a sense of what your appetite is like.

Megan sitting at a campground making coffee

Backpacking breakfasts

A good day on the trail starts with a solid breakfast. If you want to get through the morning without “bonking”, it’s best to start with some calories in the tank. Thankfully there’s a lot more on the menu than just instant oats. Here are some great backpacking breakfasts to check out.

Mountain House

One of the original freeze-dried brands, Mountain House has worked hard to improve upon some of their many classics. On the JMT, we were fans of their Breakfast Skillet, Biscuits & Gravy, and Southwest Style Skillet.

Backpacker’s Pantry

One of our top brands, Backpacker’s Pantry consistently made some of our favorite meals on the JMT. For breakfast, we were really impressed with their Granola with Blueberries and Almonds, which has a whopping 620 calories.

Next Mile Meals

Focusing on producing ketogenic (keto) freeze-dried backpacking meals, Next Mile Meals offers two hearty breakfasts that even non-keto hikers will enjoy: Sausage Scramble and Steak Omelette.

Patagonia Provisions

Expanding their commitment to ethical sourcing and accountability to food, Patagonia Provisions is raising the bar in the backpacking meal market. A step beyond oatmeal, Patagonia Provisions Hot Cereal combines toasted buckwheat kasha, cracked whole barley, rolled oats, and flax seeds and comes in flavors like Creamy Banana, Raspberry, and Tart Apple. Just add hot water and enjoy.

Peak Refuel

Another highly rated freeze-dried brand is Peak Refuel. Their breakfast offerings include Strawberry Granola, and a Breakfast Skillet.

Trailtopia

With their expanded lineup of instant oatmeals, Trailtopia has a lot to offer in the breakfast department. A few of their top mixes are Mango, Blueberry, Cinnamon Apple, and Chocolate Raspberry.

Wild Zora

Offering healthy backpacking meals for a range of diets, Wild Zora has quite a few breakfast options. Their signature grain-free instant breakfast cereal is available in Apple Pie, Blueberry Muffin, Banana Bread, Carrot Cake, Tropical Tart. They also have a limited line of AIP (auto-immune protocol) breakfasts as well!

OvaEasy Eggs

If you don’t mind cooking in the morning, OvaEasy’s powdered egg crystals are surprisingly close to the real thing! Enjoy them on their own, with dehydrated hash browns, or as a veggie scramble.

Megan holding a blue bowl with yogurt, granola, and fruit, and a yellow spoon

DIY Yogurt Parfait

This easy DIY meal uses freeze dried yogurt melts (you can usually find them in the baby food aisle!), granola, and dried fruit. Get our recipe here!

Instant oatmeal

Instant oatmeal is quick, easy, cheap, and totally customizable. Just add hot water. Pro Tip: Use the packet as your bowl. Just tear off the top, pour the water in, and stir. The bag will get hot, but won’t leak. Up the calories by adding coconut or whole milk powder, or stirring in a packet of nut butter.

Bobo’s Oat Bars

A no-cook “breakfast” bar is a great grab-and-go option for any who want to streamline their morning routine. It can also be nice for people who don’t wake up hungry and like to wait a little bit before eating. We particularly like Bobo’s Oat Bars for breakfast, which pack 340+ calories into a 3oz bar.

Greenbelly Mud Meal

Another quick, no-cook breakfast is a meal replacement shake, like Greenbelly’s MUD Meal. The name aside, it’s actually a really tasty drink and we find that it mixes into cold water a lot better than many other protein powders.

Instant Coffee

There has been a huge improvement in the QUALITY of instant coffee in recent years. Our top go-to favorites are Mt. Hagen and Alpine Start.

Instant Tea

Prefer tea over coffee? No worries. Check out Instant Tea from Cusa, with flavors like English Breakfast, Chai, and Earl Grey. These tea packets dissolve entirely into the water, so there’s no soggy tea bag to pack out with you.

Michael sitting at the top of a mountain pass eating lunch

Backpacking lunches, snacks, and bars

When backpacking, the goal is to consume a constant stream of calories throughout the day. This slow-drip offers your body a consistent and stable fuel source, preventing your blood sugar from taking a nosedive (i.e. bonking).

So we like to think of hiking as one long, moveable feast. Lots of little snacks here and there, a big snack in the middle of the day (otherwise called lunch) and then more snacking throughout the afternoon. The key to making this work is variety. Don’t get burnt out eating the same thing over and over.

Greenbelly meal bars

Greenbelly meal bars boast 650 calories per serving and come in a bunch of flavors. They are basically a full meal that requires zero cooking–perfect for lunch on the trail!

No-cook meals

There are a variety of no-cook meal options available, such as Food for the Sole’s Triple Peanut Slaw, Zesty Miso Broccoli Slaw, or Curried Cauliflower Salad, Outdoor Herbivore’s Waldorf Slaw and Lazy Lentil Salad, and Packit Gourmet’s Curry Mango or Cajun Ranch Chicken Salads.

Megan holding a plastic container full of pasta salad. She's picking up a spoonful.

DIY Cold Soak Meals

If you have access to a food dehydrator, try making your own cold soak meals using a variety of pasta, beans, and veggies. Check out these recipes to start: Pasta Salad or Cowboy Caviar.

Chicken, tuna, or SPAM packets

These might not be the most weight-efficient items in your bear canister, but they do a great job of providing protein. Buy them plain and doctor them up with condiments, or buy some of the many flavor options. Our favorites were Buffalo Chicken, Chicken Salad, Deli Style Tuna Salad and Lemon Pepper Tuna.

These premium grade, line-caught tuna packets are packed in oil for extra calories.

If salmon is more your speed, Patagonia Provisions has some awesome options.

SPAM also comes in a foil packet and can be a nice change of pace from seafood. We were hesitant about this one, but it’s actually very tasty.

NB: Make sure you’re buying the foil packets, not cans!

Packaroons

These macaroons pack in 170 calories per ounce, so they definitely pull their weight (pun intended) in your pack. They come in a few flavors including Amaretto, Blueberry Almond, and Sweet Coconut.

Energy Bars

Our best advice when packing bars is to go for VARIETY. Don’t just load up on your favorite bar for a multi-day hike. Because after your trip, it won’t be your favorite anymore. There are more energy bar companies out there then we can keep track of, but here are some of our favorite brands: Bobo, RX Bars, Munkpack Nut & Seeds, Patagonia Provisions, GoMacro, Lara Bar, Dang, Bearded Brothers, Aloha, and 88 Acres Seed Bars.

Energy Cookies & More

If you prefer your energy bars in a circular shape, then may we suggest the burgeoning energy cookie scene. We are fans of MunkPack Cookies (take 15% off with “FRESH15”), Lenny & Larry Cookies, and 2Betties (GF, grain-free, dairy free).

Nut butter

On a tortilla or straight from the packet (guilty as charged!), nut butter is a great addition to trail lunches. Justin’s, Rx, and TrailButter are all great places to start. Our favorite on the JMT was RX Vanilla Almond Butter (sweet manna from heaven!).

Seed Butter

Allergic to nuts? No worries, 88 Seed Butters is a nut-free company that offers a wide range of packable seed butter.

Jerky and meat bars

Jerky and meat bars tend to be a little low on calories, but high in protein – which is critical for muscle repair. We like Epic Provisions and Wild Zora. On longer multi-day hikes, these are good to eat towards the end of the day to help your body repair.

Beef jerky stacked on a piece of parchment paper

DIY Jerky

If you have a little bit of experience using a dehydrator, try your hand at making your own jerky! The flavor combinations are endless! Here’s our basic beef jerky recipe, and one for teriyaki beef jerky.

Vegan Jerky

Just a few years ago “jerky” was an exclusively meat-based category, but today there are many plant-based vegan options. Some of our favorites are Primal Spirit Food and Louisville Vegan Jerky Co.

Honey Stinger Waffles

A quick hit of energy, Honey Stingers Waffles are a great little maintenance snack. Perfect for when you’re feeling a little low-energy and need a little extra zip to get you up the next hill. They have a variety of flavors to choose from, and some even have a bit of caffeine for an extra little boost.

Energy Gummies

The solid, chewy form of a gel, there are a variety of energy gummies like Honey Stinger Chews, Clif Shot Bloks, GU Energy Chews, and Scratch Lab Chews These are great to have on hand if you ever start to feel yourself bonking. We think of these as a “Break Glass If In Need of Calories” type of emergency snack.

Quinn Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels

We are absolute fiends for peanut butter-filled pretzels. What mad hatter came up with the crazy idea, we don’t know. But they’re amazing. Quinn has a variety of flavors worth checking out like Maple Almond Butter, Dark Chocolate-y, and classic peanut butter.

Love Corn

Speaking of something crunchy, Love Corn is a line of crunchy corn (remember Corn Nuts?). Some of their flavors include sea salt, smoked BBQ, salt & vinegar, and habanero chili. Obviously, these are great by the handful, but they can also be added to any freeze-dried or dehydrated meal to give them a little crispy, crunchy texture.

Oloves

We absolutely love olives when backpacking. Not only are they loaded with calories, but they offer a momentary burst of savory refinement that is hard to compare. Instant morale booster. We are therefore big fans of Oloves packable olives. Enjoy them on their own, or with the above-mentioned hummus and chips spread.

Cheese

Hard cheese and cheeses that are individually packaged are great options. We also LOVE the Trader Joe’s Baked Cheese Bites as well as Parmesan or Cheddar Whisps (the latter are a bit less sturdy though).

Other cheesy snacks we’re looking forward to trying: Pepper Jack Moon Cheese and Keto Goat Cheese Crunch

Trail mix, nuts, and dried fruit

Packing an assortment of trail mix, nuts, and dried fruits is a great way to have some calorie-boosts on hand to eat while hiking (there’s a reason GORP has been handed down through the generations!). Our favorite places for nuts and dried fruit in bulk are Nuts.com and Trader Joe’s. You can find some of our favorite trail mix recipes here.

DIY Dried Fruit

Drying your own fruit is a great way to cut costs and take advantage of seasonal produce when it’s on sale. We love dried apples, dehydrated bananas, pineapple, and kiwis!

Candy

The snack we didn’t pack for the JMT but we wish we did? Candy! We’re not candy people normally, but the calorie and mid-day sugar boost would have been awesome. Haribo Gummy Bears, Swedish Fish, or Jelly Belly’s “Sports Beans” are all good picks. Whatever you pick, make sure it won’t be too melty.

Michael sitting on the ground with a camp scene and sunset

Backpacking dinners

After a long and exhausting day on the trail, we can’t help but develop great expectations for dinner. Which is why it’s so important to find a meal that will end your day on a happy and satisfying note.

While there are more backpacking dinner options to choose from than ever before, our suggestion is to pick meals that sound appetizing to you now. If you’re not an adventurous eater at home, then you’re likely not going to magically become one on the trail.

Backpacker’s Pantry

Backpacker’s Pantry is one of our favorite freeze-dried meal brands. Over the past few years, they have really dialed in most of their recipes and now they’re absolutely crushing it. One of the BEST backpacking meals we’ve had is their Pad Thai. It’s just awesome. Other dinners we really enjoyed were the Three Cheese Mac & Cheese and the Fettuccini Alfredo.

Bushka’s Kitchen

Newer to the freeze-dried backpacking meal scene, San Francisco-based Bushka’s Kitchen has some incredible meal options that feature large, easily identifiable whole ingredients. They also offer some eclectic protein sources to keep things interesting. Meals to check out:

Fernweh Food Company

Producing dehydrated backpacking meals with low-impact packaging and seasonal local produce, Fernweh Food Company is another recent addition to the backpacking meal market. Meals to check out:

Food For the Sole

Started by a mom and son team in Bend, Oregon, Food For The Sole are hometown heroes for us. They specialized in wholesome dehydrated meals that can be ordered as “full” or “lunch” sizes. Meals to check out:

Pinnacle Foods

Pinnacle Foods is a company based in High Point, NC who use “omnidegradable” bags–meaning they can biodegrade, be composted, or recycled. Meals to check out:

Good-To-Go

Producing dehydrated backpacking meals from quality ingredients, Good To-Go has really expanded its lineup in the past few years. We’ll be honest, in our personal experience, we’ve had some winner and loser meals from them. Nothing was bad, we just found a few meals to be tragically undersalted. Meals to check out:

Mushroom Risotto
Thai Curry
Chicken Pho (We haven’t had it, but we’re very intrigued)

Heather’s Choice

Based in Anchorage, Alaska, Heather’s Choice uses high-quality, whole foods ingredients to create packable, dehydrated provisions. We have not personally tried these meals yet, BUT they get good reviews online. They are gluten and dairy-free and have a diverse range of flavors like African Peanut Stew, Spinach Curry with Chicken and Rice, and Grass-Fed Beef & Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce.