The Ultimate Guide to Vegan Backpacking Food

In this article, we share all the plant-based backpacking foods that are now available to vegan backpackers. Discover new products, compare calories, and develop your next vegan backpacking meal plan!

Michael sitting on a rock with a lake and mountains in the background

“Wow, what a view! I can’t believe I get to hike through this spectacular landscape. Now, what’s for dinner?!“ Does that sound like a familiar train of thought out on the trail? As backpackers, we find that our minds turn to one of two things: the scenery around us, and thinking about what we get to eat next!

Spending a little bit of time before your next trip to plan out your backpacking meals means that you will always have something tasty to look forward to. Unfortunately, if you walk into a big outdoor retail store right before you hit the trail, you may find a limited selection of vegan-friendly options in stock. But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist–you just need to know where to look!

The good news is there are more vegan backpacking food options now than ever before, even if they aren’t always carried in stores. That’s why we scoured the internet to find as many vegan backpacking food options as we could and share them all in one place.

We have also done the work of calculating the total calories per ounce of each meal. Now you can easily tell the calories-to-weight ratio at a glance and quickly compare meals to make sure your meal plan stays weight efficient.

So if you’re a plant-based backpacker, consider this your one-stop-shop!

What to Look for in Backpacking Food

While being entirely plant-based is the first criteria, vegan backpacking food should also be shelf-stable, lightweight, nutrient and calorie-dense, and quick-cooking.

Shelf-Stable

If you’re assembling your own meals, it’s important to use ingredients that can be stored at room temperature. In some ways, vegan backpackers have an advantage here because plant-based foods tend to have a longer shelf-life compared to foods that contain animal products.

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 115-130+ calories per ounce or more 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.

A bear canister with a spread of vegan backpacking meals

How Much Food Should You Pack for Backpacking?

For most backpackers who plan on hiking all day with a heavier pack, Backpacker.com suggests aiming for 25-30 calories per pound of body weight, per day. For shorter day hikes (less than 2 hours) or if 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.

Again, these are just rough estimations. Everyone’s body burns calories at different rates. So if you are preparing for a longer backpacking trip, you will absolutely want to do a few weekend shakedown trips to get a sense of what your appetite will be like.

Woman cooking over a backpacking stove with a tent in the background.

Vegan Backpacking Breakfasts

Whether it’s adding boiling water to hot breakfast cereal or cold water to make granola with a milk substitute, the convenience of a “just add water” meal is hard to deny out on the trail. Or you can forgo the water altogether and opt for a no-cook bar. Whatever your preference, there are a lot of great vegan breakfast options to explore.

Quaker Oatmeal

Quaker 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 stirring in a packet of nut butter.

Laird InstaFuel Coffee + Creamer

If you are going to make yourself a cup of coffee in the morning, then you might as well add some calories to the mix with Laird Instant Coffee & Creamer.

VeganSmart All-in-One Shake

I have tried a lot of different vegan shakes and this one is by far my favorite. You can either drink this in the morning as a stand alone shake, or, you can mix it up with some DIY or store bought granola. It’s a great way to work some extra protein in your morning meal.

ProBar Meals

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. ProBar offers a large variety of flavor combinations – all of which are entirely plant-based.

Vegan Breakfast Recipes

Here are some of the vegan breakfast recipes we have on our website:

Michael sitting at the top of a mountain pass eating lunch

Vegan lunches, snacks, and bars

When we’re backpacking, a very blurry line separates snacks from lunch. In fact, from the time we hit the trail in the morning until we set up camp at night, the entire experience is sort of an extended, movable feast. So in this section, we’ll cover all the vegan options for snacks and lunches.

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. Find a few you like, mix it up.

The following companies offer an entirely vegan product line: GoMacro Bars, LÄRABAR, MunkPack Cookie, Dang Bars, Bearded Brothers, Aloha Bars, 88 Acres Seed Bar. These companies offer many vegan options: Clif Bars, Picky Bars, Bobo Bars, Patagonia Provisions Bars.

Nut Butters

On a tortilla or straight from the packet (guilty as charged!). Nut butter packets are a great source of calories (and protein) on the trail, and they make for excellent grab-and-go snacks.

The following companies offer an entirely vegan product line: Performance Nut Butter, 88 Acres Seed Butters, while these companies offer many vegan options: Justin’s Nut Butter, Trail Butter, Yum Butter.

Powdered Hummus

Just mix cold water, some powdered hummus, drizzle with olive oil, and you’ve got delicious hummus spread for lunch! Enjoy with sturdy crackers, pretzel sticks, or veggie sticks. Check out The Hummus Co’s entirely vegan line of powdered hummus, with flavors like: Traditional, Mughali Curry and Chipotle. Or, make your own dehydrated hummus (it’s super easy!).

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, many of which are vegan, worth checking out.

Love Corn

Speaking of something crunchy, Love Corn is an entire vegan line of crunchy corn. Some of their flavors include sea salt, smoked BBQ, salt & vinegar, and habanero chilli. 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.

Vegan Jerky

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

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.

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. Our favorite places for nuts and dried fruit in bulk are Nuts.com and Trader Joe’s.

Nomad Chewy Banana Bites

We’ve all had dehydrated bananas chips before that feel like you’re biting into a poker chip. These are not those. Soft and chewy like a marshmallow, these Banana Bites by Nomad Nutrition offer much welcomed change in texture. Add them to your morning oatmeal or enjoy them on their own.

Wildway Snack Mix

These fun fruit and nut snack packs from Wild Way Of Life are a nice change of pace from the standard GORP style trail mix. Their sample pack contains: Toasted Coconut Latte, Salted Chocolate Truffle, and Pineapple Mojito. Sounds good to us!

Cold-Soak Lunches

Let’s be honest, there’s no way we’re breaking out our stove and cooking lunch. Thankfully, there are a lot of great “cold-soak” lunches and many of them are vegan! Just add cold water and let stand for 15 minutes.
Food For The Sole: Zesty Miso Broccoli Slaw, Peanut Super Slaw
Bushka’s Kitchen: Lentil Lunch
Outdoor Herbivore: Pacific Crest Vinaigrette, Lazy Lentil Salad, Lemony Herb Quinoa Salad

Vegan Backpacking Snack/Lunch Recipes

Michael sitting on the ground with a camp scene and sunset

Vegan backpacking dinners

Dinner: the meal we’ve all been waiting for! After a long 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 satisfying note.

AlpineAire

Santa Fe Black Beans & Rice (97 calories/oz)

Backpacker’s Pantry

Pad Thai (112 calories/oz)
Kathmandu Curry (98 calories/oz)
Louisiana Red Beans and Rice (99 calories/oz)
Three Sisters Stew (106 calories/oz)
Chana Masala (108 calories/oz)

Bushka’s Kitchen

Zesty Zoodles in Avocado Sauce (135 calories/oz)

Fernweh Food Company

Mushroom Pot Pie (127 calories/oz)
Southwest Stew (116 calories/oz)

FirePot

Porcini Mushroom Risotto (120 calories/oz)
Orzo Bolognese (109 calories/oz)

Food For the Sole

Coconut Rice and Cuban Black Beans (131 calories/oz)
Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Kale and Quinoa (120 calories/oz)
Garlic Green Bean and Cashew Stir Fry (143 calories/oz)
Lentil Walnut Pilaf with Kale (102 calories/oz)

Go-to Go

Kale & White Bean Stew (108 calories/oz)
Mexican Quinoa Bowl (103 calories/oz)
Classic Marinara with Penne (120 calories/oz)
Korean Bibimbap (109 calories/oz)

Nomad Nutrition

Irish Shepherd’s Pie (227 calories/oz)
Ukrainian Borscht (148 calories/oz)
Kathmandu Curry (176 calories/oz)
Indian Red Lentil Stew (193 calories/oz)
Caribbean Curry (148 calories/oz)
Canadian Barley Soup ( calories/oz)
Hungarian Goulash (170 calories/oz)

Heather’s Choice

African Peanut Stew (107 calories/oz)

Sasquatch Fuel

Kickin’ Cactus Bowl (100 calories/oz)

Trailtopia

Sweet Potato Chili Mac (110 calories/oz)

Peak ReFuel

Three Bean Chili Mac (125 calories/oz)

Patagonia Provisions

Organic Green Kale Kamut Khorasan (95 calories/oz)
Organic Mushroom Kamut Khorasan (92 calories/oz)
Organic Red Bean Chili (95 calories/oz)
Organic Green Lentil Soup (95 calories/oz)
Organic Black Bean Soup (100 calories/oz)
Organic Tsampa Garden Veggie Soup (100 calories/oz)

Backpacking Recipes

Here are some of our favorite vegan backpacking dinner recipe we’ve developed over the years:

Backpacking Desserts

Not only are backpacking desserts an absolute treat, but they can help you meet your caloric needs for the day (without having to resort to just having more dinner).

Packaroons

These macaroons boast 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, all of which are vegan.

Food For the Sole

Cinnamon Cherry Crisp (125 calories/oz.)

Unreal Candy Bar

It’s not every day that you can eat an entire candy bar by yourself 1000% guilt free… here’s your chance 🙂 These Unreal chocolate coconut bars would be a great dessert or even a mid-afternoon pick-me-up on a particularly strenuous day.

Treehouse Coconut Drinking Chocolate

If you don’t necessarily want to eat dessert, consider drinking it! This drinking chocolate (see: hot chocolate) is an absolutely lovely way to wind down at camp. While Treehouse’s makes other flavors that do contain milk, this coconut chocolate blend is hands down their best product and it’s 100% vegan.

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. A few vegan-friendly candies to consider: Annie’s Bunny Fruit Snacks, Swedish Fish, Project 7 Gummies.

Nutiva

The vegan-alternative to Nutella, Nutiva is a plant-based chocolate-y spread that is absolutely loaded with calories! Enjoy spread on a tortilla, straight from the packet, or mix a little into a mug of hot water for a trailside hot chocolate!

BarCountry Cocktails

In terms of your overall meal plan, backcountry cocktails are absolutely an “extra” luxury. But they can be wonderful morale boosters! What better way to celebrate a gorgeous vista than with a cocktail? Pack along one of these pocket cocktail mixers and a little nip of liquor and offer a toast to your trail mates.

Condiments and extras

These are some of our favorite extras to add either calories or flavor to our meals.

Almond Protein Powder
Pea Protein Powder
TVP
Nutritional Yeast
Coconut Milk Powder
Cocoa Creamer
Olive Oil Packets
Coconut Oil Packets
Sriracha Packets
Chili garlic sauce
Soy Sauce Packets
Various hot sauce packets
True Lemon & True Lime flavor packets

Favorite Backpacking Cooking Gear

We have a whole post dedicated to our backpacking cooking gear picks, but here are some of the basics:

JetBoil MiniMo or Jetboil Flash

We are really impressed with the performance of the Jetboil integrated cook systems. The Jetboil MiniMo is a great option if you plan to eat out of the pot and need simmer control. The Jetboil Flash is great if all you need is boiling water, pronto.

MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe & 1.3 L Ceramic Pot

If we’re planning on rehydrating our own meals on trail and need the ability to simmer, then we go with a MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe canister stove paired with a MSR 1.3 L Ceramic Pot.

Check out our in-depth post about the best backpacking stoves on the market.

Backpacking Mug: GSI Infinity Mug

Weighing only 3.5 oz, this is our go-to mug for backpacking trips. It has enough insulation to keep our coffee warm in the morning and costs a fraction of the price of a double-walled titanium mug.

Favorite Utensil: Morsel Spoon

We love the spatula-inspired design of the Morsel spoon – perfect for scraping up every last bit of your delicious meal. (Psst, Fresh Off The Grid readers get 10% off their order using “FOTG10”)

Looking for more backpacking resources? Check out the index of all our vegan backpacking recipes, our ultimate guide to dehydrating food for backpacking, this complete backpacking checklist, and our favorite backpacking cooking gear!

This post was first published June 25, 2017, and last updated March 9, 2021, with up-to-date information.

20 Comments

Dad says:

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Hi I love it Dad. Voorzichtij

Melissa says:

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Thank you for including us in your list!!
Melissa
Backpacker’s Bistro

Stacey says:

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Where has this list been all my life?! This is perfect. Thank you so much for the ideas.

Roberta Hamm-Bhonsle says:

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Thank you for sharing this list. It really has been helpful!

Valerie Butcher-Enriquez says:

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Thanks for the great list!!

Jule says:

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Hey there, any tips on how to go backpacking, hiking without using all those packaged foods? I am living without plastic, not buying any food that comes in plastic packaging, and always looking for alternatives (if you don’t have bulk bins around town). Would be awesome to hear if you know anything how to be low waste on a trail or maybe could do a post about zero waste/low waste hiking too 🙂

1. Fresh Off the Grid says:
  
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  That’s fantastic. We are always trying to find new ways to reduce our single-use containers when possible. We’re not always great about it, but it’s a practice we are continually working on. A lot of the mylar bags that these foods come in are either recyclable or even compostable. We’d really like to do a deeper dive into zero or near-zero waste practices for camping and backpacking.
  
Carla says:

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Thank you so much!! This list makes preparing a lot easier. Although the organic bare burrito from Mary Janes farm contains cheese so it is vegetarian but not vegan.

1. Fresh Off the Grid says:
  
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  Thanks for catching that, Carla! We’ve remove it from the list 🙂
  
Hank says:

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Awesome to see Backpackers Bistro on the list! I’m curious, have you guys checked out Food For The Sole? They make a bunch of tasty meals too 🙂

1. Fresh Off the Grid says:
  
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  We haven’t heard of Food For the Sole before, but it looks like they are making some great meals. We’ll have to give them a try and add them to this list.
  
Don Hamon says:

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Great info. After decades of backpacking; 34 of them as a vegan, I’m now motorcycle camping. Your website has been a super repository of useful info. Happy life to you!

Don

1. Fresh Off the Grid says:
  
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  Thanks! We glad you’ve found the website to be a useful resource! It’s just the two of us working on it, so sometimes it’s hard to cover every angle. We appreciate the support.
  
Emme says:

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You can also buy individual ingredients and make your own meals. It’s usually cheaper, and you can make what you want, mix and match. Amazon sells two different brands of dehydrated foods that come in indivual ingredients; Harmony House is my favorite. This also allows you to make the meals fit how much you eat, and gives you flexibility.

1. Fresh Off the Grid says:
  
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  Harmony House is great resource of dehydrated food. Outdoor Herbivore and Nuts.com are also great places to look as well.
  
Kris Hawkins says:

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Can you update the list? A lot of the meals are out of stock or the links are broken. Thanks!

1. Fresh Off the Grid says:
  
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  Yes! We are planning on doing a big update to this article in the coming months. So we will make sure to freshen up the list.
  
Eva Marie Tang Kirk says:

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Hello there.
Thank you so much for this guide! Do you have any knowledge of web stores within the European Union that sells these vegan freeze dried products?
Thanks in advance,
Eva Marie, Denmark.

1. Fresh Off the Grid says:
  
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  Eva, unfortunately, we have very limited knowledge of the availability of dehydrated products within the EU. We are planning on updating this article soon, so we will make sure we do a little research on that end.
  
Adan Morales says:

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This is awesome. I was going to do the research and publish it but you did an amazing job! Thank you!!