Bears yawn low in the valleys; snow pack climbs the hills; streams wet their beds; buffalo teach newborns the joy of dirt; the wild’s new generation grow close to their mothers; Poetry offers its one free issue; magnets press wedding invitations to the fridge; graphic designers wrap up their Earth Day posters; outdoor outfitters wear out the % key; college hoops loses its underdog thrill; Ostara shines down on new students of the ancient; Easter shines down on Christians and candy aisles; seagull shadows pass over dyed eggshells; jackets hang on waists, dangle from arms; professors sway student evals by having class outside; content writers stretch theirs fingers over a rough draft about removing ticks; folks, backpacking season in the northern Rockies is almost here!
And to celebrate, let’s plan for all the alpine feasts to come.
backpacking meals
In my last post, I mentioned a thing or two we could learn from Birthday Sarah, and continuing this theme, all of these backpacking meals arise from her genius. She has single-handedly revolutionized the way we eat in the backcountry.
Eric and I first started out with the staple of dehydrated refried beans and tortillas for a quick, filling burrito supper. We knew fancy dehydrated meals existed, but we also knew how much money we didn’t have. So, we always ended up carrying too much food that took up too much space and added too much weight and required too much clean-up.
What Sarah did for our backpacking meals world rivaled what Beethoven did for classical music world. And before I get accused of wielding hyperbole and faulty analogies, check out the following backpacking meals catalog.
This generous list of backpacking meals maximizes convenience: calorically rich, satisfyingly filling, widely affordable and available, packably light and small, and virtually no cleanup.
backpacking meals genie A) Stuffing
Calorically Rich: 660 kcal.
Satisfyingly Filling: Go ahead and fill up on bread!
Widely Affordable and Available: Any major supermarket (I assume), and pending on where you shop, between $1.50 – $3.
Packably Light and Small: 6 oz. in the bag (just more than 1/3 of a lb.), and the only drawback would be its puffiness takes up a bit more space than the other genies on this list.
Virtually No Cleanup: Pour boiled water directly into the bag it comes packaged in and the stuffing is immediately ready to eat (no wait time!). Then fold down the trash into your odor-proof bear bag, give your spork a dab of hand sanitizer, and that’s it.
Compare this to Backpacker’s Pantry‘s 660 kcal Spaghetti & Sauce which is an ounce heavier, needs more boiled water and 20 minutes of wait-time while also costing twice as much at $6 and taking up twice the packed space.
backpacking meals genie B) Potatoes
Full bias disclosure: we are Idahoans.
Calorically Rich: 440 kcal.
Satisfyingly Filling: 4 servings of America’s favorite starch!
Widely Affordable and Available: Any major supermarket (I assume), and pending on where you shop, between $0.89 – $0.99.
Packably Light and Small: 4 oz. in the bag (1/4 of a lb.) with slender, foldable packaging.
Virtually No Cleanup: Pour boiled water directly into its packaging, give it a stir, and immediately enjoy mashed potatoes (no wait time!). Then fold down the trash into your odor-proof bear bag, give your spork a dab of hand sanitizer, and that’s it.
Compare this to Backpacker’s Pantry’s smaller helping of 380 kcal Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes which is nearly an ounce lighter but also costs four times as much at $4.
backpacking meals genie C) Pasta Sides
Calorically Rich: 480 kcal.
Satisfyingly Filling: Carbo loading!
Widely Affordable and Available: Any major supermarket (I assume), and pending on where you shop and which pasta side you choose, between $0.89 – $1.89.
Packably Light and Small: usually around 4 oz. in a bag (1/4 of a lb.) with slender, foldable packaging.
Virtually No Cleanup: Pour boiled water directly into its packaging, give it a stir, fold and roll the top to trap heat in bag, and wait 10-15 minutes. Then fold down the trash into your odor-proof bear bag, give your spork a dab of hand sanitizer, and that’s it.
Compare this to Backpacker’s Pantry‘s 660 kcal Spaghetti & Sauce which is two ounces heavier (albeit more caloric), needs more boiled water and more wait-time while also costing six times as much at $6 and taking up twice the packed space.
backpacking meals genie D) Rice
Calorically Rich: 600 kcal.
Satisfyingly Filling: A reason why it’s the base for most of the world’s dishes.
Widely Affordable and Available: Any major supermarket (I assume), and pending on where you shop and which rice side you choose, between $1 – $2.
Packably Light and Small: usually around 6 oz. in a bag (just more than 1/3 of a lb.), and if in a box, then packs nicely into 1 cup bags.
Virtually No Cleanup: Pour boiled water directly into its packaging, (or if packed out of a box, then use a previous day’s pasta or potato packaging, give it a stir, fold and roll the top to trap heat in bag, and wait 10-15 minutes. Then fold down the trash into your odor-proof bear bag, give your spork a dab of hand sanitizer, and that’s it.
Compare this to Backpacker’s Pantry‘s 800 kcal Mexican Charros Beans & Rice which is two ounces heavier (albeit 200 more calories!), needs more boiled water and more wait-time while also costing three times as much between $4.50 to $6 and taking up five times the packed space.
backpacking meals genie E) Pop Tarts
Calorically Rich: 420 kcal. per two pastry pack.
Satisfyingly Filling: Immediate energy for the scree fields!
Widely Affordable and Available: Any major supermarket (I assume), and pending on where you shop, about $0.45 per 2 pack.
Packably Light and Small: between 3 – 4 oz. per two pack (less than 1/4 of a lb.), and the only drawback involves their easily smashable nature. But even smashed, they hold together pretty well.
Virtually No Cleanup: Open, eat, throw wrapper in odor-proof bear bag.
Compare this to the average Clif Bar which is an ounce lighter and packs better (but nearly half the calorie payload at 250 kcal) but costs four times as much at $0.96 per one bar.
backpacking meals genie F) Dinosaur Eggs Oatmeal
Calorically Rich: 190 kcal. Not the strongest calorie punch, but basically as good as protein bars while much lighter and easier to pack.
Satisfyingly Filling: Try eating a lot of oatmeal for breakfast and see how long the full feeling lasts into the afternoon.
Widely Affordable and Available: Any major supermarket (I assume), and pending on where you shop, between $0.30 – $0.32 per pack.
Packably Light and Small: 1.76 oz. per bag (less than 1/8 of a lb.), and packs smaller than any other genie on this list.
Virtually No Cleanup: Pour boiled water directly into its packaging, give it a stir, fold and roll the top to trap heat in bag, and wait just a couple minutes. Then fold down the trash into your odor-proof bear bag, give your spork a dab of hand sanitizer, and that’s it. Or eating it dry is also surprisingly tasty and requires zero cook time.
Compare this to the average Clif Bar which is an ounce heavier (but with a few more calories), doesn’t pack as well, and costs three times as much at $0.96 per one bar.
An apology to Backpacker’s Pantry
One nice thing about being unsponsored rests in the freedom to give unbiased advice about the world of backpacking.
And while I’ve probably shot any chances of getting sponsored by Backpacker’s Pantry in the foot, I’ll still go ahead and give them a shout out. In a post like this about backpacking on a tight budget, established backpacking companies will always seem like the greedy villain. I only used Backpacker’s Pantry for cost comparison, and I don’t mean to make them look like the bad guys. They’re just not easy for a lot of us to afford.
But they offer by far the tastiest backpacking ready meals on the market. And I especially appreciate their thoughtful array of vegetarian options, which is something their competitors like Mountain House would be wise to emulate (though Mountain House‘s Mac & Cheese dish is truly top shelf!).
To date, the tastiest backpacking meal I’ve had is Backpacker’s Pantry‘s Cuban Coconut Black Beans and Rice. They did it exactly right; it’s got bananas!