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Hiking is one my favorite ways to be outside. I like to think of hiking as a budget activity, but when you have to spend heaps on specialized backpacking food the price can add up! I’ve come up with these 10 backpacking meal ideas that I actually trail tested!
Since I’ve moved to New Zealand, I’ve done an overnight hiking trip at least once a month, and I like to change up my food regularly. That’s why I started creating my own backpacking meals.Â
These meal ideas are filling, satisfying, lightweight and delicious, without spending heaps on freeze dried meals.
I went ahead and made all these meals vegetarian friendly, but it’s super easy to add a cured meat to any of them or packaged tuna!Â
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I’ve broken my budget backpacking meal ideas down into two categories.Â
The first being a backpacking meal you assemble from grocery store ingredients. I called these “NON pre-dehydrated backpacking meals” because you don’t need a dehydrator to make them. There are a ton of options out there and ways to get creative with regular old grocery items! No need to invest $20 in a freeze dried meal if you can assemble something yourself for a lot cheaper.Â
If you’re assembling a grocery store meal focus on high calorie and protein foods that are lightweight. For example, textured soy protein has about 50g of protein per 100g. That means about half the weight will be protein, that’s a good thing when backpacking! I also cut away any excess packaging to save weight.Â
The second type of backpacking meal I focus on is meals you dehydrate at home, either in the oven or a dehydrator. The possibilities really do feel endless here! We dehydrated in our oven a few times before buying a $60 dehydrator. And it’s been such a game changer! The benefits of dehydrating your own meal means you get to tailor the flavor and really control your portions and nutrients.Â
Some quick tips – fats (like butter and oil) don’t dehydrate well, and if you’re dehydrating in the oven you’ll need to keep the oven at about 150F for 10-12 hours with the door cracked open. It’s way easier to start dehydrating at home than you may think!Â
What is a "No Cook" Meal?
A no cook backpacking meal requires no stove, no fuel and no fuss! If you don’t have a backpacking stove you don’t have to miss out on beautiful views and delicious food. If you do have a stove you can save a lot of fuel by cold soaking your lunches.
To achieve a yummy no cook meal you’ll be leaving your food in cold water to rehydrate while you hike. I recommend cold soaking your food for at least an hour, some things like noodles or beans I’ll soak for 2!Â
I had been hiking and backpacking for years before I realized I could cold soak my food! This technique has really opened up the food accesibility for me on the trail.
What to Cold Soak in
What you soak your food in is totally up to you. I’m not fancy about it and I usually just cold soak in the ziplock bag I packed the meal in. Lots of backpackers bring a designated soaking container like an old peanut butter jar or even a small Nalgene waterbottle.Â
The Down Side
The down side to cold soaking? Cold food I guess! While this is less of a disappointment on a hot day, it can be a little underwhelming to have a full morning hike and then eat a cold burrito. That’s why I’ve assembled 10 cold soaked lunches that are actually palatable as a cold meal. I’ve also noticed if you add spice (like a hot sauce packet) you can imitate that hot food feeling.Â
So without further ado, here’s 10 cold soaked backpacker meal ideas and how I like to assemble them.
NON Pre-Dehydrated Backpacking Meal Ideas
1. Ramen and Textured Vegetable Protien (TVP)
The perfect combo of protein and carbs. I just pack my ramen in a ziplock bag with the spice and on the trail I will cold soak the ramen with the TVP in the ziplock bag. A great option if you eat fish is packaged tuna here. Cold soak the ramen as before and when it’s time for lunch mix in the tuna. I avoid buying canned tuna and instead opt for the plasticy/foily packaged one. To avoid getting fish oil all over the place (like in my bowl) I’ll typically eat this one right out of the cold soak bag. I ate tuna and ramen for lunch on my Tongariro backpacking trip.
2. Couscous Salad
Couscous is a cold soaking backpacker’s best friend! It takes about 20 minutes to rehydrate and is good to go! Just keep your veggies separate while you cold soak. We typically eat this meal as our first lunch so that we limit that amount of time carrying around cucumber, tomatoes and feta cheese. This was what we ate the first day on the Paparoa Great Walk.Â
3. Dehydrated Hummus Wraps
Many grocery stores sell dehydrated hummus these days, so hopefully you don’t have to go out of your way to find it. Just add water and mix! Spread onto a tortilla and add your veggies and greens. As with the couscous salad we eat this early in the trip.
4. Rice Noodles in Peanut Sauce
I’ll be honest, I don’t loveeeee cold soaking vermicelli rice noodles, as they don’t plump up the same as they do when soaked in hot water, but it will do in a pinch. I recommend cold soaking the noddles for at least an hour but you may want to let them go longer. Or, SUB ramen. Make the peanut sauce ahead of time and mix in your noodles. This one’s refreshing on a hot day!Â
5. Rice and Bean Burrito
Uncle Ben’s ready rice is ready to eat right out of the bag, although I personally don’t find it super palatable. But if you mix in some rehydrated, dehydrated refried beans and slap it on a tortilla? Amazing. Dehydrated refried beans can be found at some grocery stores or specialty stores. Pro tip is to pack hot sauce packets and spice it up.Â
At Home Pre-Dehydrated Backpacking Meal Ideas
6. Pasta Salad
There are tons of fun and fancy pasta salad recipes out there, so find one that suits you! For the dehydrator, you’ll want to cook one that has no oil, as the oils don’t dehydrate well. I’ve found that vinaigrette or mustard is a good sauce substitute for something super oily. Cold soak for at least an hour to bring it back to life! We had this one on the Kepler Great Walk!
7. Pesto Chickpea Wrap
I’ll mix chickpeas with a low oil pesto to make a protein and flavorful filling for pita wraps or tortillas! Cold soak for an hour to make sure the chickpeas are rehydrated all the way through.Â
8. Curried Rice with Naan
I discovered making curried rice one night when I was having an absolute struggle meal. And ya know what, it was delicious. I just mixed rice and some frozen veggies on the stove top with curry paste. Perfect for dehydrating and bringing on the trail. Enjoy with naan for something heartier. Â
9. Lentil Dahl with Naan
Another protein filled vegetarian meal here, with naan making the perfect carb filled side. The pre cooked lentils come back to life after 30 minutes of soaking.Â
10. Mexi Beans and Rice
My last backpacking meal idea for you is mexi beans and rice – my personal favorite! I like to cook the rice with onions, tomate paste and vegetable bullion for extra flavor before I dehydrate it. Then dehydrate beans of your choice and you’re good to go! I usually cold soak this for 2 hours and I’m good to go. I like to eat this with a tortilla for a little lunch burrito.Â
PRO TIP – valentinas hot sauce dehydrates well! Â
Those are my top 10 no stove needed, easy peasy, cold soaked, not boring backpacking meal ideas – perfect for lunch! A lot of the recipes I make are from ‘FromMyBowl‘ , I’ve been making her vegan recipes for years, even though I’m not a full time vegan!Â
Please feel free to share any backpacking meal ideas you love down in the comments!Â
I hope you enjoy!
Bree is a hobby travel writer who specializes in backpacking guides and ocean based travel. She’s worked in marine based tourism in Alaska and in ocean outdoor education on Catalina Island. She is currently living with her partner in New Zealand where she is working and backpacking.
Ahoy! I’m Bree and I’ve started this blog to help you plan your next great outdoor adventure. With a background in marine science, I’ve got an aptitude for all things ocean, but you’ll find land based adventures here too! Everything you see here is based on my own travel experience and paid for myself. I hope you stick around!