Backpacking is no stroll in the park. During an average day of navigating switchbacks and rock gardens, you burn about 5,000 calories, the equivalent of nine Big Macs. While it’s important to replenish these lost calories, you also want your meals to provide a nice balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. And it’s easier to compensate for a caloric deficit when the food tastes good.
Fortunately, dehydrated and freeze-dried meals have improved significantly over the past decade, with many new brands and vegan options now available. (They’re easy to prepare, too: Boil water, pour it in the bag, wait a few minutes, then stir and eat.) Four taste testers and I sampled dishes from 12 brands to determine which ones should be on your backpacking menu. Toss these in your pack before your next thru-hike.

Gastro Gnome Sausage Rigatoni.
EDITORS’ CHOICE
Gastro Gnome Italian Fennel Sausage Rigatoni
Gastro Gnome’s meals come at a premium cost, but they’re worth it. Pasta with ground meat is a standard backpacking option, but Gastro Gnome’s is next level. Many brands’ sauces are tomato-based and quite sweet, sometimes verging on ketchup, but Gastro Gnome uses a creamy roasted red pepper sauce with a smoky, rich flavor. The whole rigatoni noodles have a nice, toothsome texture, cooked al dente as I would if I were making pasta at home. If I wanted to splurge on one meal to treat myself on the trail, it would be this one.
$17.95 (serves one), 850 calories and 29 grams of protein per serving.

Backpacker’s Pantry Pad Thai with Chicken.
BEST VALUE
Backpacker’s Pantry Pad Thai with Chicken
Backpacker’s Pantry is one of the oldest and most widely available brands of dehydrated meals, and its lineup is reliable and affordable. The pad thai with chicken has plenty of flavor from vinegar, garlic, lime, paprika, and cilantro. The sauce is thick and luscious, thanks to the included packet of peanut butter you add to the hot water. The addition of whole roasted peanuts adds crunch, something often sorely missing in backpacking meals. I ate this meal while backpacking for multiple days in Michigan, and it fueled me without making me feel heavy or weighed down.
$12.95 (serves two), 410 calories and 21 grams of protein per serving.

Pinnacle Foods Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits and Sausage Gravy.
BEST BREAKFAST
Pinnacle Foods Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits and Herbed Sausage Gravy
Many of the breakfasts we tried were a classic skillet (eggs, sausage, and veggies), and almost all of them were dry and flavorless. Pinnacle’s take on sausage and gravy was a welcome change. The caramelized onions, thyme, and fresh sage added earthy flavor. I would be confident in my ability to hike 12 miles with a pack on my back if I ate this hearty mix for breakfast.
$16.49 (serves one), 770 calories and 31 grams of protein per serving.

Pinnacle Foods Tuscan Chicken with Penne Pasta.
BEST PASTA
Pinnacle Foods Creamy Tuscan Chicken with Penne Pasta
I am not a lover of white sauces or rich pastas, but Pinnacle’s Tuscan chicken might convert me. The sauce was garlicky and full of umami, thanks to a healthy dose of parmesan, and creamy without feeling greasy or fatty. Big pieces of meat in backpacking meals can often be dry or chewy, but the chunks of roasted chicken in this meal were tender and moist.
$17.99 (serves one), 850 calories and 56 grams of protein per serving.

Bighorn Butter Chicken & Rice.
BEST NON-PASTA
Bighorn Mountain Food Best Butter Chicken & Rice
Bighorn’s butter chicken and rice was the first meal we tried in our extensive taste test, and it became our gold standard. The chicken was tender and plentiful, and the rice was surprisingly fluffy. One heads-up: A whole package of this meal contains 2,320 milligrams of sodium, or 101 percent of your daily allotted amount. Our testers were divided on whether it was too salty, but given how much you sweat and how many electrolytes you lose while backpacking, this much salt might not be a bad thing.
$17.95 (serves two), 360 calories and 18 grams of protein per serving.

Firepot Porcini Mushroom Risotto.
BEST VEGAN OPTION
Firepot Porcini Mushroom Risotto
One of our taste testers is a vegan, and this dish earned his stamp of approval. The rice was creamy, as risotto should be, and the chestnut and porcini mushrooms and mushroom stock added a deep, robust flavor. Based in the United Kingdom, Firepot has a whole line of vegan meals, proving that vegan food has come a long way since the days of strictly rice and beans.
$15.30 (serves two), 390 calories and 9 grams of protein per serving.
Author: Mary Andino is a frequent contributor to Terrain.
Top image: Emily Goodhart/Unsplash.
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