The convenience of freeze-dried backpacking meals is undeniable – they’re ultralight and just require boiling water. These homemade backpacking recipes are designed with those advantages in mind, because at the end of a long day hiking, I look forward to a hot meal at camp with minimal preparation and clean-up. Just-add-water to a boil bag, stir, wait, and eat.
The drawback to most pre-packaged camping food is that it’s full of salt, and options quickly become limited if avoiding common allergens like soy or gluten. After watching family members lug a few extra pounds of food into the backcountry in order to reduce their sodium intake or meet the needs of their restricted diet, I decided to create my own just-add-water backpacking meal recipes using a combination of bulk ingredients easily available from the grocery store and online retailers. No food dehydrator or freeze-dryer required; no unnecessary weight in the backpack.
These recipes have all been tested where it counts: by famished hikers in campsites miles from anywhere! But I’ve also tested them in my home kitchen, without hiker hunger putting its thumb on the scale of taste.
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Just Add Water Backpacking Meal Recipes
These meals require the addition of boiling water (we use our trusty Jetboil but any backpacking stove will do) and are organized by their base carbohydrate. Just like what you’ll find with pre-made backpacking meals, I use mylar boil bags to ensure heat retention and adequate rehydration.
Instant Rice Backpacking Recipes
- Thai Coconut Chicken & Rice
- Southwestern Backpacker Burrito
- Teriyaki Chicken & Pineapple Rice
- Sweet Potato Pecan Rice (coming soon!)
Penne Pasta Backpacking Recipes
- Penne Pasta “Lasagna”
- Penne Alfredo w/Mushroom (coming soon!)
- Chili “Mac” & Cheese (coming soon!)
Couscous Camping Recipes
- Persian Couscous
- Moroccan Inspired Couscous Chicken Stew (coming soon!)
Rice Noodle Camping Recipes
Backpacking Breakfast Recipes
- Backpacker Breakfast Burrito
- DIY Instant Oatmeal Flavors (coming soon!)
Cold-Soak Backpacking Recipes
No stove, no problem! All of these dehydrated meals are designed to be cold-soaked, making them perfect for lunches on the trail. Just add cold water, hike a little more, and you’ll be ready to be eat by time you find a scenic stopping point.
- Instant Backpacker Chicken Salad
- Cold Soak Coconut Chia Pudding (coming soon!)
- Cold Soak “Waldorf” Lentil Salad (coming soon!)
- Cold Soak Broccoli Salad (coming soon!)
Lightweight Backpacking Meals from the Grocery Store
The following staple ingredients are available at most grocery stores and readily available online. They serve as easily rehydratable carbohydrate bases:
- Instant Rice: Minute Instant White Rice is my go-to, as it rehydrates well in around 10 minutes after adding boiling water and is available practically everywhere in the US. Even though it says “instant”, I’ve found the instant brown rice options to rehydrate poorly compared to white rice.
- Couscous: The perfect instant meal, as regular couscous never has to be boiled. I use bulk unflavored couscous in my recipes, but boxed couscous mixes can also make easy grab-and-go meals from the grocery store.
- Instant Potatoes: Cheap and quick. You’ll definitely want to spice these up to get that “complete meal” feel, but in a pinch nothing can beat a bag of mashed potatoes. You can find pouches of Idahoan instant potatoes in almost every grocery store, and even some gas stations, nationwide.
- Instant Noodles: Ramen noodles have been a backcountry staple of thru hikers for years. I use instant rice noodles to serve as the point of departure for any number of noodle soups and backcountry “stir fry” recipes. Make sure to read the labels carefully; if the directions require cooking for more than a minute or two, it’s unlikely to rehydrate well under the ‘add boiling water and wait’ method.
Other light weight backpacking ingredients from the grocery store include:
- Freeze Dried Onions: Typically found in the spice aisle, Litehouse freeze dried red and green onions add depth of flavor as well as (in the case of green onions) a nice pop of color to many of the recipes
- Coconut Milk Power: Once only available at speciality retailers, I’m finding this more and more frequently in the baking goods or coffee creamer aisle. I use coconut powder as a sauce base anytime I want a delicate balance of sweet and savory spices.
- Peanut Butter Powder: Add it oatmeals, create a peanut sauce of noodles or just snack on a spoonful of rehydratable peanut butter. PB powder is packed with protein and none of the weight.
- Freeze-Dried Fruits: Look for these alongside the dried fruits as well as with the baby foods (toddler yogurt drops also make a delicious freeze-dried backpacking snack!).
Most of my recipes incorporate additional ingredients that will arrive in a day or two if ordered from Amazon Prime, but a few – such as those that use my favorite instant penne pasta base – require ingredients only available from select online suppliers. I recommend you source these ingredients at least two weeks before your trip to account for shipping times. Once you have everything in place, though, the actual meal prep process itself takes a matter of minutes.