Freeze dried meals aren’t just for astronauts anymore. In fact, they’re some of the most popular meal options for hikers heading into the backcountry. They’re convenient, calorically dense, lightweight, and tasty at the end of a long day. All you have to do is add boiling water, wait a bit, and then eat your delicious meal straight out of the bag. Also, no dirty dishes makes for a happy backpacker.
Ok, before we get ahead of ourselves, it's probably important to set your expectations. This is not your grandma's home-cooked dinner; it's a backcountry meal. Chances are, even if the flavors aren't quite what you were expecting, you're going to be hungry enough to wolf it down with a smile. Everything tastes better in the wilderness. That said, we always bring a small container of hot sauce, olive oil, and some salt and pepper packets for when we need to kick a meal up a notch.
There are tons of different freeze dried meal flavors, and some are better than others. It’s tough to get more subjective than ranking personal food tastes, but we feel like sharing our opinions anyways. We hope this guide helps you upgrade your backpacking food game and find some tasty treats. For more information on backpacking meal planning, check out our Lightweight Backpacking Food Guide and our Backpacking Meal Recipes & Food Dehydration Tips posts.
Last updated: February 27, 2023
MOUNTAIN HOUSE - Biscuits and Gravy IS A GREAT WAY TO START THE DAY!
Energy-to-Weight Ratio
Many backpackers choose freeze-dried meals because they're a lightweight dinner option. The process of freeze-drying a meal removes 80% of it's water weight, while retaining a high level of calorically-dense nutrition. Most meal pouches range between 500-900 calories and weigh around 5-7 ounces. This puts them in the 100-130 calorie-per-ounce ratio, which isn't spectacular, but is still quite good.
MARYJANES ORGANIC MEALS USE SIMPLE, WHOLE INGREDIENTS
Are they nutritious?
The freeze drying process can retain up to 90% of the nutrients, but the product will only be 20% of its original weight. That said, most freeze-dried meals are packed with sodium and unrecognizable ingredients. Scientifically speaking, we’d put them into the “sorta nutritious” camp. Freeze-dried meals will still do a better job of providing a balanced meal when compared to most hiker dinner options, like ramen or instant potatoes. Certain brands, such as MaryJanes Organic and Good To-Go, use all recognizable ingredients or "real food," which is a step in the right direction in our opinion.
EATING A HEARTY MEAL, LIKE MOUNTAIN HOUSE - CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS, AT THE END OF THE DAY REPLENISHES MUCH-NEEDED CALORIES AND PROVIDES PROTEIN TO HELP YOUR MUSCLES RECOVER
Cost
Freeze dried meals are not cheap and there are inexpensive alternatives (mashers, pasta sides, ramen, etc). If you’re spending months on the trail thru-hiking, meals like these will probably be too expensive to be sustainable. But for the casual backpacker, meals like this can add a lot of value, convenience, and enjoyment.
PRO TIP: When you buy 8 or more backpacking meals from REI, you save 10%. We usually stock up for the hiking season. You can also save money by purchasing bulk meal kits.
MEALS FROM MOUNTAIN HOUSE ARE TYPICALLY MORE AFFORDABLE THAN MANY OTHER BRANDS
SQUIRREL RATING SYSTEM
Whenever we go backpacking, we take some of our tried-and-true favorite freeze dried meals. Each trip we also take some new flavors to test out. First established by our dear friend David Branson while hiking the Zion Traverse, the very “scientific” CleverHiker Squirrel Rating System was born.
While consuming new freeze dried meals, we deliberate about how it tastes and ultimately decide on a squirrel rating. Every meal we eat earns a squirrel rating score between 1 and 5 based on flavor, texture, and overall deliciousness. There are only whole squirrel ratings, because half a squirrel would be gross. We update this list every time we put on our snobby food critic pants and stuff our faces in the backcountry.
GOOD TO-GO MEAL ARE MADE WITH INGREDIENTS YOU CAN PRONOUNCE!
Best Freeze-Dried Meals of 2023
V = Vegan, GF = Gluten-Free
Five Squirrel Meals
Did my grandma make this?! Our go-to favorite freeze dried meals for happy trail bellies.
MOUNTAIN HOUSE’S HOMESTYLE CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE IS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE FOUR-SQUIRREL RATED MEALS. ALSO PICTURED ABOVE, WE USED THE BRS STOVE WITH THE SNOW PEAK MINI SOLO COOKSET TO BOIL WATER FOR OUR MEALS
Four Squirrel Meals
Pretty darn tasty! However, some flavors and textures made us knock it down a squirrel.
One of oUR FAVORITE convenient STOVE SYSTEMs, the JETBOIL FLASH
Three Squirrel Meals
Quite good still, but nothing to write home about. We might buy them again, but we weren't amazed.
THE FIVE-SQUIRREL RATED Backpacker’s Pantry - Summit Breakfast Scramble IS A REAL TREAT THE MORNING AFTER A 20 MILE DAY
Two Squirrel Meals
Meh. Edible, but pretty underwhelming. This is when the hot sauce and spices come into play. But it's not like we had any leftovers or anything.
THE SNOW PEAK MINI SOLO COOKSET IS OUR FAVORITE FOR COOKING FOR ONE OR TWO PEOPLE
One Squirrel Meals
Whoa boy, that was a disappointment. Considering how hungry we were, backcountry meals should probably be more foolproof than this.
PINNACLE FOODS MAKES SOME HEARTY MEALS WITH GOURMET FLAVORS
WHAT'S IN OUR CAMP KITCHEN?
When we head out on backcountry trips, these are the items usually found in our packs. For more information on our favorite camp kitchen items, check out our lists of the Best Backpacking Stoves and Best Backpacking Cookware.
Stove System: JetBoil MiniMo & JetBoil Flash
Ultralight Stove: MSR Pocket Rocket 2 & BRS Stove
1-2 Person Cookpot: Snow Peak Mini Solo Cookset
Group Cookpot: MSR Big Titan Kettle
Spoon: TOAKS Titanium Long Spoon
Cup: GSI Cascadian Cup
Food Storage: Ursack & BearVault BV500
IN PLACES WHERE BEAR CANS ARE REQUIRED, WE BRING THE BEARVAULT BV500. FOR OTHER TRIPS WE LIKE TO USE AN URSACK
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