One of the highlights of any backpacker’s day is mealtime! You’ve hiked long miles all day and now you get to sit back, kick up your feet, and tuck into a hearty meal.
Packing the right food for backpacking is also critical for ensuring that your body stays properly fueled and your pack isn’t overloaded with heavy ingredients.
Here are all of our backpacking food posts which will give you an idea of the best backpacking meals on the market, as well as a ton of tasty backpacking recipes if you want to make your own!
63 Easy Backpacking Food Ideas
Meal planning for your next backpacking trip? We’ve compiled our favorite backpacking food, ingredients, and meal ideas to help you get started. Find out what food is best for hiking, discover new ingredients, and get inspired with some delicious new backpacking meals.
11 One Pot Backpacking Meals to Make Trailside Cooking Easy
Planning your next backpacking trip? You need these EASY and delicious one pot backpacking meals!
The Ultimate Guide to Gluten Free Backpacking Food
There are tons of gluten-free backpacking food options out there, but the trick is knowing where to look! In this guide, we’ve collected options as we could find to build a comprehensive resource for gluten-free backpacking meals! Whether you have Celiac, are gluten intolerant, or just trying to cut down your gluten consumption, trying to…
The Ultimate Guide to Vegan Backpacking Food
In this article, we share all the plant-based backpacking foods that are now available to vegan backpackers. Discover new products, compare calories, and develop your next vegan backpacking meal plan! “Wow, what a view! I can’t believe I get to hike through this spectacular landscape. Now, what’s for dinner?!“ Does that sound like a familiar…
Vegetarian Weekend Backpacking Menu
This vegetarian backpacking meal plan is perfect for a weekend out on the trail! There are a lot of things to look forward to before setting off on a backpacking trip, but eating dehydrated trail food is not usually one of them. It’s true that hunger is the best sauce and at the end of…
22 Simple Backpacking Meal Ideas from Trader Joe’s
Looking for some new backpacking meals to try this summer? We’ve put together a few creative ideas from items that you can pick up from Trader Joe’s. When meal planning for an extended backpacking trip, variety can really be the spice of life. While it’s tempting to only go with the tried and true, pack…
The Best Backpacking Food from Trader Joe’s
A guide to finding lightweight, calorie-dense snacks and meals for your next backpacking trip at your local Trader Joe’s. Meal planning for an extended backpacking trip can sometimes feel more daunting than the actual hike itself. Sourcing enough lightweight, calorie-filled foods can be a challenge, never mind comparing labels to determine which option gives you…
10 Instant Coffees for Backpacking
If you are like us and can’t start your morning without a cup of coffee, backpacking can present a real dilemma. Do you pack a bunch of extra gear just so you can enjoy a well-brewed cup of coffee in the backcountry? Or do you go with instant coffee packets and save yourself a bunch…
Ditch the expensive boil-in-bag meals and take your backcountry meal plan to the next level with these delicious, nutritious DIY backpacking recipes.
Backpacking Recipes
Creamy Pesto Pasta (Backpacking Meal)
Chili Lime Peanut Noodles (Backpacking Meal)
Backpacking Mushroom Stroganoff
Dehydrated Seafood Paella
Cold Soak Cowboy Caviar
Backpacking Yogurt Parfait
11 One Pot Backpacking Meals to Make Trailside Cooking Easy
Apple Ginger Fruit Leather Recipe
How to Dehydrate Pineapple
How to Dehydrate Bananas
How to Dehydrate Apples
How to Dehydrate Kiwi
Simple Beef Jerky Recipe
Cold Soaked Pasta Salad
Dehydrated Tortilla Soup
Dehydrated Beef Stroganoff
Backpacking Quinoa Burrito Bowl
Dehydrated Chili Mac
Homemade Chewy Granola Bars
Dehydrated Roasted Pepper Hummus
Pecan and Maple Granola in a Bag
Spicy One Pot Jambalaya with Orzo
Apple Crisp Backpacking Dessert
Thai Red Curry Rice with Peanut Coconut Sauce
Cherry Garcia Energy Bites
Backpacker’s Hummus Bowl
Tropical Fruit Leathers
Raspberry Coconut Quinoa Porridge
Apricot Ginger Oatmeal
Coconut Chocolate Granola
Blueberry Coconut Oatmeal
How to Make Fruit Leathers
Teriyaki Beef Jerky
Backpacker’s Thanksgiving Feast
Dehydrated Red Lentil Marinara
Dehydrated Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Porridge
Tie-Dye Mango Strawberry Fruit Leathers
Dehydrated Backpacking Pasta Primavera
Sweet and Spicy Sriracha Trail Mix
Maple Glazed Trail Mix
13 Trail Mix Recipes to Fuel Your Next Adventure
Dehydrated Risotto with Vegetables
Backpacking Fried Rice
Dehydrated Minestrone Soup
S’mores Granola Bar
Festive Trail Mix
Vegan Dan Dan Noodles
Chewy Chocolate Goji Granola Bars
Backpacker’s Chicken Marbella
Backpacking Breakfast Scramble with Spinach and Sun Dried Peppers
Revamped Backpacking Ramen
Backcountry Carbonara
Backpacker’s Blueberry Crisp
Backpacker’s Moroccan Chicken Couscous
Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
Quinoa Chili
Red Lentil Chili
Chili-Spiced Fruit Leathers (L.A. Fruit Cart Style!)
Trail Mix Bliss Balls
FAQ’s
How much food should I bring for a backpacking trip?
One way to estimate how much food to pack for a backpacking trip is to multiply your body by 25-30. This is a rough estimate of how many calories you will need per full day of hiking with a loaded backpack on strenuous terrain. If you’re only hiking short days or over less strenuous terrain, you can scale that down to 21-25 calories per pound of body weight, per day.
How should you store food while backpacking?
Your food should be stored in a way that will protect it from animals (not just big ones like bears, but critters like squirrels and marmots too!). Many areas have regulations that will tell you the specific way to store your food. In many places, you’ll be required to store your food in a hard-sided bear canister. Be sure to check the local regulations in advance of your trip by calling the ranger station or Google “[area] food storage requirements”
What do you need to cook while backpacking?
The basic cooking equipment you’ll need to bring backpacking is a lightweight backpacking stove, a pot to boil water and cook in, a utensil, and fuel. You can check out this post detailing the best backpacking cooking gear for a full rundown, which will give you a few different options to customize your kit.
