Some brands, such as Wayfayrer, offer pouches of food that can be either emptied into a pan and cooked, or that you can simply boil in the bag. These meals tend to be heavier than the dehydrated options, but often have a more recognisable texture, especially with meat dishes.
The recipe options available these days read like a high-class bistro menu, with everything from wild mushroom risotto to mac ‘n’ cheese, chicken mole to pulled pork and beef marinara, along with a host of sweet treats, and even scrambled eggs for breakfast. If you’re off backpacking for weeks, and if you’ve got room in the pack, you could eat something different every day.
While we’ll stop short of calling them gourmet meals, the main reasons to buy pre-prepared camping food are their high calorific content and exceptionally low weight. There’s no way you’d be able to carry enough fresh ingredients, and cooking equipment, to keep your energy levels up, especially if you’re doing intense activities.
Which camping foods taste the best?
Taste is obviously highly subjective but, in our experience, the foods that would traditionally be slow cooked – stew, curry, chilli and the like – are the ones that tend to taste best after they’ve been through the dehydration/rehydration process. Also, those recipes that include a hit of spice can often mask a multitude of sins. Yes, there’s often an element of Cup A Soup or Pot Noodle about them, but they have far more calories, and are generally made from less processed ingredients.
We’re big fans of porridge for breakfast when camping, but, in many instances, we found that carrying some instant oat sachets then adding our own dried fruit and nuts was far better value compared to buying camping-specific porridge packs. That said, if you need maximum calories, these can be excellent.
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Will a hydrated camping meal fill me up?
On average, an adult can expect to burn around 300-400 calories per hour hiking across moderate terrain. American brand Backpacker’s Pantry has a handy online Hiking Calorie Calculator to help you work out how many meals you’ll need to replenish your energy levels when walking.
Once you know how hard you’ll be working – and don’t forget the average adult woman expends roughly 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day, while the average adult man expends 2,000 to 3,000 – you’ll be able to choose enough camping food to keep you full of energy.
The average pack of camping food contains anywhere between 250-600 calories, but figures vary, and different sizes are available. For example, Expedition Foods offers its packs in 450, 800, and 1,000kcal servings. It’s worth checking the calorie content against the weight of the dried food, as you don’t want to fill your bag with heavy packs of food that won’t fill you up.
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I have specific dietary needs, is there anything out there for me?
Most camping food brands have adapted their menus to accommodate the ever-increasing number of diets, so if you need vegan, vegetarian, paleo, keto, gluten-free, dairy-free or soy-free, there’s someone out there who’s prepared to make and dehydrate it for you.
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The best camping food to buy in 2023
1. Firepot: Best dehydrated camping food
Price when reviewed: From £6.99 | Check price at Firepot
Dehydrated camping meals don’t get much better than Firepot. This Dorset-based brand goes the extra mile both in terms of the ingredients it uses – a great many are locally sourced – and its ecological footprint. The firm estimates that producing itsvegan meals emits four times fewer carbon emissions than those containing meat, and its food packs are available either in fully compostable packaging or the more standard plastic and aluminium yellow waterproof pouches, for which the company offers a recycling service.
It currently makes 20 recipes, with our favourites being the Baked Apple Porridge for breakfast and, for dinner, the filling Orzo Bolognese (the regular portion only weighs 136g, but contains 635kcal). All the food packs are available in regular and large sizes too and are well worth the money. Be warned, though: the rehydration process takes at least 15 minutes, which can seem like torture after a long day hiking.
Key details – Calories: 500-800; Cooking time: 15mins; Weight: From 120g
