Best Freeze-Dried Meals

Shopping for easy, ready-made meals for backpacking or your emergency go-bag? These are my picks for the best freeze-dried meals out there.

I don't always camp with freeze-dried meals.

One of my favorite things about camping is campground cooking, and I love to add fresh produce to our food and make it (mostly) from scratch.

But sometimes that's simply not practical.

For example, when we flew to California to go backpacking in Yosemite, we brought along freeze-dried meals.

When we flew to Arizona to hike Camelback Mountain and the Siphon Draw Trail, we knew we'd be car camping, but flying with our Coleman 2-burner propane stove was out of the question. Instead, we brought a small backpacking stove and some freeze-dried meals.

Are Freeze-Dried Meals Worth the Price?

There's no doubt about it: at $5 to $15+ per serving, these meals can be pricey.

But.

There's something so satisfying about eating a hot, well-seasoned meal after a full day of hiking. Some of us (me, for instance) get pretty grouchy when we live on trail mix for days.

If you have the time (and equipment) to make dehydrated meals at home, go for it! No, dehydrating is not the same as freeze-drying, but making dehydrated meals might be a little more accessible for most people than freeze-drying.

Otherwise you (like me) will have to buy your meals.

Also, it's okay if you end up with freeze-dried meals left over after your trip, because they have long shelf-lives and are perfect for emergency go-bags or emergency shelter-in-place rations.

Freeze-Dried Meals: Our Top Picks

We tried lots (and lots) of freeze-dried meals. We were looking for meals that are relatively easy to find. They also needed to be somewhat affordable, which to us meant competitively priced and (preferably) feeding at least two people per package.

We checked the calorie count, because a few of the meals had quite low calorie counts, and we almost always eat freeze-dried meals when we're HUNGRY. We were aiming for at least 300 calories per person.

Also, because we love desert backpacking, we kept an eye on the amount of water required per meal. I'm always most impressed when meals use less than one cup of water per serving. If you've got limited water available on your hike, this one matters!

Finally, these meals had to taste good!

A Word of Caution

It's true. Some freeze-dried meals are just plain nasty.

I don't have a full list of the "worst" freeze-dried meals out there, but I will say that I do not like freeze-dried eggs. In my opinion, freeze-dried breakfast "egg" scrambles are the worst.

If you want to try a meal with freeze-dried eggs, I recommend starting with just one egg-filled meal. Don't buy them in bulk for the first time, because (again), they are the worst. Instead, I recommend oat or granola breakfast meals.

Below you'll find more in-depth thoughts on the different freeze-dried meal brands out there. Keep in mind that, except for Omeals, they require a heat source to boil water.

Alpine Aire

Pros

• More affordable than average
• Good selection of vegetarian options, such as their Forever Young Mac & Cheese. (Meat options are clearly labeled with the type of meat, which I really appreciated.)

Cons

• Didn't love the flavor
• More added sugar than some brands

Backpacker's Pantry

Pros

• Good variety of meatless options
• Loved the vegetarian lasagna, Three Cheese Mac & Cheese, and Backpacker Pantry's Pad Thai (which is vegan and gluten-free)
• Good breakfast options, like their peanut butter banana oatmeal and blueberry walnut oatmeal
• Good dessert options, like the chocolate cheesecake mix and creme brulee. (Expect their desserts to taste like really satisfying puddings.)

Cons

• Some meals were "just okay" and we wouldn't choose to purchase again, including Three Bean Veggie Stew, Kathmandu Curry, Chana Masala and Cuban Black Beans & Rice.

Bowl & Kettle

Bowl & Kettle makes small batch meals in Texas, and by purchasing you're supporting a smaller brand.

Pros

• Holy moly. The chicken tikka masala is hands down one of the best freeze-fried meals I've ever tasted. It even came with little freeze-dried herbs to garnish the meal!
• The street corn grits was likewise delicious, and tasted like fresh tomatoes and smoked cheese. Again, I appreciated the little packet of herbs for a garnish.
• Although these are marketed as single serving meals, the portions are very generous and could likely be shared. Even divided by two (for sharing), I was pleased with the calorie and protein breakdown.

Cons

• Somewhat limited purchasing options. You likely won't find Bowl & Kettle meals in your local sporting goods store (yet!).
• At $15-$17 per serving, these meals are pricey! However, as mentioned above, the portions are generous. If you typically eat an entire 2-person meal, you probably won't be left hungry with one of these.
• The crawfish etouffee was a little too salty for my preference, and I like salty food! However, this "con" might turn into a "pro" if I'd been hiking and sweating all day. Maybe the salty meal would meal I'd need fewer electrolytes?

Farm to Summit

Farm to Summit is based out of Durango, Colorado, and by purchasing their meals you support a small business.

Pros:

• I really enjoyed the flavors in their meals. I loved their green chile cheddar grits, which I paired with eggs while car camping. I'm also a big fan of their wild mushroom pot pie, which was herby, savory and delicious. My husband prefers bolder flavors and was less enthusiastic about their meals.
• All our tasters enjoyed the flavor of their green chili mac and cheese, which was cheese with just a hint of spice. One caveat: The directions had you add hot water and then drain some (to preference), depending on how thick you wanted the cheese sauce. I accidentally left too much water and our pasta was kind of soupy, but the flavor was good.
• Their prices seem competitive.

Cons:

• Some of the meals we tried were "just okay". For instance, the Puebloan Beans & Rice was fine, but not great. We didn't care for the Three Bean Chili and Cornbread meal.
• Possibly harder to locate these meals in person than some others on the list, but I have seen their products in person at some sporting goods stores.

Firepot

Firepot is a small business in rural England. We love supporting small business!

Pros

• Specializing in vegan freeze-dried meals
• Good flavors in the Firepot meals we tried! We liked the smoky tomato paella and vegan orzo bolognese best from the ones we tried.
• Sustainability efforts: compostable packaging and pouch recycling

Cons

• Less protein and more carbs than some brands
• Use more water than some brands (which is fine if you're not rationing water as on a backpacking trip)
• Recently, there seems to be a very limited selection of Firepot meals available online.

Good To-Go

Pros

• Many dietary options available, including gluten-free
• Good flavors (we liked the chicken pho and Thai curry the best)
• Good To-Go is a small business in Maine (yay, small businesses!)

Cons

• Soups required more water than other meals (naturally, but still something to be aware of)
• Soup meals were tricky to eat in the plastic packaging, as the soup made the pouches a little bit wobbly. (If you're backpacking with bowls or mugs it would help.)

Heather's Choice

Pros

• Heather's Choice has lightweight packaging
• Pretty decent flavors (we tried African Peanut Stew and the Spinach Curry with Chicken and Rice — though we added hot sauce to both!)

Cons

• Single-serving packages make price per serving higher than some brands
• Use more water than some brands

Itacate

Itacate is a woman-owned small business that offers Mexican flavors from their location in California.

Pros

• Flavor choices I hadn't seen offered by other brands

Cons

• Sadly, while we wanted to love these meals, the flavors we tried just weren't our favorites. However, you may feel differently, and I've seen very positive reviews from others about the flavors.
• I was somewhat unhappy to see "caramel color" listed in the ingredients on the packaging for both of the meals we tried. I typically avoid food coloring, and don't often see it on freeze-dried backpacking meals.
• These meals are about $13 per serving, and I didn't think they seemed large enough to share, making these on the pricier end of the brands we tried.

Mountain House

Perhaps the most well-known backpacking meal brand, Mountain House is an easy-to locate freeze-dried meal brand that also focuses on emergency rations.

Pros

• Mountain House has a lot of good things going for it. It's easy to find, both in stores and online
• Relatively affordable
• Consistently tasty
• Use a moderate amount of water
• The meals cook quickly
• Delicious Chicken Fajita Bowl (we usually scoop it into tortillas for an even more satisfying burrito-style meal). We also liked their freeze-dried chicken curry meal (bring red pepper flakes for extra spice!)
• Good breakfast option: Mountain House's granola with milk and blueberries

Cons

• Fairly high-carb
• Most or all entrees include meat, if that's a deal-breaker for you
• Not many diet-specific options

Nomad Nutrition

Nomad Nutrition is based out of Canada and makes plant-based-meals.

Pros

• We liked their compact packaging.

Cons

• Single-serving packaging, making them more expensive per serving than some brands
• Didn't care for the flavor of Hungarian Goulash and Caribbean Curry we tried (If you like a different one and think we should give it a try, let us know!)

OMeals Self-Heating Meals

OMeals stands out on our list as being the only meal we've tried (so far) that comes in self-heating packaging.

Pros

• Self-heating! No stove (or backpacking stove) required
• Several vegetarian options
• Good flavors
• We liked the Omeals vegetarian chili (eat it with corn chips, or scoop into a tortilla for extra calories!)
• We also enjoyed this protein-packed Omeals Southwest-Style Chicken and Rice and this Omeals Chicken Creole with Brown Rice (if you love Cajun seasoning — and bring red pepper flakes to add spice!)

Cons

• Packaging is heavier than other meals (more weight to carry if backpacking)
• Portions are single-serve and don't seem large enough to share, making them more expensive per serving than some brands.
• On their own (without adding tortillas or extra carbs), these meals are pretty low-calorie, and might be more well-suited for emergency ration meals than backpacking (where you typically need to fuel long hikes with extra calories).

Peak Refuel

Peak Refuel is one of our favorites, because everything we've tried has been great. They also focus on game-meat, but we haven't tried any of their game-meat specific meals.

Pros

• Peak Refuel has fantastic flavors, including Peak Refuel Chicken Coconut Curry, Peak Refuel Chicken and Rice, and Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli.
• These meals were among the most consistently delicious that we tried. I really can't say enough good things about the flavor.

Cons

• Slightly pricier than our other favorites
• Fewer meal options than some brands

Pinnacle Foods

Pinnacle Foods is based out of North Carolina, so purchasing their meals is supporting a small business.

Pros:

• So far we have only good things to say about the Pinnacle Foods meals we've tried. Their Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits and Gravy was absolutely delicious, and I'm not big on biscuits and gravy. It's not too spicy, but very flavorful, and would be perfect on a chilly morning.
• Likewise, the Roasted Chicken and White Cheddar Dumplings were phenomenal and extremely filling.

Cons:

• These meals may be difficult to locate at your local sporting goods store, so shopping online is likely a better option.
• The price is probably also a con, since the Pinnacle Foods meals we've seen are currently about $16-$17 per serving. However, the servings are filling and the meals may be shareable.

Poe & Co Folk Foods

Poe & Co Folk Foods is a small company based out of California. All the meals we tried were plant-based (vegan) and single serving.

Pros:

• The packaging was pretty, and I liked that they try to avoid using unneeded food additives and silica gel packets.

Cons:

• I feel bad saying this, but we found these to be among the worst meals we've tried. I actually am wondering if something was wrong with our specific meals, as they didn't rehydrate well and even the non-soup meal was extremely watery. If someone tells me it's their favorite, I'm open to trying these again.
• These meals were low-calorie, didn't have as much protein as I'd like, and took 20 minutes to rehydrate.

Right On Trek

Right On Trek is based out of Montana, and purchasing their meals supports a small business.

Pros:

• We liked the flavor of the chicken coconut curry, although I do think it needed some hot sauce or red pepper flakes.

Cons:

• We had mixed feelings about the flavor profiles. I love grits, but their savory mountain grits had an odd, bitter aftertaste that made the meal somewhat inedible.
• It may be difficult to locate their meals when shopping in person.
• These meals had some minor packaging annoyances. The cut line on the package was too high on both the meals we tried, and it took a couple attempts to cut the bag open. Also the timing listed on the front of the package didn't always match what was in the instructions.
• The meals were intended to be cooked in a 1.5-liter cooking pot, not in the bag. Neither my Toaks backpacking saucepan or my Evolved saucepan is large enough, so I likely wouldn't take these to the backcountry.
• These meals used quite a bit of water-- both that we tried used over 3 cups. These probably aren't ideal for backpacking trips where you're rationing water.

Wild Zora

Wild Zora offers a selection of meals for different dietary needs, including paleo and vegan meals. Many of their meals include quinoa.

Pros:

• We tried two of the vegan quinoa meals, the Greek Garden Lentil and the Baja Citrus Lentil, and found the flavors to be quite nice! I'd definitely eat these again.

Cons:

• The meals we tried had slightly fewer calories and less protein than I'm typically looking for after a long hike, but they might be perfect for your needs. I actually think I'd like them best as a side dish, which I don't normally bring along.
• These are single serving meals, and they definitely did not feel big enough to share, making these somewhat pricier than some of the other options we tried.

Obviously, I haven't tried every brand out there, so if there's a meal you love and I completely missed it, let me know what it is!