3 Backpacking Recipes for Satisfying Outdoor Meals

A backpack, boots, and a pair of jeans strewn about a large rock in an outdoor setting.

If you’re going on a backpacking trip — especially an extended one — having some delicious, feel-good backpacking recipes is vital. Because, trust us, trail mix and Top Ramen will get very old very fast. 

While the idea of having a cornucopia of ingredients stashed away can seem daunting, there are ways to simplify the process and ensure that your food is packed with flavor after a long day of hiking without the headache of lugging around an entire spice cabinet. 

For these three recipes, we’re assuming that you have a heat source and a cooking vessel. Beyond this, just a can-do attitude and a desire for your backpacking meals to surpass the mundanity of blandness will suffice. 

Let’s jump headfirst into three backpacking recipes for mouthwatering outdoor meals. 

1. Pouch Meat and Sauce Packet

Ingredients: 

• Shelf-stable meat

• Powdered sauce packet

• Water

Yes, yes — we’re aware that the phrase “pouch meat and sauce packet” doesn’t exactly sound like the makings of a tour de force culinary marvel. But listen, after a day of hiking a 15 or so mile stretch, kicking off those boots and digging into a fresh, hot meal of saucy meat is a heavenly experience. 

Our favorite part about this recipe is that you can be as simple or as outlandish as you like. In its simplest form, all it requires is a powdered sauce mix and a pouch of shelf-stable meat. If you want to get fancier, you can add ingredients like beans, rice, vegetables, spices, bouillon cubes, and whatever else your heart desires. 

The main shelf-stable meat offerings you’ll find usually include things like chicken, tuna, bacon, and SPAM. However, the pouch meat game is leveling up and these days you might even be able to find shredded pork and beef taco filling. If you’re like us and like some variety, it’s a good idea to pick a rotation of options to meet your different cravings. 

Now, the fun part. Oh, yes, it’s time to get saucy. In her cookbook More Is More, chef Molly Baz notes that chefs typically prefer food with sauce. The reason for this is that sauce can do the heavy lifting when it comes to flavors and helps food be less dry — and if we’re being real, there’s a lot of shelf-stable meat that could use some help in these departments. 

Some sauces you can take advantage of to zhoosh up your shelf-stable meats include:

• Gravy (turkey, mushroom, you name it — it’s all good)

• Tomato sauce

• Taco sauce 

• Sloppy joe sauce (because, when in Rome, right?)

• Pasta sauce (there are a ridiculous amount of powdered pasta sauce varieties out there now and this is a great way to make something unique and scrumpsh)

While it may take a second to think up some great combinations, prep is going to be easy. Usually, this will just involve mixing water with your sauce packet and heating it with the meat. And, just about any of these creations will pair well with any carb of your choice from crackers to tortillas. Bon appetit, wary travelers. 

2. Breakfast Burrito

Ingredients:

• Tortillas

• Filling

• Sauce

For many backpackers, backpacking breakfast ideas usually revolve around instant oatmeal with some dried fruit toppings. Now, we’re not knocking a quick breakfast while on the trail, but some days, you just want to do that most important meal of the day justice. 

For you brave backpacking breakfasters out there, there is the coveted breakfast burrito. With your choice of filling, this little ditty is sure to bring a smile to your face whether the trail skies are sunny or grey. 

As with all burritos, you’ll need tortillas. While it’s possible to make a bunch of minis, we think that some relatively big tortillas work best for this one. Even if you want to make small burritos, having the extra layers of tortilla is nice and can even make the burrito feel more filling. 

You’ve probably noticed that we went a little vague on the ingredient list with “filling.” We assure you we’re not being lazy or pretentious, it’s just that there are a whole lot of directions you can go with this one and we’d never want to limit your creativity when it comes to backpacking breakfast ideas. 

The fillings can be anything from shelf-stable meat to vegetables. To make it more “breakfasty” you can choose a meat like bacon. Though it may sound weird, stuffing can sometimes give you that potato-like feel often found in breakfast burritos (we’re grading on a scale here because it’s the trail). 

If you’re feeling a more traditional burrito, just a simple flavored rice or can of beans can do wonders. However, whatever filling you choose, you’ll want to make sure it goes well with your sauce. 

Now, when it comes to sauce, you have options in more ways than one. You can add just a bit of hot sauce as a sort of accessory to the dish, or you can slather it in something like a taco or enchilada sauce. 

As with many other aspects of being on the trail, approach your breakfast burrito with abandon and just go for it. If you want, start simple with bacon in a tortilla with some Cholula and work your way up to a stuffing and pulled pork with enchilada sauce concoction. Where there is a will, there is a way (as in if you’re really feeling a breakfast burrito on the trail, you’re more than capable of whipping one up, you little backpacker you). 

3. Chicken Marsala(ish) Plate

Ingredients:

• Shelf-stable chicken

• Instant mashed potatoes

• Mushroom sauce mix OR roast chicken gravy and mushroom powder

• Water

Now, we’re getting a little more specific with this one. This dish contains an entree, a side, and a sauce. Now, chicken marsala may sound like one of those fancy things you order when your parents decide to treat you to a nice Italian restaurant. But from now on, it’s also a backpacking recipe grail. 

This backpacking cooking recipe is for that fancy night under the stars when you really want to revel in the experience of doing a thru-hike. And, what better way to feel that than a restaurant quality spread out in the middle of the wilderness?

For this backpacking recipe, time is of the essence assuming you only have one cooking vessel and heat source. After cooking the mashed potatoes, you’ll want to quickly prepare the mushroom sauce or roasted chicken gravy and mushroom powder with the chicken. 

And, alas, you dig in. This recipe can be made fancier with herbs like thyme and rosemary or, if you so dare, marsala wine. If you have your wits about you as a thru-hiker, we don’t really expect you to be lugging around a bottle of white. 

But, hey, if the mood strikes, you’ll probably earn quite the rep out on the trail if you’re the backpacker who always has wine on deck. 

Backpacking Recipes FAQs

Here are some answers to questions to fill your backpacking heart with delicious meals, mirth, and good cheer. 

Where do you find these ingredients while on the trail?

While you’ll be able to find many ingredients at normal supermarket chains, Walmart is usually your best bet for shelf-stable ingredients with the most choices and often the best prices. 

If you’re stocking up before your backpacking trip or have somewhere to send goodies on the road, ordering from Amazon or awesome outdoor-focused companies like PACKITGOURMET are great options. 

How do I find more backpacking recipes?

There are endless ways to find inspo for fantastic backpacking recipes. One of your best courses of action is to accost other backpackers for their favorite recipes. 

For now, here’s an awesome podcast episode produced by REI Co-Op called Wild Ideas Worth Living with some great insights on outdoor cooking and a list of recipes from backpacker and blogger Andrew Skurka. 

Are there good prepackaged backpacking meals?

Yes! From Backpacker’s Pantry to Peak Refuel, there are tons of amazing options out there to explore. Even supermarkets now carry a variety of pouch packet meals that can give you the comfort of a hot, well-prepared meal in just minutes after a long day of hiking.