Taste Test on the Trail – Comparing 6 Dehydrated Backpacking Dinners
One of our first questions when planning a multi-day backpacking trip is: “What are we going to eat?”
While there are plenty of options—packing wraps, cooking pasta or soup on a camp stove, or dehydrating our own meals at home—sometimes convenience wins. Enter: the ready-made backpacker dinner. These meals are lightweight, require no dishes, and are surprisingly filling after a long day of hiking. All you need is boiling water, a long-handled spoon, and a little patience while the food rehydrates.
On our recent backpacking adventure to San Josef Bay, we decided to put six different backpacker dinners to the test. On our last night, we all gathered on the beach for a picnic-style feast and tried each meal. Everyone had a different favourite, but the general consensus was that some meals hit the mark with flavour and texture while others… left us wishing for a homemade pot of chilli.
Here’s our comparison of six popular dehydrated and freeze-dried backpacker dinners:
- Alpine Aire: Mexican Style Beef Bowl with Rice and Beans
- Alpine Aire: Al Pastor with Cilantro and Lime Rice
- Backpackers Pantry Lasagna
- Readywise Teriyaki Chicken and Rice
- Readywise Pasta Alfredo
- Readywise Lasagna with Sausage
The Basics of Backpacker Meals
Before diving into taste testing, it’s worth explaining why these meals are so popular with backpackers:
- Lightweight & Compact: At around 130–180 grams per bag, they’re far lighter than carrying canned goods or fresh ingredients.
- Easy Cooking: Just add boiling water directly into the pouch, stir, seal, and wait 10–15 minutes. No pots, no pans, and no dishes to scrub afterwards.
- Eat Out of the Bag: The bag becomes your bowl—perfect for tired hikers.
- Minimal Garbage: Once the meal is done, you’re left with a single empty pouch to pack out.
- Long Shelf Life: Some have best-before dates extending 10 years or more, making them excellent for emergency kits as well as backcountry trips.
Of course, these benefits come with trade-offs: they’re pricey ($10–$18 per meal) and often high in sodium and preservatives. While most claim to feed two people, our group found that two bags were enough to comfortably feed three hungry adults/teenagers.
1. Alpine Aire: Mexican Style Beef Bowl with Rice and Beans
Taste: This one earned praise all around. The beef, beans, and rice come together in a hearty, mildly seasoned bowl that tastes close to a burrito filling. The texture rehydrated well—no crunchy rice bits left behind.
Protein & Nutrition: With beans and beef, this meal offers a solid protein punch, making it feel more satisfying than some of the pasta-based options. Sodium is high, as expected, but not overwhelming in flavour.
Verdict: A crowd-pleaser. It tasted like real food, and it didn’t feel overly salty.
2. Alpine Aire: Al Pastor with Cilantro and Lime Rice
Taste: This was the spicy one of the bunch, and we liked it. The cilantro and lime gave it a fresh, zesty kick while the seasoning brought some heat. If you enjoy a little spice, this is a fantastic choice.
Protein & Nutrition: Good protein balance, though slightly lighter than the beef bowl. The spice does a lot of heavy lifting in making this feel like a “real meal.”
Verdict: A favourite for those who like bold flavour. If you’re spice-averse, you may prefer the milder beef bowl instead.
3. Backpackers Pantry Lasagna (vegetarian)
Taste: Hands-down my personal favourite. This meal tastes like comfort food, with a surprisingly authentic tomato sauce and cheesy flavour. The pasta rehydrated perfectly, creating a hearty, filling dish. It didn’t taste like “camping food”—it tasted like lasagna.
Protein & Nutrition: A good balance of carbs and protein. Like all the meals, it’s high in sodium.
Verdict: If I had to recommend just one backpacker dinner, this would be it. If you are a pasta lover or looking for a vegetarian option, this is it.
4. Readywise Teriyaki Chicken and Rice
Taste: Unfortunately, this was our least favourite. The teriyaki flavour leaned sweet and artificial, and the chicken texture wasn’t great. It felt more like rice with a sticky sauce than a balanced meal.
Protein & Nutrition: Chicken adds protein, but the overall taste didn’t measure up. Sodium was high and flavour felt one-dimensional.
Verdict: The rice didn’t rehydrate as evenly as the others. Skip this one unless you’re really craving teriyaki.
5. Readywise Pasta Alfredo
Taste: Creamy and surprisingly good! This pasta had a mild, cheesy flavour that worked well after a day outdoors. It wasn’t as rich as homemade alfredo, but it hit the comfort food category.
Protein & Nutrition: Not the highest in protein, but filling thanks to carbs.
Verdict: A group favourite. It reminded us of mac-and-cheese and was one of the fastest to get finished.
6. Readywise Lasagna with Sausage
Taste: Better than the teriyaki but not as tasty as Backpackers Pantry’s lasagna. The sausage flavour gave it a bit of a kick, but it didn’t taste quite like I imagined it would.
Protein & Nutrition: Higher in protein with the sausage addition, but also higher in fat and sodium.
Ease of Cooking: Rehydrated well, but the sauce felt heavier than the other pasta options.
Verdict: A decent option if you’re craving lasagna. My daughter preferred this to the Backpackers Lasagna.
Final Thoughts: Worth the Cost?
At $10–$18 per bag, these meals aren’t cheap. For a group trip, the cost adds up quickly—especially compared to making your own dehydrated meals like chilli or pasta sauce at home. Still, the convenience is hard to beat: no dishes, no mess, and no time wasted cooking.
For our San Josef Bay trip, these meals were a perfect last-night treat. Sitting on the beach with the ocean in front of us, we didn’t miss chopping vegetables or doing dishes one bit.
Would we use them again? Yes—for longer backpacking trips. Now that we know our favourites, we will stock up when they go on sale. For larger groups or longer trips, we’ll keep experimenting with our backpacking menu and try home-dehydrated options next.
Would we add them to our emergency kit? Absolutely. With best-before dates stretching into the 2040s, they’re reliable, long-lasting, and comforting in a pinch.
A Quick Reminder: Pack It In, Pack It Out
Whether you’re backpacking for two nights or ten, remember the golden rule of Leave No Trace: pack out everything you bring in. That includes your empty meal pouches, wrappers, and even micro-trash like twist ties. One of the best things about these backpacker meals is that your garbage is minimal—just one small pouch to pack out. Keeping our beaches, forests, and trails clean means everyone can enjoy them for years to come.
The Verdict from the Beach Picnic
- Top Picks: Backpackers Pantry Lasagna, Alpine Aire Beef Bowl
- Comfort Food Favourite: Readywise Pasta Alfredo
- Least Favourite: Readywise Teriyaki Chicken & Rice
- Honourable Mention: Readywise Lasagna with Sausage
Backpacker meals may not be gourmet dining, but after a long day on the trail, they taste better than you’d expect. Sometimes convenience really does win—and when the setting is as magical as a San Josef Bay sunset, even a pouch of rehydrated lasagna feels like a five-star meal.
