29 Lightweight Backpacking Meal Ideas (No-Cook and Cold-Soak Options)

Not sure what to eat while backpacking? Here are some lightweight, calorie-dense backpacking meals which are also easy. Most of them can be made with foods you find in the supermarket, though some do require freeze-dried or dehydrated ingredients. If you are new to trail food, read this guide to What to When Eat Backpacking.

The meal ideas are divided into these categories (click the link to jump to that section!):

Breakfast Ideas
No-Cook Lunch Ideas
Cold-Soak Meals
Hot Dinner Ideas

Note: If you get a dehydrator, you will have a LOT more meal options. Below are some of the meals I’ve made. The recipes are in my eBook, which you can get here.

Breakfast Ideas

1. PNB Tortilla Roll-Ups

Tortillas + PNB give you the calories and protein you need to start a day of backpacking right. Tip: Add something crunchy (like peanuts or granola) for a nice texture.

Here are some combinations:

Nutella + toasted coconut flakes
PNB + marshmallow fluff
PNB + dried banana chips
PNB + dark chocolate bits + dried fruit
PNB + dried apples (soak in water to soften first and it will be even better!)

Nutella is even better than PNB!

backpacking breakfast of tortilla with cereal and honey

Peanut butter, raisins, Grape Nuts cereal, and honey wrapped in a tortilla. Idea and image courtesy of OakleyOriginals.

nutella and marshmallow tortilla for backpacking dessert

Tortilla with peanut butter + marshmallow flush + nuts for crunchiness

2. Oatmeal, Made Exciting

Oatmeal is a standard when backpacking, but it can get boring really quickly. To make it more exciting and nutritious, add things like:

Spices: Cinnamon, cardamom and ginger powder are all good for warming you up in the morning.
Dried fruit: Use a different fruit combination for each day
Crunchy add-ins: Toasted coconut, nuts, cacoa nibs
Protein: Nut butter, protein powder
Superfoods: Cocoa powder, chia seeds, flaxmeal, maca..

Oatmeal with dehydrated pumpkin, spices and instant COFFEE powder!

3. Bagel Alternatives

Bagels are a go-to for backpacking because they are calorie dense. If you are getting sick of them, consider these carbs for your breakfast. Of course, slather them in PNB, honey or jam to make them delicious!

Thawed frozen waffles
Honeybuns
Poptarts
Croissants
English muffins

4. Dehydrated Pancakes

This is one of the easiest dehydrator recipes you can make for backpacking. You can eat the dehydrated pancakes as is, but I like to rehydrate them in powdered milk for a few minutes to soften them.

5. Dehydrated Carrot Cake

Here’s another super easy dehydrator meal. It ends up weighing 160 calories per oz (or nearly 6 calories per gram)! Like with the pancakes, you can eat the dry cake pieces as-is or rehydrate them in milk (from powder). Get the recipe and instructions here.

Immediately after adding it to the milk

No-Cook Lunch Ideas

Don’t want to stop hiking but still want a tasty lunch? Here are some ways to combine ingredients to make a proper backpacking lunch without having to cook or soak any ingredients.

6. Savory Tortilla Wraps

Tortillas are very calorie-dense and have a long shelf life, so are perfect for backpacking. You can put almost anything into a tortilla to make a lunch wrap. Here are some ideas:

BBQ sauce from packet + Babybel cheese
Olives + string cheese
Peanut butter + teriyaki jerky
Dried Cauliflower + walnuts + sundried tomatoes (recipe here)

Pro Tip: On long trips, put a piece of parchment paper between your tortillas to keep them from sticking together!

Dehydrated cauliflower taco “meat” on a tortilla. Get the recipe here.

7. Tuna or Chicken in Pouches + Carb + Flavorful Add-Ins

You can find tuna and chicken in pouches. Make sure you get the tuna which comes in oil and not water. It is much more calorie dense. If you want to get really fancy, then go with smoked tunan or smoked salmon.

To make an easy backpacking lunch out of this, mix the pouch with a carbohydrate plus flavorful add-ins.

Here are some combinations:

Tuna + salt and vinegar chips
Tuna + crushed crackers + mayo and hot sauce
Tuna + raw ramen noodles + hot sauce
Tuna + croutons + sundried tomatoes
Tuna on bread + cheese, mayo, olives, pesto…
Chicken + corn nuts + mayo packet + mustard packet

8. Hearty Sandwiches

The key to keeping your backpacking sandwiches from getting boring is to mix up what you use for the bread and filling. With a bit of creativity, you can end up with dozens of variations.

Don’t make sandwiches more than a day ahead of time! If you do, the bread will end up all soggy. You’ve got to make it on the trail.

Bread Ideas:

Bagels
English muffins
Croissants: They get smashed but still taste good.

Sandwich Filling Ideas:

Cheese + salami: This is a trail staple for most hikers.
PNB + honey: Tip: First put the honey on. Let it soak in for a minute. Then add the peanut butter and it won’t be as messy.
PNB + fritos or tortilla chips: The crunchiness is sooo delicious.
PNB and jelly
Avocado or guacamole + cheese + hot sauce
Sandwich dipped into olive oil: Add Italian seasoning to the olive oil for a gourmet version.
Cream cheese: You can find packets of shelf-stable cream cheese for backpacking
Sun dried tomato: You can find pouches of sun-dried tomato in olive oil. Or buy it in jars and repackage. It lasts for a long time unrefrigerated. This is great in sandwiches, especially with cheese.
Smoked tofu: I’ve found shelf-stable smoked tofu in ethnic stores and some health stores. It’s a good vegan no-cook meal idea and a nice break from salami for non-vegan hikers.
Olive tapenade: You can find plastic tubs of this. Or repackage it into baggies.

9. Raw ramen (or Fritos) + PNB + Hot Sauce

Yes, you can eat raw ramen! While I personally prefer cooked ramen, raw ramen is a super quick meal, so great for a backpacking lunch.

Crumble it into a bowl.
Mix peanut butter into it.
Add hot sauce.
Eat with a spoon.

A variation of this is Fritos + Peanut butter + Hot sauce

10. Crackers + Cheese + Salami

Crackers will inevitably get smashed in your backpack over time. When this happens:

Cut the cheese and salami into small chunks.
Put them in a bowl with the cracker crumbs.
Eat with a spoon.

Cold-Soak Meal Ideas

Cold-soaking is a process where you rehydrate dried foods with cold water. No cooking is required, so you don’t need to worry about getting out your stove or pot. It’s easy but you still get a moist meal – which beats the heck out of eating dried food all day long. There are a lot of supermarket foods which you can make with cold-soaking. DIY dehydrated foods can usually be cold-soaked too.

Read more about Cold-Soaking Backpacking Meals here.

11. Fantastic Tacos

The brand Fantastic makes an instant taco filling mix. Add hot or cold water to hydrate. For a seriously good backpacking lunch, also cold-soak some refried beans (you can find dry mix in the supermarket) and add BBQ sauce from a packet and some string cheese.

12. Falafel Mix + Gold Fish Crackers

Cold soak some falafel mix to soften. Spread it on a tortilla (or other carb of choice) and then add some Gold Fish crackers. They give it a really good texture!

Alternatively, just mix the gold fish crackers into the rehydrated falafel mix and eat it all with a spoon.

13. Hummus

Hummus is full of protein, iron, and other nutrients. Plus, it dehydrates down to around 180 calories per ounce! On the trail, just add a bit of dry hummus to a cup. Let it soak (with hot or cold water) for a bit. Then spread it all over a tortilla, bagel, crackers… Add some pumpkin seeds for crunch or sundried tomatoes and olives for a seriously gourmet trail lunch.

You can find boxes of instant dry hummus mix, but you can also make your own dry hummus if you have a dehydrator. Get the recipe here.

DIY dehydrated hummus. It ends up being very calorie dense.

14. Other Instant Dry Spreads

In addition to hummus, you can also find some other instant dry spreads in the supermarket or online. Two favorites are:

Gaucamole powder + yogurt powder
Ranch dressing powder + freeze-dried cheese powder

Mix the two powders together before your trip. Add a small amount of water to make a thick spread and put it on your favorite trail bread.

Add salami, TVP, or other fillings to make a proper meal.

15. Frito Pie

Fritos are insanely calorie-dense,which is why they are a favorite with backpackers. My dad, for example, just mixes Fritos directly with PNB for his lunch. If you want something slightly healthier, you can make “Frito Pie.”

Put some refried bean powder and/or dehydrated beans in a bowl. You can also use other combos, like TVP + tomato sauce powder.
Add water to rehydrate.
Mix Fritos into the rehydrated mix.
Eat with a spoon.

Hot Dinner Ideas

For these meals, you will need to have a stove and pot. All of the meals are really simple to assemble and cook though while still being delicious and (mostly) nutritious.

16. Mac n Cheese + Add-Ins

The photo below shows Velveeta shells and cheese cooked with freeze-dried peas and a packet of tuna mixed in after cooking. It ends up being just as good as any commercial backpacking meal, but a fraction of the cost.

You can do this a zillion different ways by adding different proteins (TVP, salami, shelf-stable tofu, nuts…) and veggies (freeze dried bulk or DIY dehydrated).

17. Thai Noodles

One packet of ramen + 2 Tbsp of peanut butter will give you approximately 550 calories for dinner. You can also make it with rice noodles. Make it more exciting by adding these ingredients to the mix:

Dried peppers, scallions or other veggies
Hot sauce, sriracha or chili paste
Powdered ginger
Soy sauce (from a packet or I’ve found soy sauce paste)
Sesame seeds

18. Backpacker’s Pizza

Heat up tortillas or pita bread on your stove or over a campfire. Then top with sauce. You can use ketchup packets or tomato paste in a tube for this. The brand Boboli also sells pizza sauce in individual packets. Next add your cheese and some pepperoni or salami slices. Wait a few minutes for the cheese to melt on the hot bread.

To take things up a notch and add some nutrition, add sundried tomatoes, pine nuts…

19. Instant Soup + Tortillas or Croutons

Cook your instant soup and then mix strips of tortillas or croutons into it. It adds a really nice texture and loads of calories. Add some freeze-dried meat, salami or dehdyrated beans for protein.

20. Tortellini + Sauce Mix

Barilla makes shelf-stable tortellini which is great for backpacking. On the trail:

Cook the tortellini until al dente
Make sure there is just a bit of water remaining in the pot (as much as you need for sauce)
Mix in the sauce powder.
Cover and wait 5 minutes for the powder to rehydrate.
Enjoy!

21. Tabouli with Instant Refried Beans

There are a few brands which make boxed instant tabouli with some dried veggies add to it. Pair this with instant refried beans for a complete meal.

The only bad thing is that you really need two pots to make this. Otherwise the ingredients end up all mixed together and the texture is weird.

22. Couscous + Tuna from a Pouch

Couscous is one of my favorite backpacking foods because it cooks instantly. Choose a brand of boxed couscous which has dried veggies (or add your own from bulk freeze dried or DIY dehydrated) and some protein, like tuna in a pouch.

23. Falafel

If you feel like dedicating time to making a proper dinner when backpacking, falafel is great. There are a few brands which make instant mix. Bring oil in a little bottle and fry it in your pan.

If you don’t want to put in this much effort, then you can just cold soak the falafel mix to rehydrate it. Then serve it over couscous or another carb.

24. Pasta + TVP + Instant Sauce + Hard Cheese + Olives

TVP is a great vegan protein for backpacking. It has absolutely no taste though, so you really need to add tons of seasonings to it. In this dinner, I also added vegan cheese and shelf stable olives (from a pouch). The fattiness makes the meal taste sooo good. Get the recipe and instructions here.

25. Mashed Potatoes + Dried Mushrooms + Shelf Stable Vegan Hot Dogs

I recently discovered some brands selling shelf stable hot dogs. They aren’t the most lightweight food because of all the moisture in them, but I don’t mind carrying the extra weight on shorter backpacking trips. You can also dehydrate hot dogs.

For this meal, I also added dried mushrooms to the potato flakes and foraged greens. Get the recipe and instructions here.

26. Stove Top Stuffing + Add-Ins

Stove Top Stuffing mixes are another backpacking staple. They are really boring and lack nutrition on their own though. So, you need to add other ingredients to make a proper meal. This picture shows the stuffing with peas (from freeze dried) and chicken from a pouch added.

To make:

Add the dry peas to water.
Wait for the water to boil. Turn off the stove.
Add the stuffing mix, cover and wait 5 minutes.
Add the chicken and any seasonings.

*You can also use freeze-dried chicken or other dry proteins. Just add them at the beginning with the peas.

27. Boxed Indian Meals + Instant Rice

I love those boxes or cups of instant Indian meals for backpacking. A lot of them contain dry chickpeas or lentils, so are a great vegan backpacking meal option. This brand is good and vegan and GF. You just add water, cook for a few minutes and eat.

Pro Tip: Line your bowl with a tortilla. It makes cleanup easier!

28. Cheddar Mashed Potatoes with Beef

This was made with instant cheddar mashed potatoes and dehydrated beef Stroganoff. You could also add other proteins, like TVP, refried bean mix or freeze-dried meat.

Note that, because mashed potatoes cook instantly, you have to rehydrate the other ingredients first! On the trail, you will:

Add water to the pot. You need to use the exact amount required for the mashed potatoes + a tiny bit more for rehydrating the add-ins. Don’t add too much water or you’ll end up with runny potatoes.
Put your dry add-ins in the water.
Boil until the add-ins are soft. Turn off the stove.
Add the mashed potato flakes and seasonings. Enjoy!

29. Jambalaya from Instant Rice and Salami

Here’s another easy backpacking meal from supermarket foods. To make:

Add instant rice and water to your pot.
If using dried proteins or veggies, add these too.
Cook until the rice is almost done and there is a tiny bit of water remaining. This prevents the rice from burning to the pan.
Add seasonings and salami (or chicken from a pouch, shelf-stable tofu, etc.)
Mix everything together. Cover and wait a few minutes. Enjoy!

For some really damn good meals, check out my dehydrator backpacking meals book. It includes recipes for DIY trail bars and lots of meals which can be cold-soaked. There’s also tons of info on backpacking meal planning.