If you’re looking for backpacking dinner recipes, you’ve come to the right place! It’s not always easy to find good meals you can make on the trail; meals that are nutritious, energy-packed and at the same time light-weight enough to carry in on your back. But it is possible; you can eat well when backpacking.
Here are four delicious backpacking dinner recipes that you can put together in five minutes at home and only a few more on the trail. These dinner recipes for backpackers never require more than one pan, and some don’t require any cooking beyond boiling water (for that check our reviews on backpacking stoves). But they taste—oh, so good!
Our Favorite Backpacking Dinner Recipes
Yummy Chicken Rice Polov
- 1 cup one-minute rice
- 1 foil pack chicken pieces
- 1 cube chicken bullion
- pepper to taste
At home: measure out and mix the rice, pepper, and bullion in a Ziploc bag.
On the trail: boil just over one cup of water (to allow for evaporation). Dump in the Ziploc bag as well as the pack of chicken pieces, mix, and bring back to a boil. Cover, remove from fire, wait five minutes, and then enjoy.
Protein-Rich Beef Noodle Soup
- 1 Pack Ramen noodles
- 4 Tbsp shredded beef jerky
- 1-2 Tbsp mixed dried vegetables
- 1 ounce package instant onion soup mix
- ¼ tsp powdered ginger
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
At home: mix all ingredients in a Ziploc bag. You’re just using the noodles from your ramen, so throw away the spice packages (or set aside to use in other cooking).
On the trail: boil water, then dump the Ziploc bag into your bowl or pot. Pour on boiling water, cover, and let sit five minutes. Enjoy!
Quick and Easy Rice and Tuna
- 1 cup one-minute rice
- 1 foil pack tuna
- 1 package cheddar broccoli soup mix
- 1 tsp dried onion
At home: combine the rice, soup mix, and dried onion in a Ziploc bag. Pack the tuna separately.
On the trail: boil just over a cup of water, then dump in your Ziploc bag and the pack of tuna. Bring to a boil, remove from fire, wait five minutes, and enjoy.
Meat and Potatoes
- 2 ounces beef jerky, broken into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tsp granulated onion
- 1 tsp butter powder (optional)
- 4 ounces (one pack) dehydrated mashed potatoes
At home: combine all ingredients in a Ziploc bag.
On the trail: boil 2 cups of water, then dump in your Ziplock bag. Stir, cover, and take off the fire. Let sit five minutes, then fluff up your potatoes and enjoy.
Bacon Grits
- ½ cup instant grits
- 3 Tbsp dried bacon
- 1 tsp chicken bullion
- 1 tsp dried onion
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp butter powder (optional)
At home: mix all ingredients in a Ziploc bag.
On the trail: boil 1 ½ cups of water, then dump in your Ziploc bag of ingredients and stir, over the heat, for five minutes or until creamy and ready to eat. Enjoy.
What are your favorite backpacking dinner recipes? We’d love to hear from you!
