8 Cheap, Easy, & Tasty Backpacking Dinner Ideas! (Perfect For Thru-Hikers Too!)

One of the most stressful parts of planning a back country adventure is figuring out what you are going to eat for 5 days in the wilderness. It doesn't matter if you are a weekend backpacker or thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, coming up with a menu of food that is cheap, easy, and you wont get tired of can be overwhelming. And while pre-made meals such as Backpacker's Pantry and Mountain House Meals are certainly convenient, the cost can add up quickly!

Fortunately, there are plenty of other options available to hikers! In this video I go through my tried and true go to dinner options for the trail. These thru hiking dinner ideas are easy to find at most grocery and convenience stores. They also offer variety for those looking for backpacking dinner ideas.

Homemade Pad Tai:
1 Teriyaki Noodle Bowl with veggie and sauce packets
1 Peanut Butter pouch
1 Chicken pouch (optional)
Some chopped peanuts
1 Lemon Juice packet
1 Sriracha packet (optional)

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Music:

[LibertyEver]

Peanut powder, coconut milk powder, sesame oil, True Lime dehydrated lime powder, dried garlic or garlic powder, dried ginger root nuggets or ginger powder, dried soy powder and cumin makes ramen noodles (quick cook) or your favorite wheat or rice noodles into a pretty tasty pad Thai. All of the weird powdered foods are on Amazon and not very expensive. It's good enough that I eat this at home.

[nagyferenc]

1:14 Knorrs rice sides
3:19 Knorrs pasta sides
4:01 Mashed potatoes
5:08 Mac & cheese
6:34 Couscous
7:43 Pasta
9:00 Ramen noodles
10:25 Home made pad thai

[paularthur]

Replace the ramen noodles with capellini (thin spaghetti). No hydrogenated oils and cooks just as fast. Falafel mix made into a patty and fried is quick and spicy and filling.

[taylorchristianson]

Instead of taking butter, ghee is a great shelf stable option. It is just clarified butter. Because it is cooked down it has a slightly nuttier flavour.

[alexm]

I recently discovered shelf stable chorizo sausages (dry aged) which I slice and mix with mashed potatoes. I re-hydrate the potatoes (you can add a spoon of milk powder if you want) and then add the sliced chorizo. The paprika in the chorizo will give a nice colour to the mash, the fat in the chorizo will give it a great taste. This is the camping version of the Hungarian dish - Paprikás krumpli. Enjoy.

[richardlarson]

I recommend exploring ghee butter. It is shelf stable, so you don't have to worry about it going rancid in couple of days and I really like the flavor.

[geezerpleasers_OG]

I'm delighted to see you recommend the Knorr's sides. After watching your video in the MSR Pocket Rocket, today I made a Knorr's Alfredo pasta for my first "little old lady strolling up a hill" trail meal.

[Oldsparkey]

Taking butter with you take a step and make it into Ghee. It's butter with the milk solids removed and easy to make. Melt some butter and pour it into a V shaped ( wider at the top then the bottom ) container, set aside for a little while till a white foam is on the top. Put it in the frig to cool. When cooled take it out and warm the sides of the container so the butter will slide out. Now take a warm knife and cut off the white foamy top leaving the yellow solid section. You have your Ghee and it will last longer then butter with the milk solids still in it. I use a small Nalgene container and double bag it in zip lock freezer bags.

[qanniqtuq]

Always bring some spices. A small amount of curry make any totally blend meal a gourmet one! and spices add variety during long trek.
For Knorr rice, you can cook them directly in the package, just add 1.5 cup of water instead of 2.

[timothywiener]

My favorite trail meal is a Moroccan "tagine" make some couscous, set it aside. put dried fruit (apricot is common but dates, raisins, cranberries, etc are all good) some chicken or other protein, some North African spices (coriander, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, onion powder, salt and pepper), a bit of honey and a little water in the pot and simmer briefly. dump over the couscous and top with chopped or slivered almonds. a shower of fresh scallions, parsley and/or cilantro at the end is a bonus and all pack well on the trail.

[nathanharrod]

I've used a simpler bare bones version with Chile lime or picante beef ramen paired with crushed up honey roasted peanuts. Pretty tasty/filling for a sub dollar meal.

[suzanneng]

Ramen noodle idea that my friends and I absolutely love:
- 1 pack of Nongshim shin spicy ramen(520 calories/$1.29)
- 1 pack of peanut butter(190 calories/$0.69)
- 1 pack of Starkist premium white chicken(80 calories/$1.49)

Total ends up being: 790 calories for $3.37(this is Target prices).

It sounds weird, but it’s absolutely delicious, tastes like an Asian fusion spicy Thai chicken noodles. By far one of my favorite meals since I discovered it a year ago. I crave it off the trail, and it eat it at home regularly with fresh broccoli and chicken!

[switter]

I take a 2lb piece of pork belly. I always camp in the winter so I don’t need to refrigerate it. I just rotisserie a chunk and cut strips off to eat whenever. It’s like eating bacon. Probably as healthy as bacon too, but whatever. It’s good and no need to season if cooking over a fire. It’s good plain.

[tonyabrowninghikes]

Great video. I love and use all these! Stuffing is a great option on trail to. I add it to the mashed potatoes and a gravy packet. One of my favorite meals on trail is "Everything but the kitchen sink pasta salad". Hoping to have a video soon on this.

[miken]

My favorite is Frito Pie: 1/3 Cup Dehydrated Refried Beans, 1/3 Cup Minute Rice, 1/4 Cup Cheese Powder, 1/2 Tbsp Tomato Bullion, 1/2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning. Add 1 cup boiling water, let sit 8 minutes. Add some Fritos

[tjmorrison]

Great video. I am an old dog when i comes to hiking food but learned a few things ! Thankyou for making this video.

[daveb]

Here's an idea for you. I take my own dehydrated vegetables, Lipton chicken or vegetable soup packets, and La Moderna Fideo noodles or something similar and I have have a very hearty and filling soup in individual servings. Start with rehydrating the veggies then add the soup package, and the noodles if using the chicken flavor. If using the packaged vegetable soup add the noodles near the end of the cook to give the veggies time to rehydrate properly. You can even add dehydrated or canned meats if you like. A bowl of this, a few slices of canned brown bread sprinkled with some butter powder or ghee, and you won't go hungry.

[coolhand]

Polenta is shelf stable as as is gnocchi. Both great options that are filling and tasty.

[hiddendesertbushcraft]

Pro tip lol. For butter... you can pre cut the butter and then freeze it. Same goes if you want to make a compound butter with herbs, garlic etc. It will last a bit longer in you pack.

[nebc_yukonyeti]

Quinoa is also a great option & a complete protein. 🥾❤️