Updated December 3, 2024 09:50PM
The Best Backpacking Food of 2021
Chow down and drink up with our favorite trail-ready meals and snacks of the year.
(Photo: Matthew Stacey)
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Best Camping Breakfasts
Happy Yak Merry Berry Couscous
You may think of couscous as dinner fare, but this version definitely belongs on your breakfast menu. “It tastes so fresh, thanks to dried cranberries and vanilla, and was a perfect cure for oatmeal monotony,” one tester said after trekking through Montana’s Bitterroot National Forest. Buy Now / Read the Full Review
Brave Overnight Breakfast
For hikers who feel especially lazy in the morning, this no-cook oats option delivers plenty of sustenance and—just as importantly—taste. Chia seeds, hemp seeds, and walnuts give a crunch to the rolled oats, and the meal comes in four varieties (apple spice was our favorite). Buy Now / Read the Full Review
Best Camping Dinners
Good To-Go Cuban Rice Bowl
Just because a dish is vegetarian doesn’t mean it can’t be packed with protein. The Cuban Rice Bowl provides plenty of fuel for recovery after big days and tastes great to boot. Buy Now / Read the Full Review
Campfare Chicken Tikka Masala
Not every backpacking meal has to be freeze-dried. This tikka masala comes fully hydrated, and seems like a trail luxury if all you’ve been eating is astronaut food. Prep is ubersimple: Just submerge the pouch for 3 minutes in boiling water. Buy Now / Read the Full Review
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Next Mile Meals Beef Tacos
This meal was created by thru-hikers, rather than chefs, so we’re not surprised that it’s nutritionally dense and low on bulk. What is surprising? How good it tastes. “Eating it transported me from the California desert to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants along Highway 99,” one PCT thru-hiker says. Buy Now / Read the Full Review
Best Hiking Snacks
ZENB Sweet Potato Veggie Bites
Cubed, nutrition-packed veggie snacks might sound like a science experiment, but these bite-size morsels are a healthy and savory treat. They’re dense, like mini granola bars, butprovide a full cup of veggies in every bag. And in a world where most trail snacks are on the sweet side, the savory flavors stand out. Buy Now / Read the Full Review
Setton Farms Chipotle BBQ Pistachio Kernels
This snack is a piquant take on the humble pistachio. Our testers declared the chipotle BBQ flavor the best of any flavored pistachios they tried, a sweet and salty blend that harmonized zest with smoke. Buy Now / Read the Full Review
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Honey Stinger Plus+ Performance Chews Stingerita Lime
Need some spring in your step? This new flavor of one of our favorite trail snacks more than doubles the caffeine content from Honey Stinger’s previous energy chews (75 milligrams, or about one cup of coffee). We definitely noticed, especially on days that involved thousands of feet of gain. Buy Now / Read the Full Review
Best Camp Coffee
Nutrient Survival Vitamin Coffee Classic
Laudable taste in an instant coffee is rare, but this one hits the mark while providing a nutritional boost. It comes in single-serve packets filled with powdered, 100 percent Colombian Arabica beans, and delivers not only delicious dark-roast taste, but also 13 added vitamins. Many beverages fortified with nutrients taste weird, but we didn’t notice any bitter vitamin aftertaste. Buy Now / Read the Full Review