/r/trailmeals

Photograph via snooOG

A community devoted to recipes you can cook while backpacking. A home for easy to make delicious meals in the wilderness.

Welcome Fellow Outdoor Enthusiasts!

Thanks for visiting Trail Meals, a community devoted to outdoor eats of all kinds. Post your favorite meal recipes, trail mix combinations, coffee methods...whatever!

We only politely ask that you distinguish your content by using flairs!

Popular Recipes

Long Treks

Snacks

Breakfast

Lunch & Dinner

Drinks

Equipment

Books & Blogs

Discussions


Can't get enough outdoor recipes? Check out these additional sources

Thru Eat

Wild Backpacker

Backpacking Chef

Backpacker Magazine's Recipe Topic Board

Camping Recipes

Want more camp links with less camp food? Check out r/Campingandhiking

How about more food and less camp? You might like r/Cooking

Related Subreddits

  1. r/MountainMen

  2. r/Ultralight

  3. r/Outdoors

  4. r/MYOG (Make Your Own Gear)

  5. r/AppalachianTrail

  6. r/Canyoneering

  7. r/Geocaching

  8. r/Alpinism

  9. r/JoshuaTree

  10. r/GearTrade

  11. r/Foraging

  12. r/Shoestring

  13. r/Dehydrating

  14. r/WildernessBackpacking

Feel free to message the moderators if you have any questions.

/r/trailmeals

243,627 Subscribers

5

Easy trail meals with premade sealed sauce packets

Just discovered Japanese curry premade sauce packs, just reheat and serve over rice, add onion and spinach and canned chicken breast for a bomb trail meal.

What other premade sauce packet brands am i missing?

10 Comments
2024/04/27
17:58 UTC

10

Milk powder

Hey everyone

I’m in search of you’re favourite best tasting milk powder to take on my first multi day hike

I’d be limited to the Australian market

Thanks all

17 Comments
2024/04/25
22:39 UTC

5

Meat prep help

I’m only gone for two nights but I really wanna try a dehydrated meal for the second night. I’m thinking maybe spaghetti but I don’t actually have a food dehydrator. I know you have do it with the oven but have never attempted anything. Any advice or tips?

6 Comments
2024/04/22
00:43 UTC

6

Anyone Done Cornbread In A Toaster Oven?

My mom and her camping buddies are planning some get-together and one of the nights one lady said she's making some award-winning chili and asked my mom if she would find a good cornbread recipe "since I know you love to bake!" And my mom is a great baker but she generally uses a conventional oven, and her camper only has a toaster oven.

So now I'm tasked with figuring out how to make good cornbread in a toaster oven. Anyone have any idea how this would work?

15 Comments
2024/04/21
15:44 UTC

8

Long term, healthy eating?

Hey all,

I'm going on a backpacking trip soon for probs about 9-10 months, across many countries, and I'm considering foods to stay healthy with as I'll be rock climbing the whole time. I'm thinking of lots of oats and nuts, as they'll be quite cheap and in most places and last a while, then I'm struggling a bit with protein (maybe cured meats?). Also, I'm wondering how to get vitamins when I'll be away from civilization for a couple of days at a time, as I'm gonna be out in nature a lot and sleeping in a tent. Maybe multivitamin tablets? Suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

10 Comments
2024/04/18
13:02 UTC

10

Food packing ideas

Might be going on a 7 day backpacking trip. I am allergic to tree nuts, peanuts, legumes (but oddly not soy lecithin or soy oil) and Seeds. Can I eat anything for backpacking? hahaha

7 Comments
2024/04/15
19:00 UTC

10

Dehydrating rice

Hey guys, I am interested in dehdrating rice for curries etc. However I‘m a bit worried about the food safety aspect due to Bacillus cereus. What is your opinion on this? Isn‘t rice in the food dehydrator the ideal breeding ground for Bacillus cereus? I saw a few of you recommending instant rice. However this is not available in my country only the ones you put into the microwave (I think this isn‘t suitable to make on trail, but correct me if I‘m wrong). Is there a good alternative for dehydrated rice, or is it save in your opinion?

34 Comments
2024/04/14
06:52 UTC

4

Vac Pack and freeze

Hi all,

Just had a question about vacuum sealing and frozen meals for a short day hike. I know if I cooked for example a stew the night or two nights before and froze it that it probably wouldn't melt for hours if I had it in a refrigerator bag with other frozen items. If I'm doing just a ome day overnight hike and eating my frozen meal at night when it's probably been cold or almost defrosted at this point I'd imagine that it's OK.

I am previously a chef so I understand the food safety aspects and where I'm comfortable pushing it. Just wanted to see if there's anything I'm forgetting

Thanks

5 Comments
2024/04/12
01:01 UTC

120

Steak tacos with avocado & salsa verde

6 Comments
2024/04/11
23:58 UTC

0

Quick meals ideas? Probably mention something frozen as well.

3 Comments
2024/04/08
21:21 UTC

3

Radix dinner meal with room temperature water?

Hey y’all, I’m going on a camping trip and don’t know if the sites will have facilities to boil water and can’t use a portable a stove due to fire ban… I’m wanting to know if anyone has tried making the dinner radix meals up with cold water instead of boiling and if they were ok to eat still? The website FAQs say it is possible but wanted to see if anyone has actually done it. Thanks y’all

3 Comments
2024/04/08
06:19 UTC

12

Hummus?

I love hummus. I make it at home frequently, and use it as a dip, or a spread, or just a serving on the plate.

I think hummus would be great for the trail, but I would prefer to carry it in dehydrated or freeze-dried form, adding the water when I reach camp.

My hummus recipe contains a lot of yogurt, so I don't think it would dehydrate well.

Does anyone here have either a commercial just-add-water (and possibly oil) hummus mix that you recommend, or a homemade hummus recipe that readily dehydrates in a home dehydrator?

43 Comments
2024/04/04
17:01 UTC

16

Bannock fry bread?

Does anyone here make fry bread on the trail? We very much enjoy it at home, and it would be very easy to bring a bag of dry mix and sone oil backpacking.

My real question is what you use for a frying pan when backpacking. It doesn't have to be ultralight, but still needs to be as light as possible. Kitchen frying pans are out!

A couple of my backpacking pots have lids that could possibly be used as frying pans, but I'm not how well they actually work.

What do you use?

23 Comments
2024/03/31
17:39 UTC

128

Nutrients mush

Home dehydrated veggies, beef tallow, bullion and spices, textured soy protein. ~600kcal and 22 grams of protein. Note to all on a thru hike, use the least amount of water possible, and good quality tallow is still going to be nearly impossible to clean off the bag and off your spoon with just bronners.

Please share your cleaning tips!

17 Comments
2024/03/28
03:05 UTC

9

Dehydrating whole meal or individual ingredients?

Just getting into dehydrating meals! I see some recipes recommend dehydrating a fully cooked meal whereas others just dehydrate the individual components (which are mixed together on the trail). What are the pros/cons to either approach? How do the results differ? Would love to hear any opinions on this. Thanks!

9 Comments
2024/03/27
16:24 UTC

17

What meats have you tried dehydrating?

I am on the carnivore diet. Have been all year and I love it. With backpacking season fast approachingi wanna know who has dehydrated what meats?

I am not a strict carnivore, I eat cheese, eggs and fruit as well

I am currently just doing ground beef as it is cheap and easy, bit would like to expand my repertoire. Anyone do sausages or anything fancy?

30 Comments
2024/03/19
23:17 UTC

20

Quinoa, lentils or rice

I take these three grains (OK one is a legume) with me backpacking and they are the basis of all my meals. I mix and match proteins and veg but was wondering, which one is the most carb/nutrient-rich per (uncooked) pound?

12 Comments
2024/03/18
19:46 UTC

6

Weight Gainer Supplement for Thru Hike?

Hi All,

Curious...has anyone tried using a weight gainer supplement powder for a thru hike? It would be pretty easy to vacuum seal a bunch of this and use it on trail.

I have struggled to keep weight on during my last two thru hikes and I usually get tired of any lunch combination I've come up with. I was considering trying it out to just get the calories in. It seems like it would be a nice on-the-go option too.

Here's an example of something I was looking at trying:

https://nakednutrition.com/products/vanilla-vegan-weight-gainer?variant=31273275293790&msclkid=f8c7995fb26018ef634cfca7a60e1c36&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GT_PLA_Desktop_Standard_USA_400%25&utm_term=4586269162895513&utm_content=PLA USA Desktop

8 Comments
2024/03/18
10:22 UTC

148

Dehydrated Honeybuns

I’m a fan of honeybuns but not the sticky mess, so figured dehydrating them was worth a shot. 150F for ten hours did the trick. Plan is to eat them just like this, or add them to my trailside tiramisu. Tried a strip and they’re delicious, and not sticky at all. Yay!

28 Comments
2024/03/16
13:18 UTC

18

No cleaning required cook methods?

What are some disposable containers for cooking/rehydrating meals? I both don’t want to clean cookware and have some destinations with limited water. I know I can use store bought camping meal bags and pack out the trash but trying to bring cheaper foods.

I like instant oatmeal packs but the little paper packets are too hot to hold after pouring in hot water.

Are there any cooking envelops/bags I can try?

38 Comments
2024/03/06
11:59 UTC

9

Looking for meal suggestions for a two month road/camping/hiking trip

My friends and I are going on a two month road trip across the states, focusing only on the national parks. We want to spend as little time in the cities/towns as possible, buying in bulk and trying to make a variety of dishes, whose ingredients can keep for a long time. We will have a small fridge in our converted camper van (a mini van), with a bunch of pots and pans, and other kitchen utensils, as well as a two burner propane stove.

This is our first time in the states, so we are unfamiliar with what can be found in a grocery store, just in terms of the meals we could make. Hence this post; we'll be doing a vast majority of the cooking because it's something most of us have done before and enjoyed it!

We have no restrictions or allergies. Can you suggest some meals or foods that would be suitable for us? Google thinks I'm gonna be an outdoors Gordon Ramsay lol.

Side question, I've seen online that various clubs for fast food chains exist; is there one that is particularly good that we could take advantage of?

Anyway, thank you for all of your suggestions! I am looking to some ideas of what we're going to be eating!

20 Comments
2024/02/28
02:00 UTC

4

Anyone else have this problem with Sidekicks?

All the flat noodle ones work fine, but the shells and the skinny (pene) noodle types always end up undercooked with dry spots of the flavour powder inside. I've tried cooking them for like 2-3 times as long and I still get crunchy noodles and dry powder spots.

5 Comments
2024/02/24
17:27 UTC

4

Anyone used the Omnia Oven?

I'm curious about what backpacking ovens are available in 2024, now that the classic Outback Oven is no longer sold.

I just ran across the Omnia Oven, which appears to be a type of steaming oven. Has anyone hear tried it on the trail? What did you think?

8 Comments
2024/02/17
03:30 UTC

65

Finally attempted camp baking!

My partner’s birthday request: biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast. This was a first for me, but y’all made me feel like I could do it! Full disclosure: I bought store bought biscuits, but made a homemade sausage gravy. I used my camp stove to make the gravy and baked the biscuits on the fire.

Things I learned:

  1. If you don’t have a flat lid, grab a screwdriver and flip the lid upside down. You can reattach the lid handle and create an inverted area to hold your coals on top.
  2. Line the bottom (~1in thick) with rocks then put a layer of tin foil on top of the rocks.
  3. Put another layer of foil under the lid and have it overlap the top of the pot. I found that the extra on the sides helped keep any ash out when checking the biscuits.
  4. A layer of ash on top of the coals seemed to help keep them hot longer.
  5. Gotta make sure your coal bed is far enough away from the flames to keep your food from burning on that side.
  6. A sturdy meat fork (ours came in a grill set) is useful for lifting the lid as well as moving coals.
  7. Tossing the breakfast sausage in flour after cooking and being able to wait to add the milk until the biscuits were almost ready was the move.

Appreciated reading all the posts of the biscuits that came before me! 🥺

2 Comments
2024/02/13
04:37 UTC

11

Unhinged Electrolyte/Sugar trail snacks

I'm a day hiker whose food/snacks on trail tend to be whatever is in my pantry at the time.

Wanting to know some of ya'lls just unhinged snacks that substitute electrolytes and sugar.

I've been bringing pickle salt and hi chews. Not super unhinged but I eat the salt straight out of the container.

10 Comments
2024/01/29
17:19 UTC

36

Oatmilk pancakes & maple

So simple and easy why didn't I think of it earlier. Was car basecamping tbf. Just pancake mix and oatmilk and maple syrup

0 Comments
2024/01/29
10:38 UTC

10

International Trail Meals

Hi everyone! Scout leader here, posting across multiple subreddits for advice. I’m working on my Wood Badge ticket (for non-Scouters, this is leader training and a project meant to improve the quality of the program), and one of the items is to gather recipes from different cultures. I believe that a diverse palate is important to develop at a young age, and truly think that food helps to bridge gaps between groups of people.

Does anyone have a favorite recipe or two they prepare at camp from a different culture or country? Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you!

15 Comments
2024/01/20
15:50 UTC

42

Any one pot wonders

Any recipe for some amazing one pot meals to cook while camping? I'm not a great cook but willing to try haha. I mostly stealth/wild camp 👍 Thanks for any suggestions 👍

47 Comments
2024/01/14
02:03 UTC

7

Best dehydrated/instant rice?

Lately better rice types have become more common in stores in the US. Things like jasmine or my favorite basmati.

What is everyone's favorite types and brands?

11 Comments
2024/01/08
03:12 UTC

66

50% off these jokers at Walmart $1 each!

25 Comments
2024/01/07
05:01 UTC

Back To Top