Freeze-Dried Food Review: Backcountry Taste Tests

We Look at Some Freeze-dried Foods for Your Next Adventure.

Make no mistake, food is a force multiplier. Sure, we can survive on white rice and beans, and in some cases that combination really hits the spot, but fortunately for us there are some great companies producing lightweight, nutritious, and delicious freeze-dried entrees for us to enjoy in the backcountry. Here we perform an almost completely subjective taste test and evaluation of their offerings.

Freeze drying dates all the way back to the 13th century, when Incas freeze-dried potatoes by taking them to high-altitude mountain peaks where the temperature was below freezing. There they’d squeeze out as much moisture as possible, then dry them by sunlight. Modern technology uses similar principles but on a much larger and faster scale with machines. This process keeps much of the structural integrity and quality intact, making this process ideal for military rations, astronaut cuisine, and meals for hikers and hunters. The other bonus is that usually only the addition of hot or boiling water is needed to prepare them.

Brand Overviews

Nutrient Survival is a relative newcomer to freeze-dried food and offers a unique spin with the addition of vitamins, aminos, nutrient, and omegas in every meal they make. They cater to backpackers and hunters with single-serve lightweight pouches, while also offering most of their meals in large #10 cans for those who want to stock up for a rainy day. They may not have the massive selection of some of the other companies tested here, but everything we tried from them was tasty, filling, and nutritious. The CEO is a former Army Ranger, and every package we’ve purchased from them came with a handwritten thank you note from him personally.

Backpackers Pantry has roots dating back to the ’50s when it comes to lightweight food, and their extensive selection makes it apparent. The company is very much oriented to those who love the outdoors and makes every effort to support renewable energy, conservation, and overall making the world a better place.

Peak Refuel started in April of 2018 and have committed themselves to using real meat and quality ingredients for backcountry meals. Their goal is to produce high-energy meals that taste great.

Good-To-Go was cofounded by real-deal chef Jennifer Scism, who has been running restaurants and making great food for over 20 years, and her husband David Koorits, who worked as a wildland firefighter, ski patroller, and nurse throughout his career. In 2014, they started Good-To-Go to offer unique and delicious meals for people who love the outdoors.

Wild Zora was started by Zora, who grew up on farms in the Czech Republic. Her concept of farm-to-table stuck with her throughout her life and helped her create Wild Zora, offering hikers and campers high-protein, real food that doesn’t have any fillers. Their first products were protein bars, and they’ve expanded the product line to include cereals, snacks, and full meals, many of which are paleo.

Mountain House traces its roots back to the Vietnam War when the U.S. government solicited better-tasting, lighter-weight food. They provided the Long-Range Patrol rations that are now very well-known among military historians. In 1969, Mountain House began meeting civilian demands for lightweight, freeze-dried food and have continued to expand their product line and brand into one of the best-known freeze-dried food companies in the world.

The Freeze-Dried Meals

1. Nutrient Survival Hearty Lasagna (66 grams)

Hearty is the name of the game with this food. While being very lightweight, this meal packs a ton of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. It’s also very tasty. The texture is what you’d expect without being overly mushy or chewy, and the Italian spices really come through. This packet has 260 calories and of the “Italian” style meals, this is one of our favorites. This meal is also available in #10 cans.

Water Requirement: ½ cup

MSRP: $30 pack of five

2. Backpackers Pantry Chicken Lasagna (128 grams)

This meal brought a unique flavor of lasagna that made it taste milder with less emphasis on the tomato. The chicken rehydrated very well and wasn’t crunchy, chewy, or otherwise unlike normal chicken — we half-expected it to taste different. This boasts 370 calories; and if you have a couple packets of parmesan cheese on hand from your last pizza delivery, this one is a winner.

Water Requirement: 1¼ cups

MSRP: $9

3. Peak Refuel Beef Pasta Marinara (213 grams)

The Beef Pasta meal is a double serving, bringing it to 1,040 calories per pouch, which explains the weight increase but also makes it acceptable. The small corkscrew-style noodles and beef crumbles rehydrated very well and made for a very filling meal. The tomato taste didn’t come through in a Chef Boyardee sense, but, overall, the food fills you up and delivers plenty of protein.

Water Requirement: 1 1/3 cups

MSRP: $12.99

4. Good-To-Go Chicken Pho (113 grams)

Good-To-Go sent us this meal and included the fancy spoon and bowl, which helped create the aesthetic for a meal like pho. As a big fan of traditional pho, this meal was as close as you’d expect for something freeze dried. The spice level was pleasant, the noodle texture was on point, and on a cold day, it really made us feel warm and content with a full belly. The added lime packet is a very nice touch; had we thoroughly read the directions we wouldn’t have dumped the whole thing in right away, instead we’d have added a little bit to not be overpowering. Overall, this was one of our favorite meals tested and is highly recommended.

Water Requirement: 1½ cups

MSRP: $14.75

5. Backpacker’s Pantry Hatch Green Chile Mac & Cheese (100 grams)

We were really looking forward to this meal sent by Backpacker’s Pantry, as freeze-dried mac and cheese is usually a winner and this one had a little something extra with the chiles. The elbow noodles were smaller than expected, which may have helped them rehydrate incredibly well. The end result was a rich and creamy noodle concoction that had an incredible taste and was just a little on the high side of spicy, giving it more flavor. For the weight, this one will be in our backpack for the next outing.

Water Requirement: ¾ cups

MSRP: $5.99

6. Wild Zora Mountain Beef Stew (100 grams)

This is a paleo meal with very simple ingredients, all of which can be easily pronounced and identified. The contents of this meal were all mostly uniformly diced in very small pieces — in theory this should help the consumer get tastes of every ingredient, but, in reality, all we tasted was carrot. The package says to add salt and pepper to taste, but already having 660mg of sodium we’d have expected it to be a little more flavorful.

Water Requirement: 1½ cups

MSRP: $12.95

7. Wild Zora Butte Cacao Banana (112 grams)

This meal may not look like much, but it turned out to be very tasty. The large pieces of banana and strawberry gave subtle sweet notes, and the almond slices provided great variety of texture. The cacao flavor is present but doesn’t make this taste like a spoonful of sugary cereal or regular oatmeal. Overall, this made a for a very filling and different meal than many of the others, and we’ll be sure to keep one on hand for a hasty breakfast or possibly a desert.

Water Requirement: 1 cup

MSRP: $10.95

8. Nutrient Survival Triple Mac and Cheese (72 grams)

This mac and cheese serving may seem small, but it packs a ton of flavor and added vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. We were skeptical of such a small amount of water, but the spiral noodles rehydrated well and lacked the crunchiness that can sometimes occur. The cheesiness blends together to create a creamy texture, and it has just the right amount of salt. Overall, this is a good choice for a solo trip.

Water Requirement: 1/3 cup

MSRP: $30 pack of five

9. Mountain House Chicken & Dumplings (159 grams)

The best way we could describe this is heavy. The pouch contains a lot of food — it’s a double serving. The meal is very similar to chicken pot pie fillings, and the flavor isn’t far off either. The chicken rehydrated very well, and the dumplings were a close second. The flavors stood out as you’d expect and overall created a very nice meal that we’d definitely eat again on a cold day.

Water Requirement: 1 1⁄3 cups

MSRP: $8.49

10. Mountain House Chicken Fried Rice (160 grams)

We’re big fans of fried rice, so hopes were high when it came to this meal. The food all rehydrated very well without leaving any crunchy bits, and the flavors came through as expected. It was nice that the texture of the chicken wasn’t the same as the scrambled eggs, a feature which helped keep this dish as close to take out as you can get in the backcountry.

Water Requirement: 1½ cups

MSRP: $9.49

11. Backpackers Pantry Risotto with Chicken (148 grams)

As soon as you open the bag, you get smacked in the face with the unmistakable smell of risotto. This meal rehydrated very well, making the chicken tender without the rice turning mushy. The broccoli maintained consistency and gave the food a good variety. Overall, this meal was a little saltier than we would’ve liked; it carried a whopping 600 calories total and more sodium than recommended.

Water Requirement: 2 cups

MSRP: $8.99

Conclusion

Freeze-dried food has come a long way in the past few decades, and as consumers we’re treated to a variety of meals that cater to specific tastes and dietary restrictions. The best way to find the ones you like is to start trying them, probably before you find yourself on the side of a mountain cold, wet, and hungry.

Preparation Notes

Check your altitude, because freeze-dried foods usually take longer to rehydrate at higher elevations, and nobody wants to bite into pieces of dry chicken. Also carry an extra-long spoon with you to eat directly out of the bags. We like this one from GSI Outdoors.

Drink Additives

Another way to spruce up meals or down time is with drink additives. Today’s adventurers can go beyond instant coffee (although that’s one of our favorites) and have a variety of water enhancers that not only taste good, but can provide a quick refresher of electrolytes. Here are a few of our favorites:

Nutrient Survival Liquid Nutrient (9 grams): Staying hydrated isn’t always easy when in the woods, but having a water bottle full of this stuff will help keep you going. This powder features 13 vitamins, branch chained amino acids, and no sugar so you won’t crash. Lastly, it tastes fantastic.

LonoLife Bone Broth (15 grams): Broth is a long-standing staple for hunters and having a quick serve packet of it in the evening to warm up around a fire is a good way to wind down a long day. This mix is high in protein and sodium, so if you’ve been sweating all day this can help replenish your levels.

Black Rifle Coffee Company Instant Coffee (4 grams): Waking up without coffee to look forward to is less than ideal, so having some of these packets in your bag goes a long way.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in Carnivore Magazine Issue 7.

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