The best backpacking food is lightweight, has a long shelf life, and gives you energy for even the toughest military missions, hikes, and camping trips. There are plenty of good hiking food and MRE options, so pick the food based on your preferences. How about vegetarian camping food and vegan camping food? Fortunately, many companies have options for various dietary restrictions and allergies, such as gluten-free camping food, vegan backpacking food, etc. When you plan a camping trip, make a camping food checklist, so you know what food to pack for camping. A normal person eats three times a day

Best food for camping

The most common commercial hiking food options are ready-to-eat meals and freeze-dried backpacking food. Of course, old-school stuff like canned food and jerky still exist.

Camping food storage depends on what you want to bring along. Dehydrated camping food packs only need to be stored in dry conditions. It is the best food to take camping, if the weather is warm and you don’t want to drag a cooler with you. Furthermore. if there's no real chance to restock food during the trip, freeze-dried outdoor meals are the ideal solution then too, because they are very lightweight. Naturally, hauling a week's worth of water by foot isn't feasible, so be prepared to purify it from natural sources. A gas stove is a handy companion, but if you have the option to make a campfire, do take it!

What’s the best freeze-dried camping food for you also depends on what you want to eat, what kind of dietary restrictions you have, and how much you want to spend on it. There are several good freeze-dried food companies out there. We recommend stuff made in Europe because our food regulations are strict. Avoid Chinese MRE rations. They often contain dubious chemicals and other harmful crap.

Is dehydrated food healthy? It depends on what’s in it. There is healthy camping food and also less healthy camping food. Check out the nutritional content and make the selection based on that.

How long does dehydrated food last? The shelf life of dehydrated food is long, usually several years. It is mentioned in the product description and on the package. It probably won’t turn into toxic goo even after that but the companies are required to have a date there.

In the military world, camping food is often called MRE. However, even when “civilian camping”, MRE rations, such as the Tactical Foodpack, are a pretty good option. MRE stands for Meal Ready-to-Eat. In the MRE, calories are often abundant because these meals are made for soldiers who consume a lot during their activities. In the MRE, protein is usually also very well represented, both in the food and in the snacks such as protein bars and an MRE protein shake. Sometimes the packs also contain a specific MRE heater.

We sometimes also carry military surplus MRE rations. If you are looking for cheap MRE options, this is it. It might not be the best-tasting MRE, though. And, if the best-before date has formally expired, we can only sell it for collecting. How long do MRE meals last? Way past that date. Can you eat a 20-year-old MRE? We have, but as we said, we cannot recommend it.

If you have any questions, such as how to make a 7-day backpacking meal plan, how to create a 72-hour survival food kit, or what not to add to a 3-month survival food kit, we are happy to help. If you need backpacking food ideas, there are also loads of articles and videos online.

Also check out our snacks.