What Are The Best No Cook Backpacking Meals? The Recipes You Need To Know!

Because camping, trekking or hiking with no stoves, pots, pans, and other cooking utensils is so much easier, no cook backpacking meals have now become very popular. Not only does this save you from carrying several extra pounds but it also gives you more time to enjoy nature without having to worry about cleaning up or preparing your meals.

What are the Best No Cook Backpacking Meals?

Of course, backpacking meals should be packed with nutrients and calories to provide you strength and energy. They also don’t have to be unhealthy or expensive. In fact, you might be surprised at the number of choices and ways you can prepare them. For easy, tasty recipes and ideas on what you can eat without cooking or heating, check out this list!

1. Meats

The trail is not the best environment for keeping meat fresh. Thankfully, there are cured and preserved meats that do not need refrigeration. These are ideal additions to your meals or a good snack by themselves. These include:

2. Cheeses

Cheese is a great source of protein, healthy fats, and minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, and vitamins A and B12. You can eat it on its own or with bread, meat, crackers, or in wraps. The following aged hard cheeses will stay good outside the fridge longer:

3. Trail Mix, Granola Bars, or Fiber Bars

Dried fruits give you a sugar boost but are healthier than candy. Nuts and seeds, if roasted, provide healthy fats and oils and proteins. Cereals provide energy-giving sugars and fiber. Trail mix is a light, nutritious, and handy treat on the trail. Fiber bars and granola bars are just basically another form of what’s in a trail mix. Here’s what you can add to your mix:

Bagels are great for breakfast sandwiches since they are less delicate but more moist and fluffy than other carbohydrate choices for trails. You can eat them with any or a combination of the following:

Crackers are also a great, filling food rich in sodium and carbohydrates. Prevent them from breaking and getting crushed by hanging them outside you backpack in a bag or bandana. You can also eat them with cheese and meat for a complete, satisfying meal.

Oatmeal is another unbeatable instant breakfast food. For a nutritious and easy meal, combine oatmeal with hot or cold water, whichever is available, and top with dried fruits, some nuts, and a little honey. You can also add some powdered milk or get the instant oatmeal packets than only need hot water.

Quaker Instant Oatmeal Variety Pack of 48 packets is a cheap option. It only costs less than $20 and contains single-serving packets that only take 90 seconds to prepare. Simply add water and stir.

6. Wraps

Wraps are the first things that come to mind when I think of a quick, easy, and complete meals with all the things you need like proteins, veggies, fats, and carbs. Pita is also a durable type of bread that can survive being unrefrigerated and packed. There are also hundreds of fillings that you can roll inside a pita wrap for a meal or a heavy snack. Here are some ideas: