Backpacking Meals From the Grocery Store

While I generally like to use my dehydrator to make the meals we take backpacking, I don’t always have the time to do so. No big deal. It is easy to make lightweight, inexpensive, delicious and nutritious backpacking meals from the grocery store with little or no pre planning. The items you can use to make backpacking meals from the grocery store are only limited by your imagination. Next time you are out food shopping, take the time to look around to come up with more easy meal ideas for the trail. Cheap, yummy and easy to make, I am sharing with you a few of my favorite backpacking meals from the grocery store and have included a printable Shopping List for you to take to the store.

Backpacking Meals From the Grocery Store

Bean Burritos – Instant refried beans, yellow rice and cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla is dense and filling and delicious too!Ravioli with Pesto Sauce and Parmesan- Perfect for the first night out on the trail, ravioli from the refrigerator case pairs well with a drizzle of olive oil, pesto paste located in the Italian foods section and grated parmesan.  Rice and Beans and Summer Sausage – Flavored instant rice mixes are an ideal backpacking dinner and the are brought over the top with the addition of summer sausage. Fettuccine Alfredo with Bacon and Parmesan – Fettuccine noodles tossed with instant Alfredo sauce (made with milk powder and clarified butter), parmesan cheese and bacon bits is calorie dense and extra satisfying! Loaded Baked Potatoes – Instant flavored mashed potatoes topped with bacon and cheese is an easy backpacking meal that is sure to satisfy everyone in your group. Add a sliced green onion for a spicy crunch.Udon Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce – Look for Udon noodles in the Asian section of the grocery and make a quick sauce out of peanut butter mixed with a take out soy sauce packet. Top with crushed peanuts and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Delicious!Grilled Pita Pizzas – Stuff Pita halves with pepperoni, mozzarella and tomato paste or pesto paste and fry both sides in olive oil for a gooey and yummy handheld dinner. Bean Soup – There are numerous Italian inspired soup mixes in the grocery store that are super satisfying when drizzled with olive oil and topped with grated parmesan.Polenta with Bacon and Parmesan – Creamy polenta topped with bacon and a generous sprinkle of parmesan is comfort food at its best. Lentil Stew – Lentils are fairly fast cooking, nutrient dense and full of fiber. Not a common component of typical backpacking meals. Made with bacon and spiced with curry powder, cumin and onion flakes makes this flavorful and nutritious.Pasta Sides with Bacon and Parmesan – Pasta sides are a backpacking staple and the addition of bacon and cheese makes this extra satisfying!Stuffing or Mac and Cheese with Sausage – Another backpacking standby, both stuffing mixes and mac and cheese dinners are readily available and easy to make. Add some summer sausage to make this carb loaded meal more filling and calorie dense.Dried Meats – summer sausage, pepperoni, jerky and bacon bits are all filling additions to a number of backpacking meals from the grocery store and adding them makes your meals more filling and calorie dense.Cheese – Just about everything tastes better with cheese and cheese hold up amazingly well on the trail! From parmesan to blocks of cheddar to individually wrapped chunks of mozzarella, you will be happy you brought some along in your food sack!For Dessert Lovers (And who isn’t?) – We love to make instant pudding which is easy to do with milk powder mixed with water and shaken with instant pudding mix in a Nalgene. You can even up the ante and sprinkle with chopped chocolate. Yummy!

I hope this post gave you ideas for enjoyable backpacking meals from the grocery store. Click HERE for a printable shopping list.

Do you have a favorite backpacking meal from the grocery store? I’m always looking for ideas for trail meals!

Happy Travels!