In this article we'll give you some of our personal favorite backpacking recipes but you should be aware that we prepare food for our hikes by utilizing a dehydrator. Why do we do this? Largely because we want to reduce the weight of our carried food and also to have the ability to prepare a variety of food in advance that allows us to enjoy our hikes at any time. Dehydrated food is fun, easy to fix, nutritious, and allows us to follow Leave No Trace principles much easier.

There are a number of books and websites available to help you with your recipes and give you ideas of what you can prepare on the Long Trail. Your meals can be as easy or as elaborate as you wish them to be and the links listed below should help you on your way.

A Fork in the Trail - Laurie Ann March

Laurie Ann march has created a cookbook with unique zest and universal appeal. She has a distinct talent for combining flavors to make back country gourmet meals. Of the backpacking cookbooks that have been recently published, Laurie's is our favorite due to her unique style and the quality of information given. In addition she has the support of a bona fide publisher and the cookbook is top rate.

The Backpacking Chef - Chef Glenn

Chef Glenn has created a very informative website. It is well thought out, well planned and presents information that is easy to understand. Not only will you get good simple recipes, but you will also gain the insight and knowledge of his experience dehydrating fruits, vegetables, and meats.

Lipsmackin Backpackin - Tim and Christine Connors

This book has been around a few years and is comprised largely of recipes of others than the authors. However, there are many unique recipes and they are trail tested. The cookbook also offers some basic information on backpacking and may be of help to the beginning hiker.

Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook - Mary Bell

Bar none, this is one of the best books for learning in depth about dehydrating food and preparing it for future eating. It was published in 1994 but has been incredibly popular.

Backpacking Recipes to Get you Started

Oatmeal is a great way to start the day. If done right, it can taste very good, be extremely healthy, and provide alot of energy to get you started on a long day's hike. We do not suggest you eat or purchase "Instant Oatmeal". Instead, go to your local Costco, Sam's Club or BJ's and purchase Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal in Bulk. As of this writing, we are buying it in 9 pound boxes at a cost of $6.50. That's alot of meals! Give a couple of our recipes a try, or try them on your kids. We'll guarantee you will enjoy the taste and so will your kids. (Note: this recipe is made for a beginning day's hike for the average thru hiker. You may want to reduce it for average sized breakfasts.)

Strawberry/Banana Oatmeal

Cherry Berry Oatmeal

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Dinners

Fajita Goulash

20 Ounces (1 package) of Lean Ground Turkey
2 packets of French's (or your favorite) Fajita mix
2 Green Bell Peppers
1 large onion of your choice (Yellow, Red, etc)
1 Large Lime
1 Serrano Pepper de-seeded (if you like spicy without sauce)
Dry Refried beans
Large can diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups dry Jasmine Rice

Cook ground turkey and drain well but do not rinse. Add 1 cup of water and one packet of fajita mix, lime juice chopped peppers and onions cook down about 5-8 minutes.

For rice, 2 1/2 cups of dried rice to 4 cups of water. Cook.

When rice is complete add turkey and vegetable mixture. Mix well. Add can of tomatoes (drained) and second package of fajita seasoning, mix well then let sit in a closed pot (no heat) for about 2 hours. Divide and dry.

When entire batch is dried, break apart well in bowl and measure one dry cup into a freezer bag. Add 3 -4 tbsp of dry refried beans. In camp, add one cup boiling water plus a couple tablespoons, mix, cozy about 8 minutes.

For variety, add crushed Fritos, or Tortillas and some shredded cheddar. We also go into Taco Bell once in awhile and order a couple of Tacos inside just so we grab 3-4 big handfuls of their Taco sauce packets. The packets go great with this too. You can also take along tortillas and make Burritos out of it as well! Just add more refried beans and water.

Easy Thai Peanut Butter Rice

Taco Rice

Mongolian Beef

Add Sesame Oil to pan on medium heat. Add chopped Shallot, Garlic and ginger. Lightly cook until onions just start to carmelize (turn light brown)

Add soy sauce, water and sugar. Dissolve sugar fully first then raise heat to medium high. and lightly boil while stirring for 5 minutes.

>Here's where the sauce gets tricky. You need to thicken it, but not to much. You want to have a good mixture so that there is plenty of sauce to coat the rice. You can thicken your sauce in several ways. The easiest method is with a little corn starch but that increases the "saltiness". Some people like that and that is ok. The easiest method is to make a small "rue". This is essentially some hot oil or grease with flour mixed in. We used some of the drippings from our ground turkey we cooked to make a rue. If you have instant brown gravy, you could also thicken it with that but that will also have alot of sodium.

So, once you hit that 5 minute mark, you'll need to lightly thicken the sauce. Make sure before you start thickening, that you reduce the heat to medium. Once thickened, remove from heat. Add your chopped peppers and meat. Stir, cover, set aside.

With he beef and sauce set aside, cook your rice. Make sure the rice absorbs most of the water or else it will thin the beef sauce.

When rice is complete, add sauce and meat mixture, thoroughly mix together, divide immediately and dry at 125. I recommend you dry on parchment paper. It will go quicker and allow you to turn the rice over a few times to completely dry.

Add one dry cup to a quart freezer bag. In camp add one cup boiling water, cozy for 8 minutes. This recipe also goes well with roasted unsalted peanuts.