Hikers often ask, “What are your best backpacking meals?” These are Outdoor Herbivore’s customer favorites.
1. Best Trail Breakfasts
The time between dinner and the following morning is a long time for your body to go without food, so don’t skimp on eating in the morning. Eating after waking can supply the energy your body needs to start the day and improve your metabolizing energy during the rest of the day.
Breakfast on the trail can range from eating a snack bar while walking to sitting down to a giant breakfast burrito with coffee.
What you eat in the morning is more important than when you eat. A balanced breakfast, as recommended by nutritionists, should include a mix of primarily complex carbohydrates (i.e., whole grains, starchy vegetables) with a small amount of protein and fat (i.e., nuts, seeds, eggs). This combination replenishes glycogen stores and provides a steady supply of energy throughout the morning, setting the tone for a productive day on the trail.
Best Overall Breakfast: Sunrise Tofu Scramble
Need a reason to get up in the morning? This flavorful dish is a match for vegans and those who want a healthy and satisfying breakfast meal.
Freeze-dried crumbled tofu with organic mixed vegetables and herbs packs protein and nutrients. Wrap it up in a wholegrain tortilla, squirt it with your favorite hot sauce, and you’ll have a restaurant-quality breakfast burrito that will sustain you on those hill climbs. 
If tofu is not your thing, you might prefer Denver Veggie Scramble, made with organic whole powdered eggs and mixed vegetables. The nutrient profile is similar to our Tofu Scramble.
Best Hot Cereal: Apple Quinoa Oatmeal
When the morning air is cold and crisp, nothing beats the comfort of sipping hot coffee and washing it down with a steaming bowl of porridge. Apple Quinoa is made with a mix of quinoa, oats, nuts, and cinnamon apple chunks.
Best Cold Cereal: Blueberry Vanilla Crunch
While a hot meal or beverage can energize and warm you, sometimes you need something cool and refreshing. Cold cereal is a quick breakfast and is hydrating. Blueberry Vanilla Crunch is a popular choice for those who don’t like mushy, cold-soaked cereals or jelly-like chia cereals. This breakfast cereal features vanilla granola clusters, freeze-dried organic blueberries, coconut, almonds, and instant oat milk. The sweet and nutty flavors of this cereal hit the spot.
2. Best Trail Lunches & Snacks
Do you feel like sitting down for a meal while you admire the beautiful scenery around you? Outdoor Herbivore recommends packing quick, no-cook (add cold water) backpacking meals to save you from unpacking your stove and boiling water. Here are the winners for lunch and snacking.
Best Cold Lunch: Open Sky Yasai
Yasai 野菜, “ya-sai,” means vegetables in Japanese, which inspired us to create this savory cold stir fry. It’s chock full of vegetables, including cabbage, broccoli, peas, and carrots marinated in a ginger sesame vinaigrette. If you crave fresh veggies on the trail, this meal will deliver. Just stir in the water and the included oil packet—no cooking required.
While this cabbage veggie stir fry is yummy when consumed under a canopy of trees, it tastes even more phenomenal under an open sky.
If you need a calorie boost to accompany your no-cook salad, flatbread or tortilla is an excellent companion. You can fold up the veggies to create a sandwich wrap.
If there was a bread created for backpackers, it would be the tortilla! Tortillas make the perfect hiking companion because they’re flattened, making them impossible to crush. They also turn messy food into an easier-to-eat sandwich, act as a sponge for sopping up leftover food bits and gravy, and add carbohydrate calories to lighter meals such as salads. Of course, they also make good casings for burritos! For dessert, tortillas are wonderful toasted over a campfire and served with nut butter for a gooey dessert.
Best Cold Spread: Instant Hummus
Bread or dense crackers go even better with hummus. Our hummus is alive with flavor, and many tell us it is more reminiscent of falafel. Preparation couldn’t be simpler—you just mix the hummus powder with water and the included olive oil packet and serve. Hummus is a delight on the trail and a rich source of complex carbohydrates.
 |  |
Cold Spread Runner Up: Cheezy Squeezy Spread
Do you crave cheese? Its high-fat content, creamy mouthfeel, and casomorphin release make it a pleasure to eat. Instant Cheese Mix is the perfect way to indulge your cheese craving on the trail without the worry of spoilage. To prepare, simply add a bit of water to the pouch, knead to mix, and squeeze out the cheesy goodness. The texture is similar to a chip dip, so be sure to bring some crackers or bread to dip or spread it.
Cheezy Squeezy is available in three different flavors, pub-style, spicy, and herby. Outdoor Herbivore’s cheese mix is made from pure organic sharp cheddar cheese and plant seasonings without artificial colors or additives. It’s a natural and safer choice for your outdoor adventures..
Vegans wanting a cheese-like experience should check out our Spicy Vegan Squeezy.
Best Trail Snack: CinnaMonkey Chomps
Need to move quickly? Chomps are for you! Ready to eat trail snacks are perfect for hurried days and require no preparation or clean-up. If you love American-style French Toast, you’ll taste the similarity with CinnaMonkey Chomps. At 860 calories per pouch, these baked cinnamon plantain rounds are grand for high-calorie finger snacking on the trail.
3. Best Trail Dinners
After a long day of hiking, reserve time in the evening to enjoy a warm and nourishing meal. You earned it, and your muscles need the fuel to aid recovery. Outdoor Herbivore’s hot entrees are packed with flavorful seasonings without overloading you with sodium. Here are our most popular trail dinners.
Best Rice Entrée: Lemongrass Thai Curry
Lemongrass Thai Curry is sure to please if you like coconut-based curries, spice, and rice. It is tangy and spicy with notes of lemony citrus. Topped with organic roasted peanuts grown and processed in the good ol’ USA.
Best Pasta Entrée: Basil Walnut Penne
Crushed basil and walnut sauce tossed with organic pre-cooked wheat penne. This dish is a mouthful of deliciousness and will replenish your energy.
Best Soup: Cozy Curry Soup
New! If the inclement weather requires you to take an extended mid-day break, this spicy soup will warm you up. Featuring a mix of chickpeas, lentils, carrots, rice, and potatoes.
Best Burrito: Switchback Burrito Stuffer
Burritos hit the spot, but burritos on the trail are divine. Our Switchback Burrito Stuffer is easy and quick to prepare and makes a satisfying meal when wrapped. This stuffer combines refried black and pinto beans, spicy salsa, and a generous amount of cheddar cheese for the ultimate filler. Our single-size pouch makes enough to fill two large burritos.
An excellent vegan alternative is our Naked Freckle Burrito. 
4. Best Trail Dessert
Need something sweet to end your evening? High mileage days should always close with dessert. Even better is to pair it with your favorite hot beverage to warm you before bed.
Best Dessert: Bear Patch Cobbler
This restorative blueberry cobbler is sure to sweeten your journey. Featuring crispy freeze-dried blueberries, sweet granola clusters, nuts, and flaxseed in coconut cream sauce. Black bear and hiker approved 🙂
Related Posts:
About Outdoor Herbivore:
Produces real food for outdoor travel. Take us backpacking, bikepacking, paddling, motorcycling, sailing, horseback riding, RVing, air traveling, hoteling, yoga retreats, and more. Our specialty is vegetarian backpacking meals, but you don’t have to be a herbivore to fancy our food. Enhance your travel experience and taste buds with the addition of Outdoor Herbivore in your pack. Cheers to good health and joyful adventures.
One thought on “Best Backpacking Meals for Vegetarians”
Man, this list makes you hungry!
I just love your products but so difficult to find in Europe. My favorites are still the Instant Hummus and the Lemon Grass Thai Curry.
Thanks for this tasty review.
Lara