Price: $6.99 to $12.99
Activities: Bikepacking, backpacking, camping, hiking, hunting, sailing, mountaineering, and climbing
Meals for Dietary Restrictions: Yes
Types of Dietary Restrictions: Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, soy-free, tree nut-free, high-calorie
Where Manufactured: Boulder, Colorado
Availability: Online and Retail
How Obtained: Company samples
RBR Advertiser: No
Fuel Your Next Bikepacking Adventure
There’s something liberating about loading your bike with just the essentials and hitting the trail for a multi-day adventure. No matter what adventure is on the agenda, one thing is certain: your body needs proper fuel to keep pedaling mile after mile.
The challenge? Finding food that checks all the boxes: lightweight enough to carry, nutritious enough to sustain you, and actually tastes good. That’s where Backpacker’s Pantry comes in. It’s a family-owned brand that’s been fueling outdoor adventures since 1951. While traditionally associated with backpackers and hikers, these freeze-dried meals are perfect for the bikepacker whose nutrition requires the same thoughtful planning as any multi-day backwoods expedition.
Understanding the Bikepacker’s Nutritional Demands
It’s important to understand what your body needs when bikepacking. Research shows that bikepackers typically burn between 2,500 and 5,000 calories per day, with some ultra-endurance riders reaching up to 10,000 calories. The problem is that many cyclists underestimate their caloric needs, leading to energy deficits that accumulate over multi-day trips.
Why Backpacker’s Pantry Works for Cyclists
Your nutritional strategy should focus on three key macronutrients: carbs, protein, and fat. Backpacker’s Pantry meals are designed to meet these nutritional demands. Each pouch delivers between 500 and 820 calories, with protein content ranging from 10g in lighter options to 40g in high-protein entrees like their Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken. According to the company, these freeze-dried meals are nitrogen-flushed and vacuum-sealed, with oxygen absorbers, giving them a 3-year shelf life while maintaining nutritional integrity.
What sets Backpacker’s Pantry apart is the company’s commitment to real, whole-food ingredients without artificial preservatives. They source only the highest-quality freeze-dried and dehydrated ingredients that don’t fully rehydrate until you add hot water to the pouch, resulting in tasty, nutritious meals. They’ve even reformulated several bestsellers to increase plant-based protein from 9g to 12-14g per serving while reducing added sodium by approximately 15%.
While you might need to eat more than a pound of food per day to meet a 3,500-calorie requirement, freeze-dried meals offer one of the best calorie-to-weight ratios. They rehydrate in just 8-15 minutes with only 1 to 1.5 cups of boiling water, making them perfect for quick meal prep after a long day in the saddle.
Tasty Picks for Bikepackers
The company sent me five different meals to try: Pad Thai with Chicken, Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken, Three Cheese Mac & Cheese, Blueberry Peach Crisp, and Breakfast Scramble.
Pad Thai with Chicken: This meal packs 820 calories into a single pouch—the highest calorie count in the Backpacker’s Pantry lineup. The chicken version offers 27g of protein, while the vegan Pad Thai option provides 760 calories and 24g of protein.
Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken is a rich, creamy dish that delivers 590 calories and 40g of protein per serving. The perfectly al dente pasta, tender chicken, and roasted red peppers are smothered in a buttery alfredo sauce. The high protein content makes it ideal for recovery on multi-day trips, and it rehydrates in about 15 minutes.
Three Cheese Mac & Cheese is my go to comfort-food. It delivers 860 calories and 38g of protein. It satisfies cravings after a long day on the bike, but reading through the comments, some riders recommend adding extra seasoning to enhance the flavor.
For vegetarian and vegan cyclists, Backpacker’s Pantry offers an extensive menu of protein-packed plant-based alternatives. Options like Cuban Coconut Rice & Black Beans (960 calories, 34g of protein) and Chana Masala provide substantial calories and protein without animal products. These meals are particularly valuable because finding adequate plant-based nutrition on remote bike routes can be challenging.
Many of the breakfast options can be prepared cold by adding water, making them the perfect early morning start when you don’t want to light the stove or start a campfire.
Bottom Line
The variety of meals helps combat “flavor fatigue,” a real concern on multi-day trips. Backpacker’s Pantry offers 26 entrees, 8 breakfast options, and even desserts, including their Astronaut Ice Cream Sandwiches. This variety is important for cyclists who might be on the trail for a week or more and need to maintain their appetite and morale.
From a sustainability perspective, the company is 100% solar-powered and offsets all carbon emissions from shipping. As a 1% for the Planet partner, it donates 1% of all sales to conservation.
Sheri Rosenbaum regularly contributes articles and reviews products for RBR. She’s an avid recreational roadie who lives in the Chicago area and a major advocate for women’s cycling, serving on the board of directors and volunteering with the Dare2tri Paratriathlon Club. Click to read Sheri’s full bio or visit her web site sunflowersandpedals.com.
Totally agree. These have been a staple for me on Bikepacking trips for several years now. They are easy to carry, easy to prepare and are quite satisfying. They really open up the possibilities for where you stop, you just need to make sure you have some water. I carry an MSR pocket rocket burner and medium sized can of fuel along with a half liter Ti cup to boil the water and it easily lasted 3 weeks. The only tricky thing is finding these on the road. Dicks Sporting Good carries other brands which is pretty easy to find, but I have not found a popular supplier for BP in a brick and mortar place. Do you know of any?