Backpacking Food #1—Breakfast (Anything but Oatmeal, please!!)

May 10

I’m 100% a breakfast person and 100% not a morning person; I know many backpackers that love to rise before dawn, speed through breakfast (or skip altogether, gasp, and snack later instead) and packing up, and get on the trail as early as possible. This is a great way to avoid summer heat, crowds, and give yourself plenty of time to some big miles in.

I am not this person. I do usually wake up early, with dawn, while backpacking, but I’m not a morning person; I’m slow to get moving. I like to ease gently into the day. I’ll take my time making a tasty breakfast, some coffee, and allow myself the necessary time to finish waking up.

So, in short, I like to make a breakfast I’ll really enjoy. It just makes the morning blues a little better. When I hiked half the Appalachian Trail in 2017, I got sick of things like instant grits and oatmeal VERY quickly. Recently, I got a comment from someone on TikTok asking if I had any breakfast recommendations for folks who don’t like things like oatmeal or cream of wheat, since so many of our recipes center around instant breakfast meals like that—like, same. If you put a bowl of Quakers Cinnamon and Apple Instant Oatmeal in front of me right now, I’d probably gag. Or the butter grits, ugh, I remember choking down butter grits on the AT and regretting my resupply decisions from a few days before.

So… Here’s some backpacking breakfast ideas that DON’T involve oatmeal and a few links to recipes I haven’t tried yet, but plan to this summer!

Bagels or English Muffins

I don’t know why, but after a few days on the trail, I always start to crave bread and I love to start the day with lots of carbs!

Loaves of bread pack very poorly in a backpack (as you would imagine, they get squished) but things like bagels and English muffins are more durable. In terms of bagels, I usually opt for Bagel Thins. Pita is a nice bread option too.

Bagel Thins have less calories, but take up far less room in my food bag. Four normal bagels take up almost half the bag! Plus, I usually just use the Bagel Thins as a vehicle for the ~toppings~. And the combinations are endless!

Warming my bagel in my lid/pan while also heating water for coffee in the pot below.

Tasty Filling Ideas Include:

Almond Butter, Nutella, or Peanut Butter

Justin’s makes individual packets great for backpacking, Nutella has individual packets, and Jif and Skippy both have squeeze tube options great for backpacking. Of course, you could always go the classic jar route or try Peanut Butter Powder. I haven’t tried the powder, so I can’t speak to how well it becomes a spread. I haven’t tried this Trail Butter but it looks good!

Jam or Jelly

You could bring a small jar, a squeeze bottle, or small, individual packets, like these from Smuckers or these by Split.

Honey or Maple Syrup

I love these small honey packets from Nature Nate’s. Maple Syrup is a sweet addition too!

Parkay Butter Squeeze or Olive Oil

I’ve never tried this myself, 12 oz of butter always seemed a little excessive so I opted for olive oil instead, but I know folks who will tote this squeeze container of butter around and add a little to everything they make!

Granola and/or Nuts

Any loose granola of your choice will work! I also love adding some crushed walnuts or sliced almonds as well.

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds can add some nutrients and fiber to your breakfast!

Dried or Dehydrated Fruit

Craisins, raisins, dried banana, dehydrated or freeze dried strawberries, blueberries, or apples…

Avocado or Guacamole

Avocado is my favorite fresh food to pack on backpacking trips; it stores well in my pack and goes good with so many things! You can also dehydrate some peppers/tomatoes with lime zest + your preferred spices to make a guacamole mix! LiteHouse makes a freeze dried guacamole herb blend too; I find it in the produce section of my grocery store.

And, I haven’t tried it yet, but Dehydrated Instant Hummus is on my list!

Just take whatever combination of any of these things you like and spread them on your bagel or English muffin! One of my favorites is honey, peanut butter, granola, and freeze-dried apple. I’ll warm it up over my pot of coffee. I use a Snowpeak Trek Titanium Cook Set; the lid doubles as a small pan and can be stacked on top of my pot, so I can heat water for coffee and warm my bagel at the same time, just like in the video above.

Of course, you can also go all out on a Breakfast Sandwich here too—

Egg, Bacon, and Cheese Sandwich

Eggs

You have a few options when it comes to eggs in the backcountry:

Freeze-Dried Scrambled Eggs

This is the only eggs I’ve used so far in the backcountry, but they’re good enough and taste good! I will say, every time I make them, it always seems like I used too much water (despite following the instructions) and end up with some scrambled egg soup in the bottom of the bag. The flavor is there, but it’s also worth nothing that the texture is not the same as fresh scrambled eggs; they’re not fluffy.

Powered Eggs

I haven’t tried powdered eggs yet, but it’s been recommended to me as an alternative to Mountain House freeze-dried eggs. Plus, I can control my portions with this.

Egg Crystals

I don’t really know that the different between egg crystals and powder is, but the reviews on this product seem to suggest there’s a difference. This is on my list of things to try soon too!

I also met a hiker in the Smoky Mountains that carried a plastic egg container of proper eggs around—he was braver than I; I would be too afraid they might crack in my backpack! This was also in early April, when it was very cold out still, as eggs in the US have to be refrigerated due to the effects of the washing process for eggs here.

Veggies

And you can definitely dress up those eggs! Season them! Throw some dehydrated peppers and onions in there! Toss some sun dried tomatoes or tomato sauce leather in too while you’re at it. Dehydrated or freeze dried spinach or broccoli? Um, yes, great in eggs! Canned beans dehydrate super easily and home and make a nice addition to any savory breakfast meal. Season as you’d please.

If you’re feeling fancy and not worried about weight or heat, you could totally go with fresh options. I shared a shelter with a man in Shenandoah once who had brought a container filled with cherry tomatoes and scallions. He cooked them up in his pot with a little olive oil and powdered eggs. It smelled heavenly and fresh veggies just hit different on a backpacking trip.

(It’s worth noting that if you went with fresh veggies, you’ll need to consider the heat—tomatoes might hold up, but others wither or get slimy in summer months. Also be sure to pack them in a durable container that won’t open or get smashed in your backpack.)

You can buy freeze-dried veggies online, like these peppers or this broccoli; the broccoli was pretty good and rehydrated well. I haven’t tried the peppers; I have a dehydrator and have been dehydrating my own. Here’s some more info on dehydrating at home.

Bacon

Bacon Bits or pre-cooked bacon are one of my go-to favorites for every meal. When sealed, pre-cooked bacon does not need to be refrigerated. Once it is opened, it does need refrigeration, so I plan my meals to all include bacon on the day I open it or I use it when backpacking in cold weather.

You can substitute the bacon (or just add for double the meat) with meats like machaca, summer sausage, and dry cured ham. Have a favorite dehydrated chili recipe? That’s great on breakfast sandwich or burrito too; just be sure to adjust portions accordingly when you prep it at home.

Cheese

Hard cheeses like parmesan and even sharp cheddar will keep for a few days without refrigeration—if you’re backpacking in the winter or early spring/late fall, you have more options for cheese! If it’s refrigerator temps outside, you can pretty much bring whatever cheese you’d like.

I usually bring a block of extra sharp cheddar and it keeps extremely well for most of the year on multi-day backpacking trips, but, at least here in Mid-Atlantic, in the height of summer (mid-June-late august) I do have to use the cheese up quickly after starting out or leaving town; it starts to get a little questionable after the morning of the third day.

There’s other cheesy options like:

Nutritional Yeast

Adding a little nutritional yeast to any meal that has water in the recipe (like tossing some in with your freeze-dried scrambled eggs as they rehydrate) can add a little creaminess and savory flavor.

Parmesan Powder

Just like the kind you get in the shaker at the grocery store.

Cheese Powder

I haven’t tried this, but if I do, I’ll report back!

Freeze-Dried Shredded Cheddar

Haven’t tried this either, but I’m very curious if it’s good!

Breakfast Burritos

The same ideas for breakfast sandwiches can be applied to breakfast burritos. You could do a sweet burrito with honey, peanut butter, granola, and fruit or a savory burrito with egg, bacon, veggies, and cheese. You could add instant hash browns or rice! Season your rice at home or pick up an already seasoned pack, like RiceSides. Like the sandwich, the options are endless.

Potatoes

Instant mashed potatoes fall in a similar gag-inducing category for me too, but there’s plenty of tasty potato options too! Hashbrowns are one of my favorite trail breakfasts! These Hungry Jack Hashbrowns can be found in almost any grocery store and are a great trail breakfast!

Now, they do make a lot of hashbrowns, so you may need to split up the container if you aren’t sharing, but you can really dress these up! Bring some of your favorite spices, dehydrated onions, and top with cheese! I recommend using a little oil if you’re heating in your pot.

Scrambled Muffins w/ Fruit

I haven’t tried this yet, but it was recommended to me by one of my TikTok followers and sounds amazing, so I’m totally going to try it. Essentially, I believe, you’ll portion out a muffin mix of your choice, add it and water to your pot, put it on your stove and “scramble” it like, like if you were cooking eggs. You can top with dried fruit, chocolate chips, honey, peanut butter…. It sounds SO GOOD! Can’t wait to try.

Chocolate “Pudding”

It’s more of a chocolatey sludge, but this stuff is actually pretty good. Just mix a 1/3 brownie mix, 1/3 chocolate breakfast essential, and 1/3 chocolate protein mix. Add water until it’s a pudding consistency.

Coffee

This seems pretty self explanatory, but whether you do instant, pour over, or French pressed, you can beef up your morning drip with some Breakfast Essentials, milk powder, powder creamer, protein powder, hot chocolate, or chai mix.

Pre-Made Meals

And, of course, there’s lots of already prepared breakfast meals from brands like Mountain House, Patagonia, and Backpacker’s Pantry. These can be more expensive, but it’s nice to have a little luxury now and then.

There’s also no-prep-no-cook options from brands like Greenbelly.

Snacks

For the hiker in a hurry or not in the mood to cook, you can always just gobble down a meal’s worth of your favorite snacks.

Is oatmeal really all that bad?

And, if you can handle oatmeal after all, you can always dress it up and make it extra tasty with things like: Chai Powder, Cocoa Powder, Breakfast Essentials, Powdered Milk, Nutella, Almond butter, Peanut Butter, Honey, Maple Syrup, Sliced almonds, crushed walnuts, Dried or dehydrated fruits, Baking mixes, like brownie or cake mix, and Instant Coffee (adding the coffee to your oatmeal adds some good flavor and cuts back on the separate task of making a cup of coffee). Of course, this all requires prepping and assembling this at home before you leave for your trip, or at least finding small enough portions are the grocery store when you head to town to resupply.

Kodiak Cakes Instant Oatmeal is a little more pricey, but it’s so good and it very energizing!

You can similarly jazz up grits as well. Savory grits done right aren’t that bad.

The nice thing about oatmeal and grits and the fact that they don’t need to be heated or cooked to be eaten; if you’re stoveless or not in the mood to cook, you could prepare it in a Talenti jar or similar container the night before and allow it to cold soak overnight.