Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food Review  

Plenty of backpackers enjoy the convenience of freeze-dried meals on the trail. Throw some water in a pot over your fire or pocket stove and pour it in the bag and in about 10 minutes you have a “fresh,” hot meal ready to eat! 

With so many brands and choices out there, how in the world do you choose? I wouldn’t want to get all the way out on the trail and realize I made the terrible mistake of bringing Chicken Teriyaki with me… (more on that later) 

I chose one brand (Mountain House), picked 5 meals, and filmed a taste test --

I wrote out the nutrition information and more thoughts about each meal below. 

They are in order from my favorite to least favorite… 

Sweet n Sour Pork - $9.99

Nutrition 

• 290 Calories 

• 770g Sodium 

• 6g Fat 

• 12g Protein 

• 49g Carbohydrates

The Sweet n Sour Pork was flavorful and oh-so-good. The chunks of pineapple were juicy and added just the right amount of sweetness. For me, other freeze-dried meats can be chewy, tough and just not exciting to eat, but because the pork is so chopped up, it doesn’t even feel like I’m eating a freeze-dried meal. (My friend and I totally finished the bag off after filming the review)

2. Chili Mac with Beef - $8.99

Nutrition 

• 230 Calories 

• 780g Sodium 

• 6g Fat 

• 12g Protein 

• 31g Carbohydrates 

Bringing it all the way back to 2nd grade… This meal tasted like my mom had just whipped it up.

The taste and even texture was surprisingly on point. I love the idea of being able to enjoy a toasty bag (or bowl) of chili mac on the trail with ease. Definitely a good, tasty choice, and at $8.99 with almost 3 servings, you can’t beat it. 

3. Beef Stroganoff with Noodles - $8.99

https://www.mountainhouse.com/M/product/beef-stroganoff.html?variant_id=262

Nutrition 

• 260 Calories 

• 960g Sodium 

• 11g Fat 

• 11g Protein 

• 29g Carbohydrates 

Rated one of the best freeze-dried meals by many including The Adventure Junkies, this one tasted just like Hamburger Helper to me. While I really enjoyed it, the sodium level set me off a little. I would still suggest trying it, especially if you’re on a trail where you’re sweating a lot and need to replenish the lost sodium in your body.

4. Italian Style Pepper Steak - $10.99

https://www.mountainhouse.com/M/product/italian-pepper-steak.html?variant_id=73

Nutrition 

• 180 Calories 

• 590g Sodium 

• 2.5g Total Fat 

• 13g Protein 

• 29g Total Carbohydrates 

While the flavor was pretty solid, there are large chunks of steak that just… don’t chew well. It was difficult to get through more than a few bites at a time because I was working so hard to chew up the meat. If the meat was chopped up a little more like with the Sweet n Sour Pork, I might’ve enjoyed it a little more. 

5. Chicken Teriyaki - $8.99

https://www.mountainhouse.com/M/product/sweet-sour-pork.html?variant_id=250

Nutrition 

• 220 Calories 

• 660g Sodium 

• 2g Fat 

• 10g Protein 

• 40g Carbohydrates 

No. thank. you. I’d rather eat raw ramen noodles on the trail than this glorified dog food… 

As someone who loves chicken teriyaki, I was SO stoked, only to be brutally let down by this dish. It’s a no from me, homies.

Overall, I was super impressed by some of these meals! I really don’t think I could’ve made them better in my own kitchen (except that chicken teriyaki, man… #disappointment) I would highly encourage you to try these for yourself and let me know what you think! Are there other meals from Mountain House (or maybe another brand) that is a staple favorite of yours? 

Let me know what you’d like to see us review next! 

I was able to keep my hands mess-free while digging to get the last bite by using the Spork Chop. It’s nice being able to eat out of a bag on the ground and not have to feel like a complete savage… check it out here.