The perfect DIY backpacking food

Hi backpackers! What is the middle ground between cooking your own food and commercial dehydrated food? The freezer bag cooking method! 

But how to cook with a freezer bag? It is very simple: mix the ingredients of your choice in a freezer bag, close it tightly and boil it in water. As a variation, just prepare the meal in the bag and then pour boiling water in it, just like you would do for dehydrated food. Wait a bit and consume about 10 to 12 minutes later.

The freezer bag cooking method may not be perfect, but it answers most of the needs of backpackers. The benefits are huge. Let’s recap the main advantages.

-It is a lot less expensive than dehydrated food pouches. Therefore, if you are prepping for a multi-day expedition, it is more economical.

-You get to choose your own food. The downside is the preparation time. The upside is that if you have dietary preferences, for example if you are Vegan or gluten intolerant, you can tailor the meal to your exact needs. Or maybe you prefer something more tasty, or you are simply a picky eater! Of course, freezer bag cooking allows you more variety than dehydrated pouches and at the same time offers the luxury of fresher ingredients.

-Freezer bag cooking is healthy: it reduces or removes the need to use butter, oils and other fats often needed for frying foods.

-If you are a serious planner, freezer bag cooking is for you: you can easily measure the right quantities for each meal and each person with the right number of bags.

-It is a time-saver on the trail because ingredients are pre-mixed at home.

-The bags are light and compact and just perfect for backpackers, through hikers, and canoe or kayak trippers. If you are using titanium cookware on top of freezer bags, congratulations you are carrying the lightest cooking equipment possible. 

-It saves on packaging trash.

-Less dishes to clean, because you can eat your food directly from the bags. Of course, your pots won’t be dirty but you still have to pack out dirty bags, and /or you should clean them first. On a long trip bags will have to be washed before reusing them.

-Freezer bag cooking creates less odor. An important benefit if the smell of cooking food can potentially attract large critters, such as bears. In the wilderness bears frequently visit smelly campsites! Avoid making new hairy friends at all costs!

-As long as you have a pot in which you can boil water, any kind of heat source and stove will allow you to cook with that method. If you are using titanium pots, water will boil in no time!

-Freezer bag cooking is forgiving, there are not many things you can screw up. You get to experiment and improve every time. 

If you have never tried this cooking method we should warn you: you could be hooked. You may want to do freezer bag cooking recipes at home, when you just need a quick but delicious meal. 

Explore more: Tips for freezer bag cooking