Mountain House Freeze Dried Meals: The Ultimate Review
Reading Time: 5 minutes Mountain House Adventure Meals challenges the assumption that a person can live on cheese, tortillas, and candy in the wilderness for weeks at a time. As incredible as the cheese/tortilla/candy diet can be, it leaves something to be desired – namely, food (or at least what my dad would call food).
In the world of backpacking, the lowest rungs of the meal ladder are populated with instant noodles and dehydrated mashed potatoes. The highest rungs? Fresh fruit, that Subway sandwich you packed out of town, and individually packaged freeze-dried meals. The most well-known company engaged in the hawking of bags filled with freeze-dried goodness (at least in the US)? Mountain House.
Mountain House meals are delicious. They are so delicious that I would not hesitate to eat them off the trail as well. I would be a very happy hiker if I could eat a Mountain House for every meal when hiking. However, I would also be a very poor hiker. The worst thing about Mountain House? How expensive they are relative to that bottom rung of the ladder – five noodle packs for $1!? Who can compete with that?
If you’re dedicated to saving some cash and want to maximize your Mountain House meals, you can get some of the #10 cans (like this) and portion out your meals ahead of time (and if you end up with extra, send it my way). But if you’re at the local outfitter and need to make a game-time decision, hopefully, this post can help guide you.
One word of warning about Mountain House: if the price looks too good to be true, you should check the package and make sure you’re not looking at a one-serving variety. Don’t expect to feed yourself with one of these unless you’re a small child.
Best Mountain House Flavors
Chili Mac with Beef
- Calories per pack: 460
- Calories per dollar: 42
- Recommended water: 1.5 cups / 12 fl oz / 355 ml
- MSRP: $10.95
- Total cook time: 9 minutes at sea level
- Notes: Delicious – probably my favorite flavor if going by taste alone
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Beef Stroganoff with Noodles
- Calories per pack: 560
- Calories per dollar: 51.14
- Recommended water: 1.66 cups / 13 fl oz / 385 ml
- MSRP: $10.95
- Total cook time: 9 minutes at sea level
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Homestyle Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Calories per pack: 550
- Calories per dollar: 47.82
- Recommended water: 1.5 cups / 12 fl oz / 355 ml
- MSRP: $11.50
- Total cook time: 9 minutes at sea level
- Notes: It would not be in the “best” category based on flavor alone, but it has calories and value, so it earns a spot.
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Okay Mountain House Flavors
Lasagna with Meat Sauce
- Calories per pack: 440
- Calories per dollar: 40.18
- Recommended water: 1.5 cups / 12 fl oz / 355 ml
- MSRP: $10.95
- Total cook time: 9 minutes at sea level
- Notes: Great flavor, but not the best value when going for calories.
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Rice and Chicken
- Calories per pack: 500
- Calories per dollar: 45.66
- Recommended water: 1.33 cups / 11 fl oz / 473 ml
- MSRP: $10.95
- Total cook time: 9 minutes at sea level
- Notes: Not the tastiest, and an okay value
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Chicken Fried Rice
- Calories per pack: 600
- Calories per dollar: 53.33
- Recommended water: 1.5 cups / 12 fl oz / 355 ml
- MSRP: $11.25
- Total cook time: 9 minutes at sea level
- Notes: Okay taste with a solid calorie per dollar value.
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Worst Mountain House Flavors
Macaroni and Cheese
- Calories per pack: 620
- Calories per dollar: 60.48
- Recommended water: 1.33 cups / 11 fl oz / 325 ml
- MSRP: $10.25
- Total cook time: 9 minutes at sea level
- Notes: It gets points for having a lot of calories and a good calorie per dollar value, but it’s really just overpriced mac and cheese.
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Chicken Fajita Bowl
- Calories per pack: 560
- Calories per dollar: 48.48
- Recommended water: 1.5 cups / 355 ml
- MSRP: $11.55
- Total cook time: 9 minutes at sea level
- Notes: Okay taste and not-so-good calorie per dollar value
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