Food Wars: Who Makes the Best Dehydrated Beef Stroganoff for Backpacking?

For those of you who joined us for the first installment of our "Food Wars" series, welcome back! If you didn't catch it, you can find it here: "Food Wars" Installment #1. 

A quick recap:

On our trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, we decided to compare the various brands of dehydrated meals marketed to backpackers. We hoped to determine which companies produced the best-tasting meals and whether some of the more expensive offerings were worth the additional cost. We're passing our findings along to you, in hopes that they will improve your future backpacking experiences! We did not receive anything of value from any of the companies involved in the tests, so you can trust our observations to be objective.


Please note, hyperlinks to products below are affiliate links. We earn a small commission from products purchased through these links, at no additional cost to you. We appreciate your support of the blog!

How were the tests conducted?

We conducted our taste tests in the field. We made our best efforts to adhere to the manufacturer's instructions when preparing meals (i.e. we didn't adjust the amount of water specified by the manufacturer nor the amount of time suggested for rehydration). In the few instances where we did deviate from the instructions, we will disclose the circumstances. We both tried each product, made notes about our observations on flavor and texture, and rated each on a scale of 1 mylar pouch (worst) to 5 mylar pouches (best).

Who makes the best dehydrated beef stroganoff for backpacking?

While individual preferences may vary, Peak Refuel Beef Stroganoff was our favorite dehydrated beef stroganoff option.

Image from: Peakrefuel.com
 

Why did we choose Peak Refuel Beef Stroganoff as our winner?

Peak Refuel is a Utah-based company that appears to prioritize all of the components essential to an enjoyable backpacking meal: quality ingredients, quick prep time, low carrying weight, less water to rehydrate, and high protein content. As a bonus, this beef stroganoff was flavorful, hearty, and had a very creamy texture.

A "2 serving" pouch weighs in at 5 ounces (142 grams). It packs 810 calories and 41 grams of protein. Only 3/4 cup (about 180mL) of water was required for rehydration, and prep time was a friendly 10 minutes. The current price, through Peak Refuel is $12.99. You can also get it here.

If we were to change anything, we'd perhaps add a bit more water -- as mentioned, this had a very creamy texture. Overall, this was a very satisfying meal and one of the best overall options we evaluated throughout the course of this week-long trip.  

Image from: Mountainhouse.com

Is Mountain House Beef Stroganoff a good choice for a backpacking meal? 

A "2 serving" pouch weighs in at 4.3 ounces (123 grams). It supplies 560 calories and 24 grams of protein. We also noticed in contained 1570 milligrams of sodium -- almost 70% of the Recommended Daily Allowance! -- compared to 950 milligrams in the Peak Refuel offering (still around 40% of the RDA). In fairness, the Peak Refuel option had over twice as much cholesterol. 

Mountain House Beef Stroganoff takes only 9 minutes to prepare, but it does require 1 and 2/3 cups of water (around 400mL). A packet retails, through Mountain House, for $9.49. You can also get it here.

In all honesty, Mountain House Beef Stroganoff is one of our favorite backpacking meals. It just doesn't quite compete with the flavor, amount of nutrition offered by, and minimal amount of water needed to rehydrate, the Peak Refuel Beef Stroganoff.   

Image from: Katadyngroup.com

Is AlpineAire Creamy Beef and Noodles With Mushrooms a good choice for a backpacking meal?

AlpineAire Creamy Beef and Noodles With Mushrooms comes in a 5.5-ounce (156 gram) pouch. Each "2 serving" pouch offers 700 calories and 34 grams of protein. The meal requires 2 cups (nearly 500mL!) of water and 10-12 minutes to prepare. While not available directly from Katadyn Group (don't visit alpineaire.com!), a packet retails for approximately $10.

This wasn't our favorite option, as far as flavor, either. While we certainly wouldn't go as far as to say it was bad, it had a slightly different flavor profile than what we were expecting. It reminded us a bit more of a Pasta Alfredo than a Beef Stroganoff. Perhaps this is more a reflection of our expectations than the quality of the product, but we felt it worth mentioning.

We appreciate you joining us for another installment of "Food Wars," and we hope you'll join us for our next taste test: Biscuits and Gravy!

 

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