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Breakfasts

Top Picks

How we choose: The best breakfasts highlighted here were selected based on 74 reviews of 41 products. Our top picks are those that are readily-available in the United States and have received the highest overall ratings from reviewers.

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OvaEasy Whole Egg Crystals

user rating: 5 of 5 (6 reviews)

Often, dehydrated eggs are nasty. I found that OvaEasy eggs are quite tasty, easy to use, and stable. I have found them to have great bang for the buck in price, ease of use, and flavor.

Reasons to Buy

  • Good texture!
  • Good taste
  • Easy to use
  • Lightweight
  • Nutritious

Reasons to Avoid

  • Eggs mixture can leave quite a bit of water
  • Must cook the eggs
  • No "just add water"
  • Pots need a little more clean-up

I have tried other eggs before, and while other products are pretty good, I think this one is the best. I found it tastes and behaves most like real eggs of all the kinds I have tried. Since the eggs are crystals versus powder, the product cooks up more like real scrambled eggs. The caveat is that these eggs are not just add water. Since they have to be cooked, some users may not like the prep and cleanup.  In that, be careful to not overcook these eggs, because just like real eggs, scorching them leaves more clean up in the pan.

Read more: OvaEasy Whole Egg Crystals reviews (6)

Backpacker's Pantry Granola with Milk and Blueberries

user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1 review)

This single serving breakfast is a scrumptious powerhouse! Balancing loads of sugars, carbohydrates, and proteins make this an ideal meal for hikers, backpackers, travelers, or anyone who wants to get on the move as quickly as possible.

Reasons to Buy

  • Delicious
  • No prep time/no cooking needed
  • Great weight-to-calorie ratio

Reasons to Avoid

  • Non-recyclable Bag/container
  • Expensive
  • Sensitive for gluten/tree nut allergies

Specs Makes One 7oz Serving Net Weight: 4.7oz (135g)   Nutrition Facts Serving size: 1/135g Servings Per Container: 1 Calories 620 (Calories from fat 280) Total Fat 31g (48%) Saturated Fat 18g (88%) Trans Fat 0mg  Cholesterol 60mg (21%) Sodium 280mg (12%) Total Carbohydrates 73g (24%) Dietary Fiber 6g (25%) Sugars 34g Protein 17g Vit A 15% Vit C 6% Calcium 30% Iron 15%   Taste: This granola breakfast is finger-licking good! The granola reflects the rich brown sugar and coconut taste, along with whole milk.

Read more: Backpacker's Pantry Granola with Milk and Blueberries review (1)

Backpacker's Pantry Granola with Bananas & Milk

user rating: 4 of 5 (2 reviews)

Good backpacking breakfast. Easy to prepare and pretty nutritious. More tasty than most freeze dry packaged foods. Price, like all freeze dry, is fairly hefty.

Reasons to Buy

  • Lightweight
  • Easy to prepare (hydrates well with cold or hot water)
  • Fairly tasty
  • “Real granola” taste, texture, and mouth feel
  • Minimal waste

Reasons to Avoid

  • Pricey, like all freeze dry prepared meals
  • It’s still granola (though much better than most)
  • Has lots of chemical ingredients I remember from my undergrad chem course
  • At 140 calories per serving, it’s a bit skimpy for backpacking and especially winter
  • For cold preparation, be sure to use potable water or just use boiling water
  • If you are sensitive, note it is “prepared in a facility that processes peanuts, milk, soy, gluten, eggs, and tree nuts”

Background: When I started camping, backpacking, and horse packing with my family as a child, there was no such thing as freeze-dry. Your only choice in dried food was jerky for meat, powdered eggs, KLIM (milk spelled backwards – still exists) for powdered milk, and a range of dried fruits and vegetables (raisins, apples, apricots, tomato powder, potato powder, etc). Various dried cereals were available, some of which like oatmeal, grits, Cream of Wheat, and a few others were available for breakfast.

Read more: Backpacker's Pantry Granola with Bananas & Milk reviews (2)

Good To-Go Granola

user rating: 5 of 5 (1 review)

Delicious, nutritious meal. Much better tasting than other granola varieties. The pros of taste, prep ease, and nutrition far outweigh any cons.

Reasons to Buy

  • Delicious
  • All natural
  • Vegetarian
  • Useful packaging
  • Nutritious

Reasons to Avoid

  • Price (like all prepackaged meals)
  • Must add water before eating
  • Not for the lactose intolerant

I received this product as a gift for being a past Reviewer of the Month at Trailspace. Taste: This was easily the best tasting prepackaged breakfast I've had to date. It was sweet, nutty, fruity, and hearty all at the same time. The ingredients combined perfectly for my palate. A few of the ingredients are figs, blueberries, almonds, oars, and flax seed. They combine for a good texture and multiple flavors. I typically make my own oatmeal or granola packets with dehydrated bananas and nuts.

Read more: Good To-Go Granola review (1)

Mountain House Granola with Milk and Blueberries

user rating: 4.5 of 5 (6 reviews)

My favorite breakfast when I feel like splurging on something other than instant Quaker oatmeal. I tried this last year and I loved it. It was sweet and filling.

Reasons to Buy

  • Filling
  • Delicious

Reasons to Avoid

  • Pricey
  • Large packaging

Granola and blueberries for breakfast! Yummy treat on the trail! Taste: Delicious! Price: A bit high for instant breakfast food Packaging: Takes up a lot of space in a bear canister, especially when most of the meals in there are freeze dried.  Fulfilling: Very much so!  Calories: Packed with calories to get you going in the morning or to have as a snack or desert at night. I wish Mountain House made more sweet tasting breakfast foods like this one. I think I have also had an apple crumble type desert by them as well that was tasty.

Read more: Mountain House Granola with Milk and Blueberries reviews (6)

Mountain House Breakfast Skillet

user rating: 4.5 of 5 (2 reviews)

This meal was very easy to make and filling and had a lot of flavor. Everything heated well though the eggs were a bit runny for my taste. The flavors were good and the meal was very hearty. If weight isn’t a concern I think this would go amazing in a tortilla with some hot sauce as to me it tasted like the inside of a breakfast burrito.

Reasons to Buy

  • Easy
  • Filling
  • Tasty

Reasons to Avoid

  • Consistency

I tried this meal as a member of another site in exchange for a review while at Lodgepole Overflow Campground in Lake Alpine. This meal was very easy to make and filling and had a lot of flavor. The salt intake is a bit on the high end, so be aware if you generally avoid high sodium foods. It is an excellent backpacking choice because it is lightweight, filled with nutrition and calories. A huge benefit is that it cooks quickly with minimal equipment. All you need is boiling water, a measuring cup (key to perfectly cooked meals), and a utensil to stir and then eat the contents right out of the pouch! Everything heated well, though the eggs were a bit runny for my taste.

Read more: Mountain House Breakfast Skillet reviews (2)

Good To-Go Oatmeal

user rating: 4 of 5 (1 review)

Yummy and different take on a classic backcountry breakfast.

Reasons to Buy

  • Lots of good stuff in it
  • Interesting texture
  • Different flavor than you might expect
  • Good solid meal, will get you through the morning
  • Not loaded with sugar and preservatives

Reasons to Avoid

  • A little soupy
  • Could be a LITTLE sweeter
  • A bit pricey for oatmeal

We have all eaten our share of oatmeal breakfasts in the backcountry. Many opt for the grocery store bought packets, which aren't necessarily great, and are usually loaded with sugar, and not much else. I have been in the habit of creating my own ziploc oatmeal packets with oats, nuts, cranberries, raisins, and brown sugar, which is decent, but not perfect. Good To-Go has had great success with their tasty dinners, and steps into the breakfast market with this interesting oatmeal concoction.

Read more: Good To-Go Oatmeal review (1)

Good To-Go Breakfast Hash

user rating: 3.5 of 5 (1 review)

Breakfast Hash is a brand-new offering from Good To-Go. Made with butternut squash, feta, and spinach, it's a vegetarian option, but not precisely what I envisioned for a "hash."

Reasons to Buy

  • wholesome
  • lots of fiber
  • *lots* of vegetables

Reasons to Avoid

  • difficult rehydration
  • not much protein
  • small portion

Breakfast Hash When I hear "hash," I think of hash brown potatoes, or a corned beef hash. Of course, "hash" as a cooking term derives from the French hacher, meaning "to chop." So any diced meal is a hash. But here in the U.S., it is almost always applied to breakfast potatoes with or without some kind of meat. So this...this was interesting. Only some potato flakes amid all the vegetables, and not a morsel of meat in sight. Look, ma! No potatoes! Nutrition Good To-Go's version of Breakfast Hash is a gluten-free, vegetarian meal.

Read more: Good To-Go Breakfast Hash review (1)

Backpacker's Pantry Summit Breakfast Scramble

user rating: 3.5 of 5 (1 review)

Much less salty than many similar scrambled-egg breakfast offerings, but otherwise not out of the ordinary.

Reasons to Buy

  • good rehydration
  • lower sodium
  • texture and consistency

Reasons to Avoid

  • small portion size

The humble breakfast scramble. So many manufacturers have tried so many times to get it right. So many manufacturers have failed in one way or another. How would the Summit Breakfast Scramble version from Backpacker's Pantry stack up? Nutrition Info: Dietary: Vegetarian, Gluten-free Calories: 260 per pouch Protein: 18g of protein per pouch Servings: 1 per pouch Sodium: 820 mg (36% daily value) Even with the packaging assuring me that this meal had less salt than similar offerings from Mountain House, I remained wary.

Read more: Backpacker's Pantry Summit Breakfast Scramble review (1)

More Reviews of Breakfasts

Trailspace reviewers have shared 74 reviews of 41 different breakfasts.

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Other Types of Food and Drink

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