New Freeze-Dried Meals to Add Variety to Your Hunt

If you’re like me, then you probably still remember the day you took a bite of Peak Refuel for the first time . . . double the protein of Mountain House, all-new flavors to explore, “I’ll never get tired of this,” I thought.
 
Fast forward over a decade and—while I still love Peak Refuel—some of my tried-and-true staple meals have grown repetitive over time. Because of this, I started exploring other dehydrated meal options last hunting season, and I’m pleased to report that there is a far greater number of delicious, packable, high-protein meals on the market than there were ten years ago. In fact, young companies and aspiring entrepreneurs send us samples fairly frequently for our team to taste test and provide feedback. While most of the meals we receive are genuinely good, a few stand out decidedly above the rest, which is why we’ve chosen to add both Foundation Outdoors and Trail Goods Company to our selection of freeze-dried meals at Gear Fool.
 
Foundation Outdoors is a company just up the road from us, based in Park City, Utah, and we first took notice of them for some of their more creative meals, like their Lime Chicken with Avocado Mango Salsa or their Spicy Italian Pork Sausage Risotto (both amazing, by the way). It was enough for the team to start rotating through all of their freeze-dried meal options, and we quickly decided this was a brand worth carrying in our packs. In my own case, I can recommend nearly every meal of theirs—but especially the Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (in addition to the two prior meals mentioned above).
 
To give some context, let’s compare the Spaghetti with Meat Sauce with its closest Peak Refuel counterpart, the Beef Pasta Marinara.*
 

	Foundation Outdoors Spaghetti with Meat Sauce ($13.95)	Peak Refuel Beef Pasta Marinara ($14.99)
Protein	62g	49g
Calories	1,130	1,040
Weight	4.58oz	6.35oz
Calories / Ounce	246	164

*These numbers represent an entire pouch
 
Not only does the Foundation Outdoors meal go toe-to-toe with one of the most popular Peak Refuel meals out there, but they also managed to package spaghetti noodles that retain their shape and meatballs that taste just as good at the homestead as they do on the mountain (no joke, I’d serve it to guests at dinner).
 
I recently spent ten days in Arizona eating Foundation meals almost exclusively, and I stand behind them being some of the most delicious meals on the market . . . and at a competitive price point! And if you aren’t sold on any of the complete meals, you should at least pick up a package of their Crunchy Cheddar Cheese Bites. Sixty-four grams of protein, 1,010 calories (220 calories/oz), and zero cooking required. You can eat them straight out of the bag in those moments when you need an extra boost but don’t have time to sit down and pull out the Jetboil.
 
If you’re looking for even more unique flavors than those offered by Foundation Outdoors, and you’re willing to pay slightly more ($16.99/meal), then I’d also recommend checking out Trail Goods Co. Based out of Colorado, their flavors are more limited but genuinely innovative. We chose to carry all four variants at Gear Fool, which include a Chicken Chile Verde Rice, Cajun-Style Chicken Pasta, “Loco Moco” Brunch Skillet, and Stir-Fried Beef Noodles. The latter boasts 44 grams of protein and 152 calories/ounce—placing it on par with Peak Refuel’s Chicken Teriyaki Rice.*
 

	Trail Goods Co. Stir-Fried Beef Noodles ($16.99)	Peak Refuel Chicken Teriyaki Rice ($13.99)
Protein	44g	40g
Calories	820	580
Weight	5.47oz	4.66oz
Calories / Ounce	152	124

*These numbers represent an entire pouch
 
An honorable mention here, despite this article being about freeze-dried meals, is Angry Pika. Based out of Bozeman, Montana, this granola brand (formerly Alpen Fuel) is another delicious option that stands out when placed side-by-side with competitors’ nutrition facts. And the reason I had to mention it here? Because the Chocolate Strawberry Granola Breakfast is probably my overall favorite backpacking meal. Especially during those early mornings when I know I should consume some food prior to setting out, but I don’t feel like breaking out my portable stove, Angry Pika is my number one, go-to, 5-a.m., wake-up-and-start-hiking meal.
 

	Angry Pika Chocolate Strawberry Granola Breakfast ($9.49)	Peak Refuel Strawberry Granola ($7.99)
Protein	24g	23g
Calories	770	530
Weight	5.6oz	4.59oz
Calories / Ounce	137.5	115

*These numbers represent an entire pouch
 
To be clear, I still consider Peak Refuel to be the industry standard for delicious, packable, high-protein meals in the freeze-dried space, and I credit them for elevating the standard for all hunters when it comes to what we’re now willing to put in our packs and bellies. However, after a decade of picking out desiccant packs, boiling water, and breaking out the long spork on hillsides across the Western United States, I’m finally starting to rotate in other brands to my camp kitchen—and I’d suggest that you do too. If you’d like help narrowing things down to only those meals tested and proven by our team here at Huntin’ Fool, then visit GearFool.com to shop our new nutrition additions for 2026!