Bacon mac and cheese: 2-ingredient easy backpacking meal
Here's an easy, cheap, and fast backpacking meal you can make out of stuff you can find at the grocery store. 2-minute prep and 10-minute cook time.
![Bacon mac and cheese: 2-ingredient easy backpacking meal](/content/images/size/w2000/2021/11/bacon-mac-and-cheese-backpacking-meal-10-1.jpg)
As you start spending more time on the trail, you’ll quickly realize that Mountain House and other commercial backpacking meals can blow your budget fast.
This led me down a path of finding great-tasting budget backpacking meals. First, I experimented with some backpacking meals of my own. I bought freeze-dried ingredients in bulk and used them to make my own recipes (using Andrew Skurka’s recipes as a starting point).
The meals were tasty, but my problem was that I couldn’t use up all the bulk ingredients in one season. With the left-over ingredients added in, the price per meal wasn’t much lower than the commercial alternatives.
So I decided to simplify things. I’m now making my meals out of things I can buy at the grocery store in small quantities. This way, I can reduce waste, and as a bonus, I can easily resupply them even if I’m on a thru-hike or a longer hike in general.
Here’s one of my favorites: mac and cheese with bacon. It’s super easy to make, tastes great, and is really cheap. The pictures below are from my recent trip to Desolation Wilderness.
Ingredients for a cheap backpacking meal
Prepping this meal is super easy and only takes a minute. The idea is to get rid of the box and any extra bulk, so you only carry what you need.
You’ll need:
- A box of mac and cheese, I like Annie’s Aged Cheddar, but any will do
- Crumbled bacon bits
- A quart freezer Ziplock bag
- A small Ziplock for the bacon (optional)
![A box of mac and cheese, a bag of bacon crumbles and a Ziplock bag with the prepared meal.](https://marcushellberg.com/content/images/2021/11/bacon-mac-and-cheese-backpacking-meal-1.jpeg)
1. Empty the box of mac and cheese into the Ziplock bag, including the packet of cheese powder.
2. Optional: Portion the bacon into a smaller Ziplock bag and place it inside the bag with the mac and cheese, keeping the ingredients separate. If you’re going on a more extended trip, you can bring the whole bag of bacon bits with you and portion it as you go.
Simple cooking instructions
Get everything ready: take out the ingredients, your cook system, and some water. Put the macaroni into your pot and add water to cover them well, 1-1.5″ (3-4cm) over the macaroni.
![A backpacking pot with macaroni and water. The cheese and bacon packets are next to it](https://marcushellberg.com/content/images/2021/11/bacon-mac-and-cheese-backpacking-meal-2.jpeg)
Bring the water to a slow boil, stirring the macaroni occasionally, so they don’t stick to the bottom.
![A backpacking stove with the macaroni pot on top.](https://marcushellberg.com/content/images/2021/11/bacon-mac-and-cheese-backpacking-meal-5.jpeg)
Once the water is boiling, turn off the gas and place your pot in a cozy, so it stays warm. Here, I’m using a GSI Halulite Minimalist that comes with a cozy, but you can make your own or improvise with a beanie or some clothes (just be careful not to get them wet).
![A pot being put into a neoprene cozy](https://marcushellberg.com/content/images/2021/11/bacon-mac-and-cheese-backpacking-meal-4.jpeg)
Let the noodles stand covered in the warm water for about 5-10 minutes to finish cooking. Stir a couple of times.
![Macaroni in a small pot](https://marcushellberg.com/content/images/2021/11/bacon-mac-and-cheese-backpacking-meal-6.jpeg)
Once the macaroni is cooked through, pour out extra water, leaving about 1/4 cup (0.5dl) of water on the bottom. You can also make it into a soup if you want more volume, it’ll just be a bit blander.
![Pouring out water from a pot](https://marcushellberg.com/content/images/2021/11/bacon-mac-and-cheese-backpacking-meal-7.jpeg)
Carefully mix in the cheese powder packet. Depending on the brand of mac and cheese, it can take some time for the powder to dissolve, you can let it soak a while in the cozy if needed.
![A pot of boiled macaroni with cheese powder on top and a bag of bacon on the side](https://marcushellberg.com/content/images/2021/11/bacon-mac-and-cheese-backpacking-meal-8.jpeg)
Finally, add the bacon and stir it in. Shove the food into your face hole and enjoy it.
![A pot of mac and cheese with bacon on top.](https://marcushellberg.com/content/images/2021/11/bacon-mac-and-cheese-backpacking-meal-9.jpeg)
Calories and cost
Item | Cost per meal | Calories |
Mac and cheese | $1.00 | 675 |
Bacon | $0.60 | 75 |
Total | $1.60 | 750 |
These may vary a bit on the specific brands you choose.
Modify the recipe to your liking
You can modify this recipe in almost endless ways. Add dried veggies for a healthy and tasty option, or substitute the bacon for some spam if you’re really hungry. You can also add milk powder if you want to make it creamier.