trail-food · data
Vegan Backpacking Meals You Can Buy in 2026
Backpacker's Pantry, Peak Refuel, Good To-Go and Nomad Nutrition all sell meals labeled vegan in 2026, and newer brands like Iron Goat Provisions, NOMaste, Yumbini and Poe & Co. Folk Foods add more. Mountain House has none. Good To-Go's Thai Curry and Pad Thai are pescatarian, and RightOnTrek has closed. Labels here were checked October 13, 2026.
Short answer: there are more vegan backpacking meals now than when I walked the PCT in 2021, but you still have to read the label. A brand’s “vegan” page can list vegetarian meals with milk in them, and a couple of meals that sound plant-based use fish sauce.
My own food came mostly from town stores. My receipts from 2 Foot Adventures in Julian show ProBar Meals and Primal Strips vegan jerky, and both brands are still around. This page covers the commercial pouches.
Every meal below is labeled vegan by its own brand unless the row says otherwise. Calories and protein are per pouch as the brand or retailer lists them. Prices are single pouches on the brand’s own store. All of it was checked on October 13, 2026, and brands change recipes, so read the package before you buy.
Dinners labeled vegan
| Brand | Meal | Calories / protein | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backpacker’s Pantry | Pad Thai | 760 / 24 g | $9.99 |
| Backpacker’s Pantry | Three Bean Veggie Stew | 630 / 37 g | $9.99 |
| Backpacker’s Pantry | Chana Masala | 620 / 19 g | $9.99 |
| Backpacker’s Pantry | Cuban Coconut Rice & Black Beans | 600 / 24 g | $9.99 |
| Backpacker’s Pantry | Kathmandu Curry | 470 / 22 g | $9.99 |
| Backpacker’s Pantry | Three Sisters Southwestern Quinoa & Beans | 400 / 16 g | $9.99 |
| Backpacker’s Pantry | Louisiana Red Beans & Rice | 330 / 13 g | $7.99 |
| Peak Refuel | Butternut Dal Bhat | 920 / 23 g | $13.99 |
| Peak Refuel | Three Bean Chili Mac | 610 / 30 g | $13.99 |
| Good To-Go | Carrot-Ginger Power Bowl (no stove needed) | 440 / 15 g | $10.99 |
| Good To-Go | Mushroom Risotto | 410 / 13 g | $10.99 |
| Good To-Go | Pasta Marinara | 370 / 12 g | $10.99 |
| Good To-Go | Mexican Quinoa Bowl | 350 / 13 g | $10.99 |
| Good To-Go | Kale and White Bean Stew | 16 g protein per serving | $8.95 on sale |
| Itacate | Campsite Lentejas | 490 / 24 g | $13.95 |
| Poe & Co. Folk Foods | Coconut Chickpea Stew | 410 / 16 g | $16.00 |
| Poe & Co. Folk Foods | Quinoa Sweet Potato Skillet | 390 / 18 g | $16.00 |
| Poe & Co. Folk Foods | Black Garlic Ramen Bowl | 350 / 19 g | $16.00 |
| Iron Goat Provisions | Korean Bulgogi, Japanese Curry, Sichuan-style Mapo Tofu | not listed | $14.99 to $15.99 |
Good To-Go’s calorie numbers come from Garage Grown Gear’s listings, because the brand shows its labels as pictures. Iron Goat’s three vegan meals were all sold out when I checked.
The biggest dinner here is Peak Refuel’s Dal Bhat at 920 calories. Most of the rest land between 350 and 650, which is a light dinner on a big mileage day. A packet of olive oil stirred in adds about 120 calories per tablespoon.
Brands that are plant-based across the line
Nomad Nutrition makes only plant-based meals. Their Kathmandu Curry lists 610 calories and 17 g protein, the Indian Red Lentil Stew 560 and 26 g, and the Irish Shepherd’s Pie 600 and 22 g, all at $14. Newer additions since 2023 include a Southwest Breakfast Skillet, Chick’n Teriyaki and pouches of seasoned pea and rice protein shreds you can add to any meal. I couldn’t load the brand’s own site, so these numbers come from Garage Grown Gear.
Yumbini started in 2022 with plant-based beans and rice pouches at about $5, each around 380 calories and 15 g protein. That’s the cheapest commercial option I found.
NOMaste started in 2024 with Indian-style meals. Its Coconut Chickpea Curry is called vegan by the retailer, and the others sit in Garage Grown Gear’s vegan section, so check each package.
Breakfasts and dessert
| Brand | Item | Calories / protein | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak Refuel | Mountain Berry Granola | 570 | $8.99 |
| Backpacker’s Pantry | Peanut Butter & Banana Oatmeal | 530 / 16 g | $6.99 |
| Backpacker’s Pantry | Cinnamon Apple Oats | 320 / 10 g | $6.99 |
| Good To-Go | Oatmeal | 490 / 16 g | $7.49 |
| Itacate | Aventura Arróz con Leche | 450 / 7 g | $7.95 |
| Backpacker’s Pantry | Mango Sticky Rice | 570 / 6 g | $7.99 |
| Stowaway Gourmet | Spiced Creamy Oatmeal with Pear | not listed | $13.95 |
Meals that sound vegan but contain animal products
- Good To-Go Thai Curry is labeled pescatarian. It has fish sauce, and the coconut milk powder contains sodium caseinate from milk.
- Good To-Go Pad Thai is labeled pescatarian too, with egg, anchovy and dried shrimp.
- Good To-Go Cuban Rice Bowl is vegetarian. It has sour cream powder.
- Backpacker’s Pantry’s vegan collection page also shows vegetarian meals such as Mac & Cheese, Lasagna and Mushroom Stroganoff. Look for “Vegan” in each meal’s diet line.
- Mountain House has vegetarian meals and nothing labeled vegan. The Veggie Chorizo Breakfast Scramble has egg and milk.
- Stowaway Gourmet labels one item vegan, the oatmeal above. Their Chana Masala is labeled vegetarian.
- Next Mile Meals is a keto line with no vegan meals.
What changed since 2021
- RightOnTrek has closed. Its site says the store “has permanently closed its doors.”
- Food for the Sole was an all-vegan brand that hikers recommended for cold soaking. Its web address now leads to an unrelated shoe brand. I couldn’t find an announcement, but I’d treat it as gone. Fernweh Food Co.’s address now shows an unrelated recipe blog.
- Beyond Meat Jerky came out in March 2022 and was dropped in February 2024.
- Backpacker’s Pantry Pad Thai reviewers on the brand’s page say the lime and sriracha packets are gone. The brand hasn’t said so itself.
- Iron Goat Provisions launched in 2025, NOMaste in 2024, Poe & Co. in 2023 and Yumbini in 2022. None of them were around when I hiked.
Jerky and bars that hold up in a pack
- Primal Strips are labeled vegan, with 10 g protein a strip. I bought Texas BBQ and Mesquite Lime in 2021.
- ProBar calls its line 100% plant-based. I bought the Meal bars in Julian.
- GoMacro labels its MacroBars vegan. The peanut butter chocolate chip bar is in my protein per ounce table.
- ALOHA says all its products are certified vegan, at 14 g protein a bar.
- No Cow bars are dairy-free and vegan, with 20 g or more of protein in many flavors. The brand announced an improved recipe on October 6, 2026.
- Misfits plant-based protein bars were in all of Target’s roughly 1,900 stores as of February 2026, which helps in towns that have one.
- Clif Bar says its foods are made with “predominantly plant-based ingredients” and never calls them vegan. It names Zbar Protein as one with animal ingredients, so check the flavor.
Cheaper than pouches
A $10 to $16 pouch adds up fast over a thru-hike. My own carries leaned on TVP, refried beans and couscous from town stores, and the protein per ounce table shows why those staples hold their own. If you want pouch convenience at grocery prices, dehydrate your own. For a trip without a stove, the no-cook meals need no water at all. And if you’re mailing food, the mail drop guide covers which stops need a box.
