Alex Roddie tastes the Expedition Foods Vegan Mushroom Risotto, a dehydrated meal with an extremely high energy-to-weight ratio.
Expedition Foods has every base covered: a wide variety of breakfasts and main meals, and in many cases a choice of 450, 800 or 1000kcal packs. You can also buy its meals in bulk, making them a good option for extended trips or multi-person expeditions.
- Price: £8.99
- Weight: 150g
- Pros: High energy for weight and cost, quick to rehydrate
- Cons: Flavour and texture not the best
- Rating: 4/5
Calories: 800 | Calories/100g: 534 | Calories/£1: 88.99 | Time to hydrate: 5 minutes | Vegetarian/vegan: vegan | Allergens: none listed
Expedition Foods tends to offer an extremely high energy-to-weight ratio, and its vegan mushroom risotto (I tested the 800g version) is no exception, with an unmatched 534kcal/100g. This is a long way above the next best meal tested – a clear choice for energy-intensive stuff such as high-altitude trekking or Scottish winter mountaineering. Rehydration is incredibly fast too.
Although I’m partial to a mushroom risotto, the taste and texture of this one didn’t thrill me. The mushroom flavours were somewhat overpowered by onion, and the mushrooms themselves lost their definition, leading to a homogenous texture.
A plus point: the packaging is excellent. There’s the usual tear point at the top, just above the seal, but another tear point about a third of the way down, which you can open up for ease of eating. Although priced higher than some of the other meals, the calories-to-price ratio is best in test, making it excellent value.
See more reviews of the best backpacking meals as tested by The Great Outdoors’ expert testers.
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Tested by Alex Roddie
Alex tasted these meals out in the mountains whilst backpacking or fastpacking. Although trail hunger is the best sauce, he also finds that real-world testing is essential for checking out whether meals agree with him after a big hill day – as well as for testing details such as how glove-friendly the pack opening is. This review was originally conducted in July 2022.