Hiking food: lightweight protein foods with no cooking

Short answer: on a hike, it’s the grams and the calories per gram that count. The best no-cook protein foods are dried cheese (31–60 g of protein per 100 g, no fridge needed), jerky, nuts and freeze-dried meals. Dried cheese wins on the balance of weight, protein and price, and needs no stove: you eat it straight from the pack at a rest stop or crumble it into soup. Below is a “gram for gram” table and a 3-day plan.

Protein in hiking foods: gram for gram

The main advantage of dried cheese is calories and protein per gram of weight: 100 g of product in your backpack gives you 50 g of protein and 600 kcal — like 200 g of fresh cheese, but without the water and without the risk of it turning runny on day three.

How to eat dried cheese on a hike

• At a rest stop, straight from the pack — like nuts. Smoked Sulguni + a handful of nuts = lunch in a minute.
• In soup or porridge — toss them into your bowl a minute before eating: the bites soften slightly, adding cheese flavour and “meatiness.” Smoked Sulguni works like bacon, Primaggio like parmesan.
• In a crispbread or lavash — with sun-dried tomatoes and olives.
• In the evening by the campfire — Cheddar with thyme tea or with whatever else you brought along.

Protein plan for 3 days per person

1. Day 1: 2 × 28 g packs of dried cheese (27 g protein) + 50 g nuts + a grain-based dinner.
2. Day 2: a pack of SUPERFOOD (17 g protein) + 40 g jerky + a pack of smoked Sulguni in soup.
3. Day 3: a cheese + nut mix, 20 g, on the go + a pack of Gouda in porridge + leftovers.

In total, about 200 g of dried cheese for three days: that’s 100–120 g of protein for 600 g of backpack weight, counting the nuts. For a group, the more convenient choice is a 500 g pack — it can be poured into a zip bag and weighs less than 18 separate packs.

What happens to it in heat, frost and rain

A closed pack isn’t bothered by +30 °C or by frost: the product is dry, with no water in it that could freeze or turn sour. An opened pack only fears moisture — in the rain, close it tightly or keep it in a zip bag, otherwise within a day the bites will turn soft (edible, but not crispy). The shelf life of a closed 14–28 g pack is 18 months, so you can keep a “hiking stash” at home all the time.

What to choose

Maximum protein per gram — SUPERFOOD (60 g) and Smoked Sulguni (52 g, plus salt, which you need after sweating). For variety — the ALL IN set with 10 flavours. Vegan option — Crispy olives. General tips for the road — travel snacks.

Questions and answers

What’s the lightest protein to take hiking?

Dried cheese: 50 g of protein and 600 kcal per 100 g of weight, with no cooking and no fridge. Next come jerky and freeze-dried meat.

How much dried cheese should I take per day on a hike?

1–2 packs of 28 g per person as a snack: 12–34 g of protein.

Won’t the cheese spoil in the heat in my backpack?

A closed pack can handle heat and frost; keep an opened one in a zip bag, away from moisture.

What to try

Dried snEco Cheese “Superfood”, 28 g €3.30 Dried snEco Cheese “Sulguni”, 28 g €3.13 Set “ALL IN” (10 packs), dried snEco cheese €29.97

Author: Vadym Gryshyn, co-founder of snEco