Mom Goes Camping

27 Backpacking Tortilla Recipe Ideas

backpacking tortilla ideas

Tortillas are one of the best backpacking foods: They are ultra calorie-dense, don’t need any prep, can’t last weeks without refrigeration, and can be found even in small-town stores.  But isn’t it boring to eat tortillas every day?  Not when you get creative.  Here are 27 tortilla recipe ideas for backpacking.

I’ve divided the recipes into sweet and savory.  And keep scrolling for a list of the best tortillas for backpacking, including the most calorie-dense options.

*Want to learn how to make your own ultralight, healthy backpacking meals?
Check out my recipes book here.

dehydrator backpacking recipes

 

Sweet Backpacking Tortilla Recipes

1. Nutella tortilla

Move over peanut butter! A Nutella tortilla is a great reward for reaching the half-way mark of your day’s hike.  For bonus points, add dried fruit or chopped nuts.

backpacking tortilla with nutella

 

2. GORP Roll-Ups

Peanut butter, raisins, and peanuts rolled up in a tortilla.  The raisins and nuts give it a nice texture.

 

3. Breakfast of champions

Peanut butter, raisins, Grape Nuts cereal, and honey wrapped in a tortilla.  Idea and image courtesy of OakleyOriginals.

backpacking breakfast of tortilla with cereal and honey

 

4. Apple Pie Tortilla

Cold-soak dehydrated apples to soften. Roll them up in a tortilla. To make it even more delicious, sprinkle your apples with spice mix before dehydrating.

 

5. Gone Bananas

Peanut butter and dried banana chips.  To make it even better, add cinnamon.

 

6. Dark, Creamy and Crunchy Treat

Peanut butter, dark chocolate broken into bits, and DIY dehydrated banana. Note dehydrated bananas are a completely different thing than dry banana chips.

 

7. Fluffernutterdilla

A tortilla with peanut butter + roasted marshmallows.  This would be even better with nutella.  But then again, so would everything.

nutella and marshmallow tortilla for backpacking dessert

 

8. Berry Season Tortilla

Gather foraged berries into a cup.  When you’ve got enough, roll them up into a tortilla and enjoy some fresh food.  If you are a hardcore gourmet backpacker, then mix up a bit of powdered milk or yogurt with the berries first!

 

9. Ultimate Snickers Calorie Bomb-illa

Tortilla wrapped around a Snickers bar with nut butter.

 

Savory Backpacking Tortilla Recipes

10. Campfire cheese and salami tortillas

Warmed tortillas always taste better. Fill the tortilla with string cheese and salami.  Be patient so the cheese has time to melt a bit.

heating tortillas over fire while backpacking

 

11. Enchilada Stew

This recipe is best for dinner since it requires cooking.

  1. Add enchilada sauce seasoning, tomato paste from a tube and some water to your pot.
  2. Add some dehydrated beans, salami, jerky, TVP, or another protein. Simmer until the protein softens.
  3. Tear tortillas into pieces and add to the sauce. Turn off the stove. Let the tortillas sit in the enchilada mixture to soften a bit.
  4. Add some cheese on top (optional) and then eat with a fork.

 

12. Easier Enchiladas

An easier way to make enchiladas while backpacking is this: Fill a tortilla with cheese slices, refried beans (from a packet or rehydrated dry mix), some tomato paste from a tube, and a generous sprinkling of enchilada seasoning mix.  Roll up like a burrito and eat.

 

13. Middle Eastern Trail Lunch

Hummus is full of protein, iron, and other nutrients.  Plus, it dehydrates down to around 180 calories per ounce!  On the trail, just add a bit of dry hummus to a cup.  Let it soak (with hot or cold water) for a bit.  Then spread it all over a tortilla. Add some pumpkin seeds for crunch or sundried tomatoes.

DIY dehydrated hummus

DIY dehydrated hummus

 

14. Quesadilla Upgrade

Hard cheeses can last for days on the trail. To go simple, just put some slices of cheese in a tortilla and enjoy.  To take things up a notch and add some nutrition, add sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, and crumbled kale chips (they’ll likely be crumbled from riding in your pack already).

 

15.  Backpacker’s Pizza

Tortilla + pepperoni or salami slices + cheese + ketchup packet.  If you really want to go crazy, heat it up over your backpacking stove.

 

16. Cauliflower-Walnut “Meat” Tacos

This is another level-up backpacking lunch.  It’s made by dehydrating a mixture of cauliflower, peppers, tomato, walnuts, and lots of spices.  Then you wrap it up in a tortilla. You can get the recipe here. I also have more recipes like this in my eBook.

cauliflower taco meat

 

17. Refried Beans and Fritos

It may sound gross, but the Fritos give a great texture to this lunch.

 

18. Tuna Salad Tortilla

Chicken and turkey can also be found in pouches.  Add a glob of mayo to make backpacker’s tuna salad.  If you really want to get fancy, you can add things like sundried tomatoes.

 

19. Fantastic Tacos

The brand Fantastic makes an instant taco filling mix.  Add hot or cold water to hydrate.  For a seriously good backpacking lunch, also add some refried beans and BBQ sauce from a packet.

backpacking taco mix and refried beans on tortilla

 

20. Party Time Guac Tortillas

Did you know that there’s a thing called freeze-dried guacamole powder? Just add water to turn the powder into guac and spread it all over tortillas.

 

21. Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon

You can get individual serving size packets of cream cheese to take backpacking.  Smoked salmon comes in pouches.  Add this combo to a tortilla and you’ll feel like you just ordered from a gourmet deli.

 

22. Tortilla soup

Hot soup + tortillas = tortilla soup.  Just cook the soup first and then add pieces or strips of tortilla. It adds a really nice texture and it’s hell-a-better than eating dry tortillas.

tortilla soup backpacking

 

23. Stinging Greens

One wild edible I can almost always count on seeing while backpacking is stinging nettles.  They are actually really tasty.  Just put something over your hands (like your sleeping bag stuff sack) when picking nettles so you don’t get stung.  Put the nettles in your cook pot and cover with water. Simmer until they are soft and wilted.  Once cooked, nettles don’t sting anymore and are safe to eat.  You can then drain the water and put the cooked nettles in a tortilla (along with some cheese, hummus, etc.) to eat.  It’s nice to eat fresh veggies after weeks of dehydrated stuff!

 

24. Ranch Tortillas

Before your trip, mix some ranch dressing seasoning with freeze-dried cheese powder.   You can also mix it with yogurt or milk powder.  On the trail, add a bit of water to get a creamy consistency.  Then spread this delicious concoction on a tortilla.  Add salami, TVP, or other fillings to make a proper meal.

 

25. Falafel Tortillas and Gold Fish Crackers

Cold soak some falafel mix to soften.  Spread it on a tortilla and then add some Gold Fish crackers.  They give it a really good texture!

 

26. Eggplant Jerky Wrap

Eggplant jerky is friggin’ delicious and great when you are sick of all the standard jerkies. It’s easy to make in a dehydrator.  Just cut eggplant into strips, marinate it in oil, soy sauce, and lots of seasonings.  Then dehydrate into jerky. You can eat eggplant jerky on its own or put it in a tortilla with hummus or cream cheese.

 

27. Thai Peanut Wrap

This one I found on Reddit. Peanut butter + teriyaki jerky.  Doubtful? Try it and you’ll see how good this unlikely combination is!

 

What other backpacking tortilla recipes can you add? Let us know in the comments section!

Guess what? I wrote a book!

It’s got over 50 delicious, healthy backpacking meals you can make with a dehydrator plus tons of info about meal planning.  Yes, everyone on the trail will envy your food. 😀   Because you made it to the end of this post, I’ll even give you 50% off.  Check it out here.

backpacking dehydrator recipes ebook

Get my book here for 50% off

 

Best Tortillas for Backpacking

Hands down, most hikers say they like Mission Flour Tortillas or La Banderita Flour Tortillas.  HEB store brand tortillas also are popular. These tortillas will easily last 7+ days without drying out or getting moldy.  They also don’t stick together much.

Lots of other store-brand flour tortillas also work for backpacking.  Just make sure they have a lot of preservatives in the ingredients!

 

Tortillas with the Most Calories?

Most store-brand tortillas have around 3 calories per gram (85 calories per ounce).   This isn’t the best in terms of caloric density. I usually aim for at least 4 calories per gram in meals (120 calories per ounce).   But, compared to other backpacking carbs and breads, tortillas still reign supreme.   Bagels, for example, have around 2.5 calories per gram!

Below is a breakdown of how many calories/gram some popular tortilla brands have.  HEB brand has the most.

  • Mission 8 Inch Soft Taco Flour Tortillas: 140 calories per 1 tortilla (49g) = 2.86 calories/gram
  • Mission 6 Inch Fajita Flour Tortillas: 90 calories per 1 tortilla (32g) = 2.8 calories per gram
  • Mission 8 Inch Soft Taco Homestyle Flour Tortillas: 190 calories per 1 tortilla (63g) = 3 calories/gram
  • La Banderita 6 Inch Flour Tortillas: 100 calories per 1 tortilla (32g) = 3.13 calories/gram
  • HEB Flour Tortillas: 120 calories per 1 tortilla (36g) = 3.3 calories/gram
  • Old El Paso Flour Tortillas: 75 calories per 1 tortilla (24g) = 3.13 calories/gram
  • Ortega Flour Tortillas: 120 calories per 1 tortilla (40g) = 3 calories/gram

 

Avoid Corn and Gluten Free Tortillas

Unfortunately, most corn tortillas and GF tortillas aren’t good for backpacking. They dry out really quickly and start to crumble.  You can still use the crumbled tortilla pieces in chili or mixed into stews, but you won’t be able to make them into wraps.   You are better off with flour tortillas.

But there are some exceptions.  Some people say that Mission Original Gluten Free tortillas last at least 3 days on the trail.  After that they get a bit dry.

One hiker recommended Nuco Coconut Wraps.   Those have a shelf life of 12 months from production date.   They have a lot of fat, so they might get a bit sour tasting (rancid) in really hot temps – so I wouldn’t want to use those for mail-drops when thru-hiking.

 

Also Avoid Organic and Preservative-Free Tortillas

Organic and preservative-free tortillas simply won’t survive a backpacking trip.  Trader Joe’s tortillas start getting moldy in just about 2 after opening days.

Not sure if the brand has enough preservatives in it?  Read the label.  If there aren’t any weird chemical-sounding ingredients, they probably aren’t good for backpacking.

Likewise, avoid any tortillas which are in the refrigerated section.  These won’t last on the trail in hot temps.

 

Store Tortillas So They Don’t Stick Together

Shoved into your pack, tortillas will eventually start to stick together.  To prevent this, you can put a sheet of parchment paper between each tortilla.   Then use it as a plate while making your meal.

I also heard this trick from a backpacker: Roll the tortillas up and put them in an empty cardboard tube.  An empty Pringles can works well.  It keeps them from getting smashed and sticking together.

 

Bonus Tip: Line your bowls with a tortilla

This makes cleanup easier.  And the tortilla will absorb all the juices from  your meal so it tastes great!


Image credits:

Places I’d rather be” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by In Memoriam: VernsPics
’Poopy Diapers’” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by trailkrum
Fluffernutterdilla” (CC BY-ND 2.0) by osiristhe
Breakfast of Champions: peanut butter, r” (CC BY 2.0) by OakleyOriginals
Camping” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by O.Taillon
Dinner” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by gutshot45_70

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About the author /


Diane Vukovic grew up camping and backpacking in upstate New York. Now, she takes her own daughters on wilderness adventures so they can connect with nature and learn resiliency. With dozens of trips under her belt, Diane is an expert in minimalist camping, going lightweight, planning, and keeping her kids entertained without screens.

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2 Comments

  1. Ken

    Love your e-book. My wife and I bought it for each other on valentine’s day as we get ready for our 500 mile PCT adventure this summer. We made Barley Walnut risotto last night. I look forward to eating it on the trail. I would enjoy eating it dry if we end up not being allowed to use our stove because of fire danger. We are dehydrating your lentil pepper stew as I type.
    We have been wondering about making tortillas on the trail since carrying the flour and shortening is a lot lighter than the whole tortilla. Have you made tortillas on a backpacking stove?

    • Diane

      Glad you found the book useful 🙂 I never even considered making tortillas on the trail! I don’t even make them at home :p Personally, I wouldn’t want to bother — not just because it seems like a bunch of work, but because it would use a lot of fuel. If you do end up making them on the trail, please send me pics and an update of how it went to momgoescamping (at) gmail (dot) com.

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