Beef Stroganoff is one of my all-time favorite grocery store backpacking meals. It’s a hearty, protein packed beef and noodles dish smothered in a delicious sour cream mushroom gravy.

The pre-packaged backpacking meal version of Beef Stroganoff will cost anywhere from $12.00 for the Mountain House version to $14.95 for Peak Refuel’s version at REI. Here’s how I make my own version at home for $8.70 per serving.

Original recipe is from Recipetineats

Grocery Store Backpacking Meal Recipe: Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

1-1.5 lbs boneless rib eye (or you can try Italian sausage)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion (sliced)
10 ounces of mushrooms
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups of beef broth
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2/3 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper
12-ounce bag of wide egg noodles (or mashed potatoes)

Cooking Instructions

*If you’re using boneless rib eye, use a rolling pin (or mallet) to flatten out the steak to be 1/3’ thick. Slice into thin strips and discard any excess fat. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add half of the beef and quickly spread over the pan using tongs. Let cook for 30 seconds and then flip. Let beef cook on the other side for 30 seconds to brown and then remove from skillet and place on a plate. Repeat with the remaining meat and oil.

**If you’re using sausage, cook the meat all the way through on medium high heat and then remove from skillet.

  • On Medium High, in the same skillet you cooked the meat in, add butter and melt.
  • Add onions, stir and cook for 1 minute.
  • Add mushrooms, stir and cook until golden
  • Add flour, cook and stir for 1 minute
  • Add half the beef broth while stirring. Once everything has been mixed, add the rest of the broth. Continue to stir over Medium High heat.
  • Add sour cream and Dijon mustard. Stir until everything has been mixed together with the broth, onions and mushrooms.
  • Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to Medium Low and continue to stir until sauce starts to thicken.
  • After 3-5 minutes, the sauce should be the consistency of pouring crea,. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add meat (including all the juices on the plate) to the sauce and allow to simmer for 1 minute and then remove from heat.
  • Serve over egg noodles over mashed potatoes

Freeze-Drying Instructions

 On a freeze dryer tray, line one serving (2 cups) of beef stroganoff leftovers into a thin layer and spread it evenly over the tray.

I like to do one serving per tray, which makes one serving, 2 cups of food. This makes it super easy to package up the meal after the freeze-drying process into a single serving size package without having to measure the food.

Load the trays into the freeze dryer, start the batch and wait anywhere from 20 to 24 hours for the batch to be complete.

After the batch has been completed, remove food trays from the freeze dryer and package up each meal into a single serving bag.

Vacuum seal each bag to help preserve freshness and prevent spoilage and then store in a dark, cool place.

Weight Before Freeze Drying: 13 ounces
Weight After Freeze Drying: 4.9 ounces

Rehydrating in the Backcountry

  • Transfer the food into a food safe container that can withstand boiling water like a mylar bag, Stasher bag or a quart-sized Ziploc Freezer bag
  • Boil water
  • Add just enough boiling water to cover the food inside the bag. I don’t have exact measurements. I usually just eyeball this for each meal. When adding water, less is more to avoid the meal getting too soupy.
  • Stir and close the bag
  • Add food bag into an insulated food pouch or food cozy
  • Let food rehydrate for 10-12 minutes
  • Remove from the insulated food pouch (or food cozy) and stir
  • Serve and enjoy!

Serving Size: 2 cups
736 Calories per Serving
29 Grams of Protein
Cost Per Serving: $8.70

You can make this recipe cheaper per serving by using a different cut of beef or sausage.

Recipe: Makes 5 Servings

Grocery Store Backpacking Food | Cheap & Easy DIY Freeze-Dried Backpacking Meal Ideas

Learn how to make your own backpacking meals with some of my other favorite Grocery Store Backpacking Meal Recipes:

Chicken & Dumplings
Biscuits & Gravy (with Homemade Biscuits)
Chili & Cornbread
Beef Stew
Hamburger Pie
Chicken Fajitas & Guacamole
Corned Beef & Cabbage

 

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