Peanut butter sandwiches and trail mix have a monopoly on hiking lunches, and honestly, most of us hit day three and start negotiating with ourselves. A recipe from Backpacker's backcountry kitchen offers a way out: a spicy hummus that weighs 2.9 oz per serving, comes together in about three minutes at camp, and doubles as an excuse to eat chips for lunch.
The premise is simple. At home, you combine dry hummus mix with garam masala, garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne — about two minutes of prep, no cooking. In camp, you add 3 oz of cold water to the bag, stir, let it sit for three minutes to rehydrate, then finish with two tablespoons of olive oil. That last step matters: the recipe's author insists on the full amount for the creamiest texture, so don't ration it.
Everything fits in a single bag or container, which means zero dishes and no messy cleanup in bear country. The recipe was designed as part of a seven-day trail meal plan that fits entirely inside a bear canister — useful context for anyone planning a longer trip where every ounce and every litre of canister space counts.
The serving suggestion is where it gets fun: skip the pita and scoop it up with Fritos or any salty chips or crackers. It's essentially chips and dip, legitimately earned after a morning of climbing with a pack on. Crackers work too if you want something sturdier in your pack.
A few practical notes from the recipe worth heeding. Brands of dried hummus mix vary wildly in flavour and texture, so taste-test a small batch before committing to a week's worth of trail portions. Bulk sections at grocery stores are a good source, and it's widely available online. And pack the olive oil in a leakproof container, double-bagged — a hummus-flavoured food bag is one thing, oil-soaked gear is another.
For anyone planning a hiking trip this season, this is the kind of recipe that solves a real problem rather than adding faff. Hot lunches on the trail mean stoves, fuel and time; cold lunches usually mean sandwich fatigue by day two. A dry-mix dip needs no cooking, no refrigeration and barely any weight, and the spice blend — warming garam masala with a slow cayenne kick — is a genuine change from sweet or bland trail staples. It scales easily for groups, works for vegans if your chips are dairy-free, and costs pennies compared to freeze-dried meal pouches. Worth testing on a day hike before it earns a spot in your canister for a week in the backcountry.
Backpacker
