Backpacker's Pantry Santa Fe Style Rice & Beans with Chicken - 2 Servings
Packed with flavorful vegetables and chicken, the Backpacker's Pantry Santa Fe Style Rice & Beans with Chicken is a hearty Southwestern favorite with hatch chilis taking center stage.
- Protein-packed entree is full of flavor
- Just add boiling water, stir and wait
- Nutrition facts and ingredients displayed here may differ from what is printed on the packaging; information on packaging reflects actual contents
Made in USA.
| Best Use | Backpacking |
|---|---|
| Servings per Container | 2 serving(s) |
| Serving Size | 3.1 ounces |
| Calories per Serving | 340 |
| Total Fat | 8 grams |
| Saturated Fat | 1.5 grams |
| Trans Fat | 0 grams |
| Cholesterol | 20 milligrams |
| Sodium | 600 milligrams |
| Carbohydrates | 49 grams |
| Dietary Fiber | 12 grams |
| Total Sugars | 6 grams |
| Protein | 20 grams |
| Potassium | 428 milligrams |
| Gluten Free | Yes |
| Meat | Chicken |
| Net Weight | 6.2 ounces |
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Santa Fe Style Rice with Chicken review
1. Durable packaging- One of the first things I noticed is the product is flat and devoid of extra airspace. This makes it easy to pack and slide into tight spaces without aggressively stretching the seams of the pack when full. The downside is the packaging is firm so rolling it to stuff into odd shaped pack spaces is less of an option. 2. Good weight to calorie ratio- One goal when meal planning is to pack calorie dense foods approaching 100 calories per ounce, this product meets criteria. 3. Enough for one person, not two- This seems pretty typical for most freeze dried products regardless of manufacturer. I believe the idea is to promote a balanced meal plan when in the back country but in reality when I’m tired and hungry I’m not going to prepare a 5 course meal. 4. Good taste, right amount of heat. Given the name, it was nice to see the hatch chile as one of the first ingredients on the package. The chile flavor may have been a little lost in the mix with the other ingredients , but the heat was not. Fortunately, the heat was balanced enough that my capsaicin adverse child could still enjoy it.  If you like more heat, bring an alternative source in your spice kit to add. 5. Easy to follow instructions. Pretty straightforward, with an added step to open and remix the pouch contents halfway through the 15 minute waiting period.  The added step makes it easy to identify small pockets/corners of unmixed food so you can quickly stir them in and enjoy a completely rehydrated meal. During our test the meal fully rehydrated, yes, even the chicken. 6. Quick clean-up. Just stuff any remaining packaging materials from other consumables inside the empty pouch, remove extra air and zip shut. 7. Here’s a Pro-tip if you have a little extra fuel and water- In order to stretch your dollars and calories, bring a package of tortillas the same diameter as your cooking pot. Towards the end of your 15 minute waiting period set 4-5 twigs across the top of your pot to make a grate. Place your tortilla, one at a time over the simmering water (not rolling boil). Flip tortilla after 15-20 seconds and steam the other side for the same amount of time. Add some of the pouch contents and any other desirables to the tortilla and roll into a delicious burrito, enjoy!
Good quality, bad taste
I'll start with the good. I understand and can read all the ingredients. The calories and protein are on par with other meals like this. This really is 2 servings (it was a ton of food). The bag resealed with no issue during the cooking time. Everything was high quality. Now for the bad, and why I give it 2 stars. The flavor was overwhelmingly smoked mesquite. I couldn't taste the difference in flavor between eating any of the ingredients. I knew I was eating different textures, but everything was just a powerful smoked mesquite flavor. The interesting thing is that it was the last ingredient. Final thoughts. I generally like to try these kinds of meals at home before I go backpacking. I want to know how they taste, and more importantly how my stomach reacts to them. As I mentioned the taste was bad (all one note), but my stomach didn't mind the meal. I forced myself to eat about 1 serving of this before I just had to throw it away. Usually I will eat 2 servings (the whole pack) when I'm back packing. I will pass on this meal in the future, but I will be trying other meals from this company because the quality was all there. FYI: if you're planning on eating meals like this in the bag; I recommend one of the longer titanium spoons. These bags are deep and can be a pain to use with a normal spoon.
Comfort Meal
This backpackers country meal was hearty and delicious. It has plenty of chicken chunks so will not miss out on that. The beans and rice come out perfectly and the spices and smoke flavor really standout. There is plenty of food for two people and would go great with a side of corn tortillas.
Perfect, easy, delicious meal
This freeze dried meal was perfect for one person. Not too spicy but lots of flavor. I love being able to boil water in my Jet Boil in just 90 seconds then pour and stir and wait. This pouch for two provided me with a good size dinner portion and then a small snack later.
Good taste, weak packaging
The taste of the food was fine, would have been better with toppings. The downside was the packaging is weak and it takes longer than states on packaging to be ready. Part of the food had punctured the packaging from the inside so when adding water there were some small leaks, not enough to effect cooking or anything but could have been worse. The cooking/resting time was more than double what the package says to get the rice soft. This package was purchased within a week prior to trip and carefully stored in a car camping kitchen not a backpack. I don’t recommend these as you may have issues so the packaging.
Pretty good for backpacking food
I was pleasantly surprised by this meal. I prepared exactly as instructed, and the ingredients all rehydrated pretty well (no crunchy beans!), it wasn't soupy, and the meal was still hot when I ate it. At first I found it to be a little bland (nothing a little hot sauce didn't fix), but realized near the end that I just didn't mix it well enough. The bottom of the pouch was very salty and spicy. Had I stirred this better, I think it would have been much tastier. Even so, I have no complaints about this meal and I will buy it again. I'm not sure I would count on it for 2 people when backpacking though. I ate almost the whole bag myself :)
Tasty meal!
Meal prep was fairly simple; just add the hot water and let it sit. Stir once (make sure you bring a long enough spoon) and let sit for a few more minutes. A few bits of rice weren’t fully cooked but that was probably on me since I didn’t have a very long spoon available to properly stir it in the package. I found the meal to be tasty and there was quite a bit of chunks of chicken and the consistency of the meat was pretty good for a dried meal. I enjoyed the slightly smoky flavor of the southwest sauce. It was a large enough portion that I just saved half of it for later in the zip lock package it came in. I’d definitely buy this meal.
Tasty meal with little effort
Shared this meal with my husband. I think it's plenty for one person, and a decent portion for one person if you split it and add a snack. I thought it smelled and tasted very good. It had just a hint of spice. I don't really do spicy foods and thought it was the right amount. I do recommend giving it the proper time to rehydrate. The rice was a little crunchy at first but softened up with time.
Great Backpacker's Pantry Meal!
This is by far the best packaged meal for traveling I have eaten. Further, it was the perfect meal given post-surgery swallowing issues. I cannot recommend this more for its flavor, ease in heating, and the overall packaging.
Great tasting, but it's a "one person" not two mea
I did really enjoy this meal, but there is no way this is good for two people. I devoured it after a long hike in Hetch Hetchy. If you are backpacking, you will be burning calories like crazy and I, for one, need a whole one of these, I am not splitting this with my hiking partner. The taste is better than you would expect and the hydration works. I just say you might need to have one of these per person instead of expecting to have one packet serve two people