8 Best Survival Food Kits [Taste Test]

In a survival situation, you might not be all that picky about what you eat.

But if you’re preparing for the apocalypse ahead of time, you’ve got options. Why not choose the most nutritious and delicious?

Rather than abandoning you to the intestinal horrors of long-term MRE consumption, we’ve gathered some of the best survival food kits (ready-made and DIY) out there put them to the test -- the taste test, that is!

Bon appetit!

Survival Food Comparison Chart

How We Tested the Best Survival Food

To find the best (and most palatable) survival food, we sampled options from the most popular types of long-term shelf-stable foods. That included individual freeze-dried meals, military MREs, prepper food kits, and ration bars.

In addition to taste-testing some of the more popular survival and camping food selections out there, we considered why you might need survival food in the first place, and then made sure to include something for that kind of situation.

Eating on the run is very different from stockpiling supplies in your closet, after all.

In the end, we found some quality options that you can count on , wether you're packing for a camping trip or preparing for the end of times.

Best Survival Food & Emergency Food Kits

1. Nutrient Survival - Best Overall

Best Overall

Nutrient Survival 30-Day Emergency Food Kit

$549

at Nutrient Survival

Prices accurate at time of writing

$549 at Nutrient Survival

Specs

• Claim to Fame: Quality, balanced diet
• Days of Sustenance: 30
• Average Calories Pre Day: 1,350
• Shelf Life: 25 years
• Water Required: Yes

Nutrient Survival earned our top spot with healthy meals that provide the macros and vitamins you need to thrive, boasting six times more nutrients than other survival food. They also claim no artificial colors, preservatives, or flavors.

The Nutrient Survival meals we tested were freeze-dried in bulk containers. The lasagna was in a vacuum-sealed bag with a resealable closure. The powdered vitamin potato came in a large can.

Once these were opened, we removed the oxygen absorbers, scooped out the pre-determined amount, and added hot or boiling water as the directions dictated. Stirring and sometimes covering followed while our hungry eyes watched the timer count down.

Diving into the lasagna, I was immediately impressed.

The texture was spot on, with discernible noodles and sauce. Creamy cheeses helped bind everything together, giving the overall impression of a homemade lasagna that had been served up hot...after a trip through a blender.

This meal came together very easily; all I needed was the ability to boil water.

Nutrient Survival products' shelf lives vary, but the canned options can last up to 25 years, and there is a huge menu to choose from.

We recommend the 30-day supply (buy once, cry once), but there are larger kits, individual meals, and even samples available, as well.

2. Military Surplus MRE - Easiest Meal Prep

Easiest Meal Prep

MRE (Meal Ready to Eat)

$11

at Amazon

Prices accurate at time of writing

$11 at Amazon

Specs

• Claim to Fame: Used by the U.S. military
• Days of Sustenance: 1
• Average Calories Pre Day: 1,350
• Shelf Life: Varies
• Water Required: No

Ah, the nemesis of military digestive tracts the world over: the MRE. We tried Menu 1: Chili with Beans, a so-called classic.

Included with the chili was cornbread, cheddar cheese spread, vegetable crackers, “pepperoni pizza cheese-filled crackers,” and lemon lime beverage powder. As always, there was an accessory packet. This one featured wet wipes, plastic cutlery, hot sauce, and the like.

Each packet also includes an FRH, or flameless ration heater, so you’ll always have a way of cooking these.

Flavorwise, it wasn’t that inspiring. Imagine your grocery store's cheapest canned chili. Edible, but not going to win any cook-offs.

Keep in mind that you can eat an MRE without adding any water because it's not dehydrated. That's really important when you're on the move, have limited access to potable water, or just eat like an animal.

Each MRE averages 1,250 calories, so you get a huge amount of fuel for your day, whether you’re hiking, surviving, or camping.

What we didn’t like, especially for a camping or hiking situation where pack it in, pack it out applies, is the number of wrappers an MRE contains. Do what the pros do and field-strip each MRE to just the essentials. It'll pack down smaller, weigh less, and reduce the amount of trash you generate in the field.

And start bracing your bowels for the impending trauma now.

3. Augason Farms 30-Day Emergency Food Supply - Best Budget

Best Budget

Augason Farms 30-Day Emergency Food Supply

$94

at Amazon

Prices accurate at time of writing

$94 at Amazon

Midway USA (see price)

Specs

• Claim to Fame: Low price per meal
• Days of Sustenance: 30
• Average Calories Pre Day: 1,850
• Shelf Life: 5 - 30 years
• Water Required: Yes

Augason Farms Emergency Food Supply kits pack a bunch of freeze-dried entrees into a bucket and seal the whole thing up.

It’s good for up to 25 years, depending on the specific food item you're talking about.

We ate creamy potato soup for our blind taste test. It was on the bland, vaguely cheesy side of things, but pretty basic. Hey, it could be worse!

This particular menu item would be a great ingredient for some apocalypse haute cuisine, but we weren’t a fan of the soup on its own.

These meals apparently were a pain to access and required our dedicated team of chefs to open multiple packages to find the soup pack. Not a big deal, unless you're after something in particular.

Unlike most of the food on our list, which didn’t require more cooking than heating water to boiling, the potato soup needed to be simmered on low for 10-15 minutes before serving. It’s a little more labor-intensive, and the flavor wasn’t much of a payoff.

The creamy potato soup provides 220 calories per serving. Augason Farms designed the 30-day kit to supply about 1,800 calories a day for one person, which more than average.

Dollar for dollar, this is a major score.

4. Mountain House 3-Day Food Supply - Best Camping Meals

Best Camping Meals

Mountain House Adventure Meals, 3-Day Food Supply

$69

at Amazon

Prices accurate at time of writing

$69 at Amazon

OpticsPlanet (see price)

Sportsman's Warehouse (see price)

Specs

• Claim to Fame: Individually packed entrees
• Days of Sustenance: 3
• Average Calories Pre Day: 1,700
• Shelf Life: 30 years
• Water Required: Yes

Mountain House has a cult following in the outdoorsy crowd, and for a good reason. These meals are super easy to prepare, and they taste way better than military surplus MREs (a low bar, we know).

We sampled the biscuits and gravy, but it there are plenty of great meals out there, such as the fan-favorite beef stroganoff.

Preparing a Mountain House pouch is easy. Remove the oxygen-absorbing packet, pour in the prescribed amount of boiling water, stir, seal, and wait. These meals rehydrate in less than 10 minutes and can be eaten straight from the bag, so clean up is easy.

In a pouch, there are two servings of the meal. Biscuits and Gravy will run you about 310 calories for a meal or 620 for the pouch. They're also good for 30 years, apparently.

Mountain House also offers many of its most popular meals in multiple-serving cans, which you can stock up as an emergency food supply.

What's your take on Mountain House? Rate it below!

If you like this style of survival food and want some more options, check out Peak Refuel. It's another brand we enjoy during trips into the backcountry. Buy meals individually or in bulk.

Peak Refuel

$127

at MidwayUSA

Prices accurate at time of writing

$127 at MidwayUSA

Sportsman's Warehouse (see price)

Amazon (see price)

5. Ready Wise Food Storage 60-Entree Bucket - Best Bulk Meals

Best Bulk Meals

Ready Wise Food Storage Emergency Food Supply

$112

at Amazon

Prices accurate at time of writing

$112 at Amazon

Sportsman's Guide (see price)

Specs

• Claim to Fame: Available in bulk
• Days of Sustenance: 7
• Average Calories Pre Day: 1,800
• Shelf Life: 25 years
• Water Required: Yes

One of the bigger names in emergency preparedness foods, Ready Wise makes a pretty wide array of shelf-stable meals and ingredients. You can find bulk cans, individually packed entrees, and a variety of emergency food buckets, which are good for 25 years.

We liberated one of my buckets from the garage for this experiment, and I’m sad to report that this bucket will definitely have to wait for the next big California earthquake before I touch it again.

Neither of our tasters was a fan of the creamy pasta and vegetable rotini. Some of that could be due to user error, though. It looks like we used too much water and dug in before the meal could fully rehydrate.

The flavor was inoffensive, but bland. The texture was passable, but, as mentioned, some of the dehydrated ingredients weren’t fully softened.

One packet contains four servings, at 200 calories per serving. This dish is pretty carb and sodium-heavy, though, so if you’re aiming for a nutritious apocalypse dinner, this probably isn’t it. 

But remember, this isn't for making a memories around the campfire. Ready Wise food is all about surviving long-term. You can even get a full year of food in one kit!

6. SOS Emergency Ration Bars - Best Emergency Bar

Best Emergency Bar

SOS Emergency Food Bars

$17

at Amazon

Prices accurate at time of writing

$17 at Amazon

Specs

• Claim to Fame: Portable and calorie-dense
• Number of Meals Included: 3
• Average Calories Pre Day: 1,200
• Shelf Life: 5 years
• Water Required: No

The stark white vacuum pack with the crisp blue lettering may look like something FEMA distributes, but we were pleasantly surprised that these cookie-like SOS Emergency Ration Bars were kind of cookie-like.

The flavor could be described as aggressively vanilla graham cracker, but at least they were sweet. We found them dry and crumbly, which doesn’t make for neat eating. 

In a survival scenario, that’s not a big deal. For munching on because my car broke down and AAA Roadside Assistance won't arrive for a few hours, it kind of is.

These packs are good for up to five years when they’re sealed, and each pack contains 3,600 calories intended to last for 72-hours.

They're light, fast and easy -- perfect for staying fed on the go.

7. Grizzly Gear Emergency Food Rations - Best Kosher & Halal

Best Kosher & Halal

Grizzly Gear Emergency Food Rations

$18

at Amazon

Prices accurate at time of writing

$18 at Amazon

Specs

• Claim to Fame: Kosher and halal
• Number of Meals Included: 3
• Average Calories Pre Day: 1,200
• Shelf Life: 5 years
• Water Required: No

Grizzly Gear Emergency Rations are similar to the SOS bars, but they're kosher and halal.

They weren’t our favorite. They’re a lot less sweet, which might be a benefit, but they also taste very floury and dry. 

They’re supposedly lemon-flavored, which is not at all what I would have guessed. The texture is a lot more crumbly than the S.O.S. bars, which means they’re likely to break up if you have them rattling around in your trunk for a few years.

The package has 3,600 calories in total and lasts five years.

How to Choose the Best Survival Food

Survival food can take many forms, ranging from calorie-packed bars in a bug-out bag to rows of canned goods on the shelf.

MREs

When you think about prepping, do you picture an MRE?

Meals ready to eat are quintessential features of any well-stocked fallout shelter or zombie apocalypse bunker. They’re well-sealed, self-heating, portable, come with utensils and condiments, and don't require water for rehydration.

As you can imagine, though, military rations are a bit lacking in quality and flavor.

No offense to our warfighters, but “Warfighter Recommended, Warfighter Tested, Warfighter Approved” doesn’t exactly make me hungry. Service members and veterans will agree.

Still, MREs are pretty easy to find, prepare, and (if we’re being honest) have a pretty wide variety of high-calorie meals. Not too bad when food is fuel to survive.

Bulk Emergency Food & Bars

Looking to stockpile resources for an emergency?

Many preparedness companies sell convenient buckets of preserved meals with shelf lives of up to 30 years.

You’ll get an assortment of individually packed meals that are perfect for stashing in your garage or basement. Just be aware that the food is dehydrated and will require clean water to cook it.

If you want something more portable that doesn’t require any preparation, emergency food bars are probably your best bet.

A Special Treat, Just for You

You can survive emergencies without eating astronaut ice cream, but you don't get a trophy for doing it so chill out. Who knows, a sweet little snack might turn your whole day around.

Astronaut Ice Cream

$27

at Amazon

Prices accurate at time of writing

$27 at Amazon

Meet the Experts

This article comes to you from Pew Pew Tactical Content Producer Sean Curtis.

Sean has been shooting since childhood but began to delve into guns more during his law enforcement career. He spent over two decades in law enforcement, where he became a POST-certified handgun instructor and NLEFIA Red Dot Instructor and received CLEFIA Advanced Firearms Instructor Training and AR-15 armorer training. He has since attended a variety of training, including Tactical Performance Center Handgun Mastery & Carbine Mastery, and earned USCCA rifle instructor certification. Aside from training and prior to joining the Pew Pew Tactical team full-time, Sean wrote for several gun publications evaluating and testing guns and gear and has written hundreds of articles.

Editing this article is Scott Murdock. Scott is a Marine Corps veteran who competed and qualified as a rifle and pistol expert while in service. In addition to shooting, Scott has written for a variety of publications, testing, researching, and evaluating guns and gear. He brings that knowledge and skillset to this article, editing and fact-checking for accuracy.

Editor-in-Chief Jacki Billings runs our experienced team of reviewers. She is a National Rifle Association Basic Pistol Instructor as well as a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, ACES: Society for Editing, and the Professional Outdoor Media Association. Jacki has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and has worked as a media professional for close to 20 years, specializing in gun media for almost 10 years. With 2,000+ articles to her name, she uses her professional journalism and editing experience to set testing protocols and editorial standards for Pew Pew Tactical.

Final Thoughts

Choosing food for your next adventure, your bug-out bag, or emergency supplies means that you need to know what’s out there -- and how it tastes.

Now that we did the sampling for you, all you have to do is pick the best option for your needs and find a safe place to store it.

The next emergency doesn't seem so scary now, does it?

What's your favorite food for survival and camping? Let us know below. Want to try your hand at DIY survival meal prep? Check out our guide on How to Make Your Own MRE!

Latest Updates

• June 2025: Added a comparison chart and updated supporting content.
• May 2024: Added Nutrient Survival, removed Russian-branded MRE, added supplemental data, and extra information on how we tested the kits.