Back Country Cuisine Tasty Chicken Mash Review

Overview

Tasty Chicken Mash is Back Country Cuisine’s take on comfort food for the backcountry: creamy mashed potato mixed with smoky freeze-dried chicken, cheese, peas, carrot, and corn. It’s built for hikers who want a filling, calorie-dense dinner without the usual pasta-and-rice rotation that dominates most freeze-dried lineups. If you’re after something that tastes like a Tuesday night dinner rather than a “backpacking meal,” this is worth a look.

Key Specs

Spec	Small	Regular
Net weight	90 g	175 g
Water required	250 ml	500 ml
Prepared serving size	340 g	675 g
Calories	431 kcal	831 kcal
Protein	24.3 g	45.7 g
Prep time	10–15 min	10–15 min
Shelf life	4 years	4 years
Gluten free	Yes	Yes
Country of origin	New Zealand	New Zealand

Performance

Mashed potato is a forgiving base for freeze-dried rehydration — it doesn’t suffer from the mushy-noodle or crunchy-rice problems that plague a lot of pasta- and grain-based trail meals. Back Country Cuisine leans into that advantage: the description bills it as “creamy mashed potato with smoky flavoured freeze dried chicken, cheese and vegetables.” One outdoor reviewer who taste-tested it noted the taste and texture is best described as “comforting,” adding it was “more than just potato mash with some extras thrown in with the ratio of components being well thought through.” That tracks with what I’d expect from the ingredient breakdown — potato makes up 51% of the mix, with chicken dices at 26%, so you’re not stuck spooning around a handful of freeze-dried chicken bits looking for the protein.

Rehydration is straightforward. For the regular size you’re adding 500 ml of boiling water — the instructions call for adding 500 ml of boiling water to the pouch, then stirring and letting it stand for 10-15 minutes. That’s on the higher end of water volume for a single-serve meal, which matters if you’re melting snow or carrying limited fuel. The upside is the payoff: 831 calories and 45.7 g of protein in the regular pouch is a genuinely substantial dinner, not a snack pretending to be one. The small size (431 kcal, 24.3 g protein) is better suited to a light dinner, a big lunch, or splitting across two people who also want other food that night.

Flavor-wise, user reviews on the brand’s own site and retailer pages skew positive but not universally rapturous. One buyer called it “Warming and comforting. Will be buying more,” while another was more measured, describing it as “Basic flavor but was nice.” A third reviewer summed up the general sentiment on the meal: “As with most Backcountry meals, this is yum, savoury and it hits the spot.” On a NZ gear retailer’s page, one buyer’s headline take was that “It’s called Tasty Chicken Mash and it lives up that name.” None of these are the kind of “best meal I’ve had in the backcountry” superlatives you sometimes see for standout curries or chilis, but they’re consistent — this is a solid, unpretentious meal rather than a showstopper.

One thing to flag on the nutrition panel: sodium comes in at 2600 mg for the regular serving, which is high even by freeze-dried standards. That’s worth factoring in if you’re watching sodium intake or stacking multiple salty meals across a long trip — plan to drink extra water alongside dinner.

On the allergen side, it contains milk, soy, and sulphites, and may contain traces of egg, almond, and cashew, so it’s not suitable for anyone with dairy or soy restrictions despite being gluten-free. The 4-year shelf life is standard for the category and makes it a reasonable pick for emergency or resupply-box stashing, not just active trips.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Genuinely filling — 831 kcal and 45.7 g protein in the regular size is near the top of the category for a single pouch
• Potato-based texture rehydrates more reliably than pasta or rice-based competitors
• Ingredient ratio feels balanced rather than potato-heavy filler with token meat
• Gluten-free, 4-year shelf life, New Zealand made
• Eat straight from the pouch — no extra dishes

Cons

• Requires 500 ml of water for the regular size, more than many single-serve meals — a consideration if you’re fuel- or water-limited
• Sodium (2600 mg per regular serving) is high enough to notice
• Contains milk and soy, so it’s off the table for dairy- or soy-free hikers
• Flavor reviews land more in “solid comfort food” territory than “best meal of the trip” — don’t expect a knockout curry-level flavor experience
• Limited availability outside New Zealand and Australia compared to US brands like Mountain House or Peak Refuel

Who Should Buy This

This is a good fit for hikers who want a hearty, low-fuss dinner and don’t need bold spice or novelty flavors — think of it as the backcountry equivalent of a home-cooked shepherd’s pie. It’s particularly well-suited to cold-weather or high-output trips where the 831-calorie, 45.7 g-protein regular size can meaningfully offset a calorie deficit. If you’re doing an NZ or Australia-based thru-hike, it’s also one of the more accessible domestic options rather than an imported meal with a markup.

Verdict

Tasty Chicken Mash delivers on its name — a straightforward, calorie-dense mashed potato and chicken dinner that rehydrates well and doesn’t fall apart on the trail-tested comfort-food front. It won’t be the meal you rave about around the campfire, but it’s a dependable, protein-heavy option worth rotating into a resupply box. I’d rate it a 7.5/10: solid execution, minor knocks for water volume and sodium, but a reliable pick when you want dinner that actually feels like dinner.