Cooking Inspiration for Backpackers & Gluten Free Backpacking Meals

Cooking for yourself in South America can often be more expensive than dining out if you stick to menu del dias and pastries. Some hostels don’t even have kitchens! But for us, cooking was essential. With Shir being celiac (gluten-free), eating out became challenging. Finding vegetarian options was often difficult, and after getting stomach parasites in Peru, we became cautious about food. Above all, we just love to cook! So, if you relate to any of these reasons or simply feel inspired to whip up something delicious, here are some tips and ideas for vegetarian (mostly vegan), gluten free backpacking meals.

The Backpacker’s Pantry

We’re a bit crazy and often end up taking about 3 kg of food with us from place to place in our backpacks. While we prefer staying near markets or grocery stores to keep meal decisions flexible, having some backup food is crucial in remote areas. Generally, I suggest buying just what you need for the next meal, but somehow our pantry tends to stack up—don’t ask me how!

Planning to visit Bolivia? Check out our posts Gluten Free Bolivia and for general tips: Backpacking Bolivia: Our Tips

Useful Spices and condiments

• Cinnamon (Canela): Great for breakfast oats, tea, arroz de leche, and curries.
• Cumin (Cumino): Perfect for curries and all sorts of sauces.
• Tumeric (Curcuma, also sometimes Palillo): Ideal for tea (with honey and pepper), curries, and rice.
• Pepper (Pimenta) & Salt (Sal): Of course you need them.

In many places, you can get salt and oil, but we always carry some just in case!

Game Changers

• Peanut butter (crema or mantequilla de maní): For breakfast, snacks, salad dressing, or Asian-inspired dishes
• Dried mushrooms (Hongos Secos): Available at markets for a small price (2-3BOB/100g), these add umami flavor to any savory dish—simply grate or cook them directly in your meals. No need to carry any sauces.
  

Breakfast Ideas

How to Upgrade the Hostel Breakfast?

A typical hostel breakfast in South America usually consists of eggs, bread, jam, and butter, which isn’t very gluten-friendly or filling. Here are some tips to improve it:

• Ask for sin desayuno: Some hostels will give you a discount. Another option is to have a hungry friend or partner who is not gluten-free to eat your part.
• Bread Replacement for Celiacs: Use rice cakes or corn tortillas when available. You can also make your own arepa or pita bread from corn (harina de maiz), widely available in supermarkets across Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia. Just ensure the flour is labeled gluten-free: PAN-flour for example is NOT gluten-free in South America.
• Make it Filling: Add avocado (palta in Peru and Bolivia), cheese (San Javier is the cheap cheese in Bolivia), or peanut butter for extra nutrition.

Easy Backpacker’s Breakfast: Oats Porridge with Fruits

Our go-to breakfast was always oats (porridge) with cinnamon and a variety of fruits: We found gluten-free oats in Colombia, Peru, and even Bolivia (check at nature stores and some supermarkets – I will soon write more tips about that). For toppings, consider:

• Seasonal Fruits: Papaya, bananas, maracuja, pineapple, mandarins—whatever is cheap at the market.
• Seeds and Nuts: Chia, and flax seeds for extra fiber, peanuts, or other nuts (more expensive) for added crunch.
• Yogurt: A great source of probiotics. Supports your gut against salmonella and parasites…
• Cinnamon: Adds an extra kick.

Adding Variety: Saturday Pancakes

To keep things interesting, we made oat pancakes, a Saturday tradition in Shir’s family. Here’s a simple gluten-free recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats
• 1 ripe banana (the riper the better)
• 1 cup water
• A pinch of cinnamon

Instructions: Blend all the ingredients and fry small pancakes. Top with fruits, peanut butter, honey, or dulce de leche!…be creative 🙂

On-the-Go Lunch Ideas

For no cook backpacking meals, you can rely on simple options that require no preparation:

1. Fruit: Bananas, and mandarines are easy to find and often cheap
2. Homemade Trail Mix: We often bought a quarto kilo from different nuts in the market and mixed it all ourselves
3. Crackers, Rice Cakes, or Arepas: Pair with peanut butter or avocado
4. Leftovers (from dinner): Always a convenient option.

Planing to visit Samaipata, Bolivia? Check out our full guide including gluten free options in Samaipata! Or looking to travel the Sacred Valley, Peru? Read about our favorite chocolate flavors...

Dinner Ideas for Gluten Free Backpacking Meals

Sometimes, I found myself uninspired and sticking to basic recipes, which can be boring! Here’s a list of vegetarian and vegan, gluten-free dishes we loved while backpacking. Please help us extend this list with your go-to dishes while backpacking to stop the pasta-with-tomato-sauce pandemic:

1. Lentils Dahl: Cook lentils until soft (we didn’t find yellow or red lentils in South America, but it also works with green ones). Fry spices and onion in a separate pan until golden, then combine. Serve with rice or arepas. Add yogurt or tomatoes for an extra kick.
   • Kichri: Similar to dhal but served with a fried egg on top. Known to me as an Iraqi Jewish dish, containing spiced lentil stew served on white rice. Yummy. (In Bolivia and Peru especially, make sure the egg is well-cooked to avoid salmonella).
2. Pumpkin Curry: There were so many coconuts in Colombia, but coconut cream is imported from Thailand! The price removes it from every backpacker’s shopping list. An easy solution we learned from Justin in La Pacha hostel (btw: try his Indian food, it’s great) was to use pumpkin as the creamy part in a curry. Cook the pumpkin pieces until they dissolve. It’s not the same, but is a nice replacement. For some coconut-y kick, you can use shredded coconut that can be found (cheap) in every supermarket or market.
3. Carne de Soya (dried soy protein): Can be found in grocery stores and nature stores. It is often cheap and light to carry and a nice replacement of meat. Our friend Emilie was cooking it with bullion cubes (good for the non-celiacs). I would often create my version based on this great recipe – fry the soy with oil, add tomato paste and some gluten-free soy sauce, a dried mushroom (see “game changers” above), and some cumin.
4. Buddha bowl: Cooked quinoa or brown rice with lentils or beans and vegetables. We would cook dried beans, but note you have to soak them 1 day before and cooking may take longer in altitude. In some countries, canned beans can be found at OK prices.
   Add fresh or cooked veggies (sweet potato! beetroot that sounds great in spanish – remolacha) avocado, nuts… As sauce, our go-to is always peanut butter with lemon garlic and something sweet. Also a really good meal to make a bulk for a few days and mix different stuff every day for variation.
5. Lentil Bolognese: There are many recipes online, I think what gives the taste is celery+onion+carrot base so it should not be skipped. Also an excuse to buy some wine – 1 glass in the bolognese, the rest for the chef 😉 Pair it with your favorite gluten-free pasta.
6. Frittata/Farmer’s Breakfast: If you aren’t done with eggs already, this is super easy and filling. Potatoes (cheap!), tomato, onion, and pepper are always there, and you can upgrade with spinach or other yummy greens. For 2 people we used 4-6 eggs, depending on hunger.
7. Soups: Lentil or bean soup is a perfect belly-filling option for cold altitude nights. I think using a store tomato sauce adds something a bit more interesting (they probably had sugar?). Pumpkin is also very cheap in many countries, and pumpkin soup is the taste of autumn.
8. Nachos: Not the healthiest option but yummy and easy as you can get nachos in every supermarket, as well as canned/cooked beans, avocado, and if you want, cheese.
9. Risotto: You’ll also need good wine 🙂 and parmesan is important (you can find grated parmesan for 8 BOB / 4 SOL). Not only mushrooms – pumpkin or tomato risotto are equally easy and tasty.
10. Shakshuka: if you are not tired of eggs, this classic dish is always a good choice if tomatoes are cheap. In countries where hygiene is poor, I suggest to cook them till hard to be on the safe side.

Buen Provecho!