A newer meal from Mountain House, the Veggie Chorizo Breakfast Scramble Meal is a meal based on eggs, a plant-based chorizo-flavored crumble, hash-style potatoes, and bell peppers. Each pouch has 580 calories and is ready in 9 minutes after adding 1 1/3 cups of boiling water. This vegetarian and gluten-free meal has a well-rounded nutritional profile, and has a shelf life of 30 years.

The Veggie Chorizo Breakfast Scramble meal from Mountain House offers 580 calories in a vegetarian and gluten-free meal.

Impressions

Prior to trying the Veggie Chorizo Breakfast Scramble meal, my main concern wasn’t related to the plant-based chorizo, but in relation to the smoke flavoring I saw on the ingredient list. I’ve tried some other breakfast meals from Mountain House in the past that went a little overboard on the smoke, but I was relieved to find that in this meal, that is not the case. The smoke flavor is there – not subtle – but also not extreme. The meal reminds me a bit of both the Breakfast Skillet and (discontinued) Southwest Hash meals (find a quick review of that one in our best freeze-dried meal list – hopefully it is brought back), both from Mountain House, but this meal is still unique on its own (as can be expected from a meal featuring a plant-based chorizo flavored crumble). The spice level for me was great, but may be a bit too much for some palates as the pablano peppers are definitely quite present.

In regards to the plant-based chorizo, I did try a few bites of just this by itself, and it is a bit of an odd, chalky, plant-like material that is a bit hard to describe. However, when eaten all together you probably could have fooled me if I hadn’t known, and everything works together well. 580 calories is a little light for one and definitely if you’ll be sharing this, but this meal was almost made for a burrito – take along some tortillas and maybe some of your some favorite hot sauce, and you’ll be set. For my test, I just ate the meal as prepared however, and maybe due to a combination of the plant-based chorizo and the calorie count, I couldn’t help but reach for the jerky first thing after the meal.

When you get everything in one bite, the veggie chorizo works well.

Conclusion

Overall this meal is good, and obviously would particularly suit the backcountry traveler who practices a plant-based diet but who is still a fan of the imitation plant-based meats. That said and while that does not describe me, it’s still a good meal for everyone and so long as I have some tortillas in my food bag, I’d reach for this meal for breakfast or dinner without hesitation.

The Mountain House Veggie Chorizo Breakfast Scramble meal retails for about $12. You can find it here at REI as well as here at Amazon.

Editor's Note: This review originally appeared in Issue 54 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can find the original article here.