We are updating our original Mountain House Beef Stroganoff review first published back in October 2015.
Wow, that seems like a long time ago. We are adding more of that been-there, done-that detail you might be looking for in a product review. We also have newer images since Mountain House has updated their product packaging.
We really like the large selection and variety of Mountain House freeze dried meals. It’s all the good stuff and we have been eating them for many years. They have also improved their recipes, taking out some of the more questionable ingredients that folks look for. However, chances are the store-bought ingredient in your homemade beef stroganoff recipe contains many of those found in Mountain House meals.
But we’re not being too picky, Mountain House makes decent eats that deserve a spot in the pack or in the just-in-case pantry. Freeze dried food is very lightweight and offers a long shelf life, measured in years. Even more, Mountain House offers a 30-year shelf-life guarantee.
So let’s get started and take a look at the Mountain House Beef Stroganoff freeze dried meal. The one we are checking out today is one of the Adventure Meals series. Mountain House also has Beef Stroganoff in their Pro Pak series and in #10 cans.
Mountain House Beef Stroganoff Review
First things first, is it any good? If it doesn’t taste good, we don’t care about anything else.
Mountain House Beef Stroganoff is definitely a favorite of mine. So it passes the taste test. Actually, I have not found any Mountain House freeze dried meal I didn’t like. However, there are plusses and minuses to them all depending on your dietary preferences.
We paid $9.49 each in December 2022 to restock our supply on Amazon. At that time, it had over 3500 customer reviews, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. So it’s a popular product and lots of folks are happy with it.
On April 28, 2024, I checked the Mountain House store on Amazon to get updated pricing for the Mountain House Beef Stroganoff with Noodles. It's in stock and available for purchase. It sure is a popular item. There are over 3650 customer reviews, with an average rating of 4.7 stars out of 5. Check it out here.
We track only the Mountain House store prices here on this website, but there are other resellers that may offer differing prices, with or without free Amazon Prime shipping. Check out our price tracker here, it’s updated daily. Be sure to bookmark it and check back frequently for the latest prices for this and other Mountain House freeze dried meals.
Mountain House Beef Stroganoff, the Details
If you’re watching your pack weight, and who isn’t, the unopened 2-serving freeze dried meal pouch weighed in at 147 grams or 5.2 ounces on our inexpensive digital kitchen scale.
Let’s go to the Nutrition Facts label. It shows this pouch will make 2 servings or 2 cups of food per container and provide 560 calories of energy. Depending on your dietary needs, this might fill you up, or you might want more.
A bit about the sodium content. The Nutrition Facts label says this container has 1570 mg. In a Mountain House response to a question concerning sodium, they replied, saying at one time, there was a low-sodium line of freeze dried food offerings. However, due to low sales, they discontinued the entire product line. So is this too much sodium, only you can decide.
I emptied the contents of the pouch into a bowl so we could get a good look at the contents. There are pieces of beef, mushroom, a lot of noodles, and you can see the spices and seasonings that make savory cream sauce. I really don’t see any onion pieces, but they might be blended in and I can’t see them.
Taking the time to read through the many Mountain House Beef Stroganoff customer reviews, we do see that many of the reviewers say it doesn’t have enough salt, and they recommend adding more, to include an assortment of other spices. My own outdoor spice drawer includes salt, pepper, crushed red chili flakes, and hot sauce. I do have a collection of home-dehydrated sauces, spices, and what-not including chipotle in adobo, fish sauce, beef and chicken bouillon, cilantro, and such.
Mountain House Beef Stroganoff Preparation
Start by removing the top portion of the packaging at the tear notch. Then remove the oxygen absorber packet. The oxygen absorber packet will likely be visible near the top of the contents. Sometimes there might be two of them.
The preparation instructions on the rear panel show adding 1 2/3 cups / 385 mL of boiling water to the package. We concur, this makes the right consistency for our taste and texture preferences.
After adding the water, you might be thinking it was too much. At first, it will look like a hot tub with floating noodles and beef bits. But rest assured, if you followed the package recommendation and used 1 2/3 cups boiling water, it will turn out fine.
Try to be accurate in your water measurements. Too much water and it will be thin and soupy. Too little water, it will have the texture of crunchy oatmeal and will not have hydrated properly. We now use a lightweight and inexpensive silicon measuring cup for better results. You can find one here on Amazon.
Although the package instructions show that the meal is ready in less than 10 minutes, we find that waiting a bit longer will result in a better experience.
The package instructions suggest that you add the boiling water, then stir and seal. Then wait 5 minutes, stir, and reseal for another 4 minutes before eating before eating. Instead of digging in, we’ll stir up the contents again and wait another 5 minutes before eating. In other words, we’ll let ours hydrate for another 5 to 6 minutes longer than the instructions call for, so everything is well mixed and hydrated.
Freeze Dried Food Taste Test
The Mountain House Beef Stroganoff is a real keeper. The bottom line, it tastes really good. The savory cream sauce with mushrooms and onions is just the right consistency and coats each noodle and the beef perfectly.
Using a long-handle camping spoon lets you stir and dig around at the bottom of those freeze-dried food pouches without getting your dirty mitts all covered with food bits and pieces. Yes, you could lick off those bits and pieces, but don’t. We have several. Check out our review here, or here on Amazon.
A bit of freshly ground black pepper would be a nice touch. But I didn’t bring my little GSI pepper grinder along. You could easily doctor this up by adding some homemade dehydrated onion flakes or other favorites.
The only complaint, I could have used another half a serving or so.
Check out our Best Freeze Dried Food Guide here and read our reviews on the products we have tried.
Mountain house beef stroganoff is my absolute favorite!