Campers Pantry Penne Bolognese
Single serve
Rating
| Rating: | 8.5 / 10 |
| Value for Money | 2.0 / 2.5 |
| Taste | 1.9 / 2.5 |
| Convenience | 2.2 / 2.5 |
| Weight | 2.4 / 2.5 |
Campers Pantry Penne Bolognese Review
The Campers Pantry Penne Bolognese replaced the Spaghetti Bolognese in the range and there are pros and cons to this change. First up I’ll be honest, I never buy penne at home and its well down my list of options when making pasta so in that sense I preferred the previous spaghetti option.
On the plus side the shape of the penne holds the sauce a bit better but only if you mix it up well when rehydrating. The ratio of meat to pasta is good, the texture is good and the quantity works well. The taste was noticeably less artificial than many of the existing pasta meal choices on the Australian outdoor market. In addition, there is less salt and as someone who doesn’t add salt to food, I appreciate this.
My main gripe with this meal is that I like spicy food, I don’t necessarily mean ‘heat’ but I do appreciate a degree of things like salt and pepper but I know that the average person prefers your meals slightly on the blander side. I found myself wanting to add parmesan cheese and a bit of pepper just to give it that tiny bit of tang which is what I now do when I’m eating this meal. I know this is being picky but I make Spaghetti Bolognese from scratch at home and I do add spices to the mix. Having said that it’s always easier to add spice than it is to take it out.
Campers Pantry meals have a good level of protein content which is so important particularly over the longer trips. The Penne Bolognese has 21 grams of protein per single serve meal. The calorie count for a single serve is also good but oven some of the new meal offering coming onto the market it now sits in the mid range as far as protein levels go.
The preparation process while quite easy, Fold out the base of the bag to provide stability while rehydration, cut of the top of the bag, add 300 ml of boiling water and stir thoroughly to make sure all the ingredients are wet and then seal the bag up and let stand for ten minutes. At the five minute mark you need to stir the meal. I’m always dubious about how much water to add to freeze dried meals and in many cases the consistency of a meal is a very personal thing. In this case adding 300 ml of boiling water was spot on. In my case it produced a perfect consistency and meant the meal as eaten weighs 400 grams.
Price wise this single serve meal is AUD$18.99 RRP at the time of review. For a single serve meal this is on the higher end of the scale but given the compact packaging and longevity in storage, this meal is great value. For testing I had this meal as a lunch and found it to be very filling but not so large that I struggled to eat it.
While I preferred the previous spaghetti version of this meal, as pasta meals go the Campers Pantry Penne Bolognese is a good option and one that many hikers will appreciate, particularly on those colder nights.
We Like
- Lightweight meal option
- Loads of calories to satisfy hungry hikers
- Compact packaging will free up space in your pack over non vacuum sealed bags
- Mainly natural ingredients
- Great tasting
- Just the right amount of food for a single meal
- Easy to prepare
We Don't Like
- From a purely personal perspective penne is not my favourite type of pasta, but thats just me
Best Uses
- An easy to prepare meal whether it be on a short or long trip for camping and hiking
Buy One
You can purchase the Campers Pantry Penne Bolognese from Campers Pantry, Snowys, or from Wild Earth
Disclosure: Some of the above links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!
PLEASE NOTE: As a special offer Campers Pantry is offering a 15% discount on meal purchases (information correct as at the date of the review). This discount will be applied at the checkout when you make your purchase via the above link
Other Versions
The following Campers Pantry meals are also available in the expedition packing:
Investment
AUD $18.99 RRP
Campers Pantry Penne Bolognese as purchased
Campers Pantry Penne Bolognese nutrition list
Campers Pantry Penne Bolognese ingrediant list
Campers Pantry Penne Bolognese ready to eat
Campers Pantry Penne Bolognese artistically displayed
Disclaimer
This review was done with product provided by Campers Pantry
Last updated
1 January 2026