Australian Hiker

Rating

Real Meals Mac n Cheese Review

I can remember as little as 15 years ago when the choice of outdoor meals was very limited but now we have no many options. It can be hard to decide without taste testing all of them; that’s our job! The good things is that most companies have their own specific offerings and between them there is something for everyone.

Real Meals is a New Zealand company that is now selling direct from Australia. When their Australian distributor sent though a number of meals for testing I was automatically drawn to the Mac n Cheese meal for the first taste test for two reasons. Firstly this Mac n Cheese is one that will keep most people happy, it’s just one of those ‘feel good’ options. Secondly this meal comes from the ‘Youth’ range which is aimed at younger outdoor adventurers so the size of this range sits at 100 grams whereas the standard meal range varies from 100 grams upwards depending on what you are eating.

First up this meal when rehydrated comes out as 300 grams which doesn’t sound a lot when compared to its competitors but what this Mac n Cheese offering has going for it is that it’s loaded with calories. In fact this single serve meal has 657 calories which is hefty for it’s size and helps to replace all the energy you have burnt off during the day. As mentioned this is a true single serve meal for an adult which given this is a youth meal, that is unsurprising whereas other meal options on the market will have less calories but bulk wise will feed two hikers.

The other thing to consider is that like most other companies on the market, outdoor meals play it safe when it comes to the level of spiciness. The average person typically prefers blander options so there are very few spicy meal options on the market these days. The ones that are aren’t really that spicy, at least form my perspective given a good spicy meal is one that makes your head sweat, are in the minority. The reasoning is that you can always add spice with things like pepper or chilli but you can’t take it away!

Preparing this meal is pretty simple. Once you tear the top of this bag off you just add the 200 ml of boiling water before letting the meal stand for a total of 10 minutes. I’m always a bit wary the first time I try a new meal brand. In this case the recommended amount of water and rehydration time was spot-on providing the expected consistency for this meal which ended up being a saucy pasta offering. Macaroni and cheese is one of those meals kids seem to love and for many adults the childhood memories remain, which is why I opted to try this meal before any of the others in the Real Meals range.

We usually eat out of the meal bag and in this case, the base folds open and there is a second tear point to turn this bag into a bowl. As users of long handled utensils, we don’t bother tearing down the bag. So how did this meal stack up?

He Said

Taste and texture wise this meal was an essentially a creamy pasta with consistency just the way I like it. As someone who likes spice, I found it is to be on the blander side – this is easily fixed with the simple addition of some pepper which now comes with me on longer hikes.

She Said

I was a little disappointed to be honest. While Tim thought the consistency was pot on, it seemed too ‘wet’ to me. This could be easily fixed by adding less water but you would need t0 do some testing to get it right. I also thought the meal was bland but I wasn’t convinced that adding spices would fix it. I will leave this one for Tim to enjoy!

Price wise this single serve meal is AUD$19.95 RRP at the time of review. For a single serve meal this sits on the higher end of the scale.

So will I eat this meal on my hiking trips? On shorter trips I have other meals that I prefer but on longer trips I want a broad range of meal options so I don’t get sick of a particular meal and the Real Meals Mac n Cheese will definitely be added to my mix!

We Like

• Very lightweight meal option
• Loads of calories to satisfy hungry hikers
• Great tasting
• A good sized meal for a bigger eater as a single meal
• Easy to prepare

We Don't Like

• I prefer a bit more ‘spiceness’ in my meals

Best Uses

• An easy to prepare meal whether it be on a short or long trip for camping or hiking

Buy One

You can purchase the Real Meals Mac n Cheese from 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!

Investment

AUD $19.99 RRP

Real Meals Mac n Cheese as purchased

Real Meals Mac n Cheese rear of packet

Real Meals Mac n Cheese nutrition and ingredient list

Real Meals Mac n Cheese before rehydrating

Real Meals Mac n Cheese ready to eat

Disclaimer

This review was done with product provided for testing by the Australian distributor of Real Meals

Last updated

26 October 2025

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