The first time I tried out Firepot meals, it was in 2021. Back then you could order direct from Firepot in the UK, but due to Brexit, they don’t ship internationally as they used to. Your options are REI and Moosejaw to buy from in the United States. Since we have an REI location on the other side of the water, last week I was there and picked up a meal to review by them. Firepot Porcini Mushroom Risotto is a 2 serving meal that we picked up recently to review.
One note, REI only carries the vegan options, though they have 11 varieties to choose from.
The bags that REI carries are the 2-person serving. On Firepot’s website they also sell a smaller bag for 1 person. As well, they carry compostable bags, however REI carries the traditional mylar lined bags, for long term storage. The meal costs $15.65 on REI. The meal prices have gone up in the past few years and are on the higher end of commercial meals. Firepot meals are cooked and dehydrated, rather than freeze-dried, so have a different texture.
The meal weighs in at 6.3 ounces, and as a “1 serving” meal it is 770 calories, 12 grams fat, 1130 mg sodium, 155 grams carbs (yikes), 7 grams fiber, 19 grams protein. Divide in half for 2 servings. Being that it is vegan I would suggest this as a 1 person meal.
Being that it is vegan, and gluten-free, it doesn’t have a lot of protein. This is something to consider.
The directions are simple, and the same as most freeze-dried/dehydrated meals are: Rip open, find desiccant packet and toss, add in boiling water, stir, seal and let sit for 15 minutes. Now then, as I said above, these meals are dehydrated, not freeze-dried. The end dish of food feels like real food. And it tastes like it as well. The pouch is marked on the side with numbers. It tells you on the back which number to fold the pouch over, to crease, if you don’t have a measuring cup. Nice feature.
You won’t lose this bag being bright yellow.
The meal is a dark color and the mushrooms are caramelized in appearance.
Add 2¼ cups boiling water, stir well and seal, then let sit for 15 minutes.
The meal is actually quite good. A bit salty for my taste, but not overly high. The rice is soft, and the mushrooms are pleasantly chewy. I much prefer dehydrated mushrooms over freeze-dried. It gives the mushrooms substance.
For a vegetarian/vegan meal it is quite good. You won’t miss the meat in it, but just know it isn’t high in protein.
~Sarah