So Much Better Than Airplane Food: Huel Review

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Peeling back the foil on my in-flight meal always leaves me regretting not packing food for my trip. However, most easy-to-pack foods are either not satisfying, or not that great-tasting (hello, chalky protein bars). 

To see if there was a better way to fuel up on the road, I tried out Huel, a line of nutritionally complete portable meals

What is Huel?

Huel is a line of plant-based meals. The brand offers powders (which can be made into shakes), ready-to-drink shakes, protein bars, snack bars, and instant meals. I tried the peanut butter and chocolate flavors of Huel Black plus the Thai green curry and yellow coconut curry flavors of Huel Hot & Savory.

To make Huel Hot & Savory, you simply add boiling water, stir, and cover. You’ll have a hot meal in five minutes. (It can also be microwaved for a faster prep.) 

The Huel Black powder is mixed with water and shaken to quickly create a meal replacement drink.

What Makes Huel Different?

Huel bills its products as being “nutritionally complete” so that each serving is a balanced blend of protein, fat, carbohydrates, and fiber designed to give you lasting energy and keep you full. The Huel Black shakes contain 40 grams of protein per serving, and the Hot & Savory meals contain around 25 grams of protein depending on the flavor. 

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Both products are plant-based, use sustainable ingredients, and include 27 vitamins and minerals in every serving. 

How Does Huel Measure Up?

Ease of Use: 8/10

Huel offers convenient nutrition for long travel days, flights, road trips, and camping. The meals are easy to make while traveling and very portable. Before I trip, I decant servings of Huel into individual plastic bags, and then buy a cup of hot water and a spoon at a coffee shop or gas station to make the Hot & Savory meals. The shakes are easy to make as well—just add water and shake in Huel’s shaker cup. 

Taste: 9/10

The Huel curries I tried were surprisingly tasty for instant meals. It was also really nice to have a hot meal available when traveling or camping, and made me feel a lot better than if I was eating an in-flight meal or greasy fast food. 

I also enjoyed the shakes, and found creative ways to use the powder (like mixing the peanut butter flavor into oatmeal for extra protein). 

Cost: 9/10

Huel Hot & Ready costs approximately $30 per bag, which breaks down to about $3.76 per meal—definitely cheaper than buying food at the airport or at a restaurant. Huel Black costs around $95 per bag (34 meals per bag). 

Huel Pros:

• Easy way to eat healthy while traveling
• Great for camping
• Tastes delicious
• Easy to prepare
• No cooking utensils/microwave/stove required
• Helpful for people traveling with allergies to have safe meals
• Nutritionally complete
• Plant-based
• No artificial sweeteners
• Many flavors are gluten-free
• Contains 27 vitamins and minerals 

Huel Cons:

• Huel Black can be gritty tasting when made in the shaker (much better when made in a blender, which isn’t ideal for traveling)
• Two-bag minimum when buying Huel Black on their website, and three-bag minimum for Huel Hot & Savory

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