--- title: "The 6 absolute worst MREs and field rations ever created from any era" description: "MREs are a huge improvement from c-rats and P-38s, so we kind of expect the military to increase the quality of the MREs as time goes on." date: "2022-08-10" modified: "2026-03-10" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/the-6-absolute-worst-field-ration-meals-ever-created-from-any-era/" categories: - "History" - "Join the Military" - "Military Culture" tags: - "Food" - "Military Culture" - "Military History" --- # The 6 absolute worst MREs and field rations ever created from any era ![MRE field ration]() *(U.S. Army/Sgt. Arturo Guzman)* We give up a lot of our free speech rights when we agree to wear the uniform of the United States. Military life is quirky like that. But everyone in the military complains about the food, and no officer will punish us for it. Ever. **Also Read: [6 rations troops are thankful the military discontinued]()** It’s every troop's God-given right to complain about food, and we’ve exercised that right from the [firecakes of Valley Forge]() to the spaghetti carbonara of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rations are a whole other thing. No one expects military field rations to be *haute cuisine*, so we judge them on an entirely different scale. MREs are a huge improvement from the days of tins and P-38s, so we kind of expect the military to increase the quality of an MRE. After all, is a full menu of 24 solidly edible different meals really too much to expect? Instead of just building on what’s good, the U.S. Army's [researchers in Natick, Mass.](), the brillian designers of those edible field rations, will change the entire menu from time to time. While we give them credit for some outstanding meals over the last 80 or so years, there are some that left us wondering: Who thought this was a great idea?? These are those. ### 1. C-Ration Ham and Eggs ![worst ration any era c-rat ham and eggs]() *Watch someone eat this at MRE Review on [YouTube](). (MRE Review)* Whoever thought eggs in a can would be welcomed field food should be court-martialed and jailed immediately. American troops in [Vietnam]() often said they’d rather skip a meal [than get stuck with Ham and Eggs]() if there wasn’t a generous amount of Tabasco sauce around to go with it. They even nicknamed it "the Joker." As if it wasn't bad enough on its own, nothing other than Tabasco made it edible. Salt and pepper didn’t cut it. Adding cheese and crackers didn’t do it. Some even tried adding peanut butter. You couldn’t even trade it away. ### 2. World War II K-Rations K-Rations were well-known for keeping troops from dying of hunger, and that’s about it. It contained three entrees for a day: an unrecognizable chopped ham and eggs, veal loaf, or chicken pate and equally mysterious cheese. It also came with a bouillon cube, undrinkable lemonade that [doubled as a floor cleaner](), a fruit or cereal bar, and a bit of chocolate. The K-ration’s saving grace: a packet of instant coffee. [Ratf\*cking]() didn't start with MREs, U.S. troops have been at it the whole time. ### 3. Buffalo Chicken MRE ![worst rations any era buffalo chicken]() *If you had to eat it, you certainly didn't want to look at it.* The *taste* of the Buffalo Chicken MRE was bad enough. For anyone unfamiliar with what buffalo sauce is, it's basically hot sauce with a stick of butter melted into it. That's why it's so good. Now imagine hot sauce with added vinegar and "butter style flavor" instead. It's a taste sensation you won’t soon forget. People trying "Pulled Chicken in Buffalo Style Sauce" for the first time and getting past the sauce might wonder why troops were so averse to eating it. It’s the knowledge of what’s to come *after* eating it that left us shook. MREs might be known to clog up the digestive works for some troops, but not the Buffalo Chicken MRE. It had the exact opposite effect. ### 4. Firecake Even Revolutionary War soldiers starving and freezing at [Valley Forge]() grumbled about the food there, when there was any to be had. The most common kind of sustenance was firecake, a thick mix of plain flour and a little bit of water. It was so dry and bland, the Continental Army added ash from the fires for flavor. Even when they weren't freezing to death in Pennsylvania, the food was often not much better, and it certainly wasn't enough. Their pork was salt pork, which kept longer than regular pork, but was too salty to eat most of the time, while the buscuit they were allotted "[could break the teeth of a rat]().” ### 5. MRE Vegetable Omelet ![worst rations any era vomelet reddit]() *Once again, Steve from MRE Review [took the hit]() so you don't have to. (MRE Review)* Are we noticing a trend, Natick? Stop putting eggs in the MREs. This “meal” was nicknamed the “vomelet” for a reason. If you were able to actually get past how gross this thing looked and get it into your mouth, you were lucky to be able to keep it there, and luckier to keep it down. ### 6. C-Ration Ham and Lima Beans Let’s be honest, no matter how old you are, the idea of eating lima beans is probably not appetizing. In the jungles of Vietnam, where you might not even be able to heat them up makes them downright revolting. The unheated c-ration version of this war crime is enough to make anyone pretend to be Jewish in the hopes of getting literally anything other than the troops called “ham and motherf\*ckers.” ### Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty **• [Read 17 hilarious reviews of MREs from troops in the field]()** **• [Modern dishes anyone can make using Civil War foods]()** **• [11 regional American foods we’d like to see in MREs]()** ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()