Mac and cheese without the cheese!? Count us in! This is a thick and creamy macaroni that’s packed with veggies and beans. It’ll fill you up with calories, nutrients, and of course, protein.
Ingredients (Serves 1, 650 calories):
- ½ cup (2 oz) macaroni noodles (6-7 minute cook time)
- ⅓ cup dehydrated canned pinto beans
- ⅓ cup dehydrated veggies, including cherry tomatoes, onions, kale, and carrots
- 2 Tablespoons powdered oat milk
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric (for color)
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional but yummy if you like a kick)
- 1⅓ cups water to rehydrate
Before the Trail:
Dehydrating:
- Rinse canned beans and dehydrate at 135°F until they are crispy (~8+ hours).
- For the veggies: Cut fresh onions into 1/2″ pieces. Chop Kale into 1″ squares. Chop cherry tomatoes into quarters. Julienne carrots. Dehydrate veggies separately at 135°F until they are crispy (~8+ hours).
Assembly:
- Put powdered oat milk, nutritional yeast, and flour in a small, light bag (e.g. a fold-over sandwich bag) and seal or tie shut.
- Put pasta, beans, veggies, bouillon, garlic, paprika, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and the small bag of powders in a sealable bag (e.g. a Ziploc).
On the Trail:
- Set the small bag aside. Combine water and other dry ingredients in a pot.
- Cover and bring to a boil on high heat. Stir occasionally.
- Lower heat to a simmer. Simmer covered for two minutes (it will still look watery and uncooked).
- Remove from heat, add contents of small bag, mix thoroughly, then cover and let sit for 10 minutes, until all of the water is absorbed.
Yum!
(It’s great to hear from you again)
can noodles be parboiled and then dehydrated?
Should all frozen veggies be pre-cooked before dehydrating?
Do you dehydrate in a convection oven simply to increase your space capacity or do some items work better in there?
The veggies don’t need to be pre-cooked before dehydrating. Dehydrating is best in a dedicated dehydrator, a convection oven is second best because of the airflow. A regular oven should work too as long as it can do a temperature under 150⁰F. In a regular oven it will take a long time, and make sure to leave the door cracked open. Enjoy!
When you cold soak, do you just put all of the ingredients of the dish together in a baggie with the water in the morning before the hike and then at 7 hours later at dinner time heat and eat or is that too long of a timeframe?
Hey thanks for all your recipes they are so helpful. Very very grateful to you guys for sharing your knowledge.
Just made this today… so tasty! Wow! Thank you. This will be one of my meal rotation on PCT thru-hike this year! Thanks a bunches to you both!
Amazing!! Have fun!!!