One-Pot Thanksgiving Dinner for Backpacking

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving in the forest with a tasty one-pot meal filled with our favorite Thanksgiving essentials!

Ingredients (Serves 2 People):

  • 3/4 cup instant stuffing
  • 1/2 cup instant potatoes
  • 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds (or dehydrated turkey)
  • 1/4 cup dehydrated green beans
  • 1/4 cup dehydrated corn
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 package instant gravy
  • 2 tsp veggie bouillon
  • 1/4 cup fried onions (topping)
  • 3 cups water to rehydrate

Before the Trail:

Dehydrating:

Dehydrate green beans and corn separately at 135°F until they are crispy (~8+ hours). If using fresh or frozen green beans and corn, precook before dehydrating. (Precooking will make them less chewy after rehydrating.)

Assembly:

Put fried onions in a small bag. Combine remaining dry ingredients in a bigger bag along with the small bag. Vacuum seal bag if not eating soon.

On the Trail:

Put all ingredients except fried onions into pot with water and cover. Soak for 5 minutes. Bring to a boil, and boil for 1-2 minutes adding more water if needed. Soak for 10 more minutes. Top with fried onions. Enjoy!

Tips:

  • Adjust flavorings/salt as needed, as different gravy packets and bouillons have different amounts of salt.
  • Do not vacuum seal bags completely to prevent pointy dehydrated veggies from puncturing the bags. They will also fit better in your resupply boxes, backpack, and bear box if they are still somewhat flexible.

Photos:

At home: dry ingredients.
Thanksgiving dinner is ready for the trail!
Cooking on the trail!
Almost ready!
Enjoy! It tasted great for Thanksgiving dinner, but we’d happily eat it on a backpacking trip any time of year!

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