Vegan Unstuffed Peppers (adapted from Chef Glenn’s Unstuffed Peppers recipe)

Colorful bell peppers give this meal a sweet, fresh taste. Tomato sauce, rice, and kidney beans are a hearty, filling combination. Top with some nutritional yeast for extra flavor.

This recipe was adapted from Backpacking Chef Glenn’s Unstuffed Peppers recipe to be vegan: https://www.backpackingchef.com/tomato-sauce-leather.html

Ingredients (Serves 2 People):

  • 1-1/4 cups cooked & dehydrated Basmati rice
  • 1/3 + 1/4 cups dehydrated canned kidney beans
  • 1/3 + 1/4 cups dehydrated green, red, orange, yellow bell peppers
  • 1/3 + 1/4 cups dehydrated tomato sauce
  • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 3 cups water to rehydrate

Before the Trail:

Dehydrating:

  • Cook Basmati rice per directions on bag. Spread on dehydrator trays. Dehydrate at 135°F until it is hard (~5+ hours) breaking up clumps a couple of times.
  • Rinse canned kidney beans and dehydrate at 135°F until they are crispy (~8+ hours).
  • Cut fresh bell peppers into 1/2 pieces and dehydrate at 135°F until they are crispy (~8+ hours).
  • We bought jars of marinara sauce, but you could use your own tomato sauce recipe. (Choose a sauce without cheese as the fat can cause it to spoil.) Spread thinly on the fruit-roll sheets that came with your dehydrator. Dehydrate at 135°F until it is crispy (~8+ hours) flipping after about 5 hours.

Assembly:

Put tomato sauce and nutritional yeast in separate, small bags. Combine remaining ingredients in a bigger bag along with the smaller bags. Vacuum seal bag if not eating soon.

On the Trail:

Put all ingredients except nutritional yeast in pot with water and cover. Soak for 5 minutes. Bring to a boil, and boil for 1 minute. Soak for more 10 minutes. Add nutritional yeast before serving. Enjoy!

Tips:

  • Fritos are a great topping!
  • This recipe could also be cold soaked on the trail.
  • You could use instant rice instead of cooking and dehydrating Basmati rice. Instant rice is not as nutritious or tasty though.
  • 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.