Bacon and Pea Alfredo, One Pot
Small pasta, freeze-dried peas, and a powdered alfredo sauce built from the starchy cooking water.
- calories
- 760
- weight
- 6.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 117
- protein
- 28 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 1000 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Small dry pasta | 8 oz | shells, elbows, or ditalini; long shapes do not fit the pot |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried peas | 1/2 cup | |
| Dry alfredo sauce mix | 1 packet | |
| Powdered milk | 1/2 cup | |
| Butter powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried chives | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried garlic | 1/2 tsp | |
| Ground black pepper | 1/4 tsp | |
| Shelf-stable bacon or bacon bits | 1/2 packet | |
| Parmesan | 1 tbsp | grated shelf-stable, or a small wedge if you have room |
Method
- If you carried a wedge of parmesan, grate or chop it now and set it aside.
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a 2 liter pot.
- Add the pasta and the peas. Cook for the time on the pasta box, stirring so nothing welds to the bottom.
- Cut the heat. Pour off the excess water, but keep about 1 1/2 cups of it in the pot. That starchy water is the sauce base.
- Add the sauce bag and the bacon. Stir until the powder is gone.
- Return to the stove and bring it back to a boil, then drop to low. Stir a minute or two until it thickens.
- Off the heat, stir in the parmesan and let it sit two minutes before eating.
Draining pasta on the trail usually means throwing away the one thing that makes a powdered sauce behave. Here you keep a cup and a half of it. The starch suspended in that water gives the alfredo mix and milk powder something to grab, so the sauce clings instead of pooling at the bottom of the pot.
The milk powder and butter powder do most of the heavy lifting. A packet of alfredo mix on its own is thin and salty; the added fat and dairy solids build it back into something with body. Freeze-dried peas rehydrate in the same boil as the pasta, which is the only reason they are worth carrying. Take the pot off the heat before the parmesan goes in, or it will string and separate.
Packing
Pasta and peas in one sandwich bag. Alfredo mix, milk powder, butter powder, chives, garlic, and pepper in a second small bag. Bacon in its own bag so the grease stays contained, and cheese wrapped separately.
Variations
- Skip the bacon and it becomes a plain alfredo that still works.
- A foil packet of chicken stirred in at the end adds another 20 g of protein.
- Freeze-dried mushrooms go in with the pasta and cook in the same water.
https://trailcooking.com/2019/10/18/one-pot-comfort-food-bacon-pea-alfredo