Bruschetta Chicken Skillet
Foil chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic in one pan, with cheese melted over the top.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 7.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 69
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 120 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
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Foil-pouch chicken breast | 2 pouches, 7 oz each | replaces the raw breasts; already cooked |
|---|---|---|
| Sun-dried tomatoes | 1/2 cup | dry-packed, chopped at home |
| Garlic | 3 cloves | minced, or 1 tsp granulated |
| Dried basil | 2 tsp | fresh basil turns black in a pack |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Balsamic vinegar | 1 tbsp | in a small leakproof bottle |
| Shelf-stable mozzarella or parmesan | 2 oz | vacuum-sealed block, grated at camp |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Put the sun-dried tomatoes in the pot with 120 ml of boiled water. Let them sit five minutes until they soften, then drain off whatever water is left.
- Add the olive oil, garlic, and basil to the tomatoes. Warm over low heat for a minute so the garlic loses its raw edge.
- Flake in both chicken pouches, liquid drained. Stir until everything is coated and hot through.
- Kill the heat, scatter the cheese over the top, and cover the pot for two minutes so it melts on residual heat.
- Splash the balsamic over and season. Eat out of the pot.
The original is a baked dish, and baking is the one thing a stove will not do. So the oven work gets split up: the tomatoes rehydrate in the water that would have come out of fresh ones, the chicken arrives already cooked in a pouch, and the cheese melts under a lid instead of under broiler heat. Nothing here needs to reach 165°F, which removes the one real risk of cooking chicken outdoors.
Dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes are the substitution that carries the recipe. They hold the concentrated flavor fresh tomatoes only get after roasting, and they weigh almost nothing. The balsamic goes on at the end, off the heat — cooked into the pan it just turns sour.
Packing
Tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper go in one small bag. Oil and vinegar ride in dropper bottles. Chicken pouches and cheese pack separately; the cheese wants the coolest spot in the pack.
Variations
- Serve it over instant polenta or a bag of couscous to stretch it to three people. Couscous is wheat, so the gluten-free claim goes away.
- A foil pouch of salmon in place of the chicken works and needs less heat.
- Freeze-dried diced tomatoes rehydrate faster than sun-dried if you are short on fuel.
https://zenandhoney.com/bruschetta-chicken-bake