Butternut Sausage Orzo Soup
Dried squash, freeze-dried spinach, and a sausage crumble, simmered down to one pot at camp.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 29 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 600 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
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried Italian sausage crumbles | 2 oz | cooked, drained hard, then dehydrated at home |
|---|---|---|
| Orzo | 1/3 cup | |
| Dehydrated butternut squash | 1/2 cup | diced small, 1/4 inch or it never rehydrates |
| Freeze-dried spinach | 1/4 cup | |
| Chicken bouillon | 2 tsp | |
| Powdered whole milk | 2 tbsp | stands in for the heavy cream |
| Grated parmesan | 2 tbsp | the shelf-stable canister kind |
| Italian seasoning | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried thyme | 1/4 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Red pepper flakes | a pinch | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil with the bouillon, seasonings, and garlic powder.
- Add the squash and sausage. Simmer 8 minutes with the lid on. The squash needs the head start.
- Stir in the orzo. Simmer another 7 minutes, stirring often so it does not weld to the bottom.
- Kill the heat. Add the spinach, wait a minute, then stir in the milk powder, parmesan, and oil.
- Let it sit 2 minutes off the stove. It thickens as the orzo keeps drinking.
The original is a stovetop soup built on fresh sausage, cream, and stock. Three swaps make it carryable: home-dehydrated sausage crumbles, bouillon instead of five cups of stock, and powdered whole milk in place of heavy cream. Nothing else about it changes much, because orzo and diced squash both rehydrate in the same pot they cook in.
Order matters more than technique. Squash goes in first because dried cubes take the longest to soften, and orzo goes in second because it releases starch that thickens the broth into something closer to a stew. The dairy and oil go in last, off the heat, where they will not break or stick. Dice the squash small before drying it; large cubes stay leathery in the middle no matter how long you simmer.
Packing
Everything dry except the milk powder, parmesan, and oil goes in one bag. Those three go in a second small bag and get added off the heat, or the dairy will scorch on the pot bottom.
Variations
- Swap the orzo for instant rice or couscous if you want to cut the simmer to five minutes.
- Vegetarian version: drop the sausage, use vegetable bouillon, and add a handful of dried mushrooms.
https://mealswithmaria.site/butternut-squash-and-spinach-soup