Butternut Sausage Tortellini Soup
Dried squash, freeze-dried sausage crumbles, and dry tortellini in one pot.
- calories
- 780
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 130
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 700 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Car camping
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried butternut squash | 1/2 cup | dice small and dehydrate at home, or buy dried squash dice |
|---|---|---|
| Dry cheese tortellini | 1 cup | the shelf-stable dry kind, not refrigerated fresh |
| Freeze-dried cooked chicken sausage | 1.5 oz | crumbled; freeze-dried ground chicken or turkey also works |
| Chicken bouillon | 2 tsp | |
| Tomato powder | 2 tbsp | stands in for canned fire-roasted tomatoes and paste |
| Dried onion flakes | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried basil, thyme, and sage | 1 tsp total | |
| Dried spinach | 1/4 cup | packed loose, it crushes down to nothing |
| Powdered whole milk or cream powder | 3 tbsp | |
| Grated parmesan | 2 tbsp | the dry shaker kind keeps for weeks |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Smoked paprika | 1/4 tsp | replaces the char from fire-roasted tomatoes |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Bring 700 ml of water to a boil. Add the squash, onion, sausage crumbles, bouillon, tomato powder, garlic, paprika, and herbs.
- Cover and simmer 8 minutes. The squash needs the head start; tortellini does not.
- Add the tortellini and dried spinach. Simmer another 5 to 7 minutes until the pasta is soft and the squash mashes against the pot.
- Pull it off the heat. Let it stand two minutes so nothing scorches, then stir in the milk powder, oil, and parmesan.
- Season and eat. It thickens as it cools.
This started as a slow cooker soup, which is a machine nobody carries. The translation is mostly about dehydration order: squash is dense and slow, tortellini is fast, and boiling both together gives you either raw squash or pasta paste. Ten minutes apart fixes it.
Canned tomatoes and heavy cream are the two things that will not ride in a pack. Tomato powder plus a little smoked paprika covers the fire-roasted flavor at a fraction of the weight, and milk powder stirred in off the heat gives the same body without curdling. Add the dairy while the pot is still boiling and you get grit instead of cream.
Packing
Everything dry except the milk powder, parmesan, and oil goes in one bag. Dairy powders clump if they boil, so they ride separately and go in last.
Variations
- Skip the sausage and use vegetable bouillon for a meatless pot. Add a scoop of soy curls if you still want the protein.
- Swap the tortellini for small shells and cut the simmer to 6 minutes if you want it lighter in the pack.
- A pinch of red pepper flakes gets you closer to a hot Italian sausage version.
https://mealswithmaria.site/creamy-butternut-squash-tortellini-soup