Camp Chicken Noodle Soup
Bouillon, dried vegetables, and a foil packet of chicken. One pot, one boil.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 116
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 12 min
- water
- 650 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
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Chicken bouillon paste or granules | 2 tsp | paste has more body than cubes |
|---|---|---|
| Dried diced carrots | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried diced celery | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried thyme | 1/4 tsp | |
| Dried rosemary | 1 pinch | crush it between your fingers |
| Red pepper flakes | 1 pinch | |
| Black pepper | 1/4 tsp | |
| Wide egg noodles | 1 cup | the thin ones cook in about four minutes |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | stands in for the butter |
| Foil-packet chicken | 5 oz | |
| Salt | to taste | the bouillon is already salty, so taste first |
Method
- Bring 650 ml of water to a boil. Stir in the bouillon, dried vegetables, garlic powder, and the herbs.
- Simmer five minutes with the lid on. The carrots and celery need that time to rehydrate before the noodles go in.
- Add the noodles. Cook until they are just tender, four to five minutes, stirring so they do not weld to the bottom.
- Pull the pot off the heat. Stir in the chicken and the oil. The residual heat is enough to warm the meat.
- Taste before you add salt. Bouillon usually has it covered.
The original is built on homemade stock, a rotisserie bird, and fresh egg noodles. None of that travels. Bouillon paste does the job of stock at a fraction of the weight, dried carrots and celery rehydrate in the same pot, and a foil packet of chicken is shelf-stable protein you do not have to cook.
Order matters more than anything else here. Vegetables first, noodles second, chicken last and off the heat. Dump it all in at once and you get mushy noodles floating next to carrots that are still crunchy. The oil replaces the butter and keeps this from being a thin, salty broth.
Packing
Bouillon, dried vegetables, and seasonings go in one small bag. Noodles in another, since they measure by volume and crumble. Chicken packet and oil ride loose.
Variations
- Swap the noodles for instant rice or small pasta if you want gluten-free; add the rice with the vegetables instead.
- A packet of instant mashed potato stirred in at the end turns it into a thick stew.
- Freeze-dried chicken works in place of the foil packet. Add it with the vegetables so it has time to soften.
https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/chicken-noodle-soup