Canned Chicken Alfredo
Boxed fettuccine alfredo built out with canned chicken and powdered milk. Two servings from one pot.
- calories
- 600
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 100
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 2, 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
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Boxed fettuccine alfredo | 1 package | the kind with a powdered sauce packet |
|---|---|---|
| Canned chicken breast | 1 can (about 5 oz) | drain the water off before it goes in |
| Powdered whole milk | 1/3 cup | replaces the canned milk the box calls for |
| Olive oil or ghee | 1 tbsp | stands in for butter |
| Salt and pepper | to taste | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | optional |
Method
- Boil about 600 ml of water. Add the noodles and cook them the way the box says, stirring often so nothing welds to the bottom.
- Do not drain. Whisk the powdered milk into a few tablespoons of cool water in your mug, then pour it in along with the sauce packet and the oil.
- Stir in the drained chicken while the noodles still have a little bite left.
- Keep it on low heat five more minutes, stirring the whole time. Sauce burns before pasta does.
- Pull it off, season, and let it sit two minutes to thicken.
The original of this is a scout-camp recipe that leans on a can of condensed milk. Canned milk is heavy and there is nothing to do with the leftovers, so powdered whole milk goes in instead. Mix it into cool water first or you get lumps that never dissolve.
The noodles cook in the water that becomes the sauce, so nothing gets drained and no starch gets thrown away. That starch is what keeps a powdered alfredo from separating. The last five minutes on low is the part people skip, and it is where the sauce actually comes together — stir the whole time, because the pot bottom scorches fast on a canister stove.
Packing
Ditch the box. Noodles and sauce packet go in one freezer bag, powdered milk in a small bag inside it. The chicken can rides on top of the food bag so it does not crush anything.
Variations
- A foil pouch of chicken saves the can weight and the drained water.
- Dried mushrooms or a handful of instant potato flakes will thicken a sauce that came out thin.
- Sun-dried tomatoes rehydrate in the pasta water and cut the richness.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/simple_chicken_alfredo-2130.asp