Cheeseburger Soup, Trail Version
Beef, potato flakes, and cheese powder in one pot. Tastes like a burger, packs like a dinner.
- calories
- 780
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 130
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried ground beef | 1/2 cup | or a foil pouch of shelf-stable cooked beef |
|---|---|---|
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 1/2 cup | replaces the diced potatoes |
| Dried onion, carrot, and celery | 1/4 cup total | the soup-vegetable blend sold in bulk bins |
| Instant lentils or dried refried beans | 3 tbsp | stretches the pot and adds protein |
| Bouillon powder | 1 tsp | chicken or beef |
| Cheddar cheese powder | 3 tbsp | |
| Powdered milk | 2 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder, salt, pepper | 1/2 tsp total | |
| Ketchup and mustard packets | 1 each | the diner condiment packets, not squeeze bottles |
| Bacon bits | 1 tbsp | the shelf-stable kind |
| Dill pickle chips | a small handful | dehydrated, or one relish packet |
Method
- Boil 600 ml of water. Drop in the dried vegetables, beef, lentils, bouillon, and spices.
- Simmer eight minutes with the lid on. The carrots and celery are the slow part; check one before moving on.
- Cut the heat. Stir in the potato flakes a spoonful at a time until it thickens to chowder.
- Add the cheese powder and milk powder off the heat and stir until smooth. Boiling cheese powder makes it grainy.
- Squeeze in the ketchup and mustard, then scatter the bacon bits and pickles on top.
The original is a stovetop soup built on ground beef, diced potatoes, and a cheese sauce. Both of those go dry without much loss: potato flakes thicken faster than cubed potatoes ever did, and cheddar powder does the work of grated cheddar without a cooler. The mirepoix stays, just dehydrated, and it needs the full simmer — carrot and celery rehydrate slower than everything else in the pot.
Ketchup and mustard are what make this read as a burger instead of generic beef soup. They are one packet each and weigh nothing, so do not leave them home. Same for the pickles: the acid cuts the fat, and without it the whole pot goes flat by the third spoonful.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag except the cheese and milk powder, which get their own small bag so they stay out of the boil. Condiment packets and bacon bits ride in the lid pocket.
Variations
- Skip the cheese and milk powder for a plain hamburger soup that is dairy-free.
- Freeze-dried turkey or chicken swaps in one for one.
- A packet of hot sauce covers for the spicy brown mustard.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/cheeseburger-soup