Cheesy Camp Mash
Instant potatoes, three kinds of shelf-stable cheese, and enough fat to matter.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 144
- protein
- 22 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 7 min
- water
- 400 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 1 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Powdered whole milk | 3 tbsp | replaces the cream |
| Butter powder or ghee | 2 tbsp | ghee keeps for weeks unrefrigerated |
| Grated parmesan | 1/4 cup | the shelf-stable green-can kind is fine here |
| Hard cheese | 1.5 oz | colby jack or a dry cheddar, cubed small |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Boil 400 ml of water. Pull it off the heat before anything goes in.
- Stir in the potato flakes, milk powder, and butter powder a bit at a time. Lumps come from dumping it all at once.
- Add the parmesan and stir until it disappears.
- Drop in the cubed hard cheese, put the lid on, and leave it three minutes. The residual heat melts it without scorching the pot.
- Stir once, season, eat.
The original is a baked casserole with four pounds of real potatoes, a stick of butter, and a cup of cream. None of that travels. Flakes replace the boiled potatoes, powdered whole milk replaces the cream, and butter powder or ghee replaces the stick — all of it shelf-stable, all of it in one pot.
The cheese does the work in two stages. Parmesan is dry enough to dissolve straight into the hot mash and season the whole thing. The cubed hard cheese goes in off the heat and melts slowly under the lid, so you get pockets of it instead of a uniform paste. Skip the fat and you have wallpaper paste with cheese in it.
Packing
Flakes, milk powder, butter powder, and parmesan go in one bag at home. Cube the hard cheese before the trip and carry it separately in its own bag.
Variations
- A packet of bacon bits or a foil pouch of chicken makes it a heavier dinner.
- Garlic powder and a pinch of dried chives cover for the fresh-potato flavor you gave up.
https://mealswithmaria.site/cheesy-mashed-potatoes-recipe