Chicken and Gnocchi Chowder
Shelf-stable gnocchi, freeze-dried chicken, and powdered cream cheese in one pot.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 2, 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
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Winter / snow
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Shelf-stable potato gnocchi | 9 oz | the vacuum-sealed kind, not refrigerated |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried or canned chicken | 5 oz | |
| Cream of chicken soup mix | 1/3 cup | powdered, from a bulk soup base |
| Chicken bouillon | 2 tsp | |
| Powdered cream cheese | 3 tbsp | or 3 tbsp full-fat milk powder plus a spoon of oil |
| Freeze-dried corn | 1/2 cup | |
| Dried chives | 1 tbsp | |
| Onion powder | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Stir in the bouillon, corn, and chicken. Let it sit at a low simmer for three minutes so the freeze-dried pieces take on water.
- Add the gnocchi. Push them under and simmer four minutes, stirring so they do not weld to the bottom.
- Kill the heat. Whisk in the soup mix, cream cheese powder, and spices a spoonful at a time. Lumps form if you dump it.
- Stir in the chives, put the lid on, and wait three minutes. It thickens as it cools.
The original is an Instant Pot soup built on two cans of condensed cream of chicken and a tub of whipped chive cream cheese. Neither travels. Powdered soup base plus powdered cream cheese does the same job dry, and dried chives replace the green onions. Shelf-stable gnocchi is the one item worth hunting for: it keeps for months unopened and cooks in four minutes of simmer, which is faster than any pasta of comparable heft.
The gnocchi also sheds starch into the pot, which is most of what makes this a chowder rather than broth with things in it. Add the powders off the heat. Cream cheese powder seizes into gluey knots if it hits a rolling boil, and once that happens no amount of stirring undoes it.
Packing
Soup mix, cream cheese powder, bouillon, and spices go in one bag at home. Corn and chicken in a second. Gnocchi stays sealed until camp.
Variations
- A packet of instant potato flakes tightens it up if the gnocchi released less starch than expected.
- Swap the chicken for a foil packet of salmon and skip the bouillon.
https://www.thisisnotdietfood.com/instant-pot-chicken-gnocchi-soup-with-cream-cheese