Chili Beef Pasta, One Pot
Ground beef, beans, and short pasta cooked down in a single pot. Feeds a crowd off one fire.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 89
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 40 min
- water
- 700 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
- Campfire coals
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried ground beef | 4 oz dry | rehydrates to about 500 g; canned roast beef also works |
|---|---|---|
| Dried onion flakes | 1/4 cup | stands in for one fresh onion |
| Garlic | 4 cloves | a whole head keeps for weeks unrefrigerated; or 1 tsp granulated |
| Chili powder | 1 tsp | |
| Cumin | 1 tbsp | |
| Tomato paste | 3 tbsp | the tube kind, not a can you have to finish |
| Beef bouillon | 2 cubes | makes the 2 cups of stock |
| Canned diced tomatoes | 400 g can | |
| Short pasta | 3 cups | macaroni, shells, or ditalini |
| Canned kidney beans | 400 g can | do not drain, the liquid counts as stock |
| Shredded or hard cheese | 5 oz | |
| Cooking oil | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Get a wide, heavy pot over moderate heat, or set it on a grate above coals rather than flame. Add the oil and the onion flakes with a splash of water. Two minutes, until they soften.
- Add chopped garlic, then the freeze-dried beef with about 200 ml of water. Let it sit a minute to take up the water, then break it apart with a spoon.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, and tomato paste. Cook it a half minute so the paste darkens.
- Crumble in the bouillon, add 500 ml water and the canned tomatoes. Bring it to a boil.
- Dump in the pasta. Cover and cook about 12 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes so nothing welds to the bottom. Add water in small splashes if it goes dry before the pasta does.
- With two minutes left, stir in the beans and their liquid. Scatter the cheese over the top, lid on, heat off. Give it five minutes to melt.
This is a chili and a pasta dish cooked at the same time in the same pot, which works because the pasta finishes in the chili liquid instead of in water you would otherwise pour off. That starch is what thickens the sauce. There is no draining step and no second pot.
The original wanted fresh onion, refrigerated beef, and sour cream. Freeze-dried beef and onion flakes carry that without a cooler, and the cheese melted under a lid at the end does the job sour cream was doing. Use a wide, heavy-bottomed pot over coals rather than open flame — thin walls and direct fire will scorch the bottom before the pasta is done.
Packing
Spices, onion flakes, and bouillon go in one small bag mixed together. Pasta in another. Cans and the cheese ride in the same box; nothing needs a cooler for a weekend.
Variations
- Skip the beef and add a second can of beans. It still eats like a full dinner.
- Dehydrated bell pepper and mushroom go in with the onion flakes and cost almost nothing in weight.
https://www.advrider.com/one-pot-chili-beef-pasta