Chili con Pollo
Chicken chili built from a foil pouch, dried vegetables, and instant beans. One pot, one boil.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 95
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 500 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
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Foil-pouch chicken | 5 oz | or freeze-dried diced chicken, 1.5 oz dry |
|---|---|---|
| Instant refried or black bean flakes | 1/2 cup | stands in for a can of red beans |
| Dried diced onion | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried carrot and red bell pepper | 1/4 cup total | |
| Tomato powder | 3 tbsp | replaces canned tomatoes and paste |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Ground cumin | 1 tsp | |
| Ground coriander | 1 tsp | |
| Chili powder | 1/2 tsp | more if you want it hot |
| Red pepper flakes | 1/4 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt | to taste |
Method
- Bring 500 ml of water to a boil. Add the dried onion, carrot, and pepper and let them sit at a low boil for five minutes.
- Stir in the tomato powder and all the spices. Two more minutes, lid on.
- Kill the heat. Add the bean flakes a few spoonfuls at a time, stirring, until it thickens to a stew.
- Drain the chicken pouch and fold the meat in. Pour the oil over the top, stir, salt it, and let it sit two minutes off the stove.
The original is a home stew: fresh onion, carrot, peppers, two cans, and a long simmer. On trail the cans are the problem, so tomato powder does the work of both the paste and the tinned tomatoes, and instant bean flakes replace the drained can. Everything that used to be wet is now powder, and the water goes in at camp instead of on your back.
The order matters. Vegetables first, because dried carrot is stubborn and needs the full boil. Bean flakes last and off the heat, or they clump and scorch on the pot bottom. The oil is not optional either — the source browned the chicken in two tablespoons of it, and without that fat the whole thing reads as thin and salty.
Packing
Everything dry except the chicken and oil goes in one freezer bag at home. The pouch and a small oil bottle ride separately.
Variations
- Freeze-dried chicken instead of the pouch saves four ounces; add it with the vegetables so it has time to rehydrate.
- Skip the chicken and add another 1/4 cup of bean flakes for a meatless version.
- Crushed corn chips on top give it texture, and a lime salt packet brightens it.
https://www.matprat.no/oppskrifter/kos/chili-con-pollo