Instant Leek and Potato Soup
Dried leeks, dried onion, and potato flakes. One boil and it thickens itself.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 3 oz
- cal / oz
- 140
- protein
- 9 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 475 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
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Dried leeks | 1 cup | home-dehydrated or store bought |
|---|---|---|
| Dried onion | 1/2 cup | |
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 1/3 cup | measure it, more turns this into paste |
| Bouillon cube | 1 | check the label if you want this vegan |
| Dried sage, pepper, and other herbs | 1 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | optional, but it is where the calories are |
Method
- Put 475 ml of cold water in the pot with the leeks, onion, and crumbled bouillon cube.
- Bring it to a boil. The vegetables rehydrate on the way up, so you are not wasting fuel.
- Stir in the potato flakes and let it simmer a minute or two, stirring so it does not catch.
- Kill the heat, add the herbs and the oil, put the lid on, and wait three minutes before eating.
Leeks dry well and weigh almost nothing once they do. Slice them thin, dehydrate at home, and a cup of them takes up less room than an apple. Stored airtight they last years, which is longer than the fresh ones would last in your kitchen.
The potato flakes are the thickener, not the bulk. A third of a cup turns two cups of broth into soup with body; much more and you get wallpaper paste with leeks in it. Add them after the boil, off a hard flame, and stir the whole time — they clump if you dump and walk away.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag per meal, bouillon cube included. Oil rides in a dropper bottle.
Variations
- A foil packet of chicken or a handful of dried salami stirred in with the potato flakes makes it a real dinner.
- Swap the potato flakes for the same volume of instant refried beans for a thicker, higher-protein version.
https://www.hikeforpurpose.com/trail-meal-instant-potato-and-leek-soup