Instant Ranch Chicken and Rice
Freeze-dried chicken and instant rice with ranch seasoning. One pot, one boil, one meal.
- calories
- 600
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 100
- protein
- 30 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 15 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant rice | 1/2 cup | the plain kind, not seasoned |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried diced chicken | 1/4 cup | |
| Freeze-dried cheese | 1/4 cup | Pepper Jack or cheddar |
| Dried tomato | 1/4 cup | |
| Dry ranch dressing mix | 1 tsp | |
| Parmesan cheese | 2 Tbsp | shelf-stable green can, optional |
| Olive oil | 1 Tbsp | carried in a dropper bottle |
Method
- Bring 500 ml of water to a boil. Pour in the olive oil.
- Add the rice, freeze-dried chicken, freeze-dried cheese, dried tomato, and ranch mix. Stir well.
- Remove from heat, cover the pot tightly, and wait fifteen minutes. In cold weather or at altitude, wrap the pot in your sleeping bag or use a cozy to hold heat.
- Stir. Top with parmesan if you brought it. Eat.
This is one-pot efficiency at its simplest. Instant rice becomes food with nothing but hot water. Freeze-dried chicken and cheese reconstitute in the same pot, no separate step. Ranch seasoning does the entire flavor job—salt, herbs, fat—in one teaspoon.
Dried tomato adds acid that keeps ranch from tasting flat. Parmesan is optional but earns its weight; it brings sharpness to what would otherwise be a smooth, one-note dish. Olive oil carries flavor into the rice and prevents the whole thing from feeling purely utilitarian.
Packing
Mix the rice, chicken, cheese, tomato, ranch mix, and parmesan into a single quart freezer bag at home. Carry the olive oil separately in a dropper bottle to avoid greasing the bag.
Variations
- Add a handful of instant mashed potato flakes to thicken it into something less soupy.
- Swap the ranch mix for taco seasoning or Italian dressing powder.
- A spoonful of pesto powder brings another layer of flavor if you're carrying it.
https://trailcooking.com/2023/04/27/instant-meals-ranch-chicken-rice