One-Pot Pasta and Meatballs
Shelf-stable meatballs, penne, and a sauce built from tomato powder and dry seasoning. One pot, no pressure cooker.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 18 min
- total time
- 23 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
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Penne | 6 oz | quick-cooking, 9 to 11 minutes on the box |
|---|---|---|
| Shelf-stable meatballs | 8 oz | canned or retort pouch; freeze-dried beef crumbles also work |
| Tomato powder | 1/3 cup | stands in for the can of crushed tomatoes and the tomato sauce |
| Italian seasoning | 2 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Dried minced onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried basil | 1 tsp | |
| Sugar | 1 tsp | cuts the acid; do not skip it |
| Red wine vinegar | 1 tsp | a dropper bottle, or a vinegar packet |
| Salt and pepper | to taste | |
| Grated parmesan | 2 tbsp | the dry shaker kind, shelf-stable |
| Red pepper flakes | a pinch | optional |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Bring 700 ml of water to a boil. Add the penne and the dried onion and cook at a low boil for the time on the box, stirring so nothing welds to the bottom.
- Do not drain. When the pasta is nearly done, most of the water should be gone. If it is still soupy, boil harder for a minute with the lid off.
- Kill the heat. Stir in the tomato powder, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, basil, and sugar. It thickens fast.
- Add the meatballs, lid on, and let them sit five minutes in the hot sauce to warm through.
- Finish with the vinegar, the oil, salt, pepper, and the parmesan over the top.
The original is a pressure cooker dump meal, which is the wrong tool at 9,000 feet. The method survives the trip anyway: cook the pasta in exactly the water it needs, then build the sauce in that starchy leftover water instead of draining it. No colander, no second pot, no wasted fuel.
Tomato powder is what makes this packable. A can of crushed tomatoes plus a can of sauce is about three pounds of water you would be carrying up a hill. A third of a cup of powder does the same job and rehydrates in the pot. The sugar and the vinegar are not optional garnish — powdered tomato runs flat and sharp at the same time, and those two pull it back into something that tastes cooked.
Packing
Pasta in one bag. Tomato powder, seasonings, sugar, and dried onion premixed in a second small bag so the sauce is one pour. Meatball pouch and parmesan ride separately.
Variations
- Freeze-dried ground beef instead of meatballs drops about half a pound of carried weight; rehydrate it in the pasta water for the last five minutes.
- A handful of dried spinach or kale stirred in at the end adds bulk for almost no weight.
- Fire-roasted tomato powder and a heavier hand with the flakes make it a different dinner.
https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/instant-pot-penne-pasta-with-meatballs