Parmesan Noodles in a Bag
Ramen without the packet. Cheese, herbs, and oil do the work instead.
- calories
- 730
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 122
- protein
- 22 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 7 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
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Day hike
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant ramen noodles | 1 block | discard the seasoning packet, or about 3 oz of any quick-cooking pasta |
|---|---|---|
| Grated parmesan | 1.5 oz | the dry shelf-stable kind, not fresh |
| Italian herb blend | 1.5 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/4 tsp | |
| Sea salt | 1/8 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 oz | carried in a leak-proof bottle |
Method
- Take the oil bottle out of the freezer bag before you start.
- Heat about 475 ml of water until it steams, then shut off the stove. A rolling boil is not needed and wastes fuel.
- Drop in the noodles and let them sit in the hot water until soft. Three minutes for ramen, longer for pasta.
- Lift the noodles into the bag with your spoon and leave most of the water behind. Wet noodles make cheese sauce; soupy noodles make soup.
- Seal the bag and shake until the cheese coats everything and melts.
- Pour in the oil, stir once, and eat out of the bag.
Grated parmesan is one of the few cheeses that behaves on trail: it is already dry, it keeps for weeks without a cooler, and it melts into a coating rather than a puddle. The heat left in the noodles is enough to soften it, so nothing goes back on the stove.
Draining matters more than anything else here. Carry the noodles over to the cheese instead of dumping cheese into the pot, and the starch clinging to them binds with the oil into something close to a sauce. Cooking in the bag also means the pot only ever held water, which is the whole cleanup.
Packing
Noodles, cheese, herbs, garlic powder, and salt go into one quart freezer bag at home. Oil rides separately in a bottle that has been tested upside down.
Variations
- A foil packet of tuna or chicken turns it into a heavier dinner.
- Dried mushrooms or sun-dried tomatoes rehydrate in the noodle water.
- Swap half the parmesan for powdered cheese sauce mix if you want it looser.
https://thehikingtreeblog.wordpress.com/2025/09/27/easy-trail-recipes-parmesan-pasta