Pumpkin Chili Mac
Pumpkin powder, beans, and pasta in one pot. Thick enough to eat with a spoon standing up.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 28 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 600 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
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Small pasta | 2 oz | macaroni or small shells, nothing that needs more than 8 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Dehydrated refried beans | 1/3 cup | instant, the kind that rehydrates in the bag |
| Textured vegetable protein | 1/4 cup | |
| Pumpkin powder | 3 tbsp | dehydrated canned pumpkin, or buy it powdered |
| Chili powder, cumin, garlic powder | 2 tsp total | |
| Nutritional yeast | 2 tbsp | |
| Tomato powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Add the pasta and the TVP together and cook 7 to 8 minutes, stirring so nothing welds to the bottom.
- Do not drain. The starchy water is the sauce.
- Pull the pot off the heat. Stir in the bean, pumpkin, tomato, spice, and yeast mix a spoonful at a time so it does not clump.
- Lid on, five minutes. It will keep thickening.
- Stir in the oil and eat. Add hot water by the splash if it goes past thick into solid.
Pumpkin is the reason this holds together. Dehydrated pumpkin is mostly soluble fiber and starch, so it thickens the pot the way a roux would at home, without butter or flour. It also sands the edges off the chili powder, which matters when the alternative is eating straight cayenne at altitude.
Cooking the TVP with the pasta saves a step and a boil. Everything else goes in off the heat because the bean flakes and tomato powder seize into lumps if they hit rolling water. The nutritional yeast stands in for the cheese this dish usually gets, and it survives a week in a pack, which cheese powder does too but flavor-wise this one earns its weight in savoriness rather than fat. The oil is where the calories are, so measure it honestly.
Packing
Pasta in one bag. Everything else premixed in a second bag, since it all goes in at the same moment. Oil separate.
Variations
- A foil packet of chicken stirred in at the end adds about 20 g of protein.
- Sweet potato powder in place of pumpkin works the same way and is easier to find.
- A crushed handful of corn chips on top gives it something to chew on.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/best-foods-to-stock-up-on-during-holiday-grocery-sales