Sweet Potato, Chicken, and Black Bean Stew
Smoked paprika, dried sweet potato, and a pouch of chicken. A stew that rehydrates into something thick.
- calories
- 610
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 111
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 15 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
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dehydrated sweet potato | 3/4 cup | diced small, 1/4 inch or it never softens |
|---|---|---|
| Instant black bean flakes | 1/3 cup | or dehydrated whole beans if you want texture |
| Dried tomato flakes or powder | 2 tbsp | fire-roasted if you can find it |
| Dried minced onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Chicken bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp powder | |
| Smoked paprika | 1 tsp | |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste | go light, the bouillon is already salty |
| Foil-pouch chicken | 5 oz | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Dried parsley | 1 tsp |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Dump in everything dry except the parsley.
- Stir, cover, and simmer on the lowest flame you can hold for eight minutes. Stir every couple of minutes so the bean flakes do not weld to the bottom.
- Cut the heat, cover again, and let it sit five minutes. The sweet potato finishes on residual heat, which saves fuel.
- Squeeze in the chicken pouch, pour the oil over, and stir. Mash a few potato pieces against the pot wall to thicken it.
- Scatter the parsley and eat.
The original is a fresh-ingredient pot on a home stove. What survives the trip to a pack is the seasoning logic: smoked paprika plus sweet potato does most of the work, so there is no long spice list to carry. Bouillon replaces stock, tomato powder replaces the can, and dried diced sweet potato replaces the two pounds of fresh root you are not hauling.
Thickening comes from the starch, not from flour. Bean flakes dissolve on contact and the sweet potato breaks down when you press it, which is why the mashing step matters. Skip it and you get seasoned water with cubes floating in it. The oil goes in at the end because fat helps the beta-carotene actually land, and because a stew this lean eats thin without it.
Packing
All the dry goods go in one freezer bag at home. Chicken pouch and oil bottle ride separately. If you cold-soak the sweet potato in your pot for thirty minutes before lighting the stove, cook time drops to about five minutes.
Variations
- Skip the chicken and use vegetable bouillon for a vegan version. Add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast for body.
- Cayenne or chipotle powder if you want heat. The smoked paprika is not spicy on its own.
- Instant refried beans in place of the black bean flakes thicken it faster.
https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/chicken-sweet-potato-and-black-bean-stew