Taco Chili in a Pot
Taco night compressed into one pot of chili powder, beans, and freeze-dried beef.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 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
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried ground beef | 2 oz | freeze-dried ground turkey works the same way |
|---|---|---|
| Instant black beans | 1/3 cup | the flaked kind, not whole dried |
| Dehydrated kidney or chili beans | 1/3 cup | pre-cooked and dried, or swap in more instant beans |
| Tomato powder | 3 tbsp | |
| Dried onion flakes | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried red bell pepper | 2 tbsp | |
| Taco seasoning | 1 tbsp | |
| Chili powder | 1 tsp | scale to how much heat you want |
| Cumin | 1/2 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried jalapeno flakes | 1/2 tsp | leave out for a mild pot |
| Salt and pepper | to taste | |
| Hard cheese | 1 oz | cheddar or dry jack, carried whole |
| Crushed tortilla chips | 1/2 cup | packed in a rigid container or they turn to dust |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil.
- Dump in the whole dry mix and stir until nothing is clumped.
- Drop to the lowest flame that keeps it bubbling. Twelve minutes, stirring every couple of minutes so the tomato powder does not scorch on the bottom.
- Pull it off the heat and let it sit five minutes with the lid on. The beans keep drinking water the whole time.
- Grate or crumble the cheese over the top, then the chips. Eat out of the pot.
The home version simmers ground beef with fresh peppers and canned beans for half an hour. None of that travels, so the whole thing gets rebuilt from powders: freeze-dried beef, tomato powder instead of sauce and diced tomatoes, and pre-cooked dried beans that rehydrate in the same twelve minutes the meat does. The spice load stays exactly the same, because spices weigh nothing and they are what makes it taste like tacos rather than generic red stew.
Tomato powder is the part worth getting right. It thickens as it hydrates, so a pot that looks thin at minute six will be chili by minute twelve, and it scorches if you walk away. The chips and cheese at the end are not garnish. They are the fat and the crunch, and without them this is a bowl of beans.
Packing
Everything dry except the cheese and chips goes into one bag at home. Chips ride in a crush-proof container; cheese rides separately.
Variations
- A packet of instant refried beans stirred in at the end thickens it without more simmering.
- Wrap leftovers in a tortilla the next morning if you are car camping and made too much.
- Freeze-dried corn, 2 tbsp, adds sweetness against the chili powder.
https://zenandhoney.com/taco-chili