Three-Bean Chili with Sweet Potato
A dehydrated chili that rebuilds itself in the pot. Cocoa and cinnamon do the work the long simmer used to.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 26 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dehydrated cooked black beans | 1/3 cup | or instant refried black bean flakes |
|---|---|---|
| Dehydrated cooked pinto beans | 1/3 cup | |
| Red lentils | 3 tbsp | they cook in ten minutes, brown lentils do not |
| Dehydrated sweet potato | 1/4 cup | sliced thin before drying or it never rehydrates |
| Tomato powder | 3 tbsp | crushed sun-dried tomatoes work |
| Dried onion and bell pepper flakes | 3 tbsp | green and red, whatever the mix has |
| Dried poblano and jalapeno | 1 tbsp | crumbled |
| Chipotle powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Chili powder | 2 tsp | |
| Cumin | 1 tsp | |
| Smoked paprika | 1 tsp | |
| Unsweetened cocoa powder | 1 tsp | |
| Cinnamon | 1/4 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Cayenne | a pinch | |
| Salt | 3/4 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | added at camp, not packed in the bag |
Method
- Pour 600 ml of water into the pot and bring it to a boil.
- Dump in the whole bag and stir hard so the tomato powder does not clump on the bottom.
- Simmer on the lowest flame you can hold for eight minutes, stirring every minute. It scorches if you walk away.
- Cut the heat, cover, and let it sit ten minutes. The sweet potato needs the whole ten.
- Stir in the oil. Add water a splash at a time if it went past thick into paste.
The original was a pressure-cooker recipe built on fresh peppers, canned tomatoes, and a fridge full of toppings. None of that travels. Dried peppers and tomato powder carry the same flavors at a tenth of the weight, and red lentils replace the long bean cook entirely: they break down into the body that a canned chili gets from time under pressure.
Cocoa and cinnamon are not garnish. A quarter teaspoon of each is what keeps the spice from reading as flat heat, and the sweet potato balances the chipotle from the other side. Dry the sweet potato thin. Thick pieces stay hard in the middle no matter how long you soak them, and there is no fixing that at 9,000 feet.
Packing
Everything but the oil goes in one quart freezer bag at home. Oil rides in a dropper bottle. For a cozy, pour the boiling water straight into a freezer bag inside a jacket sleeve and skip the simmer, but give it twenty minutes instead of ten.
Variations
- Corn chips crushed on top add fat and salt and replace the cheese.
- A packet of instant refried beans thickens a batch that came out soupy.
- Freeze-dried lime and a squeeze of hot sauce stand in for the sour cream and cilantro.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/instant-pot-vegetarian-chili