Tortellini Skillet with Chicken and Two Cheeses
A baked pasta rebuilt as one pot at camp: dried tortellini, freeze-dried chicken, and cheese stirred through at the end.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 700 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
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried cheese tortellini | 8 oz | the shelf-stable dry kind, not refrigerated |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried ground chicken | 2 oz | a foil pouch of chunk chicken works too |
| Tomato pasta sauce powder | 1/2 cup | or a squeeze tube of concentrated sauce |
| Whole milk powder | 3 tbsp | stands in for the ricotta |
| Shredded mozzarella | 3 oz | low-moisture, carried a day or two out |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Dried oregano | 1 tsp | |
| Dried basil | 1 tsp | |
| Salt and cracked pepper | to taste | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Boil 700 ml of water. Add the freeze-dried chicken and let it sit two minutes to rehydrate.
- Add the tortellini and cook at a low boil until they float and go soft, about 8 minutes. Stir often so they do not weld to the bottom.
- Do not drain. Pull the pot off the heat and let the water settle for a minute.
- Stir in the sauce powder, milk powder, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. It will thicken as it sits.
- Scatter the mozzarella over the top, cover the pot, and wait three minutes off the heat until it melts.
- Pour the oil over and stir once. Eat from the pot.
A cheesy pasta bake needs an oven, a casserole dish, and a refrigerator’s worth of soft cheese. None of that goes in a pack, so the browning step is gone and the ricotta is gone. What is left is the part that mattered: pasta, tomato, herbs, and enough fat to make it a dinner instead of a side.
Cooking the tortellini in just enough water and never draining it is what holds the whole thing together. The starch left in the pot is the sauce base, and the milk powder gives it the creaminess ricotta was doing. Mozzarella goes in off the heat and covered, or it turns stringy and sticks to the pot walls instead of the pasta.
Packing
Sauce powder, milk powder, and the dried herbs go in one small bag mixed together. Tortellini and chicken in a second. Cheese stays separate and cold-ish; it will sweat oil in a hot pack.
Variations
- Swap the mozzarella for grated parmesan if you are out more than two days. It keeps far longer.
- A packet of tomato paste instead of sauce powder makes it heavier and sharper.
- Skip the chicken and it becomes vegetarian without changing the method.
https://mealswithmaria.site/cheese-tortellini-with-chicken-bake