Trail Grits with Cheddar and Bacon
Instant grits with powdered cheese and bacon bits, ready to eat in five minutes.
- calories
- 400
- weight
- 3.8 oz
- cal / oz
- 105
- protein
- 9 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 2 min
- water
- 240 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.
- Breakfast
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant grits | 2 packets | not quick or 1-minute grits, they will not soften |
|---|---|---|
| Powdered cheddar cheese | 2 tbsp | |
| Bacon bits | 2 tbsp | |
| Granulated garlic | 1 tsp | |
| Butter powder | 1 tsp | |
| French fried onions | 2 tbsp | added on top after rehydrating |
Method
- At camp, heat 1 cup of water until it steams.
- Pour the water into a quart freezer bag with the grits, cheese powder, bacon bits, garlic, and butter powder.
- Stir hard for 30 seconds. Seal the bag tightly.
- Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Wrap in a fleece cozy in cold weather to hold the heat.
- Open the bag carefully, stir once, top with the fried onions, and eat straight from the bag.
Instant grits are corn flour that turns creamy when you add hot water—it’s trail polenta without the stove time. The powder ingredients carry flavor in half the weight of real cheese or butter, and they disappear into the grits rather than clumping on the surface.
The bacon bits and cheese are not optional. They’re where the calories come from. Without them you have beige mush with some garlic. With them, you have breakfast with enough fat and salt to keep hunger off until lunch. The fried onions go on top after cooking so they stay crisp.
Packing
Mix the grits, cheese powder, garlic, and butter powder into a single small bag at home. Keep bacon bits and fried onions in separate bags—bacon can go rancid over weeks, and the onions lose their snap if crushed into powder. Write '1 cup hot water' on the grits bag.
Variations
- A pinch of cayenne sharpens the cheese.
- Powdered eggs or egg powder stirred in before eating adds 4 grams of protein.
- This works equally well in a wide-mouth insulated mug if you prefer not to carry a freezer bag.
https://trailcooking.com/2021/02/16/backpacking-recipe-cheesy-grits-and-bacon