Trail Tetrazzini
Broken spaghetti, freeze-dried chicken, and powdered cream sauce in one pot.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 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
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Thin spaghetti, broken into thirds | 3 oz | thin cooks faster and uses less fuel |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried or pouched chicken | 2 oz | a foil pouch works, drain it |
| Dried spinach flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Cream of chicken soup mix, dry | 1/4 cup | or a chicken bouillon cube plus 2 tbsp flour |
| Powdered whole milk | 3 tbsp | stands in for the sour cream |
| Powdered cheddar | 3 tbsp | |
| Grated parmesan, shelf-stable | 2 tbsp | |
| Salt and pepper | 1/2 tsp total | |
| Olive oil or butter powder | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Add the pasta and the spinach flakes.
- Simmer about eight minutes, stirring so nothing welds to the bottom. Add the chicken in the last two minutes if it is freeze-dried.
- Kill the heat. Do not drain. The starchy water is the sauce.
- Sprinkle the soup mix, milk powder, cheddar powder, and parmesan over the top and stir hard until it thickens.
- Add the oil, salt, and pepper. Lid on for two minutes, then eat.
The original is a casserole: bake, top with cheese, broil. None of that survives a stove with one pot and one burner, so the sauce gets built in the pasta water instead of a baking dish. Cook the spaghetti in just enough water that you never pour any off, then thicken what is left with the soup mix and milk powder. That is the whole trick, and it is also why the water measurement matters more than usual.
Sour cream and two kinds of fresh cheese all became powder. Powdered milk brings back the body, cheddar powder brings the color and salt, and hard parmesan brings the flavor that survives a pack. The oil is there because dried cheese has less fat than shredded, and without it the bowl reads thin.
Packing
Pasta in one bag. All powders premixed in a second bag so you add them in one pour. Chicken and oil separate.
Variations
- Dried peas or broccoli flakes instead of spinach.
- Crushed crackers or fried onions on top for the crunch the oven version gets from broiling.
- Gluten-free spaghetti and a gluten-free soup base if you need it.
https://mealswithmaria.site/cheesy-chicken-tetrazzini-bake