Tuscan Chicken and White Bean Soup
A pre-soak at lunch turns dried beans and vegetables into real soup by dinner.
- calories
- 330
- weight
- 2.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 132
- protein
- 22 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 3 min
- total time
- 8 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.
- Dinner
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Dehydrated cooked great northern beans | 2 tbsp | |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried chicken | 1 tbsp | |
| Powdered milk | 1 tbsp | whole milk powder if you can find it |
| Diced dried carrot | 1 tsp | |
| Dried spinach | 1 tsp | |
| Dried celery flakes | 1 tsp | spice aisle, not the produce section |
| Diced dried tomato | 1 tsp | |
| Dried or granulated onion | 1 tsp | |
| Soy sauce powder | 1/4 tsp | a single liquid packet works too |
| Garlic powder | 1 pinch | |
| Lower-sodium chicken bouillon | 1 tsp | half that if it is regular-strength |
Method
- Hours ahead, add 60 ml of cold water to the bag or pot and stir. Lunch soak for dinner, breakfast soak for lunch. Let it ride in your pack.
- At camp, boil 180 ml of water and pour it over the soaked mix.
- Stir, cover, and wait 15 minutes. In cold or above 8,000 feet, wrap the pot in a cozy or a spare layer.
- Stir again before eating. The beans should be soft, not chalky.
Dried beans are the problem this recipe solves. Fifteen minutes of hot water will not soften them, no matter how long you insulate the pot, and undersoaked beans are gritty. The cold soak earlier in the day does the hydrating, so the boil only has to heat the soup and finish the vegetables.
The milk powder is what makes it Tuscan rather than broth with things in it. It thickens slightly and rounds off the bouillon’s salt. Use the lower-sodium bouillon at a full teaspoon; regular-strength at that dose makes the whole pot inedible, so cut it to half a cube. As written this is a light dinner at about 330 calories. Treat it as a first course or add the oil.
Packing
All the dry goods go in one pint freezer bag at home. Carry a liquid soy sauce packet loose in the same bag if you are not using the powder.
Variations
- Skip the milk powder and add a tablespoon of olive oil for a thinner, higher-calorie broth.
- A crushed handful of rice crackers or a tortilla on the side turns this from a starter into a full dinner.
https://trailcooking.com/soups/chicken-tuscany-soup