Vegetable Cheese Sauce Mac, Trail Version
A pot of noodles and a powdered orange sauce built from vegetables and nutritional yeast. No cheese in it anywhere.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 21 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 14 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
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried elbow noodles | 1 1/2 cups | |
|---|---|---|
| Potato flakes | 1/4 cup | stands in for the boiled potato |
| Dried carrot | 2 tbsp | dehydrated at home or bought as soup vegetables |
| Dried onion, minced | 1 tbsp | |
| Nutritional yeast | 3 tbsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Yellow mustard powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Paprika | 1/2 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Turmeric | 1/8 tsp | color, mostly |
| Kosher salt | 3/4 tsp | |
| Black pepper | a few grinds | |
| Apple cider vinegar powder | 1/2 tsp | or a splash of vinegar from a small bottle |
| Panko breadcrumbs | 2 tbsp | |
| Smoked paprika | 1/4 tsp | tossed with the panko |
Method
- Boil 700 ml of water. Add the dried carrot and onion first and let them sit two minutes to start rehydrating.
- Add the noodles. Cook about eight minutes, stirring so nothing welds to the bottom.
- Do not drain. Pour off only enough water to leave the noodles sitting in about a finger of liquid, and keep what you poured off in your mug.
- Off the heat, stir in the potato flakes, nutritional yeast, salt, and all the spices. It will thicken fast. Add the reserved water back a splash at a time until it moves like sauce.
- Stir in the oil and the vinegar powder last. Taste and correct the salt.
- Toast the panko dry in a lid or the empty mug over low heat for a minute, then scatter it over the top.
The original sauce is boiled potato, carrot, and onion blended smooth. You cannot blend at camp, so the vegetables come dried and the potato comes as flakes, which thicken on contact instead of needing a machine. Nutritional yeast does the same job it does at home: savory depth without dairy. The mustard and vinegar are the sharp edge that makes it read as cheese rather than as vegetable puree.
The starchy pasta water is the binder. Drain it fully and the sauce goes pasty, so keep some in your mug and add it back until the texture is right. The panko is optional but it is the only part that survives from the baked version, so toast it dry and put it on last.
Packing
Two bags. One holds the noodles. The other holds potato flakes, dried vegetables, nutritional yeast, and every spice premixed, so camp is one pour. Panko and smoked paprika go in a small third bag or they turn to dust under the noodles.
Variations
- A foil packet of chicken or a handful of soy curls pushes protein past 30 g, at the cost of the vegan tag.
- Skip the panko and use gluten-free pasta plus potato flakes alone if you need it gluten-free.
- A spoonful of tomato powder makes it read more like a queso than a mac.
https://www.maritimeglutton.com/vegan-baked-mac-and-cheese