Walking Taco
Chili in a chip bag. The bag is the bowl, so there is nothing to wash.
- calories
- 780
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 130
- protein
- 29 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 300 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
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Day hike
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Individual bag of corn tortilla chips | 1 bag | about 1.5 oz, chili cheese or plain |
|---|---|---|
| Dehydrated refried bean flakes | 1/3 cup | |
| Freeze-dried ground beef | 1/3 cup | or swap in a foil pouch of chicken |
| Taco seasoning | 1 tsp | |
| Hard cheese or shelf-stable cheese powder | 2 tbsp | |
| Salsa | 1 single-serve packet | the taqueria packets weigh almost nothing |
Method
- Boil about 300 ml of water. Pull it off the heat.
- Stir the freeze-dried beef and taco seasoning into roughly 150 ml of the water and let it sit five minutes. It needs the full time to stop being crunchy.
- Add the bean flakes and the rest of the water a little at a time until it is thick enough to hold a spoon upright.
- Cut or tear the chip bag open along one long side so it opens like a trough.
- Spoon the chili over the chips, add the cheese, squeeze the salsa on top.
- Eat straight out of the bag with a long spoon.
The scout-camp version cooks ground beef in a skillet and heats canned beans. Neither travels. Freeze-dried beef and refried bean flakes give you the same bowl of chili from a quarter of the weight and one pot of hot water, and the flakes are what thicken it — pour the water in all at once and you get soup that soaks the chips flat.
The chip bag doing double duty as the bowl is the whole point. Cut it along the side rather than the end so the chips lie flat and you can reach the bottom. Nothing to scrub, and the bag packs out as your trash either way.
Packing
Bean flakes, beef, and seasoning go in one bag. Keep the chip bag inflated at the top of your pack; crushed chips still work but you lose the scoop.
Variations
- A single-serve can of chili replaces the beef and beans entirely if you are car camping and do not mind the weight.
- Dried onion flakes and a pinch of chili powder in the premix if your taco seasoning is dull.
- Freeze-dried corn rehydrates in the same pot and adds bulk.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/taco_in_a_bag-1738.asp