White Chicken Chili, Trail Version
Freeze-dried chicken, white bean flakes, and powdered milk fat standing in for a slow cooker full of cream cheese.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 45 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 15 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
- Winter / snow
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant white bean flakes | 1/2 cup | refried-style flakes; whole canned beans are water weight |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried or canned-pouch chicken | 2.5 oz | pouch chicken is heavier but needs no rehydrating |
| Freeze-dried sweet corn | 1/4 cup | |
| Dried diced green chiles | 2 tbsp | sold with the dried chile powders, or dehydrate a can at home |
| Dried minced onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Chicken bouillon powder | 2 tsp | |
| Cumin | 1/2 tsp | |
| Ground coriander | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried oregano | 1/2 tsp | |
| Smoked paprika | 1/4 tsp | |
| Chili powder | 1/4 tsp | |
| Cayenne | a pinch | optional |
| Salt and black pepper | 1/4 tsp each | |
| Powdered whole milk or coconut milk powder | 3 tbsp | the stand-in for cream cheese and heavy cream |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Freeze-dried cilantro | 1 tsp | |
| Lime juice powder | 1/2 tsp | optional, brightens the whole pot |
Method
- Boil 600 ml of water. Kill the heat.
- Dump in everything except the milk powder, oil, cilantro, and lime powder. Stir well and put the lid on.
- Wait five minutes. The chicken and chiles need the full soak; the bean flakes will already have thickened.
- Stir in the milk powder a spoonful at a time so it does not clump. Add the oil.
- If it is thicker than you want, splash in hot water. If it is thin, wait two more minutes.
- Finish with cilantro and lime powder and eat straight from the pot.
The slow-cooker original spends four hours doing one thing: getting beans, chicken, and dairy to melt into each other. On trail you have ten minutes and one pot, so the work moves to the shopping list. Instant bean flakes thicken on contact instead of simmering, and freeze-dried chicken rehydrates in the same five minutes the chiles and corn need. That is the whole trade.
Cream cheese and heavy cream do not travel, so powdered whole milk plus a tablespoon of oil stands in. The powder brings the milk solids that make it read as creamy; the oil brings the fat and most of the calories. Add the powder off heat and slowly, or you get white lumps that never dissolve. Skip the oil and this becomes a thin bean soup with chicken in it.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one quart freezer bag at home, spices already measured in. Oil rides in a dropper bottle. If you use pouch chicken instead of freeze-dried, keep the pouch separate and add it with the milk powder so it does not shred to threads.
Variations
- Swap the bean flakes for instant mashed potato flakes if you want it thicker and cheaper.
- A half ounce of grated hard cheese stirred in at the end replaces the cheddar topping.
- Cook it in the bag instead of the pot: use a freezer bag cozy, add 500 ml, and wait ten minutes.
https://mealswithmaria.site/white-chicken-chili-crock-pot-easy