Three Square

Megan McDuffie & Michael Van Vliet: no-cook, cold-soak, and dehydrated backpacking recipes for spring

By Megan McDuffie & Michael Van Vliet

Issue 20

Megan McDuffie & Michael Van Vliet

Recipes and photos by Megan McDuffie and Michael Van Vliet

Spring is the perfect time to assemble your gear, give it a good shakedown, and decide what you want to keep and what you need to upgrade. The same goes for meal plans. This is the season to reminisce about the dishes you still enjoy and others you might want to retire. If that process leaves some holes in your collection of backpacking recipes, here are a few of our favorites that might just become yours, too.

Chocolate Hazelnut Granola

We love no-cook breakfasts on the trail. They streamline the morning routine, and any water we boil can be devoted 100 percent to coffee.

Using dehydrated milk, cold water is all you need to breathe life into this chocolate hazelnut granola. Just add water, mix, and your breakfast is ready. If you pre-portion your meals, you can pour the water straight into the baggie, making it both a no-cook and no-dishes breakfast.

Maple syrup and Nutella offer some simple carbs for quick-release energy, while the oats, chopped hazelnuts, and powdered milk provide some fat, protein, and complex carbs for staying power. The crispy oat clusters can be a real treat in the morning, especially when compared to the mono-texture mush of instant oatmeal.

Note: The combo of the chocolate-hazelnut spread and the cocoa powder definitely put this recipe into the “chocolate lovers” category. Feel free to omit the cocoa powder or reduce the spread to 1 tablespoon for a mellower flavor. Vegan hazelnut spread is widely available, including from Justin’s.

Serves 2 | Prep time: 50 minutes | Cook time: Instant

Ingredients

1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup hazelnuts, chopped
2 tablespoons hazelnut spread
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup freeze-dried strawberries
¼ cup powdered milk*

Directions

At home: Preheat oven to 300°F.
In a large bowl, combine oats, chopped hazelnuts, chocolate hazelnut spread, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir until everything is evenly coated.
Spread the granola mixture in an even layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a reusable silicone mat. Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the granola from the oven and let cool completely—about 30 minutes.
Divide the granola between 2 zip-top bags. Add 2 tablespoons powdered milk and ¼ cup freeze-dried strawberries to each bag.
In camp: Combine granola with ½ cup water per serving (hot or cold) in the bag or a separate bowl and mix. Enjoy!

*Coconut milk powder is a good vegan alternative to whole milk, though it doesn’t blend well in cold water. If you make this substitution, use hot water and enjoy your granola warm or mix the coconut milk separately and let cool before adding to the granola.

Cold-Soak Pasta Salad

Backpacking lunches always present a conundrum. On one hand, we want something satisfying and delicious, but on the other, we absolutely refuse to break out our stove and cook. So what’s to be done? One answer we’ve found is cold soaking.

For this pasta salad, we cook and dehydrate all the ingredients ahead of time, so it’s just as light as any other dehydrated meal we carry. An hour and half before lunch, we add some cold water and let it soak. Even though this rehydration process is slower than using hot water, it means we don’t have to break out the stove and there’s zero cooking effort on the trail.

Once the pasta is fully rehydrated, we mix in the True Lemon powder and olive oil and the meal is ready to eat. Elbow pasta, chickpeas, onions, pepper, cucumber, and tomatoes all come together with the olive oil and a blend of spices for a taste straight out of a deli. If you’re ready to trade in your tuna packets and tortillas, we recommend giving this a try.

Serves 2 | Prep time: 6-10 hours | Soaking time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup (4 ounces) elbow pasta
15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ large red bell pepper, diced
¼ cup diced red onion
¼ cup diced cucumber
10 cherry tomatoes, diced
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 packet True Lemon crystallized lemon juice

Directions

At home: Bring a quart of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook one minute less than the package directions state. Remove from the heat, strain, and run cold water over the pasta to stop the cooking.
Line dehydrator trays with parchment paper. Spread the pasta onto one or two trays in an even layer. Arrange chickpeas, diced red onion, diced cucumber, and diced tomatoes onto additional trays, making sure that there’s room around individual pieces to allow air to circulate.
Dehydrate at 125°F for 6-10 hours or until completely dry. Some ingredients may take longer than others.
Place the dehydrated ingredients into a sealable bag (or divide between two bags for individual portions) or a container with the remaining seasonings and the True Lemon packet. Pack olive oil in a small squeeze bottle.
On the trail: At least an hour and a half before lunch, set aside the True Lemon packet and add just under a cup of water per serving to the dehydrated ingredients. If you’re hiking during the soaking time, make sure this is done in a watertight container.
Once the salad has rehydrated and the pasta is tender, add the olive oil and True Lemon to taste, mix, and enjoy.

Quinoa Burrito Bowl

If you’ve ever dreamed of a trailside burrito bowl complete with all your favorite mix-ins, wake up. With a diversity of ingredients, flavors, and textures, this refreshing one-dish meal is surprisingly easy. It hits all the right notes, with a bright zing of citrus and the satisfying tortilla chip crunch giving it a tangy-crispy trailside crescendo.

This one sticks to your ribs, too. It’s loaded with plant-based protein and provides 660 calories per serving. So if you’re looking for a heavy-hitting meal to pull out of your pack after a long day, this bowl is a great addition to the roster.

Serves 2 | Prep time: 8 hours | Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

½ cup quinoa
15-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon sea salt
15-ounce can black beans
½ red bell pepper, diced
½ cup frozen or canned corn
¼ cup fresh cilantro, stems removed
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder (or to taste)
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 packet True Lime crystallized lime juice
1-ounce bag tortilla or corn chips

Directions

At home: Place quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly with cold water (don’t skip this step or the quinoa will taste bitter). Place in a medium saucepan along with the fire-roasted tomatoes and their juices, water, and sea salt. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the quinoa is tender. Remove from the heat.
Line dehydrator trays with parchment paper. Spread the quinoa into a thin, even layer on two or three trays. Arrange drained black beans, diced bell peppers, corn, and cilantro onto additional trays, making sure that there’s room around individual pieces to allow for air circulation.
Dehydrate at 125°F for 8-10 hours, or until completely dry. Some ingredients may take longer than others.
Place the dehydrated ingredients into a sealable bag (or divide between two bags for individual portions) and add the remaining seasonings. Bring the olive oil in a small squeeze bottle and pack along the True Lime packets and corn chips separately.
In camp: Place the contents of the bag into your cook pot with two-thirds of a cup of water for one serving or one and one-third cup water for two servings. Soak for 5-10 minutes. Light stove and bring to a boil for one minute. Remove from heat and place the pot in a cozy to rehydrate for 10 minutes.
To serve, stir in the oil, add True Lime to taste, and top with corn chips.