My group members have a favorite dehydrated backpacking/camping meal – unstuffed peppers!  One of them told me, “You can make this at home, too, if you want.”  (In other words, don’t wait until our next trip to make it – it’s that good!)  And yes, it beat out Sesame Noodles, which is another favorite.  The really cool thing is that this recipe for unstuffed peppers is also one of the easier meals (besides dehydrating the beef, if you do it yourself) to assemble.  Quick, easy, and delicious, plus a serving of veggies?  I call that a total win!

Be sure to see the notes below the recipe – they’re super useful for things like portion sizes, peas vs. peppers, and making the tomato sauce use easier.

Without further ado, here’s the recipe (video below) for how to make your own unstuffed peppers! Bon Appetit!

Unstuffed Peppers

Instant rice, dried ground beef, and dried green peppers in a tomato-based sauce is one of the best dehydrated meals I've ever eaten.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Dehydrating Time 1 day d

Course Backpacking, Camping, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 1 Serving

Equipment

• 1 larger zip-top bag Bag 1
• 2 small zip-top bags Bag 2

Ingredients

  

Bag 1 (large)

• 1/2 c instant rice
• 1/4 c dried or dehydrated bell peppers (can cut back)
• 1/4 c dried or dehydrated ground beef or turkey

Bag 2 (small)

• 1/4 c tomato sauce leather about 4 oz. before dehydrating – see notes

Bag 3 (small)

• 2 Tbsp pre-grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

 

At Home

• Place ingredients in three separate bags, as specified.

At Camp

• Pour contents of Bag 1 and Bag 2 into a pot; coverwith water.  Allow to soak about 5minutes; place on stove and bring to a boil (add more water if it begins tostick to the bottom of the pan).
• Remove from heat; wrap in a cozy, hat, or jacket andallow to rest for about 10 minutes.  Youmay want to test for doneness before this; if the water is absorbed and it’sstill crunchy, add a little more water and bring it to a boil again.
• When the rice is soft, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and enjoy.

Video

Notes

Note 1: A single serving wasn’t quite enough for my appitite.  I’m used to being told that we “eat like birds” and “you don’t eat portions even close to the average American!”  So this was surprising.  I found that 6 servings for 5 people or 4 servings for 3 people was just about right.

Note 2: Since I was car camping (and not backpacking), half an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce can be substituted for every ¼ c. of tomato sauce leather (in other words, when I made 3-4 servings, I put in 2 cans of tomato sauce instead of the tomato sauce leather, and I used 3 cans for 5-6 servings).

Note 3: You’re welcome to play with the amount of peppers.  I usually make it with 2 Tbsp of dried green bell peppers per serving (half the correct amount), since I think out of eight group members, 4 have varying degrees of pepper-hatred, and most of the rest of us only like peppers in moderation.  You can also just leave them out if you really detest peppers – or substitute dried peas (does that make the meal unstuffed peas?)

Note 4: I didn’t bother with the parmesan cheese since it’s not a flavor I enjoy.  But I’m sure some of my group would have been fans if they’d thought to use it!

Keyword Backpacking, Camping, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Ground Beef,, Rice

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