Backpacking Chili Recipes

These backpacking chili recipes shared by readers show there's lots of ways to make chili for around the campfire. There's also a recipe for making powdered pepper sauce for folks who like to add more heat to their chili, stews, and soups.

After exploring the five recipes featured on this page, you'll find links at the bottom to even more chili recipes, including vegetarian chili.

Portable Pepper Sauce

Shared by Sid from Florida, USA

If you’ve ever thought about taking a bottle of hot sauce with you on a backpacking trip, Sid came up with a light-weight way to make powdered pepper sauce that can be added to meals on the trail like chili and soup.

Sid says it comes in handy because everybody likes their own heat level. He always brings extra, since it’s a great way to make friends at shelters.

All you have to do is blend a can of white beans with a bottle of pepper sauce and dehydrate the mixture.

Servings: 30

Ingredients:

• 1 15.5 oz. can cannellini beans
• 5 oz. bottle pepper sauce*

* I use Tabasco brand pepper sauce but use your favorite.

Procedure:

• Drain beans and discard liquid.
• Add beans and pepper sauce to a large bowl and puree with an immersion blender.

Dehydration Instructions:

Spread mixture thinly on one dehydrator tray topped with a silicone mat and dehydrate to a brittle bark at 135°F (57°C) for approximately 12 hours.

Pulverize dried pepper sauce and store is a glass jar at home. Transfer to a plastic bag for the trail.

Photos: Dehydrating blended beans and pepper sauce using an Excalibur dehydrator with a silicone tray with raised edges.

On the Trail:

Pack enough dehydrated portable pepper sauce to accommodate the number of meals that you or your group might want to add more heat to.

Add ½-tsp. or desired amount to dehydrated meals when cooking.

White Bean Chili

Shared by SierraJud from Northern California

This white bean chili uses lean ground turkey. Make and enjoy it at home or dehydrate it for the trail.

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

• 1½ lbs. lean ground turkey
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 4.5 oz. cans diced green chiles (or fresh, skinned, seeded and chopped)
• 1-2 Tbsp. smoked chipotle powder
• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 15 oz. cans small white beans, drained and rinsed
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped

At Home:

• Sauté chopped onions and garlic until semi translucent in a large pot.
• Add lean ground turkey, cumin, salt, pepper, smoked chipolte powder and chopped green chilis. Lean ground turkey tends to be rather tasteless, so make sure you season well.
• Cook until turkey is cooked through.
• Add drained small white beans and chicken stock.
• Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
• Turn off heat and add chopped cilantro. Let cool.
• Spread on dehydrator trays and dehydrate using the meat setting temperature (minimum 145°F) until dry, about 8 to 10 hours.
• Pack 1½ cups dried chili per serving in Ziploc bags.
  

On the Trail:

Add 1½ cups of dehydrated chili to 1½ to 2 cups boiling water, stirring constantly for about five minutes. Turn off heat, and let sit for about 30 minutes with lid on pot. Add cheese and sour cream before serving.

Additional Suggestions:

Sometimes I spoon white bean chili over instant mashed potatoes for a very filling meal.

Chef Glenn's Comments:

A ½ cup of breadcrumbs may be added per pound of ground turkey (or beef) before cooking and drying to make it more tender when rehydrated. See dehydrating meat.

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Mr. Dog's Chili Corn

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

Pack in large bag:

• ½ cup dried corn
• ½ cup dried black beans
• ¼ cup dried green pepper
• ¼ cup dried ground beef

Pack in smaller sauce bag:

• ¼ cup tomato powder (Dried tomato slices put in blender or grinder)
• ¼ cup bean bark
• ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper or less to taste
• 1 tsp. chili powder

At Home:

Place large bag items in bag big enough to hold them, and a smaller bag with the sauce bag ingredients in it. Vacuum seal them together for longer storage.

On the Trail:

Boil two cups water. Add large bag ingredients, hold sauce packet. Let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in sauce packet. Let stand until beans and corn are soft. If it is really cold out, you may need to reheat before you let it stand.

Chef Glenn's Comments:

If you steam corn for ten minutes before dehydrating, it will rehydrate better on the trail. See dehydrating vegetables for tips on dehydrating beans and veggies.

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Gluten Free Chili

Shared by Tucson Damselfy

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 cans pinto beans
• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 3 Tbsp. pure chili powder
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. ground cloves
• ½ tsp. ground coriander
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 cup water or broth
• 1½ cups cooked quinoa

At Home:

Saute onion and garlic briefly in olive oil.

Add spices and stir constantly until very fragrant.

Add beef and brown.

Add tomatoes, wine, and liquid. Stir until well blended and simmer on low for 30 minutes.

Prepare quinoa according to the package directions. Once chili has simmered, add 1½ cups cooked quinoa. Allow to cool.

Dehydrate according to Chef Glenn's instructions for dehydrating chili. After dehydration, place 1-1½ cups dried chili in boil-safe bags. Store in freezer until ready to pack for the trail.

On the Trail:

Add equal amount of boiled water (1-1½ cups) to dried chili in boil-safe bag. Let stand for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

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Camping Chili Recipe

Shared by Jerry Cram

This recipe includes dehydrated ground beef and beans which are cooked with fresh ingredients at a campsite.

Serves: 3 - 4

Ingredients:

• 1 package thin spaghetti, broken in half
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 lbs. ground beef
  
• 2 cans chili beans
• 2 packages French's Chili-O Mix
• chili powder to taste
• 1½ cups chopped onions
• 1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

At Home:

Dehydrate ground beef and beans. See dehydrating ground beef and dehydrating beans.

On the Trail:

Reconstitute ground beef and beans in equal quantity of water.

Cook spaghetti and set aside but keep warm.

Heat butter in a large pot. Add ½-cup onions and chopped garlic. Stir and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

Add beans, ground beef and sufficient water to make soupy. Cook 10 to 15 minutes.

Add two packages of Chili-O Mix and cook an additional 15 minutes, adding chili powder to taste.

Serve chili bubbling hot. Top with generous portions of chopped raw onion and shredded cheddar cheese.

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