Dehydrating Bulgur for Backpacking Meals

From hot breakfasts to cold-soak lunch salads and hearty dinners, dehydrated bulgur adds variety, texture, and nutrition to backpacking meals.

Photo: Zesty Apple Bulgur Cold-Soak Salad made with dehydrated bulgur.

Expand your menu options:

Bulgur instead of oatmeal for breakfast.
Bulgur instead of rice in cold-soak salads for lunch.
Bulgur instead of pasta with seasoned meat and vegetables for dinner.

What is bulgur?

Bulgur is a whole-grain wheat product made by parboiling, drying, and cracking wheat berries into small pieces. It has a mild, nutty flavor and adds a pleasantly chewy texture to dehydrated backpacking meals. It pairs well with sweet or savory recipes.

Why is dehydrating bulgur a good idea?

Like rice and pasta, bulgur rehydrates fast in meals using minimal water and fuel when it has been precooked and dehydrated. At home, it takes about 20 minutes to cook one cup of bulgur with two cups of water. Once cooked and dehydrated, bulgur rehydrates in about 15 minutes on the trail using only half as much water.

Bulgur is great as a base in dehydrated cold-soak salads, but it only rehydrates properly if it has been precooked and dried.

What are the nutritional benefits of bulgur?

Higher in fiber than rice and many pasta products.
Contains more protein than white rice.
Excellent source of manganese, copper, magnesium, iron, and other essential minerals.
Rich in energy-boosting B-vitamins.

Because bulgur is a whole grain that retains its natural fiber, its complex carbohydrates digest more slowly than refined starches such as white rice and standard pasta. This slower digestion provides a steadier release of energy that can help keep you fueled over miles and mountains throughout the day.

Photo: Medium-coarse bulgur from “better goods” brand purchased at Walmart.

Bulgur comes in milled grain sizes from fine to extra-coarse. I recommend using medium-coarse bulgur because it retains a satisfying texture in backpacking breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Fine bulgur cooks faster than medium-coarse bulgur, while extra-coarse bulgur takes longer to cook.

How to Cook Medium-Coarse Bulgur

Cooking medium-coarse bulgur is quick and straightforward. Start with a ratio of one cup of bulgur to two cups of water.

1 cup bulgur (160 g)
2 cups water (473 ml)
½ tsp. salt (3 g)

Procedure:

Combine bulgur, water, and salt in medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
Turn off the heat and leave the covered pan on the burner for one minute.
Remove the pan from the burner and let it stand, covered, for 15–20 minutes until the water is absorbed.
Fluff with a fork before serving or dehydrating.

Photo: Cooked medium-coarse bulgur.

Yield: 1 cup of dry medium-coarse bulgur yields approximately 3½ cups of cooked bulgur.

How to Dehydrate Bulgur

Photo: 1¾ cups cooked bulgur on Excalibur dehydrator tray over a nonstick sheet. Two trays were used to dehydrate 3½ cups of cooked bulgur.

Spread cooked bulgur loosely on dehydrator trays using nonstick sheets or trays. Some grains will stick together; that’s normal.
Dehydrate at 135°F (57°C) for approximately six hours.
Once or twice while the bulgur is drying, stir it around and pull apart any larger clumps.
Dried bulgur will be hard. Check to make sure no moisture remains between bulgur grains that are stuck together.

Photo: Dehydrated bulgur has a golden-brown color.

Allow bulgur to cool and then store in an airtight container such as a canning jar with a tight-fitting lid.

Yield: 3½ cups of cooked medium-coarse bulgur yields approximately 1¾ cups dehydrated bulgur (155 g).

How to Rehydrate Bulgur on the Trail

Dehydrated bulgur rehydrates in backpacking meals with a 1:1 ratio of water to bulgur. Starches like rice and pasta absorb more water. Because bulgur absorbs less water, it retains its firm texture in hot breakfast cereals, cold-soak salads, and savory beef skillets.

For meals prepared with boiled water, allow 15–20 minutes for the bulgur to fully rehydrate.

For thermos food jar meals, bulgur holds its texture well for several hours, making it a great choice for preparing a hot lunch right after breakfast.

For bulgur meals prepared with cold water, such as a cold-soak salad, the minimum rehydration time is two hours for the bulgur to fully absorb the water.

Recipes Using Dehydrated Bulgur

These recipes show how dehydrating bulgur adds variety to breakfasts, lunches, and dinners on the trail.

Fruit & Nut Bulgur Breakfast

Bulgur offers a pleasant change of texture if you're looking to expand beyond oatmeal. Make this fruit-and-nut breakfast with apples and walnuts as shown, or substitute other favorites such as peaches, apricots, cranberries, and pecans.

Photo: Dried bulgur, apples, and blueberries with chopped walnuts and raisins.

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

½ cup dried bulgur (50 g)
¼ cup dried apples (10 g)
1 Tbsp. dried blueberries (8 g)
1½ Tbsp. chopped walnuts (12 g)
1 Tbsp. raisins (10 g)
1 tsp. sugar (4 g)
½ tsp. cinnamon (1 g)
1 cup water to rehydrate (236 ml)

Ingredient Tips: Blueberries dry much faster when cut in half first. Learn more about dehydrating apples, blueberries, and other fruits you may wish to use in this recipe.

Explore: The Complete Guide to Dehydrating Fruit.

Packing:

Pack bulgur, nuts, and cinnamon in one Ziploc bag, and dried apples and blueberries in a second bag. Pack raisins or cranberries in a third bag because they may contain moisture that could migrate to the other ingredients.

Enclose a packet of sugar in the bag with the bulgur. I like to use the Sugar in the Raw brand of turbinado cane sugar.

Photo: Rehydrated Fruit & Nut Bulgur Breakfast.

Cooking:

Place all ingredients except the sugar in a pot with one cup of water. Let the mixture soak for five minutes, then light the stove.

Bring to a boil and simmer for one minute, then remove the pot from the heat.

Wait about 15 minutes for meal to fully rehydrate.

Stir in the sugar and enjoy a hearty start to the day.

Zesty Apple Bulgur Cold-Soak Salad

Photo: Rehydrated Zesty Apple Bulgur Cold-Soak Salad.

This cold-soak salad is dehydrated as a complete meal and then combined with dehydrated bulgur. It features sweet apples, crunchy carrots, and mild green onions. Walnuts and cranberries are added on the trail. A unique blend of seasonings creates a sweet, tangy sauce with gentle warming spices in every bite.

Explore: Zesty Apple Bulgur Cold-Soak Salad Recipe.