Best Dehydrated Beef Recipes

Here’s a collection of dehydrated beef recipes shared by Backpacking Chef readers, plus links to more of Chef Glenn’s best recipes with beef. These recipes use dehydrated ground beef or shredded beef.

The page includes important tips for dehydrating beef, and how to make your own backpacking and emergency meals with dehydrated beef.

DIY Dehydrated Beef Recipes

Create delicious meals with dehydrated beef by combining dried beef with rice, pasta, and potatoes, and all kinds of dried vegetables. Season with dehydrated sauces and cheddar cheese, taco, and curry powders.

* Any kind of dried vegetable can be substituted for the broccoli.

Bring dried ingredients and water to a boil in a pot, or add boiled water to dried ingredients in a cook-in bag or bowl. Turn off stove and wait about 20 minutes for meal to fully rehydrate.

Barbeque Beef Stew

Barbeque beef stew get its thick consistency and tangy flavor from a secret ingredient: BBQ Potato Bark.

BBQ Beef Stew Ingredients, 1 serving: ½-cup BBQ potato bark, ¼-cup dehydrated ground beef, and ¼-cup dehydrated mixed vegetables (okra, corn, and carrots). 1¼-cup water to rehydrate (300 ml)

You’ll find complete details about the BBQ beef stew recipe and more dehydrated meat & potatoes recipes on the Potato Bark Page.

Recipes: Dehydrated Potato Bark & Beef Recipes

Macaroni with Beef & Vegetables in Tomato Sauce

Dehydrated beef tastes great in recipes with pasta and dehydrated tomato sauce.

Recipe: Macaroni & Beef in Tomato Sauce

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Taco Mac'n'Cheese

Shared by Alex F. from Chicago, IL

Alex's recipe is similar to the Taco Mac & Cheese recipe (shown above) featured in The Action Guide: Dehydrating 31 Meals.

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. full cream milk powder
• 3 Tbsp. powdered cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp. taco seasoning
• 1 tsp. all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup cooked & dehydrated macaroni or shells
• ½ cup dehydrated ground beef or vegetarian substitute
• ¼ cup dehydrated pepper mix*
• 1 stick smoked string cheese (optional)

At Home:

Pack milk powder, cheese powder, taco seasoning, and flour in a small Ziploc bag.

*Make the pepper mix by dicing and dehydrating equal numbers of red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, and poblano peppers.

Skills:

Dehydrating Bell Peppers

Dehydrating Ground Beef

Dehydrating Macaroni

On the Trail:

Place pasta, ground beef, and bell pepper mix into a pot. Add in an equal amount of water.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, or until rehydrated.

While the pasta cooks, mince string cheese if using.

Take the pot off the heat.

Stir in cheese sauce powder and string cheese.

Comments:

I've made this with both ground beef and vegetarian beef-like crumbles, and both worked equally well.

The pepper mix is something we keep on hand at my house because it goes well in rice and makes gumbo a breeze!

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Beef Tortillas

Shared by Tracy Stewart from Burnsville, MN

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 small onion
• 1–3 jalapeno peppers
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1 jar salsa
• 3–4 oz. cheddar cheese, grated *
• 4 tortillas

* If it's going to be a long haul over many days, you can use cheese powder from a box of mac & cheese, or freeze-dried cheddar cheese.

At Home:

Brown 1 pound of ground beef, and add onion and hot peppers. I use about 3 jalapenos, sliced. Cook until peppers and onion soften. Add package of taco seasoning and water per package instructions. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.

Spread taco meat onto dehydrator trays in 2 cup servings and dehydrate at 145°F (63°C) until meat is thoroughly dry.

Salsa is easy to dry into leather. Run through blender and spread thinly on dehydrator trays covered with nonstick sheets. Dehydrate at 135°F (57°C) for approximately 10 hours. You won't use all of the salsa leather for this recipe.

Package dried taco meat and a ¼-cup to ½-cup of dried salsa together. Pack tortillas and cheese in separate bags.

On the Trail:

Add the taco meat and salsa to a pot with 1¾ cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes until fully rehydrated. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. When cheese is melted, tear tortillas into small pieces and add to pot. Eat right out of the pot. Or, you can roll up the taco meat in the tortillas, but more messy.

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Dehydrating Ground Beef

Beef used in backpacking meals should be cooked before dehydrating it. If you use ground beef, it rehydrates much better if you mix in ¼-cup of a starch per 1 pound of ground beef. Starches that work well are fine breadcrumbs, ground oats, or ground chickpeas.

Dehydrated Ground Beef Yield

One pound of ground beef (454 g) yields approximately 1¾-cups dried ground beef. (200 g).

If you include ¼-cup to ⅓-cup of dried ground beef in a recipe, you’ll have enough for 5–6 dehydrated meals. Round out the recipe with dried vegetables and starches like rice, potatoes, and pasta.

Explore More…

How to Dehydrate Ground Beef

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Meatloaf & Rice

Shared by Chris Tarricone from Plano, Texas

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef or venison
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 green pepper
• 1 onion
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• ⅓ cup ketchup
• 1 cup broccoli
• 2 cups dehydrated rice

At Home:

Steam broccoli and use a food processor to blend it up into a liquid form. The broccoli doesn't affect the taste of the meatloaf, but it provides extra nutrients. Chop the onion and pepper into small pieces and sauté in skillet until tender. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain any fat from skillet and add tomato sauce, blended broccoli, salt, pepper, and ketchup. Simmer for 15 minutes. Cool overnight in the refrigerator.

Spread mixture onto dehydrator trays covered with nonstick sheets. Dry until bark like texture, approximately 10 –12 hours. Combine meatloaf bark with dehydrated rice and pack into two freezer bags or Mylar bags.

On the Trail:

Add boiling water (1:1 food to water) to the cook-in-bags and rehydrate for 15–20 minutes. Eat directly from the bag.

Hunter's Stir-Fry

Shared by Mephitus of Casper, WY

An easy wild game or lean beef stir-fry meal to cook and dehydrate at home with quick prep on the trail.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• ½ to 1 lb. elk steak, venison or lean beef, sliced very thin
• 1 chili pepper, sliced in thin strips
• 1 red jalapeno, sliced in thin rings
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ head broccoli, trimmed to florets
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 4 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 package stir-fry seasoning mix
• 2 Tbsp. sweet soy sauce, optional
• 1 cup instant rice
• 1 cup water

At Home:

Brown elk in oil in wok or a large skillet.

Then add all vegetables. Stir-fry about 5 minutes on high.

Reduce heat, add seasoning mix, soy sauce, and water.

Bring to boil, then reduce heat and cook until sauce thickens and veggies are cooked.

Spread in thin layer on nonstick sheet in dehydrator.  Dehydrate at 145°F (63°C) for approximately 8–10 hours until dry.

Pack dried meal and rice in separate bags.

On the Trail:

Cook rice separately by adding 1 cup instant rice to 1 cup boiled water in a backpacking pot, bowl, or freezer bag. Let stand 10 minutes.

Add 1 cup water to each cup dried food. Let stand 10 minutes.  Bring to boil, then remove from stove. Place pot in insulating pot cozy for 10 minutes.

Serve meal over rice.

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Vegetable Beef Stew

Shared by Tuscon Damselfly of Tuscon, AZ

Classic Vegetable Beef Stew prepared on the trail by adding boiling water to the ingredients in a cook-in bag. Rice noodles are gluten-free.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• ½ cup dehydrated beef
• ½ cup dehydrated vegetables
• 1 Tbsp. powdered dried mushrooms
• 1 Tbsp. tomato powder
• 1 Tbsp. beef bouillon powder
• 2 oz. rice noodles

At Home:

Cook pot roast or stew beef, then shred and dehydrate at 145°F (63°C) until crispy. I use shredded meat because it takes less time to rehydrate.

Alternatively, use dehydrated ground beef following Chef Glenn’s method.

Grind dried mushrooms into powder in a blender until you have 1 tablespoon.

Pack ingredients in a large cook-in bag and seal.

On the Trail:

Add 1½ cups to 2 cups boiling water to bag. Stir, reseal and wait 15–20 minutes. It may need more time, depending on size of vegetables and meat shreds.

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Chuck Roast Chili

This backpacking recipe with beef was featured in the Trail Bytes newsletter. Subscribe for free.

The recipe covers how to make and dehydrate chili made with fatty meat, including how to store it and rehydrate it for a backpacking meal.

See: Dehydrated Beef Chili Recipe

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