Just Add Water Meals

“Just add water” meals are a great way to bring convenience and variety into your meal prep in the backcountry. This kind of meal prep can give your healthier, more fulfilling meals than prepackaged foods. But it also takes the pressure off of trying to cook and clean dishes while camping.

Putting together just add water meals involves a little extra time at home. But the convenience they bring to your camping trip can be well worth it. Most of these recipes are designed to cook in just 6-8 ounces of water, in a matter of minutes.

Carrying these recipes in a collapsible container is an option—and if you leave enough room, you can pour the hot water right in!. Another option, of course, is to heat the water in your camp stove, pour the meal into the hot water, and eat right out of that container.

The basics

Obviously, not every meal follows this rule, but at heart, most meals involve a handful of components that you can recognize and repeat. You want to put together:

• A base made of carbohydrates
• Some kind of fat or oil
• Veggies
• Protein
• Spices

You can see this play out in all sorts of meals across cultures around the world.

Italian:

Think about fettuccine alfredo. You’ve got your pasta for a base. A good Alfredo sauce will offer fat and flavor together, in the form of a creamy, well-seasoned sauce. Chicken is a common protein, and you may see people add a bit of broccoli to get some greens in there.

Indian:

Tikka masala uses rice as the base. You’ll often use chicken as the protein. The sauce and the chicken both involve oil, and sometimes a creamy dairy like yogurt will be mixed into the sauce. And of course, there are plenty of spices, including ginger, and garam masala, a mixture that involves cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, peppers, and more.

Chinese:

Consider stir-fry, too! Rice is the base, again, you’ve got plenty of sesame oil, veggies, and a wide array of proteins and seasonings at your disposal. Not every meal has to have all of these things. Sometimes you may add more veggies and leave out the protein, or vice-versa. But generally, all or most of these pieces will make a solid meal.

Adapting the basics for camping

So, you know that you can throw together just four or five things and get a pretty good meal out of it. The trick is getting those meals ready to go camping. You’ll be looking at lots of dry ingredients. Think about a cup of instant ramen. What’s in it? You’ve got a base made of thin noodles, a seasoning packet that includes bouillon for fat and flavor, and a handful of dried vegetables. That’s a solid just-add-water meal. But you can do better than that.

Coming up with recipes that can go on the trail isn’t necessarily difficult. But it requires you to think about your ingredients in a unique way. First, cast a wide net when thinking about what your components are going to actually be. This helps you make a variety of interesting meals. Second, think about how you might get those foods ready to take on the trail.

Remember, the goal here is for you to just boil water for a minute or two, and let that water cook your food with little-to-no extra effort on your part. So bringing things that are partially cooked and/or dried is going to help out. You’re not going to throw boiling water into a bag of raw meat. (At least, you shouldn’t. And we’re asking you not to.) But you can cook freeze-dried meats with hot water.

Carbohydrate bases

A good carbohydrate base for a camp meal is going to be filling and cook quickly. Look for options that are partially-cooked, or that are thinner than normal. Here are some options for a good base:

• Instant rice. Instant rice is partially boiled, then dried. That means that it cooks more quickly. Since it takes less time and water, it’s a great way to start a camp meal.
• Pasta. Look for smaller, lighter pastas. Fast-cooking noodles and rice noodles are some great options. If you break the pasta into smaller pieces, it’ll travel more easily and cook faster.
• Couscous. Couscous is similar to rice in terms of being easy to carry and cook. It’s often used in recipes in ways similar to rice, as well.
• Instant oatmeal. Don’t forget breakfast! Instant oats are a great way to start a just-add-water meal for the morning.

Fats and oils

Fats and oils are important when you’re working hard. Your body needs those calories to fuel itself to do work. Plus, they make food taste better. The only trick is making sure that you deploy your oils at the right time. You may need to keep them separate from the rest of your meal.

• Powdered butter or milk. Powdered dairy can be a great way to add needed calories and a nice bit of creamy flavor to a meal.
• Olive oil. Olive oil is a classic cooking oil. Just remember that a little goes a long way. Oil and water don’t mix, and you don’t want your dry ingredients getting wet before it’s time to cook. So consider bringing packets of oil along, or carrying a small amount in a bottle or bag. Add the oil after your food is done cooking, and you’re great!
• Bouillon cubes or powder. Bouillon cubes are made from dehydrated broth. Adding bouillon cubes to boiling water is one way to make broth. Adding a little to your food can add flavor and fat. Just be careful. Bouillon cubes are very concentrated. You definitely won’t want to use a whole cube for a single-serving meal.

Vegetables

Vegetables can be tricky. Look for dehydrated or dried veggies that you can add to a recipe. You don’t get all of the same nutrients as you do from fresh vegetables. But the trade-off in convenience, weight, and pack space can definitely make up for it. Some vegetable options to consider include:

• Dried onion flakes. Onion powder and dried onion are both pretty common seasonings on their own. This can add a lot of flavor to a dish, and can be used in a lot of different scenarios.
• Dried mushrooms. Dried mushrooms can be used to accompany plenty of beef or pasta dishes.
• Dried fruits. Dried fruits like apples or peaches can be used in deserts, and dried berries make a great addition to oatmeal in the morning.
• Dehydrated vegetables. Dehydrated veggies like peas, carrots, celery, and more can all be added to a recipe. If you’ve ever had a premade cup of ramen, you’ve encountered these sorts of things before. They might not always be at your local grocery store, but big-box retailers and online stores will often have them.

Protein

Protein can be a little trickier. You can get just about anything flash-frozen or freeze-dried, if you look hard enough. But not all of those things are necessarily a great idea. Here are some better options:

• Freeze-dried chicken. Freeze-dried chicken is a great protein to add in just about any situation. Pastas, stir-fry dishes, curries and more can all benefit from a little bit of chicken. (Remember, for any larger foods, be sure to pre-cut/pre-cube it them for easier heating and eating right out of the container.)
• Bacon bits. Bacon bits are a great way to add just a little accent of protein, fat, and flavor to a meal. People like to joke about how adding bacon improves everything, but when you’re making a just-add-water meal, this can be very true.
• Nuts and nut butters. Most people already snack on nuts during the day when they’re hiking. Nuts are high-protein and easy to carry, so they’re a great candidate for trail snacks. But adding a little crushed peanut to a pad thai, or mixing some peanut butter into your oatmeal is a great way to get protein. (Just keep nut butters separate from the dry ingredients until you start mixing things up.)
• Dried beans. Dried beans are a great way to get some vegetarian protein into your meal. Dried beans and instant rice are a great start for a fireside red beans and rice.
• Powdered eggs. Powdered eggs are made the same way that powdered milk is, and adding a little hot water to them fluffs them right back up, adding volume and protein to your meal.

Spices

Seasoning is so crucial to a good meal. Lots of people who think that they aren’t good cooks simply aren’t taking advantage of their spice cabinet.

• Bulk spices. If your grocery store has a bulk spice aisle, take advantage of it. You can find the right amount of the spices you want, without paying a lot or wasting a ton of bottles or jars.
• Spice mixes. Some people love exploring and mixing spices. Other people don’t want to have to stress about it. If you’re in the latter camp, consider spice mixes. These mixes contain a blend of lots of different spices, and they’ll tell you what they’re for. Curry powders, poultry spices, seasoning salt, and taco seasoning are all great examples of popular spice mixes.
• Curry paste. Technically, a curry paste is kind of spice mix. But it’s worth calling out on its own because if you choose to use it, you’ll want to store it separately, then mix it in when you cook.

Recipes for just-add-water meals

Now that you’ve got an idea of how to build your own meals, let’s look at some examples of do-it-yourself camping meals that just need boiling water to taste great. For all of these, you’ll want to boil water, take it off heat for a second, and add it to the food, letting it sit for around five minutes. (The time may be a little more or less, depending on the meal.)

Chicken alfredo

We used fettuccine alfredo at the beginning, so let’s look at what might go into a just-add-water version. If you see something you don’t like, or don’t see something you think might be nice, feel free to change things up! For instance, some alfredo sauces use sour cream for a little bit of richness. While that won’t travel well on the trail, you could add a couple of spoonfuls of powdered sour cream, if you wanted, for the same effect.

Remember that spices go a long way. Usually a teaspoon or two will do.

• Fast-cooking noodles (1 cup)
• Chicken bouillon (1 teaspoon or less)
• Powdered milk (2 tablespoons)
• Dried, grated parmesan cheese (3 tablespoons)
• Dried mushrooms
• Dried broccoli
• Freeze-dried chicken (1/4 to ½ cup)
• Garlic powder
• Italian herbs or poultry seasoning mix
• Black pepper

Chickpea couscous

If the proportions here seem a little off, remember that couscous fluffs up in a big way when you cook it. Chicken shows up in instant meal recipes a lot, because it freeze-dries so well. But, we’re going to sub in chickpeas, so that we don’t get tired of chicken. (You can still use chicken, if you want to!)

• Instant couscous (1/3 cup)
• Chickpeas (¼ cup, in their own container)
• Freeze-dried mixed vegetables (½ cup)
• Dried onion
• Garlic powder
• A sprinkle of herbs like thyme and sage

You’ll want to keep the chickpeas separate, then add them in before you add the water, since chickpeas are going to bring some moisture with them.

Curried ramen

One common diy backpacking meal is curried ramen. With just three affordable ingredients, it’s easy to see why it’s popular. But it makes a better starting point than a meal all by itself. Let’s take this opportunity to look at how you can play with a recipe and make it your own. Here’s the basic ingredient list:

• Coconut milk powder (4 tablespoons)
• Ramen noodles (1 block)
• Yellow curry paste (1 teaspoon, dried at home and mixed in, or carried separately and added when you cook)

That’s going to be solid, and filling. But there are some things you could add to this, to fill it out a little:

• Dried broccoli
• Grated carrot
• Garlic powder
• Vegetable bouillon

You can also use curry powder (with some other spices like turmeric and ginger) instead of the paste. You could also add some a tablespoon of powdered egg, for volume and protein. Adding egg is not something you’d normally do in a curry. But it very much is something you’d do to instant ramen.

You can play with any recipe like this. You don’t have to be a great chef, necessarily. It’s as easy as saying, “is there another flavor that would be nice here,” or “how can I add some vitamins to this,” and then throwing it in there!

Instant oatmeal

You can do a better (and healthier, and cheaper, and more filling) job than those packets of oatmeal that come pre-made at the store. Get a big container of instant oats and mix in the other ingredients yourself. Here’s a good starting point:

• Oatmeal, ½ cup
• Flax seed meal (1 teaspoon, for oil)
• Chia seed (1 teaspoon, for vitamins, since vegetables don’t taste great in oatmeal)
• A sprinkle of salt

That’s the starting point for a single serving of oatmeal. Here’s where the fun comes in. From here, you can do whatever you want. Some options to try:

• A spoonful each of chocolate chips and powdered peanut butter
• A tablespoon each of freeze-dried apple and brown sugar, with a sprinkle of cinnamon
• A spoonful each of freeze-dried blueberries and almond slivers

Your imagination is the limit! And you know what you’re getting. You don’t have to worry if you’re getting too many preservatives, or too much sugar, because you’re doing it yourself.

Boiling the water

You can’t have a “just add water” meal without water. And since these recipes are supposed to help you take it easy on the trail, it makes sense to use a stove that’s just as easy. Jetboil’s engineering prowess in both the fuel and the stove make cooking meals like this the smoothest experience you could want.

Since these recipes are about speed, rather than precision, they’re a great candidate for the Zip or even the Flash. If you want, you can even pour your dry ingredients right into the cup when the water’s done boiling, and serve yourself dinner fresh off the stove.

An ounce of preparation

The variety of freeze-dried, dehydrated, and instant-cook ingredients out there means that you have a whole world of options when it comes to putting together a meal on the trail. Another fun thing you can do? Look at your favorite recipe, and think about whether you could recreate it with dry ingredients. There are plenty of recipes that can be altered for just-add-water meals on the go.

If you have any favorite just-add-meals of your own, tell us on Facebook or tag us on Instagram! We love to see what you come up with.