This BBQ Chicken Bowl was a surprise favorite for me on the John Muir Trail!

Nutrition Estimates:

550 calories, 32 grams of protein

Ingredients (Serves One Hungry Hiker):

• 1/2 cup instant potato flakes
• Dehydrated chicken
• 1/3 cup dehydrated black beans
• 1/3 cup dehydrated onions and corn
• Dehydrated BBQ sauce (choose your favorite, I use Stubb’s!)
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp oat milk powder

Note: I use instant potato flakes, nutritional yeast, and oat milk powder because I don’t eat dairy in the backcountry. If you can eat dairy, you can use instant mashed potatoes instead!

Preparation & Assembly:

• Rinse the black beans and dehydrate at 135F for about eight hours
• Spread diced onions and frozen corn on dehydrator trays. Dehydrate at 135F for about eight hours.
• Spread BBQ sauce on parchment paper or a silicon mat and place on a dehydrator tray. Dehydrate at 135F for 8-10 hours until the sauce has the texture of a fruit rollup. Note: I personally find the silicon sheets to be much easier to work with than parchment paper.
• Rinse a 5 oz can of chicken under warm water. Agitate gently to make sure that all the fat has been removed.
• Flake the chicken and place on a dehydrator tray. You may want to use parchment paper or a silicon sheet to make cleanup easier.
• Dehydrate the chicken at 165F for about eight hours.
• Store all dehydrated ingredients in mason jars if not using soon.
• To assemble, add all the ingredients to a bag. Shred the dehydrate BBQ sauce before adding it to the bag.
• Add an oxygen absorber and heat seal the bag if not eating soon.

“Cooking” On The Trail:

• Remove the oxygen absorber
• Add 1.25 cups of boiling water
• Mix well, and seal the bag
• Wait 10 minutes
• Mix again
• Wait another 5-10 minutes
• Enjoy!