Tuna casserole, a simple home-cooked meal, considered a comfort food by many is easily converted into a low-carb, dehydrated version, that you can enjoy on the trail on your next backpacking adventure. Give it a try with tuna, or try doing it with mackerel to add more omega-3 fats.
Keto Tuna Casserole Backpacking Camp Meal Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1¼ cups cauliflower rice
- ½ cup broccoli florets
- ¼ cup yellow pepper, diced
- 6 white mushrooms, diced
- Two 5oz cans of flaked canned tuna (*Or swap with one 10oz of canned mackerel, flaked)
- 2 tablespoons butter powder
- ¼ cup heavy cream powder
- 6 tablespoons freeze dried grated Colby cheese
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ⅛ teaspoon citric acid (*Or Tru Lemon)
- Two pinches cayenne
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
Directions:
Before getting started, Please note that this recipe makes 2 meals, so all your ingredients will be divided in half to go into 2 separate bags. Spread tuna or mackerel out on a dehydrator roll sheet.
Add all the cauliflower rice, broccoli florets, yellow pepper and white mushrooms to a second dehydrator roll sheet. Turn on the dehydrator and run for 4-5 hours, until everything is completely dry.
Add half the dried tuna or mackerel and half of each of the dried veggies to 2 different pint-sizes ziplock freezer bags (*I like to wash and re-use some Mylar zip bags from commercial backpacking meals but you really have to make sure they are properly cleaned out. I even store them in the freezer just to make sure nothing harmful gets left behind.) Add half all the remaining ingredients to each bag and seal until ready to use. If I’m not using them right away, I’ll store them in my freezer with a food-safe oxygen absorber (like the ones that come in seaweed packages), then remove the oxygen absorber before prepping it.
Around 20 minutes before you plan to eat, add ¼ to ⅓ cup water to the bag and stir. When ready to eat, add boiled water, little by little, stirring to combine until it’s at your preferred consistency. Seal the bag or cover the container if using one and let sit for a couple of minute to let water fully absorb before eating.
Did you give this keto dehydrated tuna casserole backpacking camp meal recipe a try? If so, let me know what you think in the comments. Or if you share any pics on Instagram, tag me so I can see your creations. Bonus points if the photo is out in some beautiful backpacking destination! :)