Thanksgiving Dinner Bowl

Recipe score:

Yes, you can bring thanksgiving dinner out to the backcountry! It’s actually one of my go-tos for multi-day adventures. It’s damn delicious, super easy to make and provides your body with tons of nutrients to keep you fuelled. As a bonus, this can be made vegan or vegetarian. 

(Vegan and/or Vegetarian options included below)

Prep Time: < 20 mins

Cooking Method: dehydrating

Cooking Time: < 30 hours

Yield: 1

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of dry Stove Top Stuffing (or you can make your own – see below)
    • If making, you will need 1/2 cup diced bread, 1 garlic clove and 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp sage, pinch salt and 1 tbsp butter or oil)
  • 1/4 cup dehydrated ground turkey or freeze dried turkey  (approx 1/3-1/2 cup raw)
    • OR for vegan/vegetarian sub turkey with 1/4 cup pecans or walnuts
  • 2 tbsp dried carrots (approx 1 large carrot raw)
  • 1 tbsp dried onions  (approx 1/4 onion raw)
  • 1 tbsp dried celery (approx 1/2 celery stalk raw)
  • 1-2 tbsp dried mushrooms (approx 2-4 mushrooms raw)
  • 1-2 tbsp dried cranberries (approx 1/4 cranberries raw)
  • 1 tbsp pepitas (optional – for added magnesium) 
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional – for added fibre and calories) 

Optional: 

  • Instant gravy packet (pro tip: get one that only needs water!)

Directions:

  1. If making your own stuffing, slice bread in 1/4″ squares and dehydrate at 95° for 4-5 hours. To make it extra tasty, lightly fry the bread in some butter (or oil) and minced garlic before putting in the dehydrator. Remove from dehydrator and set aside. 
  2. Slice carrot, onion, celery, and mushrooms into 1/4″ thick slices
  3. Blanch carrots for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside. 
  4. Blanch cranberries for 2 minutes (skins should break). Drain and set aside.  
  5. Dehydrate vegetables & cranberries at 135° for approx 4-10 hours for vegetables; 24-30 hours for cranberries. (Note: use fruit leather tray for garlic)
  6. Cook ground turkey until golden brown. (avoid cooking with oil – use water as needed instead).
  7. Lightly rinse and drain turkey to rid of excess fats and oils. 
  8. Dehydrate turkey at 160° for approx. 7 hours
  9. Combine all ingredients except instant gravy into a container. You will prepare the gravy just before eating the meal. 
  10. If you made your own stuffing, now is when you will add thyme, rosemary, sage, garlic powder and salt. 

Voilà! Your turkey dinner in a bowl is ready to go! (see how to rehydrate below)

Notes:

  • You can make this vegetarian and/or vegan by replacing the turkey with 1/4 cup toasted walnuts or pecans (if doing so, you will need to use less water to rehydrate – I suggest using 1 cup water total)
  • It saves a lot of time to skip dehydrating your own cranberries. There’s no shame in buying them!
  • Check out our post Where to Buy Dehydrated and Freeze-dried Ingredients.
  • Learn more about dehydrating from our Dehydrating 101 post.

How to "rehydrate" before consuming:

  1. Add 1 & 1/4 cup boiling water (only 1 cup if using nuts instead of turkey)
  2. Stir
  3. Let sit for approx. 12 mins
  4. Stir & enjoy
If you’re wanting gravy, make the packet according to its instructions while the meal is rehydrating. Pour on top just before eating. 

Rehydrating Tips:

  • Use a container with a lid to contain as much heat as possible… Have a packable insulated container? Even better. 
  • After soak time is finished, add more hot water if you find the meal dry or crunchy. 

*Nutrition information is estimated using an online nutrition calculator. Actual nutrition facts may vary.


Per Serving:

Calories: 428 kcal  Protein: 28g  Carbs: 61g  Fat: 11g Fibre: 10g

Sugar: 10g  Sodium: 600mg  Saturated Fat: 0g  Cholesterol: 29mg 

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