Vegan Burrito Bowl Recipe for Dehydrating

Considerations for dehydrating your food:

• Add low or no oil to the dish. Oil can cause the dehydrated food to become rancid and spoil it.

• Cut all of the ingredients into small, consistent sizes. This helps them dehydrate and then rehydrate at a more similar rate.

• Potency of flavour tends to be diminished during the dehydration process, so consider adding a bit of extra spice during the cooking process.

Note: I like to dehydrate this meal separately in 4 main categories, which I have grouped in the ingredient list below

Ingredients:

Vegetable mixture:

• 1 tsp water or olive oil

• 1 cup diced mushrooms

• 1 red onion, diced

• 2 shallots, diced

• 1 to 2 chopped chipotle peppers from a can of chipotles in adobo

• 1 tbsp adobo sauce from can of chipotles in adobo

• 1 red bell pepper, diced

• 1 green bell pepper, diced

• 1 jalapeño pepper, diced
  1 cup arugula or spinach, chopped

• ½ cup cilantro, chopped

Rice:

• 2 cups rice

Bean mixture:

• 1 can cooked pinto beans

• 1 can cooked black beans

• 1 can corn

Salsa:

• 1 jar of salsa

Cooking Instructions:

1. Fill a medium pot with water, add a pinch of salt, and put on high heat. Once pot comes to a boil, add 2 cups rice. Turn heat to low and let rice cook for 20 minutes.

2. In a separate pot, add either 1 tsp water or olive oil and place on low-medium heat for two minutes. Add the mushrooms. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

3. Add the red onion and shallots to the mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and jalapeño pepper to the pot with the mushrooms, onions, and shallots. Stir regularly and let cook for 10 minutes or until vegetables are fully cooked. Turn off heat and stir in the arugula or spinach, and cilantro. 

5. Strain and rinse the cans of beans and corn.

6. Turn off rice once fully cooked. 

7. Do not mix all of the components together.

Please note: during the dehydration process, the flavours tend to lose intensity and become more subdued. You may want to add extra adobo sauce to compensate for the loss of flavour during the dehydration process.

Dehydrating Instructions: 

Most consumer grade dehydrators should work for this process. I have one by Hamilton Beach. You can either use the tray liners that come with the dehydrator or parchment paper. I prefer using parchment paper, since it’s easier to remove the food once it’s been dehydrated.

1. Line all of your dehydrator trays.

2. Transfer the vegetable mixture onto as many trays as it needs in order to maintain a thin but consistent layer. You want each vegetable to be side by side and not stacked on the other. 

3. Transfer the cooked rice to the remaining trays. If that doesn’t fill up your dehydrator, then complete this process with the beans/corn mixture and the salsa.

4. Once the dehydrator is full, turn it on and set the temperature. I usually use 160F and set it for about 20 hours. This meal usually takes 12-18 hours to fully dehydrate on my dehydrator.

5. You will need to run the dehydrator twice if all of the ingredients do not fit on the dehydrator trays for the first round. I usually put the leftover food in the fridge and then transfer it onto the trays once the first round is fully dried and removed. Ensure you have dried all of the beans, corn, and the remainder of the  jar of salsa.

6. Run the dehydrator until the food is completely dry. When you touch each ingredient it should be firm and not squishy nor soft.

7. Once all of the ingredients are dried, you can mix everything together in a large bowl.

8. Weigh out each camp serving and store in a vacuum sealed bag or similar. Each serving should be 150-200g (5-7 ounces) of dried food. Although you may find a different weight works better for you.

Now you’re done! I usually find this recipe makes about 5-7 x 150g camp meals; however, the amount does vary. I hope you enjoy these delicious burrito bowls while out in the backcountry! One of my favourites!

Rehydrating Instructions: 

Hot meal instructions:

1. Place your dehydrated food into your pot. 

2. Cover your meal with water.

3. Bring water to a boil.

4. Turn off your stove and cover your pot.

5. Let sit for ~10 minutes.

6. Take off lid and enjoy!

Cold soak instructions:

1. Place your dehydrated meal in your designated cold soaking container a few hours before you want to eat it.

2. Pour water into container to cover meal.

3. Let sit for ~3-4 hours.

4. Enjoy!

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