Spiced Vegan Lentils with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Carrots

Fall backpacking might just be the best kept secret in the outdoor world. Everyone loves to talk about summertime and happy trails, but come October, the trailheads start clearing out and the people start retreating back inside for a season of Netflix and fuzzy blankets. Not gonna lie, I love a good binge watch too, but fall backpacking is too good to miss out on.

I spent last weekend deep in some of the beautiful forest outside of Silverthorne, CO and I want to share one of my favorite fall plant based backpacking recipes from the trip- a zero waste take on a classic freeze-dried vegan backpacking meal!

Why I’m loving this plant-based backpacking recipe:

• 17 grams of plant-based protein

• Creamy texture and a cheesy aftertaste 😋

• Great source of vitamin B12 (thanks, nutritional yeast)

• Sustainable alternative to single-use freeze dried meal pouches

• No fancy dehydrator or freeze drier needed

One of my biggest issues with backpacking is the apparent lack of sustainable backpacking meal options. I don’t mean plant-based or vegan options- it’s pretty easy to find veggie-friendly backpacking meals at any local outdoor store nowadays. What I’m talking about is all the single-use packaging that goes along with traditional freeze-dried backpacking meals! There’s nothing like coming home from a weekend of fall backpacking to find your back full of micro-trash scraps from torn off wrappers. But it’s a fine line because, as all avid backpackers know, weight (and simplicity), is key to a good fall backpacking trip. Carrying a bunch of food is heavy, and prepping a fancy plant-based backpacking recipe after a long day on the trail is pretty much out of the question. Finding a sustainable alternative to pre-made backpacking meals, especially one that doesn’t require you to own a dehydrator, has been something I’ve been trying to figure out, and I’ve finally got one that fits the bill!

The key item that makes it possible for this plant-based backpacking recipe to be sustainably packed (almost no single-use packaging), and still easy to make on the trail, is using a stasherbag. I’ve tried out a fair number of reusable bags in my search, and the stasherbag is the only reusable bag I’ve found that fits the bill. Here’s why.

• It doesn’t leak (at all. I’ve filled this bag with soup, thrown it in my backpack, and it hasn’t spilled a single drop. This feature is especially important for backpacking, as you do not want food residue on your backpack that might attract hungry little (or big) critters

• You can pour boiling water into it. This is a no-brainer for backpacking food- you need boiling water to heat, rehydrate, and/or cook your food.

• It holds heat and doesn’t burn you. There’s just enough insulation in stasherbags that they keep boiling water hot (enabling your food to cook), but they won’t burn you when you’re holding them (this might sound silly, but backcountry burns are actually quite risky)

While you can make this recipe with only a backpacking stove + pot (or a jetboil), you might find that you’re using more gas than you want to (a precious commodity when it comes to backpacking). This is because without something to seal in the heat completely, it’s gonna take longer (and more continuous use of fuel) to cook you plant-based backpacking meal all the way through. I like to keep my backpacking stove setup as minimal as possible, so I use an MSR Pocket Rocket. Using the Pocket Rocket (what a great name, am I right?) along with the Stasherbag means that I only burn fuel for about 5-7 minutes (just enough to boil the water + mostly cook the lentils). If you are cooking everything on your backpacking stove, follow the instructions below, but keep the stove on (super low) when you add the goodies and spices to the lentils and let cook for an additional 3-5 minutes (more time will be needed if it’s cold outside).

Here’s the breakdown of what you’ll need, how to prep, and what you need to do when it’s time to eat.

Spiced Vegan Lentils With Sun Dried Tomatoes and Carrots

• 1 cup dried red lentils

• 1 cup minute rice

• 1/4 cup dried carrots (can find at a health food store or in bulk online)

• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (dried, not in oil)

• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• 1 vegetable bouillon cube

• 1 tsp paprika

• 1/2 tsp turmeric

• 1/2 tsp curry powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• dash pepper

• 1 1/2 cups water

Before you Leave:

Fill a sandwich size reusable bag with the lentils and rice. Fill a snack size reusable bag with all other ingredients (keep the bouillon cube in it’s wrapper).

When it’s dinner time:

Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil, then add in lentils and rice. Let cook for 5-7 minutes or until lentils are mostly soft. When lentils are soft, pour entire contents (lentils, rice and all the water) back into the sandwich size reusable bag. Add in contents of snack size reusable bag (take off the bouillon wrapper first, OK). Give a quick stir to mix contents, then seal pouch securely and let sit for 10-15 minutes, or until carrots are soft. Pull out your trusty backpacking spork and enjoy before it’s time to roll into your sleeping bag.

Recipe serves 2.