Backpackers’ Freezer Bag Recipe: Creamy Tomato Vegetable Soup

A hot cup of tomato soup is the perfect meal for cold weather backpacking or even rainy summer days on trail.  This simple home-dehydrated version is packed with vegetables plus pasta for some extra carbs and calories.

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I enjoy freezer bag cooking on trail and this recipe includes instructions for packaging and rehydrating in freezer bags.  This soup, however, could certainly be prepared in your cook pot if you prefer. Click here to learn more about freezer bag cooking.

Backpackers’ Creamy Tomato Veggie Soup Ingredients:

• 1 16-ounce box of pasta, small shapes such as elbows
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 3 carrots, finely diced or shredded
• 3 ribs of celery, finely diced
• 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  

A Few Other Things You Will Need

Blender – An immersion blender makes this soup recipe quick and easy but you can also use a standard blender

Dehydrator – This Excalibur dehydrator is a popular choice for backpacking food prep.  I have a less expensive model similar to this one.  It is smaller and has fewer features but it gets the job done.

Fruit Trays – Fruit trays are dehydrator accessories that are necessary for drying liquids such as soup.  I also use them to dehydrate the pasta in this recipe because the holes in my dehydrator trays are large enough for some small noodles to fall through.

Quart-Size Zip-Top Freezer Bags – If you are packaging your soup to be rehydrated in the bag, be sure to use freezer bags.  The thinner bags labeled “snack,” “sandwich,” or “storage” will not hold up when you add near-boiling water.

Making The Northeast Hiker’s Creamy Tomato Veggie Soup

Cook the pasta as directed on the box.  Smaller shapes such as elbows or alphabet letters work best.  I like a lot of noodles in my soup so I use an entire 1-pound box of elbow pasta but you can adjust the amount to suit your taste.

Drain and dehydrate the pasta.  I dehydrate my pasta on high, rotating the trays and stirring every hour, and it usually takes about four hours.  When all noodles appear completely dry and they snap instead of bending in your hands, remove from the dehydrator and set aside.

To make the tomato soup, add all other ingredients to a large stock pot and bring to a boil.  Then, reduce to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender. Cook time will vary depending on how finely you have diced your carrots and celery. 

Remove soup from heat and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.  If you do not have an immersion blender, this can also be done by transferring the soup to a traditional blender but it may need to be blended in multiple batches.  

Pour one cup of soup onto each fruit tray and spread as thinly and evenly as possible.  This recipe makes about seven 1-cup servings. Depending on how many trays you have, you may not be able to dehydrate the entire recipe at once.  When soup is completely dry, it will resemble fruit leather. It should not be tacky to the touch and should peel easily off of the trays. This usually takes about six hours in my dehydrator.

Freezer Bag Cooking Tomato Soup

Tear the soup leather into one-inch pieces and package each tray of soup into its own quart-size freezer bag.  Then, divide the pasta evenly between the bags. For me, this comes out to be about ¾ cup of dried elbow noodles per bag.  I also like to label the bags with their contents and the rehydrating instructions.

To prepare the soup on trail, add about 1 ½ cups of hot water, stir well, and insulate.  (Click here for instructions to make your own insulated pouch for freezer bag cooking). Allow to rehydrate for about ten minutes and stir again before eating.

Where are you taking your tomato soup?  If you’ve tried this recipe, share your results below or snap an instagram photo and tag @thenortheasthiker!