Veggie Pho Noodle Soup | Backpacking Recipe
By Aaron Owens Mayhew, MS, RDN, CD
Updated January 5, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links.
Have you ever looked back over several days of hiking and wondered if you’ve eaten a single vegetable? Bringing a few servings of this veggie pho noodle soup will completely solve that problem. Get all your veggies for the day in one cozy little package. Warming and delicious, this veggie pho noodle soup uses only grocery-friendly ingredients (no beef bones required). It’s a great choice for fall or winter hikes or for chilly summer evenings at high altitude.
Veggie Pho Noodle Soup to the rescue!
I don’t know about you, but there are certainly nights that I’m craving a healthy meal but am too tired to cook. This is when our veggie pho noodle soup recipe saves the day! Believe it or not, we eat this veggie pho noodle soup regularly for dinner at home. It’s tasty and quick enough to compete with whatever else happens to be in my fridge or pantry.
If you’re new to dehydrating foods for your own backpacking meals, this noodle soup recipe is a good place to start. We’ll walk you through dehydrating the tofu here and dehydrating green onions here. Not quite ready to purchase a dehydrator? Find quality dehydrated veggies from Mother Earth Products.
Veggie Pho Noodle Soup
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View Comments / Leave A ReviewNUTRITION (per serving)
INGREDIENTS
VEGETABLES
- 4 cups (284 g) broccoli, fresh florets, roughly 1 head of broccoli
- 2 cups (140 g) cabbage, fresh shredded, coleslaw mix works just fine
- 1 ½ cups (105 g) mushrooms, fresh white, sliced, approximately 8 oz container
- 1 small (70 g) onion, fresh yellow, thinly sliced
- 1 cup (57 g) carrots, fresh shredded, pre-shredded carrots in a bag work just fine
- 1 bunch (75 g) green onions, fresh, chopped, tops only
NOODLES
- 4 oz (112 g) rice noodles, thin
BROTH
- 4 tsp (16 g) bouillon powder
- 1 tsp (1.8 g) ginger, ground
- ½ tsp (0.3 g) cilantro, dried
- ¼ tsp (0.4 g) corriander, ground
- dash (0.3 g) cloves, ground
- 2 packets (21 g) soy sauce
- 4 packets (36 g) hoisin sauce
- ¼ tsp (1.6 g) sriracha
- 16 oz (480 mL) water
OPTIONAL
- 4 tsp (16 g) bouillon powder, sodium-free (substitution), reduced-sodium option
- 7 oz (198 g) tofu, extra firm, See instructions in the meal prep tips below.
- 2 packets soy sauce, gluten-free (substitution), gluten-free option
INSTRUCTIONS (per serving)
HOME
- Bring a stockpot of water to a boil.
- Add the broccoli, cabbage, and carrots to the stockpot.
- Blanch the vegetable mix for 3-4 minutes after returning to a boil.
- Drain the vegetable mixture and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Spread the mixture onto two dehydrator trays.
- Spread the sliced yellow onion, green onions, and mushrooms onto separate dehydrator trays.
- Dehydrate vegetables at 125℉ (52℃) for 4-8 hours or until completely dry. The time required to dry the vegetables will vary based on the humidity in your home.
- Divide the dried vegetables into two servings and store them in two bags or containers to be used in the backcountry.
- Divide the noodles into two servings. Add one serving of noodles to each serving of vegetables.
- Divide the dry broth ingredients into two servings. Add one serving of broth to each serving of vegetables.
- Pack the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sriracha (optional) separately.
FIELD
- Bring 16 oz (480 mL) of water to a boil.
- Remove the pot from the stove and add the soup mixture, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sriracha (optional) to the pot.
- Stir to mix well and cover the pot with a lid.
- Let the soup stand for 5 minutes to allow the vegetables and noodles to rehydrate.
- Stir occasionally to make sure the noodles are completely covered with hot water.
- Once fully rehydrated, stir to mix well, and enjoy!
NOTES
MEAL PREP TIPS
- Dehydrated or freeze-dried tofu is a great way to add protein and calories to this meal.
- To prepare the recipe using already dehydrated ingredients, reduce the fresh measurements by half.
- To prepare the recipe using freeze-dried ingredients, use equivalent amounts of freeze-dried ingredients.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR DEHYDRATING TOFU
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- Here is a detailed how-to guide on dehydrating tofu for backpacking meals.
- Freeze the tofu overnight in the container that was purchased.
- Allow the tofu to thaw completely in the refrigerator.
- Cut the tofu into 1/2″ cubes and place on dehydrator trays.
- Dehydrate at 135℉ (57℃) for 4-8 hours or until completely dry. The tofu should break in half easily, rather than bending.
- Dehydrated tofu can be stored for 1-2 weeks in an airtight container kept in a cool, dark, dry place, 6 months in the refrigerator, or 12 months in the freezer. The short shelf-life is due to the fat content of the tofu.
NUTRITION
- Be aware that this recipe prepares two large, low-calorie servings of soup.
- Total sugar (per serving): 13 g, including 6 g of added sugar from the hoisin sauce
- To reduce sodium by 1638 mg, use sodium-free bouillon and low-sodium soy sauce.
ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE BACKPACKING FOOD STORAGE OPTION?
Consider checking out our biodegradable food pouches. The large pouches work great for freezer bag-style backpacking meals.
Ready to see more ultralight backpacking recipes like this one?
Backcountry Foodie is your go-to resource for over 200 backpacking dietitian-created recipes and a one-of-a-kind automated meal planning tool. The meal planner even creates itemized shopping lists for you! Meal prep has never been easier.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aaron Owens Mayhew, MS, RDN, CD, is a registered dietitian and ultralight long-distance backpacker with over 20 years of nutrition and backpacking experience. She’s also the founder and owner of Backcountry Foodie, an online ultralight recipes and meal planning platform for backpackers. She also enjoys teaching hikers about backpacking nutrition via virtual masterclasses, YouTube videos, and podcast episodes. You can follow Aaron’s adventures in the kitchen and the backcountry via Instagram and Facebook.
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