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 is 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
EQUIPMENT
- food dehydrator, optional
- mesh dehydrator tray liners, optional
- cookpot with lid, minimum 18 oz volume (540 mL)
- insulated pot cozy
INGREDIENTS
VEGETABLES
- 4 cup (284 g) broccoli, fresh florets
- 2 cup (140 g) cabbage, fresh shredded
- 1 ½ cup (105 g) mushrooms, fresh white, sliced
- 1 small (70 g) onion, fresh yellow, thinly sliced
- 1 cup (57 g) carrots, fresh shredded
- ¾ cup (75 g) green onions, fresh, chopped, tops only
NOODLES
- 4 oz (112 g) rice noodles, thin
BROTH & SAUCE
- 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) coriander, ground
- ⅛ tsp (0.3 g) cloves, ground
- 2 packet (12 mL) soy sauce, 1 packet = 1 tsp
- 4 packet (36 g) hoisin sauce
- ¼ tsp (1.6 g) sriracha, or to taste (optional)
- 32 oz (960 mL) water
Dietary substitutions available — see Substitutions below.
INSTRUCTIONS (per serving)
HOME
- Bring a stockpot of water to a boil.
- Add the broccoli, cabbage, and carrots. Blanch for 3–4 minutes after the water returns to a boil.
- Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Spread the blanched vegetables evenly on dehydrator trays.
- Spread the yellow onion, green onions, and mushrooms on separate dehydrator trays.
- Dehydrate at 125°F (52°C) for 4–8 hours or until completely dry. Allow the vegetables to cool before packing.
- Divide the dried vegetables evenly between 2 bags or containers.
- Divide the rice noodles and dry broth ingredients evenly between the same 2 bags or containers.
- Pair each serving with 1 soy sauce packet, 2 hoisin sauce packets, and half of the sriracha (optional) to be added when the meal is prepared.
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 (if using) to the pot.
- Stir to mix well and cover the pot with a lid.
- Place the covered pot in an insulated pot cozy to help retain heat while the meal rehydrates.
- 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
SUBSTITUTIONS
Gluten-Free: Replace the soy sauce with an equal amount of gluten-free tamari. Also verify that the hoisin sauce and bouillon are gluten-free, since formulations vary by brand. Heart-Healthy: Replace the bouillon with sodium-free bouillon and the soy sauce with low-sodium soy sauce. No Dehydrator: Use commercially dehydrated vegetables instead, using approximately half the volume of the fresh vegetables listed. Dehydrated broccoli, mushrooms, onions, carrots, and green onions are readily available online. Dehydrated cabbage can be difficult to find; omit it if unavailable. Using Freeze-Dried Vegetables: Freeze-dried vegetables can also be used in place of fresh vegetables. Use equivalent amounts of fresh vegetables and skip the dehydration steps.MEAL PREP TIPS
Adding Tofu: Dehydrated or freeze-dried tofu is an easy way to add protein and calories. See our step-by-step tofu dehydration guide if preparing your own. Dehydrating Green Onions: See our step-by-step green onion dehydration guide. Serving Size: This recipe makes 2 large, relatively low-calorie servings. Consider adding tofu or another protein source if you need a more substantial meal.RECIPE LABELS
Our downloadable recipe labels are designed to print on Avery #18163 (2″ x 4″) Shipping Labels. View / Print LabelsNUTRITION (per serving)
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