Dehydrated Tortilla Soup - Backpacking Recipe by Fresh Off The Grid (2024)

Why aren’t there more backpacking soups? They’re super easy to rehydrate out in the field (the water ratios don’t need to be perfect) and they can be really comforting at the end of the day. So we’re committed to developing some more soup recipes and this is one of our new favorites.

This tortilla soup has it all: black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, onion, corn, jalapenos, and cilantro. Not to mention the crunchy tortilla chip topping!

What we love about this Backpacking Tortilla Soup:
↠ A wide variety of ingredients really puts your dehydrator to work to create layers of flavor
↠ Crispy tortillas add much welcomed crunch and texture
↠ Simple to rehydrate in the field

How to make dehydrated tortilla soup & step by step video

Start by dehydrating black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, a diced small onion, roasted corn, sliced jalapenos, and cilantro. You can’t overdry any of the ingredients, so best to run the dehydrator overnight.

A word of caution: The jalapenos will spice up the air in the beginning (but will diminish over time) so make sure the dehydrator is in a well-ventilated area.

After everything has been fully dehydrated, divide all the ingredients in half and then combine into individual servings.

For each serving, add a bouillon cube, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin. In a separate container, pack the tortilla chips. You can either use store-bought or toast your own by cutting up a corn tortilla and frying strips in a little bit of cooking oil (do this right before your trip as they won’t keep for long term storage).

Optionally, you could also include a packet of True Lime to give the soup a citrusy zip.

At camp, place your soup mix and spices into a pot and add roughly 12 ounces of water (or more if you like). Bring to a boil and let simmer until all the dehydrated ingredients are tender and the bouillon cube has been fully dissolved. Add a drizzle of olive oil to the top, liberally top with tortilla chips, and serve.

This backpacking tortilla soup is pretty simple to make with a dehydrator and tastes so comforting out on the trail. It might just turn you into a backpacking soup convert yet!

Equipment needed

↠ Dehydrator: There are a lot of options out there, but we’re currently using the Nesco Snackmaster. It’s a budget-friendly dehydrator that’s good for beginners just getting started. Fancier models like the Excalibur feature auto-on / auto-off features.

↠ Reusable Bags: In our bid to reduce our disposable ziplock bag consumption, we’ve started exploring packing our dehydrated meals in reusable baggies. They’re great if you’re only going out for a few nights, but might not be the right solution for longer thru-hikes where weight is more of a concern.

↠ Humangear GoToob: We love GoToobs for carrying oils when we’re backpacking. They have a double lock feature that gives us extra confidence they won’t accidentally start leaking somewhere down in the depths of our bear canister.

Other dehydrated backpacking meals:

↠ Dehydrated Lentil Chili
↠ Dehydrated Risotto with Vegetables
↠ Dehydrated Red Lentil Marinara Pasta
↠ Dehydrated Quinoa Chili