Helping campers since 2011

Dehydrated Chicken Recipe

Cheesy Mexican Chicken

Here's my favorite dehydrated chicken meal for backpacking. It's hearty, cheesy, and just spicy enough. My family loves it!

Be sure that you cook the chicken correctly before you dehydrate it!

My first time dehydrating chicken was not a success. I baked some boneless chicken breasts, chopped them up small, and dehydrated them until they were completely dry.

It looked fine, but when it was time to cook it, the chicken just never got tender. I cooked it for ages, and used up way too much fuel - but the chicken remained tough and chewy.

We ate it, of course, because when you are backpacking you eat what you have - but I resolved never again to make dried chicken.

Since then, though, I have learned the secret!

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How to make perfect dehydrated chicken

There are two ways to dry chicken so that it will rehydrate easily.

Method #1

Buy canned chicken or chicken in a foil pouch. Dehydrate on low for approximately 8 hours, or until the chicken is completely dry and crisp.

Method #2

Pressure cook the chicken before dehydrating it.

Now, I've owned a pressure cooker for years, but I used it mainly for cooking beans from scratch.

Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

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Once I learned how easy it is to pressure cook chicken, this became my method of choice for preparing dehydrated chicken.

Here are the complete instructions for pressure cooking chicken.

Once the chicken is cooked, you are ready to prepare your backpacking meal.

At home

What you need

1 lb/500 g cooked chicken
1 can (28 oz/796mL) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz/226 mL) green chilies
8 oz/226 g corn tortilla chips
1/4 cup/60 mL flour
2 tsp/10 mL chili powder
2 tsp/10 mL ground cumin
1/2 lb/250 g mozzarella cheese

What you do

Shred or dice the cooked chicken.

Drain the cans.

Put the chicken, drained tomatoes and drained chilies in a large bowl and stir to mix.

Place the chicken mixture on dehydrator trays. Spread it out evenly in a single layer.

Put the trays into the dehydrator. Following the manufacturer’s directions, dehydrate until all moisture has been removed.

The chicken will be light, dry and crispy.

Package the chicken in a ziploc bag.

Pack the tortilla chips in a ziploc bag. Break them up so that they take up less room.

Combine the flour, chili powder and cumin in a snack-size ziploc bag.

Package the cheese.

At camp

What you do

Put 4 cups/1 L water and the chicken mixture into a pot. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is tender. (This will take at least 10 minutes, and maybe longer.)

Meanwhile, cut the cheese into small cubes.

When the chicken is tender, add the cheese cubes and the spice mixture to the pot. Cook and stir for a few minutes, until the sauce thickens.

Spoon into bowls. Top each bowl with a handful of crushed tortilla chips, and enjoy!

Cheesy Mexican Chicken with tortilla chips

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About this item

VERSATILE DRYING: This food dehydrator machine offers a temperature range of 85°-165° F and a timer for up to 60 hours.
LARGE CAPACITY: With 16 sq. ft. of drying space and 10 chrome-plated trays, this dehydrator provides ample room to dehydrate large batches of food items simultaneously.
CONVENIENT VIEWING: Equipped with glass French doors, this enables you to observe the drying process.
EASY TO USE: The LED front panel allows for control of temperature, time, and other settings, making the dehydration process a breeze.
ADVANCED DRYING TECHNOLOGIES: Featuring Hyperwave and Paralexx technologies, this dehydrator ensures consistent air circulation and even heat distribution across all trays, resulting in efficient and high-quality dehydration.