Say that three times fast…
Last summer, I started working on this recipe while on our backpacking trip on the Lakeshore Trail to Stehekin. This was our first night and we stopped at the Moore Point campground and found ourselves a lovely little beach alcove to enjoy dinner away from our tent.
The recipe has seen several evolutions and times I simply forgot to either bring or add all the ingredients. It didn’t matter much, it all tasted wonderful because how can you go wrong with the flavor of pizza?
Now, of course, being nightshade free my idea of pizza might be different than yours. This means no red sauce or pepperoni. And being paleo means no crust. If you want something like that, check out my trail pizza recipe here that I created for Washington Trails Association.
You will find this recipe uses a mix of fresh and dehydrated ingredients, a trick that means a made-at-home tasting meal on trail with less weight. If you are willing to think outside the box, this version of pesto pizza just might be your next favorite backpacking meal!
#pinenuts #olives #basil #mushrooms #prosciutto #oliveoil
The great thing about this meal is that you don’t even need to have a dehydrator to make it work. It is possible to buy dried mushrooms at almost any Asian market! Everything else you can pick up at most grocery stores. If you want to dry your own mushrooms, visit my Dehydrating 101 page for how-to steps.
At home, you add the fresh basil and prosciutto into one bag and the pine nuts and dried mushrooms to another. This keeps the dried ingredients dry without taking moisture from the others. The olives and olive oil can just be on their own or tucked in with one of those first two containers.
At camp, add water to cover the dried ingredients to rehydrate. If you want to be fancy, you can add other dried vegetables or pizza toppings like artichokes or onions. Be creative!
I have pre-chopped prosciutto here but if you carry sliced because you are going to make my prosciutto date wraps on trail, you can just break it up into bite size pieces.
I make my own olive packets but you can pick them up in a lot of stores now, like Trader Joe’s. You can read more about the packets I make in this post. It is labeled for its previous meal, I wash and reuse them…
When the mushrooms are soft, mix all the ingredients together and sprinkle with a little salt. If you don’t already carry a container of salt with you (I keep mine in a film canister), you can add the salt into the bag with the dry ingredients above. Depending on your olives and preference, the dish may already be seasoned enough.
Doesn’t that sound tasty?
Some other ways I have had this meal was to carry in a container of Trader Joe’s kale pesto sauce and make several meals at one time. It works for a great dip for carrots, too. As long as I eat it the first day, I don’t mind the weight!
This version actually had dried pineapple and broccoli rice. Turns out, it was pretty good. Pesto makes everything delicious…and green.
I find that prosciutto will last several days out on the trail. If you don’t want to do the meat, simply up your nuts and mushrooms or add you favorite protein source.
Enjoy!
Nightshade Free Pesto Pizza
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Total Time
10 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Keto, Nightshade Free, Paleo, Soy free, Whole Food
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 1 package prosciutto diced or sliced
- 1/4 cup dried mushrooms
- 1-2 packages olives
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 3-4 leaves basil
- 1-2 packets olive oil 1-2 tablespoons
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
At Home
- If you want to save a step at camp, chop your basil into small pieces.
- Add the fresh basil and prosciutto into one bag and the pine nuts and dried mushrooms to another. This keeps the dried ingredients dry without taking moisture from the others. The olives and olive oil can just be on their own or tucked in with one of those first two containers.
At Camp
- Add water to cover the pine nuts and mushrooms to rehydrate. Let sit for 5-10 minutes depending on the heat of your water and ambient air.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
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