Chai-Spiced Couscous Breakfast Bowls with Apricots and Almonds
Mix couscous, milk powder, brown sugar, chai spices and chopped dried apricots in a pot. Boil water on a camp stove, pour it over, stir, cover and let it sit 5 minutes, then fluff and top with almonds and honey. It takes about 15 minutes total and needs only one burner.
This is a hot, creamy breakfast with no real cooking. You boil water, pour it over a dry mix and wait. Couscous soaks up the water fast, and the milk powder turns it soft and a little creamy, like rice pudding.
The spices are cinnamon, ginger and cardamom, which give it a mild chai flavor. Dried apricots plump up in the steam. You can build the dry mix at home in a zip bag, so camp morning is just a pot, a stove and a spoon.
Chai-Spiced Couscous Breakfast Bowls with Apricots and Almonds
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Heat
- High flame to boil, then off
- Pack weight
- 1 lb
- Campfire
- Camp stove
- Backpacking
- No cooler needed
- One burner
- Low water
- One-pan cleanup
- Shelf-stable
- Prep ahead
Ingredients
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Gear you'll need
- Camp stove with fuel
- 1.5-quart pot with lid
- Small pot or kettle for boiling water
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Fork or spoon for stirring
- 2 bowls
- Zip bag for the pre-mixed dry ingredients
Steps
-
Build the dry mix
In your pot, stir together the couscous, milk powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, salt and chopped apricots. If you mixed it at home, just pour it into the pot.
-
Boil the water
Measure 1 1/2 cups of water into a second pot or a camp kettle. Bring it to a full rolling boil on your stove. That takes about 4 to 6 minutes.
-
Pour and stir
Carefully pour the boiling water over the dry mix. Stir right away for about 20 seconds so the milk powder dissolves and no dry pockets are left.
-
Cover and wait
Put the lid on the pot and set it somewhere flat and steady. Let it sit 5 minutes. The couscous will soak up the water and the apricots will soften.
-
Fluff and check
Take off the lid and fluff with a fork or spoon. If it looks dry, stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons of hot water and cover for 1 more minute.
-
Top and serve
Spoon into two bowls. Scatter on the almonds and drizzle with honey. Eat it hot.
Trail Notes
Mix everything except the water, almonds and honey in a zip bag at home. Squeeze out the air and label it. Pack the almonds and honey separately so they stay crisp and tidy.
Every ingredient is shelf-stable, so no cooler is needed. Keep the milk powder dry. Eat the bowls within an hour or two of making them, and don't save leftovers in a warm pack.
Use coconut milk powder to make it vegan. Dried cherries, raisins or chopped dates work in place of apricots. Pecans or sunflower seeds work in place of almonds.
Scrape bowls clean and wipe them with a bit of hot water. Strain out any food bits and pack them out. Scatter the leftover gray water well away from camp and at least 200 feet from water sources.
Campers ask
Can I use regular couscous instead of instant?
Regular couscous is usually the same fine-grain, pre-steamed kind and works the same way. Check the box. Larger pearl (Israeli) couscous needs to simmer for several minutes, so it won't work here.
How do I keep couscous from clumping?
Stir right after you pour in the boiling water, then leave it covered and undisturbed. Fluff with a fork at the end instead of stirring hard.
Can I make this without milk powder?
Yes. Leave it out and the bowl will be lighter, more like plain sweet couscous. A spoonful of peanut butter or a splash of shelf-stable milk adds back some richness.
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