Recipe Details
A zesty, homemade Pace-inspired picante sauce with jalapenos and lime, perfect for trail dips—dehydrate it for a lightweight, spicy kick on your backpacking adventures.
Prep Time
10min
Cook Time
30min
Wait Time
20min
| Characteristic | Details |
|---|---|
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Cost: | Cheap |
| Category: | Camping Staples |
| Seasons: | All |
Ingredients
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Sauce
| 796 ml | 1 Can of Diced tomatoes |
| 75 ml | Tomato Paste |
| 3 oz | Yellow Bell Pepper, diced |
| 2 oz | Green Onions, diced |
| 2 oz | Jalapeno Pepper minced (1 for medium) |
| 1 clove | Garlic, minced |
| 1 1/4 cups | White Vinegar |
| 1 Lime | Juice of 1 lime |
| 1 tsp | Salt |
| 1 tbsp | Garlic Powder |
| 2 tsp | White Sugar |
Homemade Trail Picante Sauce Directions
Add 1 can (796 ml) diced tomatoes to a food processor and pulse 2-3 times to break up chunks, keeping a slightly chunky texture—avoid a smooth puree.
In a stainless steel saucepan, combine your pulsed tomatoes, tomato paste, diced yellow bell peppers, diced green onions, minced jalapeño pepper (1 for medium heat), 1 minced garlic clove, white vinegar, juice of 1 lime, salt, garlic powder, and sugar.
Note: For the jalapeno, you can increase the "heat" of your sauce by leaving in the white pith, but remove the seeds. Otherwise, when you remove the pith, you will get a mild heat to your sauce.
Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook for 30 minutes to reduce the liquid until thickened to your liking. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
Remove from heat and cool for 20 minutes. Transfer to a container for home use or proceed to dehydrate for trail use. The next section will take you through the dehydration process, but before we do that, I'm having a plate of picante and tortilla chips—I'm hungry!
For Dehydration: Spread a thin layer of sauce on silicone fruit leather trays. Dehydrate in a Cosori dehydrator at 125°F (52°C) for 14 hours, or until it becomes like fruit leather, but a little drier.
Break the dehydrated sauce into flakes.
Store in vacuum-sealed bags with a 5-gram desiccant packet for trail packing. For longer storage at home, I would dry it a bit longer and then break it up into Mason jars, also with desiccant packets.
Recipe Notes
- Use a stainless steel saucepan—avoid aluminum to prevent metallic flavours. Simmer until the sauce reaches the desired thickness; add water if too thick during cooking.
- Adjust heat: 1 oz jalapeño (half a pepper) for mild, 2 oz (1 pepper) for medium, 3-4 oz (1.5-2 peppers) for hot. Start with 1 tsp salt and adjust after simmering.
- Add chopped fresh cilantro for an even more enhanced flavour! For this recipe, add a 1/2 cup.
- For trail use, rehydrate 2 tbsp dehydrated flakes with 1/4 cup hot water for 5-10 minutes. Use as a dip, taco topping, or chilli enhancer.
- Storage Tips: Store non-dehydrated sauce in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week. For dehydrated sauce, condition in a transparent airtight container for 7 days, shaking daily to check for moisture. If condensation appears, return to the dehydrator for 1-2 hours. Store in vacuum-sealed bags with a desiccant packet for up to 1 year.
- Dehydrator Recommendation: I use and recommend the Cosori food dehydrator for precise drying of trail-ready condiments like this picante sauce.
Nutrition facts
Per Serving
| Kcal: | 10 kcal |
| Fibers (g): | 0.5g |
| Sodium (mg): | 100mg |
| Carbs: | 2g |
| Sugar (g): | 1g |
| Proteins: | 0.5g |