camp meals

Breakfast Burrito, Trail Version

Eggs, beans, and corn folded into a tortilla on a stove. No fridge involved.

calories
620
weight
5.5 oz
cal / oz
113
protein
26 g
serves
2, scales
prep
5 min
cook
10 min
total time
15 min
water
180 ml boiled
cost
$$

Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.

  • Breakfast
  • Dinner
  • Canister stove
  • Liquid fuel
  • Backpacking
  • Car camping
  • Basecamp
  • Bikepacking
  • Vegetarian
  • Nut free
  • One pot
  • Pre-mix at home
  • Shelf stable
  • Basic

Ingredients

Whole egg powder 6 tbsp rehydrates to about 4 eggs
Instant black bean flakes 1/2 cup dried refried beans, not canned
Freeze-dried corn 1/4 cup
Dried minced onion 2 tbsp red onion if you dehydrate your own
Garlic powder 1/4 tsp
Ground cumin 1/2 tsp
Smoked paprika 1/4 tsp
Salt and black pepper 1/2 tsp salt, a pinch of pepper
Olive oil 1 tbsp dropper bottle
Hard cheese 1.5 oz shredded parmesan or a chunk of cheddar
Flour tortillas 2 large they survive a week in a pack
Salsa packets 2 packets taqueria packets or a squeeze pouch

Method

  1. Put the corn, onion, and bean flakes in the pot with 180 ml of water. Bring it to a boil, then take it off the heat and let it sit five minutes.
  2. Stir in the cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. The beans will have thickened into a paste.
  3. Whisk the egg powder with 4 tbsp of cold water in a mug until there are no lumps. Lumps stay lumps once they cook.
  4. Push the bean mixture to one side, add the oil, and pour in the egg. Low flame, stir constantly, pull it off while it still looks slightly wet.
  5. Fold everything together with the cheese. Spoon into the tortillas, add salsa, roll, eat.

The original is a make-ahead freezer recipe, which is useless three days from a road. Everything perishable got swapped: powdered egg for fresh, instant bean flakes for a can of black beans, freeze-dried corn and dried onion for the sautéed vegetables. The spice blend is the one part carried over intact, because cumin and smoked paprika are what make eggs and beans taste like something other than eggs and beans.

Order matters more than technique here. The beans and vegetables need boiling water and a soak; the egg needs low heat and constant motion. Do the egg first and it turns to rubber while the beans rehydrate. A can of beans is mostly water and would be roughly a pound of dead weight — the flakes get you the same paste for about two ounces.

Packing

Beans, corn, onion, and spices go in one bag. Egg powder goes in its own bag — it clumps if it meets anything moist. Tortillas ride flat against your back panel or they come out as confetti.

Variations

  • Skip the tortillas and eat it as a bowl over instant potato flakes.
  • A packet of hot sauce does the same work as salsa and weighs nothing.
  • Freeze-dried bell pepper in with the corn if you want more bulk.

https://ohmyveggies.com/make-ahead-breakfast-quesadillas