camp meals

Camp Rice Pudding

Instant rice, pudding mix, and milk powder. Dessert that takes one boil and ten minutes of waiting.

calories
430
weight
4.5 oz
cal / oz
96
protein
9 g
serves
3, scales
prep
2 min
cook
5 min
total time
7 min
water
700 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.

  • Dessert
  • Breakfast
  • Canister stove
  • Alcohol / Esbit
  • Liquid fuel
  • Backpacking
  • Car camping
  • Basecamp
  • Bikepacking
  • Vegetarian
  • Nut free
  • One pot
  • Pre-mix at home
  • Shelf stable
  • Dump and stir

Ingredients

Instant white rice 1 1/2 cups must be instant, regular rice will not rehydrate
Powdered milk 2/3 cup
Vanilla instant pudding mix 1 package (3.4 oz)
Ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp
Brown sugar 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg a pinch

Method

  1. Boil 700 ml of water.
  2. Pour the water into the dry mix, or dump the mix into the pot and stir it through. Either way, stir until no dry pockets are left.
  3. Take the pot off the flame, put the lid on, and leave it alone for ten minutes.
  4. Stir again before serving. It thickens as it cools.

Rice pudding at home means simmering rice in milk for forty minutes and stirring so it does not scorch. None of that works on a canister stove. Instant rice and powdered milk do the same job with one boil, and the pudding mix supplies the starch and sugar that would otherwise come from long cooking.

The ten minutes off the heat matter more than the boil does. That is when the rice finishes absorbing and the pudding starch sets. Pull the lid early and you get sweet soup. It also comes out fine cold the next morning, which makes it breakfast if you cook a double batch.

Packing

Combine everything dry in one bag at home and squeeze the air out. The pudding mix clumps if it gets damp, so a second zip bag inside the food sack is worth it in wet weather.

Variations

  • A handful of raisins or chopped dried apple added with the water softens while it stands.
  • Swap vanilla pudding for butterscotch or chocolate.
  • Cut the water to 600 ml if you want it stiff enough to eat with a spoon standing up.

https://www.trailmeister.com/rice-pudding-recipe-camp-cooking