Dry Bean Dinner, Trail Version
Instant bean flakes and instant rice, rehydrated in one pot. The cheap pantry staple, minus the two-hour simmer.
- calories
- 820
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 117
- protein
- 26 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 500 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.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant black bean flakes | 3/4 cup | dehydrated refried beans, sold in bulk bins |
|---|---|---|
| Instant rice | 1/3 cup | the parboiled kind that rehydrates in five minutes |
| Chili powder and cumin | 1 tsp total | |
| Granulated garlic | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Hard cheese | 1 oz | dry jack or aged cheddar |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Corn chips | 1 oz | crushed, for the top |
Method
- Boil 500 ml of water. Stir in the instant rice, cover, and pull it off the flame.
- Wait five minutes. The rice does its work off-heat, which saves fuel.
- Dump in the bean flakes and spices. Stir until the loose powder is gone, then let it sit two more minutes to swell.
- Grate or crumble in the cheese and pour the oil over. Stir it through.
- Crush the corn chips on top and eat straight from the pot.
Dry beans are the cheapest protein in a grocery store, but a pound of them wants an hour of hard boiling and a lot of fuel you are not carrying. Dehydrated bean flakes are the same bean, already cooked and dried, and they rehydrate in the time it takes water to stop steaming. That is the whole trade: you pay a little more per ounce and get the two hours back.
The rice is there for bulk and to keep the beans from turning into a single dense paste. Fat is the other fix — bean flakes on their own are lean and mealy, so the oil and cheese are load-bearing, not garnish. Add water in stages if you are unsure; flakes will keep thickening for a minute after you stop stirring, and thin is easier to correct than cement.
Packing
Bean flakes, rice, and spices ride in one freezer bag, measured at home. Cheese, oil, and chips stay separate — the chips get powdered otherwise, which is fine but less fun.
Variations
- Instant pinto or great northern flakes swap in one for one. Pintos go creamier, great northerns milder.
- A foil packet of chicken adds 20 g of protein.
- Skip the cheese and bump the oil to two tablespoons for a vegan, dairy-free version.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/cooked-beans-dry-beans-which-is-cheaper