Famine Pot Beans and Rice
Beans, rice, and potato flakes in one pot. Cheap enough to buy a month of it at once.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 26 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 600 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
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant white rice | 3/4 cup | parboiled, not raw long grain |
|---|---|---|
| Dried refried bean flakes | 1/2 cup | |
| Instant potato flakes | 1/4 cup | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Chili powder and cumin | 1 tsp total | |
| Granulated sugar | 1 tsp | cuts the flat bean taste |
Method
- Boil 600 ml of water. Pour half of it over the rice in the pot, cover, and pull it off the heat.
- Wait ten minutes. Instant rice rehydrates on stored heat, so the stove stays off.
- Stir in the bean flakes with the rest of the hot water. They thicken in about a minute.
- Add potato flakes a spoonful at a time until the pot holds a spoon upright.
- Stir in the oil, salt, spices, and sugar. Eat from the pot.
This started as a year-of-food storage list: bulk beans, bulk rice, potato flakes, oil, sugar, salt. That list assumes an hour of simmering and a kitchen. On the trail the same four ingredients work if you buy the instant versions, which are the only real change here. Dry beans need forty minutes and a lot of fuel. Refried bean flakes need sixty seconds.
The potato flakes are structural, not filler. Instant rice and bean flakes both give up water as they sit, and the flakes take it back so dinner does not turn into a puddle at the bottom of the pot. Oil is where most of the calories live. A teaspoon of sugar sounds odd in a bean pot, but plain stored beans taste flat and it fixes that for almost no weight.
Packing
Rice, bean flakes, potato flakes, salt, spices, and sugar go in one quart freezer bag per person. Oil rides in its own bottle inside a second bag.
Variations
- A foil packet of tuna or chicken adds about 20 g of protein and drops the vegan tag.
- Crushed corn chips on top add fat and something crisp.
- Swap half the rice for instant grits if you want it looser.
https://thesurvivalmom.com/famine-menu-food-storage