Four-Can Bean Salad with Tuna
Five cans, a manual opener, and one bowl. Nothing gets heated and nothing spoils.
- calories
- 470
- weight
- 13 oz
- cal / oz
- 36
- protein
- 26 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 8 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 8 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Lunch
- Dinner
- No cook
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Dairy free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Canned black beans | 1 can (15 oz) | rinse if you have spare water, drain hard if you don't |
|---|---|---|
| Canned kidney beans | 1 can (15 oz) | drained |
| Canned chickpeas | 1 can (15 oz) | drained |
| Canned corn | 1 can (15 oz) | drained |
| Jarred salsa | 1 jar (16 oz) | this is the dressing, no oil needed |
| Foil-packet or canned tuna | 2 packets (5 oz each) | packets weigh less and drain cleaner |
| Crackers | 1 sleeve | or a bag of corn chips |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Open all the cans and drain them off to the side of camp, not into your bowl. The packing liquid is what makes bean salad taste like a can.
- Dump the beans, chickpeas, and corn into one pot or a large bowl.
- Pour the whole jar of salsa over the top and fold it through until everything is coated.
- Flake in the tuna last so it stays in pieces instead of turning to paste.
- Season, then eat it out of the pot with crackers, or scoop it with them.
This is pantry cooking moved outdoors: everything comes from a shelf, nothing needs a cooler, and the only tool that matters is a can opener. It started as a power-outage meal, which is the same problem car camping has — food that keeps, and a meal you can assemble with no heat at all.
The salsa does double duty as dressing and seasoning, so there is no oil bottle or vinegar to carry. Draining matters more than it sounds like it should. Bean liquid is starchy and salty and it will pool at the bottom of the pot and dull everything above it. Four cans of beans and corn on their own are mostly carbohydrate; the tuna is what makes it hold you until dinner.
Packing
Cans travel in the bottom of the bin, crackers on top. Bring a manual can opener; a stove will not open a can. Skip any can that is dented, rusted, or swollen.
Variations
- Half a jar of pickled jalapeños or roasted peppers, drained, adds heat and acid.
- Swap the tuna for canned chicken or leave it out entirely for a meatless version.
- Crackers spread with peanut butter on the side turn this into a fuller meal.
https://morefood.org/powers-out-lets-eat