Mylar Bag Beans and Rice
A dried bean and rice dinner built to be packed flat, sealed, and forgotten until you need it.
- calories
- 610
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 111
- protein
- 22 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 550 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
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant rice | 3/4 cup | parboiled, rehydrates in five minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Dried refried bean flakes | 1/2 cup | instant, not whole dried beans |
| Dried onion and bell pepper | 2 tbsp | freeze-dried or air-dried |
| Chili powder, cumin, garlic powder | 1 1/2 tsp total | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Hot sauce packets | 2 | optional |
Method
- Boil 550 ml of water. Add the dried vegetables first and give them two minutes to soften.
- Stir in the rice, cover, and pull the pot off the heat. Wait five minutes.
- Add the bean flakes a spoonful at a time, stirring after each. Dumping them in at once makes lumps.
- Let it sit two more minutes to thicken, then stir in the oil and the hot sauce.
This is a pantry dinner rebuilt around one constraint: it has to survive a year in a sealed pouch and still cook in one pot. Instant rice and bean flakes do the heavy lifting because both are already cooked and dried, so the stove only has to reheat them rather than simmer anything for an hour.
The oil goes in last and off the heat. It is most of the fat in the meal, and stirring it into a boiling pot mostly loses it to the pot walls. Bean flakes thicken as they cool, so err on the wet side when you add water.
Packing
Everything dry goes into one sealed mylar pouch with an oxygen absorber. Mylar blocks light and moisture, which is why a bag like this keeps for years while a freezer bag goes stale in a season. Label the outside with the water volume, because you cannot see through it.
Variations
- A foil packet of chicken or a scoop of textured soy adds another 15 g of protein.
- Swap the chili powder for curry powder and the bean flakes for lentil flakes.
https://motherearthproducts.com/products/food-storage-mylar-bags