Pantry Can Fruit and Oats
Freeze-dried fruit out of a storage can, rehydrated on top of oats.
- calories
- 540
- weight
- 4 oz
- cal / oz
- 135
- protein
- 11 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 3 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 8 min
- water
- 350 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.
- Breakfast
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Rolled oats | 3/4 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried fruit | 1/2 cup | whatever the can holds: berries, apples, peaches |
| Brown sugar | 2 tbsp | |
| Olive or coconut oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Cinnamon | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Boil 350 ml of water.
- Dump in the oats and fruit together. Stir once, then pull it off the heat and cover it.
- Wait five minutes. The fruit needs longer than the oats do, so give it the full time.
- Stir in the sugar, cinnamon, and oil. Eat out of the pot.
Freeze-dried fruit from a storage can is cheaper per ounce than trail-brand fruit and weighs about the same. The catch is that it rehydrates slowly compared to oats, so the two go in the water at the same time rather than the fruit going in last. Five minutes off the heat, lid on, does both.
The oil is not optional. Oats and fruit are close to fat-free, which means a bowl this size runs out of calories long before the morning does. A tablespoon adds about 120 of them and costs almost nothing in pack weight.
Packing
Portion oats, fruit, sugar, cinnamon, and salt into one bag per morning. A #10 can does not go backpacking; repackage at home and keep the rest of the can sealed with an oxygen absorber. Small cans are the better buy for anything you open rarely, since humidity ruins freeze-dried fruit fast once the seal is gone.
Variations
- Swap half the oats for instant potato flakes if you want it thicker.
- Freeze-dried vegetables and a bouillon cube turn the same method into a dinner.
https://thesurvivalmom.com/food-storage-can-sizes-when-to-go-big-when-to-go-small