Pantry Skillet Beans and Rice
Canned beans, instant rice, and whatever dried vegetables you stocked. Built from a shelf, not a fridge.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 89
- protein
- 19 g
- serves
- 2, 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
- Campfire coals
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant rice | 1 1/2 cups dry | |
|---|---|---|
| Canned black or pinto beans | 1 can (15 oz) | do not drain, the liquid thickens the pot |
| Canned diced tomatoes | 1 cup | or 1/3 cup dried tomato pieces plus water |
| Dried onion flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried bell pepper | 1/4 cup | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Chili powder, cumin, garlic powder | 1 tbsp total | |
| Bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Put the oil in the pot over low heat with the onion flakes, dried pepper, and spices. Stir for a minute until they smell like something.
- Add 600 ml water, the tomatoes, the whole can of beans with its liquid, and the bouillon. Bring it to a boil.
- Stir in the rice, cover, and pull it off the heat. Wait ten minutes.
- Fluff, taste, and correct the salt. Dried vegetables drink more salt than fresh ones do.
This started as a pantry-preparedness dish, which is most of the way to a camp dish already: nothing in it needs refrigeration and nothing needs a knife. The only real adaptation is instant rice instead of long-grain, so one boil and a covered rest do the work a twenty-minute simmer used to.
The bean liquid is the reason this comes out as a skillet dish rather than soup with rice in it. Drain the can and you lose the starch that binds everything, and you will be adding oil and bouillon to fake it back. Dried onion and pepper rehydrate in the boil and cost almost nothing in weight, which is where the canned tomatoes earn their spot too — replace them with dried pieces if you are carrying the pot any distance.
Packing
Spices, onion, pepper, and bouillon go in one small bag. Rice in another. The cans ride at the bottom of the pack and are the reason this is not a thru-hike meal.
Variations
- A pouch of chicken or a can of Spam cooked in first adds 20 g of protein and drops the vegan tag.
- Swap the beans for dried refried bean flakes to cut a pound of can weight.
- Hot sauce or a squeeze of lime concentrate at the end wakes it up.
https://myhomemaderoots.com/21-pantry-recipes-for-emergency-preparedness