Skip-the-Takeout Beans and Rice
Instant rice and bean flakes from the cheapest shelf in the store. Under a dollar a serving.
- calories
- 800
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 145
- protein
- 20 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 500 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant rice | 1 cup | the parboiled kind that rehydrates off heat |
|---|---|---|
| Dried refried bean flakes | 1/2 cup | sold in bulk bins for a fraction of the boxed version |
| Vegetable bouillon | 1 cube | |
| Chili powder | 2 tsp | |
| Ground cumin | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried minced onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Hot sauce packets | 2 | free at any counter |
Method
- Boil 500 ml of water. Crumble in the bouillon and stir until it dissolves.
- Dump in the rice, bean flakes, onion, chili powder, and cumin all at once. Stir once.
- Kill the heat, lid the pot, and wrap it in a jacket for eight minutes.
- Stir in the oil and hot sauce. If it is soupy, wait two more minutes; the beans keep drinking.
Restaurant food is priced for the labor, not the ingredients. This is the same dinner stripped back to what it actually costs: rice, beans, and spices, all bought dry and measured at home.
Bean flakes are the part worth knowing about. They rehydrate in minutes without a simmer, so one boil does the whole pot, and they thicken the rice into something that holds a spoon instead of running. The oil is not optional. Beans and rice are cheap calories but light ones, and two tablespoons buy back 240 of them for almost no weight.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one quart freezer bag at home, bouillon crumbled in with it. Oil rides separate in a leakproof bottle.
Variations
- A foil packet of tuna or a handful of jerky pushes it past 35 g of protein.
- Corn chips crushed on top add fat and something crunchy.
- Swap the chili powder for curry powder and it is a different dinner from the same bag.
https://positivelyfrugal.com/how-to-stop-eating-out-and-start-saving-money