Solar Pot Chili Beans
A black pot, a long afternoon of sun, and beans that cook while you do nothing.
- calories
- 610
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 87
- protein
- 24 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total time
- 55 min
- water
- 700 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
- Campfire coals
- Liquid fuel
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried instant refried bean flakes | 1 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Quick-cooking brown rice | 1 cup | parboiled, not raw grain |
| Tomato powder | 3 tbsp | sun-dried tomatoes crushed fine also work |
| Dehydrated onion and bell pepper | 1/3 cup total | |
| Chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika | 2 tbsp combined | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Corn nuts or toasted pepitas | 1/4 cup | stirred in at the end for crunch |
Method
- Bring 700 ml of water to a boil in a lidded pot. A 2.5 L pot is about right for two.
- Add the rice, dried vegetables, tomato powder, and spices. Lid on, lowest flame that keeps it moving, 20 minutes.
- Pull it off the heat and stir in the bean flakes a third at a time. They swell fast and clump if you dump them.
- Lid back on, off heat, 10 minutes. It will go from soupy to stew.
- Stir in the oil and salt. Scatter the corn nuts over the top and eat.
The source for this was a solar oven pot: a black-walled, ceramic-lined 2.5 L pot with a heavy lid, meant to sit in the sun for hours. That works at a basecamp with clear sky and nothing else to do. It does not work at 6 p.m. under trees, so this version moves the same slow, lidded, low-water cook onto a stove or fire and cuts it to 45 minutes by using parboiled rice and bean flakes instead of dried beans.
The lid is the part that matters either way. Steam trapped in the pot does most of the cooking, which is why 700 ml is enough water for two servings that would normally take a liter and a half. Bean flakes go in off the heat because they thicken on contact and will weld to a hot pot bottom. The oil is not optional; without it this is a bowl of seasoned starch.
Packing
Rice, dried vegetables, tomato powder, and spices go in one bag. Bean flakes in a second, because they hit the pot at a different time. Oil and crunchy bits ride separately.
Variations
- A foil packet of chicken or a hard sausage cut into coins adds 20 g of protein and drops the vegan tag.
- Cook it in a lidded dutch oven buried in coals instead of on a stove; same timing, less babysitting.
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