Turkey Taco Bowl
Freeze-dried refried beans, instant rice, and shelf-stable turkey in one pot.
- calories
- 760
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 127
- protein
- 42 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
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant refried bean flakes | 1/2 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Instant rice | 1/2 cup | the parboiled kind that rehydrates in five minutes |
| Freeze-dried ground turkey | 2 oz | canned chicken or a foil pouch works if you do not mind the weight |
| Taco seasoning | 1 tbsp | half a packet |
| Cheese powder | 2 tbsp | cheddar, the kind sold for popcorn |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Hot sauce packets | 2 | |
| Crushed corn chips | 1/4 cup | packed last so they do not turn to dust |
Method
- Boil 500 ml of water. Drop in the freeze-dried turkey and the taco seasoning and let it sit two minutes off the heat.
- Stir in the rice and the bean flakes. Cover and wait five minutes.
- Stir hard. The beans thicken fast and will scorch on the bottom if you leave the flame on.
- Add the cheese powder, oil, and hot sauce. Stir again.
- Top with the crushed chips and eat straight from the pot.
The original is a fridge recipe: cooked ground meat, canned beans, a tub of queso, avocado on top. None of that travels. The swaps are one-for-one, though. Bean flakes are just refried beans with the water removed, instant rice rehydrates in the same pot, and cheese powder does what shredded cheddar and queso were doing without a cooler.
Beans are the structural ingredient. They turn what would be a wet pot of rice into something that holds a spoon, and they carry the fat from the oil instead of letting it pool. Add them after the rice, not before, or they set up before the grains soften. The chips go on at the end and only at the end.
Packing
Everything dry except the chips goes in one bag. Chips ride in their own bag near the top of the pack. Oil in a small dropper bottle.
Variations
- A pouch of instant queso in place of the cheese powder if you are car camping and weight is free.
- Freeze-dried corn and dried onion flakes added with the rice give it some texture.
- Skip the turkey and double the beans for a lighter, cheaper version.
https://mealswithmaria.site/ground-turkey-meal-preps