Two-Can Camp Stew
Beans, tomatoes, and instant rice cooked over a fire with nothing electric involved.
- calories
- 540
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 49
- protein
- 18 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 400 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
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Canned pinto or black beans | 1 can (15 oz) | do not drain, the liquid thickens the pot |
|---|---|---|
| Canned diced tomatoes | 1 can (14.5 oz) | |
| Instant rice | 1 cup dry | parboiled, not raw long grain |
| Vegetable bouillon | 1 cube | check the label if you need it gluten free |
| Chili powder and cumin | 1 tbsp total | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried onion flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Salt | to taste |
Method
- Build the fire early and let it burn down. You want a bed of coals and a flat spot for the pot, not flames licking the sides.
- Open both cans with a hand opener. Pour the oil into the pot, add the onion flakes and spices, and warm them over the coals for a minute until they smell like something.
- Add both cans, the bouillon cube, and 400 ml of water. Bring it to a boil and stir until the cube dissolves.
- Stir in the instant rice, pull the pot off the heat, and cover it. Ten minutes, no peeking.
- Uncover, stir, salt it, and eat straight from the pot.
This is a recipe for the night the power is out or the stove will not light. Everything in it is shelf-stable, opens with a hand can opener, and cooks over coals in one pot. Nothing needs a fridge and nothing needs a plug.
Instant rice is the part that matters. Raw rice wants twenty minutes of steady simmer, which is hard to hold over an uneven fire without scorching the bottom. Parboiled rice only needs the pot to be hot when it goes in, so the fire does the easy half of the work and the lid does the rest. The canned bean liquid is doing real work too: it carries starch, and it turns a pot of soup into something that stays on a spoon.
Packing
Cans ride upright at the bottom of the bin. Rice, bouillon, onion, and spices go in one bag together so the whole dinner is two cans and one bag.
Variations
- A foil packet of tuna or chicken stirred in at the end adds 20 g of protein and drops the vegan claim.
- Swap the instant rice for instant polenta and cut the water to 300 ml.
- A squeeze of lime or a splash of vinegar at the end wakes the whole thing up.
https://thesurvivalmom.com/non-electric-must-have-kitchen-items