Need a simple and inexpensive, yet hearty and delicious dinner recipe for your next backpacking trip? Try this one. It鈥檚 my favorite. It goes on every single one of my backpacking trips, and I鈥檝e had it hundreds of times. I never get tired of it. My clients love it too. Need more convincing to try it?
Key Stats
- Recommended meal weight: 5.7 oz
- Total calories: 668
- Calories per ounce: 117
Most people have no problem eating the whole thing, but if you have a small appetite you may want to use less of the beans or rice. If you want to increase calorie count or caloric density, add more Fritos.
Ingredients
I assemble my recipes by weight instead of conventional cooking measurements like tablespoons. This allows me to easily scale the recipe for larger groups.
Per meal per person you will need:
- : 2.0 ounces
- : 1.5 ounces
- Extra sharp cheddar cheese: 1.0 ounce
- (original): 1.0 ounce
- : 0.2 ounces
On all of my trips, I also bring a spice kit consisting of salt, pepper mix (black pepper, chili pepper, paprika), and red hot pepper flakes. I keep them in one-ounce聽plastic storage bottles.
At-home preparation
For groups, I do the following:
- Each group member is given one 2.5-ounce聽snack bag of beans and rice mixture.
- Fritos and cheese are kept together, and divided proportionally in the field.
- Meals are individually seasoned with the taco seasoning and group spice kit.
When solo, my approach changes. If I plan to have this meal several times on the same trip, or the same leg of a thru-hike, I have pre-spiced snack bag of beans and rice for each meal, and my supply of Fritos and cheese is kept together (but I divide the block of cheese equally聽so that I don鈥檛 steal tomorrow鈥檚 calories for tonight鈥檚 dinner). If I plan to have this meal just once, I will use up to three bags (beans/rice, cheese, Fritos) but I鈥檝e also combined everything into one bag before. It works out okay since the ingredients are fairly easy to separate in the field.
Cooking instructions
For perfect聽consistency:
- Add 12 ounces聽of water to the pot.
- After鈥攐r shortly before鈥攖he water is boiling, add the beans, rice, seasoning, and spices.
- Simmer for 60 seconds, stirring to avoid boil-over.
- Cut cheese into dice-sized pieces and add to meal.
- Add Fritos just before consumption. If added too early, they will soften.
Personally, I recommend using more than 12 ounces聽of water. It makes the meal soupy, but it鈥檚 easier to cook鈥攜ou can add the beans/rice mixture at the start, and there鈥檚 much less risk of burning the meal. Plus, the extra broth is nice in colder conditions.