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Beans + Rice with Fritos & Cheese (Backpacking Dinner)

Andrew Skurka’s favourite backpacking dinner — goes on every trip, and a consistent client favourite. Cheap, simple, high-protein (~27 g).

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Source: Andrew Skurka, andrewskurka.com/backpacking-dinner-recipe-beans-rice-with-fritos-cheese

Servings: 1 · Cook: ~5–10 min in the field · Per serving: ~162 g dry weight

Ingredients

Base (bag 1)

  • 57 g instant refried beans
  • 43 g instant rice
  • 5.5 g taco seasoning (~2 tsp)

To finish

  • 28 g very sharp cheddar
  • 28 g Fritos (original corn chips)
  • Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, to taste

Method

  1. Pack — At home, combine the beans, rice, and taco seasoning in one snack bag per serving. Keep the cheese and Fritos separate.
  2. Boil — Bring at least 300 mL of water to a boil. Don’t add the dry mix to cold water — it can burn to the pot.
  3. Cook — Pour in the beans-and-rice bag and simmer for about 60 seconds, stirring to prevent boil-over.
  4. Rest — Cover and let sit off the heat for ~5 minutes until the rice is fully cooked.
  5. Cheese — Dice the cheddar and stir it through so it melts.
  6. Fritos — Add just before eating — added too early, they go soft.

Notes

  • Water: 300 mL gives a conventional consistency; more water turns it into a tortilla-soup-style meal (the author makes all his meals soupy).
  • Smaller appetite: reduce the beans and rice, but keep the ratio. More calories: add extra Fritos.
  • Beans: instant/freeze-dried refried beans, not tinned — tinned beans will not work here. Best found online (e.g. Santa Fe brand, Harmony House); black bean flakes also work.
  • Freezer-bag method: works well — ~350 mL boiling water into the bag, sit ~10 minutes; add cheese and Fritos after rehydrating.
  • Cheese keeps far longer in the field than you’d expect — a week+ even in summer. It gets greasy but stays fine. Harder/sharper cheddar keeps best.
  • Shelf life: pre-mixed bean/rice bags keep for 6+ months stored cool and dry.
  • Popular additions: avocado, freeze-dried corn or fire-roasted vegetables, dried tomatoes, salami or dried sausage, lime, hot sauce packets. Corn Nuts substitute 1:1 by weight for Fritos and crush less in a pack.

Nutrition (per serving, per source): ~668 kcal · ~27 g protein