Backpacking Recipes with Rice
There are lots of options for making backpacking meals with rice.
- Use store-bought seasoned rice sold in pouches or boxes. Knorr brand makes several flavors called Rice Sides. A lot of those have a cheese sauce focus. Zatarain's makes packaged rice products with Cajun seasonings.
- Use instant rice and add your own seasonings.
- Pre-cook regular rice at home in low-fat vegetable, beef, or chicken broth, and then dehydrate it. The dried rice will hold the flavor of the broth.
Here are some backpacking rice recipes shared by readers:
Southwest Beef & Rice
Shared by Moof Beaverton, Oregon
Serves: 1
A flavorful one-bag, one-pot backpacking meal of rice, veggies, and meat.
Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup dried ground beef
- ½ cup instant brown rice
- ⅔ cup dried Southwest veggie mix *
- 1 Tbsp dried tomato flakes
- 2 Tbsp cheese sauce powder
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ⅓ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp chicken soup base or beef bullion
- ⅛ tsp chipotle powder **
- ⅛ tsp oregano
- 6 cracks black pepper
* Southwest frozen veggies are a mix of corn, onion, black beans, and peppers. They dehydrate at 125° F overnight nicely. One 14 oz. bag dries to about 1 ? cups which make two batches of this recipe. Another way to make a Southwest veggie mix is to combine the following dried ingredients: 3 Tbsp black beans, ? cup corn, 1 Tbsp onion flakes, 2 Tbsp bell pepper, 1 Tbsp seeded jalapeño, poblano, or similar mild peppers.
** Go easy on the chipotle powder. If you use too much, this meal goes from tasting smokey/spicy to being inedible.
At Home:
Put it all in a bag, easy peasy.
On the Trail:
Add 1¾ cups water and soak for five minutes. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, about five minutes. Continue simmering for two more minutes. Insulate pot and let stand for 8-10 minutes.
Rice & Sausage Dinner
Shared by GreyWolf from Irving, Texas
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients:
- 1 Pkg. Rice (such as Knorr Brand Rice Sides, any flavor)
- 1 8-oz Summer Sausage
- Dehydrated Mushrooms
- Green Onion
- Cilantro
- Garlic
- Pepper
At Home:
I put the mushrooms in a ziploc bag and I carry all the ingredients separately.
On the Trail:
Boil the water for the rice per the package instructions adding the green onion, cilantro, and mushrooms. Slice and fry the sausage separately. It is already precooked, but it tastes great heated up. Combine all together and season as you like.
Pineapple-Ginger Rice
Shared by Margo D.
Prepare this backpacking recipe as a side or add dehydrated ham to make a main dish.
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup Minute Rice (white or brown)
- ¼ Cup dehydrated pineapple, diced
- ¼ Cup dehydrated ham pieces
- 1 small ham bouillon cube
- 1 Tbsp dehydrated green onions
- 1 Tbsp Butter Buds
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp dehydrated ginger pieces
At Home:
Place rice in zip-lock bag. Put pineapple, Butter Buds, green onions, ginger pieces and salt in a small bag and ham and bouillon cube in another small bag. Enclose small bags in rice bag.
On the Trail:
Add ham pieces and ham bouillon cube to 1 cup of water and bring to a boil.
Stir in rice and everything else.
Cover, remove from heat, and let sit 15 minutes.
Additional Comments:
I made this at home first to figure out how much water, how much time, etc. It was great! The ham is optional if you want to prepare as a meatless side item. -Margo
Cajun Red Beans & Rice
Shared by Poet from Walker Louisiana
Serves: 1
Ingredients:
- ½ Cup Dried Red Beans
- ¼ Cup Dried Ham
- ½ Cup Dried, Precooked Rice
- 1-2 pinches of Cajun seasonings. Cajun Sparkle packets from Popeye's Chicken work great or Tony Chacheres Cajun Seasoning.
- 1½ cups water to rehydrate
At Home:
Dehydrate red beans. I like Trappeys or Blue Runner New Orleans Cream Style red beans. Spread beans on dehydrator tray covered with non-stick sheet or parchment paper. Dry at 125 F for approximately six hours.
Cook and dehydrate rice.
Put ½ cup red beans, ½ cup rice, and ¼ cup dehydrated ham in a ziploc bag.
On the Trail:
Combine all dry ingredients with 1½ cups water and let sit to rehydrate for 10-15 minutes.
Check to see if all water is absorbed. If so add a small about to make sure mixture is wet enough but not too soupy. Stew consistency is good. Heat to a boil and then remove from heat. Place in a cozy and let sit for 10 minutes. Season to taste and enjoy.
Comments and Suggestions:
To make your own Cajun seasonings, mix salt, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Alternatively, it could be just salt, pepper, and a dash of hot sauce.
If you like it spicy, try peperoni slices instead of ham.
I got envious looks at shelters every time I pulled my Cajun Red Beans and Rice meal out. The smell is wonderful and beats the stuffing out of noodles every night.
Continue Reading...
View Chef Glenn's Curry Chicken & Rice recipe shown at right.
Learn how to dehydrate rice pre-cooked in low-fat broth.
Return to Your Best Backpacking Recipes.