Mexican Beef and Rice Dehydrated Meal

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Dehydrated Mexican beef and rice is a convenient and flavorful south-of-the-border meal. This just-add-water feast can be ready to eat in 30 minutes or less using your single-burner camp stove.

It is one of my favorite meals while camping and hiking. I can never get enough of it. It could be because food cooked outside just tastes better. It’s an excellent breakfast, lunch, and dinner option, whether at home, the field, or the campsite.

This homemade dehydrated camping meal is easy to make and can be customized in endless ways to suit your taste.

So let’s get started.

Table of Contents

Mexican Beef and Rice Dehydrated Meal Recipe

Mexican beef and rice is one of my favorite dehydrated meal recipes. Spice it up with your favorite pantry spices, or add anything you might find as a tasty addition exactly how you want.

Supplies Needed for Dehydrated Mexican Beef and Rice

  • Several 1-quart zip-top bags
  • Heavy-duty paper towels
  • Labeling materials such as masking tape and waterproof all-weather pen
  • Camp cookware and dinnerware

Dry Ingredients

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The dehydrated Mexican beef and rice dry mix ingredients. 1) dehydrated salsa flakes, 2) dehydrated onion flakes and dehydrated jalapeno, 3) dehydrated brown rice, 4) dehydrated ground beef, 5) dehydrated black beans, 6) dehydrated fire-roasted poblano peppers, 7) dehydrated beef bouillon, 8) taco seasoning, dehydrated cilantro, dehydrated chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

Wet Ingredients

  • A quality oil, such as avocado or olive oil, in a leak-proof container (optional)

A bit of healthy cooking fat, such as olive or avocado oil, added to the meal after cooking will significantly enhance the flavor.

We recommend making and trying this homemade dehydrated camping meal recipe several times at home before preparing it for the first time in the field so you will know what to expect. Armed with this experience, you can dial in the spices how you like and add or subtract any of the other ingredients. Don’t depend on untested gear or untested recipes.

Dehydrated Mexican Beef and Rice Ingredient Notes

We are omitting volume measurements as we update our recipes. Measuring dehydrated ingredients by weight makes for a more consistent product. The most accurate way to measure ingredients is by weight because minor differences in measuring can lead to substantial differences in the recipe’s outcome.

Most easy-to-find store-bought dry bouillon cubes or powders are mostly salt and sugar with very little actual beef. Many folks will make their own, blending nutritional yeast, mushroom powders, and other herbs and spices. Bouillon is an optional ingredient; check out our dehydrated beef stock.

At-Home Preparation

Combine all the dry ingredients into a food-safe 1-quart quality name-brand zip-top bag for best storage results. The sharp edges of dehydrated ingredients could cause micro-punctures in the zip-top plastic bag.

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Our dehydrated Mexican beef and rice ingredients fit nicely into a 1-quart zip-top bag. We’ll wrap this bag with a few heavy-duty paper towels, then insert the bundle into another 1-quart zip-top bag. By doing this, you’ll go a long way towards protecting the dehydrated meal due to the ingredients’ sharp edges and rough ends.

Double bagging, using two zip-top bags with a separator, is an option to help guard against punctures, leaks, and water penetration and to protect the food’s integrity. This way, it remains viable in the field or pantry storage.

The Scott Shop towels brand makes an excellent bag separator. These multipurpose paper towels are thicker than the average heavy-duty paper towel. As a multitasker, repurpose these towels for the after-meal cleanup activities.  These towels have over 11,000 Amazon customer reviews with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars, which is evidence of a great product. Check them out here. You might be able to find them at your local big-box megamart automotive department.

Compared to the local big box stores, Amazon has the best prices for the name-brand ZipLoc 1-quart freezer bags.  So says the 20,000 plus Amazon customer reviewers who took the time to leave feedback. The rough edges and sharp ends of homemade dehydrated ingredients very often compromise generic zip-top bags.

Be sure to include a short note with the name of the dish and detailed preparation instructions. We have included detailed preparation instructions at the end of this page.

You might wonder why we are not using one of those quick-cooking rice side dishes. We have tried them before, and no doubt we will use them again. Read the Nutrition Labels; you should know that some of these sides have high sodium levels and contain questionable ingredients. Some of these sides are even labeled as containing bio-engineer food products. So it’s a buyer-be-aware situation of what you’re getting.

In the Field Preparation

Empty the dehydrated Mexican beef and rice dry mix from the zip-top bag into a suitable-sized cooking pot.

Measure in enough water to cover the dry ingredients. Then add a tad bit more water. Stir to mix thoroughly. Cover, and let the dry ingredients hydrate for a minimum of five minutes. Stir several times, and add more water if needed to keep all ingredients covered and well-saturated with water.

So why not add all the water at once? You certainly can, but we are metering in the water, so we don’t end up with a product that is too dry or soupy. Adding water in smaller amounts works best for our Dehydrator Chef recipes.

Next, on your cooking stove and over medium flame, bring the hydrating mix to a boil, frequently stirring frequently to mix. After coming to a boil, if your stove is capable of a low-heat simmer, turn the flame down to reduce the chance of burning.

After two or more minutes of simmering, stirring, and mixing the ingredients, turn off the stove and move the pot into an insulated wrap or cozy to rest and hydrate for at least 15 to 20 minutes more for the flavors to blend and the ingredients to fully reconstitute. Add any remaining seasonings like kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, or siracha for added spice and flavor.

Practice these Dehydrator Chef homemade dehydrated camping meal recipes at home several times with the very same outdoor kitchen gear used in the field or at the campsite. This approach lets you practice your skills to know what to expect and where to adapt.

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A hearty bowl of Mexican beef and rice with dehydrated ingredients you can make yourself. It’s a savory mix of meat, fire-roasted poblano peppers, black beans, rice, spices, and all good stuff. This is some good-eats and something to look forward to after a day spent outside.

Mexican Beef and Rice Detailed Preparation Instructions

Empty the dehydrated Mexican beef and rice dry mix contents from the zip-top bag into your cooking pot.

Pour in enough water to cover the dry mix, then add just a tad bit more.

Cover, and let the dry ingredients hydrate in your camp cookware for a minimum of 5 minutes. Be sure to stir and mix to the bottom of the cooking pot now and again. Make sure the mix stays covered and well-saturated with water. Add more water if needed.

Next, on your cooking stove and over a medium flame, bring the mix to a boil, stirring frequently, all the way to the bottom of the cooking pot. If your stove will simmer, turn the heat down after bringing it to a boil.

After two minutes of cooking, simmering, and ingredient mixing, turn off the stove and move the pot into an insulated wrap or cozy to rest and hydrate for 15 to 20 minutes more or until your preference for doneness.

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