Bean and rice wraps
Tortillas, canned beans, quick-cook rice, spices and cheese – all of it keeps without a fridge; only the cheese should travel in the shade. Rice and beans are seasoned and heated in the pot, the tortillas warmed in the dry pan, filled, rolled and briefly toasted until the cheese melts. Important: always open the tin first and never heat it closed.
- About 25 minutes
Explained simply
A wrap is a thin, soft flatbread – a tortilla – that you fill with something tasty and roll up. Here it gets canned beans, rice, spices and cheese.
First you cook the rice, then you add the beans and heat everything up. You warm the tortilla briefly in the pan so it gets soft. Then fill, roll up and toast briefly once more until the cheese melts.
Very important: a tin is always opened first. A closed tin in the fire or on the stove can burst like a balloon – and then boiling-hot food sprays everywhere.
How it works
Canned beans are already cooked. You only have to heat and season them. Quick-cook rice is pre-cooked and needs little water and little fuel. Together, beans and rice keep you full for a long time, because they provide protein and carbohydrates.
A cold tortilla cracks when you roll it. In the dry, warm pan it becomes soft and pliable after 20 to 30 seconds per side. If it stays in too long, it dries out and goes as hard as a biscuit.
When rolling, you first fold the bottom end over the filling, then the sides, and then roll upwards. If the wrap then lies seam-side down in the pan, the melting cheese glues it shut.
Using tins safely
In a closed tin the steam cannot escape. When it gets hot, the pressure rises until the tin tears or the lid flies off. The contents are then boiling hot and spray in all directions. That is why you never put a closed tin into the fire, the embers or on the stove.
Before opening, look at the tin: if it is bulging, leaking or badly dented, it is not eaten. The rim of an opened tin is as sharp as a knife – handle it carefully. You use up an opened tin the same day.
You rinse empty tins with a little water, flatten them and carry them out in the rubbish bag. The bean liquid does not go into streams or lakes. That keeps the camp clean and does not attract animals.
Safety, allergies and ideas
The stove always stays outdoors – never in the tent and never in the porch, not even in the rain. Burning produces carbon monoxide, a gas you can neither see nor smell. In a small space it can make people unconscious. Tent fabric also catches fire quickly. In the rain, cook under a tarp pitched high with open sides, or eat something cold.
Melted cheese and hot beans stick to the skin and hold their heat for a long time. Let the wrap cool briefly before you bite in. The recipe contains wheat (gluten) in the tortillas and milk in the cheese; spice mixes can contain celery or mustard.
Without cheese and with corn or salsa, the wrap becomes vegan. If you want to save weight, take dried bean flakes instead of the tin. For people who cannot tolerate gluten there are gluten-free corn tortillas – they are more delicate and are only warmed very briefly.
Step by step
Set up a safe cooking spot
Set the stove up outdoors on firm, level ground, away from the tent, dry grass and backpacks. A windshield helps but must never fully enclose a gas canister, otherwise it gets too hot. Lay out the lid, spoon and all ingredients within reach before you light it.
Caution: Never cook in the tent or the porch.
- 1
Set up a safe cooking spot
Set the stove up outdoors on firm, level ground, away from the tent, dry grass and backpacks. A windshield helps but must never fully enclose a gas canister, otherwise it gets too hot. Lay out the lid, spoon and all ingredients within reach before you light it.
Never cook in the tent or the porch.
- 2
Cook the rice
Put about 50 g of quick-cook rice per person and roughly twice as much water into the pot, bring to the boil briefly, put the lid on and let it stand for as long as the packet says until the water has been absorbed.
- 3
Open the tin, add the beans
Open the tin with the can opener, pour off the liquid and add the beans to the rice. Sprinkle the spices over, stir and heat everything on a low flame for 3 to 4 minutes until it steams. Mash a few beans with the spoon – that makes the filling creamy.
Never heat the tin closed – it can burst.
- 4
Prepare the cheese
Cut the cheese into small cubes or thin strips, or grate it. Small pieces melt faster. Keep the filling warm in the pot with the lid on, but do not let it stand for long.
- 5
Warm the tortilla in the pan
Put the dry pan on a low flame without oil. Lay a tortilla in and warm each side for about 20 to 30 seconds until it is soft and pliable. No longer – otherwise it goes hard and cracks.
- 6
Fill and roll
Lay the warm tortilla on a plate or lid. Put two to three spoonfuls of filling in the middle, cheese on top. First fold the bottom end over the filling, then fold in the sides and roll it up firmly from bottom to top.
- 7
Toast briefly and eat
Put the wrap in the pan seam-side down and toast each side for about a minute until the cheese melts and the tortilla is lightly browned. Let it cool briefly, then eat. Rinse the tin with a little water, flatten it and carry it out in the rubbish bag.
Common mistakes
- Putting the closed tin into the fire to warm it
- Pouring the bean liquid into a stream
- Leaving the tortilla in the pan too long – it cracks
- Too much filling – the wrap tears
- Carrying the cheese in the sun all day
- Keeping filled wraps lukewarm for hours
- Leaving the empty tin in the fire site
Quick view
Materials
Wheat tortillas (wraps)
Per person 2 wheat tortillas (about 20–25 cm)
Allergen: wheat (gluten); corn tortillas are often gluten-free – check the label.
Pack flat and dry, protect from moisture.
Canned beans (kidney or black beans)
Per person about half a tin (400 g tin)
Never put a closed tin into the fire or on the stove – it can burst and spray boiling-hot contents.
Do not use bulging, leaking or badly dented tins.
Use up an opened tin the same day; the rim is sharp.
Rice (quick-cook or long-grain)
Per person about 50 g quick-cook rice
Eat cooked rice soon – do not leave it lukewarm for hours, or germs can multiply and form toxins that reheating does not remove.
Store dry and out of animals' reach.
Spice mix in small tubs (paprika, cumin, salt, pepper)
Per person about 1 teaspoon of spice mix (paprika, cumin, salt)
Ready-made seasoning mixes can contain celery, mustard or gluten – check the ingredients list.
Keep tightly closed and dry.
Hard cheese (mountain cheese, Emmental, aged Gouda)
Per person about 30–40 g, cut small or grated
Allergen: milk.
Hard cheese keeps better without cooling than soft cheese, but still carry it in the shade and cool; slimy or odd-smelling cheese is not eaten.
Collapsible water container or bag
Per person about 100 ml clean water for the rice
Protect from sharp objects.
Use only food-grade and only for water.
Manual can opener
Electric can openers do not work during a power outage.
Metal pot (stainless steel, aluminium, titanium)
With lid
Hot – scalding risk.
Frying pan with handle (non-stick, steel or cast iron)
Turn the handle inwards, never sticking out past the cooking spot – otherwise someone catches it.
Do not heat non-stick pans empty on high heat and do not put them straight into flames.
Metal handles get hot – use a pot holder or glove.
Spatula or wooden spoon
Do not leave plastic spatulas lying in hot fat – they melt.
Knife (fixed or locking blade)
For cutting cheese
Cut away from your body.
Rules on carrying knives differ by region – check local rules.
Stove
Never operate inside a tent, shelter or enclosed room – carbon monoxide and fire risk.
Stove fuel (canister, liquid fuel, alcohol)
Store fuels apart from food and in original containers or bottles intended for them.
Store cool, well ventilated and out of children's reach.
Lighter, matches or ferro rod
Observe local fire bans.
Rubbish bag (resealable)
For the rinsed tin
Suitable for
- Lunch or dinner on trips
- Canoe and cycle trips where weight matters less
- Groups – everyone rolls their own wrap
- Vegetarian, easily made vegan
Not suitable for
- Ultralight trips – tins are heavy
- Cooking in the tent or the porch
- People with gluten allergy without gluten-free tortillas
- Long hot spells without a cool place for the cheese
Prerequisites
- A stove you can operate safely
- Can opener (or pocket knife with opener)
- Clean water
- A safe cooking spot outdoors
Safety
- Eat cooked food straight away while it is hot. Do not leave leftovers lukewarm in the pot or in the sun for hours – germs can multiply. Whatever is not eaten within about two hours and cannot be cooled goes into the rubbish bag. Use up an opened tin the same day. Allergens: wheat (gluten) in the tortillas, milk in the cheese, sometimes celery or mustard in spice mixes.
- Melted cheese and hot beans stick to the skin and burn easily – let the wraps cool briefly. With a burn or scald, cool it at once with cool running water, not with ice. With large burns, burns to the face or in children call 112 (in Austria also 144).
How it works
Canned beans are already cooked and only need heating. Quick-cook rice is pre-cooked and needs little water and fuel. Together, beans (pulses) and rice (grain) make a filling meal with protein and carbohydrates. The tortilla becomes warm and pliable in the dry pan so it does not crack when rolled; briefly toasting it seam-side down closes the wrap and melts the cheese.
Advantages
- All ingredients keep without a fridge
- Filling thanks to beans and rice
- Everyone rolls their own wrap
- Little washing-up
Disadvantages
- Tins are heavy and have to be carried out
- Needs pot and pan
- Cheese is delicate in the heat
- Tortillas can crack
Deep knowledge
Background
Beans with rice in a wheat or corn tortilla are known from Mexican and Tex-Mex cooking as a burrito. For trips the idea is practical: tortillas are flat, keep for a long time and replace both bread and plate.
Tins keep safely as long as they are undamaged and closed. But the contents may only be heated open – a closed tin in the fire is a little steam boiler. For hygiene, the WHO's Five Keys apply: keep clean, heat thoroughly, do not leave cooked food standing for long.
Variants
- Vegan
- Leave out the cheese and add a portion of tinned corn, a little salsa from a jar or a dash of oil with cumin to the filling instead.
- For children
- Keep the spices mild, just a little paprika and salt. Children fill and roll their own wrap on a plate – an adult does the warming in the pan.
- Lighter: with bean flakes
- Instead of canned beans, take dried, pre-cooked bean flakes or bean purée powder and mix with hot water. That saves a lot of weight and leaves no tin.
- Gluten-free
- Use corn tortillas labelled gluten-free; they are more delicate and crack more easily, so warm them only very briefly and roll loosely.
Common mistakes
- Putting the closed tin into the fire to warm it
- Pouring the bean liquid into a stream
- Leaving the tortilla in the pan too long – it cracks
- Too much filling – the wrap tears
- Carrying the cheese in the sun all day
- Keeping filled wraps lukewarm for hours
- Leaving the empty tin in the fire site
Limits and risks
- Amounts are guidelines
- No instructions for meat fillings
- Allergen notes do not replace reading the label
Material alternatives
Derived from material properties: a substitute must have all relevant properties. Observe the notes on the substitute.
- Collapsible water container or bag
- Single-wall stainless steel bottle (Heat only single-wall bottles without paint/plastic; remove the lid before heating.), Double-wall insulated bottle (Never heat directly.), PET bottle (clear, max. 2 litres) (Do not heat or place in a fire.), Food-grade water container (Only use containers that never held chemicals or fuel.), Airtight food-grade storage container (Fill only when clean and completely dry; never use containers that previously held chemicals.), Food-grade water bag (Use only for drinking water, never for chemicals or fuel.), Fermentation jar or crock (Use only food-grade containers of glass, food-safe glazed stoneware or food-grade plastic – no metal containers for acidic food.), Resealable food bags (Use only bags intended for food; do not use with boiling water unless the manufacturer explicitly allows it.)
- Metal pot (stainless steel, aluminium, titanium)
- Single-wall stainless steel bottle (Heat only single-wall bottles without paint/plastic; remove the lid before heating.)
- Stove fuel (canister, liquid fuel, alcohol)
- Dry firewood (Collect only where permitted.), Tinder (Carry in waterproof packaging.), Char cloth (charred cotton) (Store dry in a tin.), Finest-grade steel wool (Store separately from batteries – fire risk.), Fatwood (resin-rich wood) (Collect only dead wood where permitted.), Petroleum jelly cotton balls (Use only pure cotton.), Cooking oil or cooking fat (tallow, lard) (Never put out burning fat with water – cover it with a lid to smother it.), Tree resin (spruce, pine) (Resin is flammable and sticks to the skin when hot – melt it only slowly over low heat.), Birch bark (from dead, fallen wood) (Never peel from living trees.)
- Lighter, matches or ferro rod
- Ferro rod (Practise before you need it.), Fire striker and hard stone (Carbon steel, not stainless.), Bow drill set (bow, spindle, hearth board, bearing block) (Use only dry wood.), Burning lens / magnifier (Never leave lying in the sun – fire risk.), Fire piston (Maintain the seal.), Pump drill (spindle, flywheel, crossbar, cord) (Fix the flywheel firmly and centrally – a loose disc can fly off.)
Results come exclusively from structured entries. No improvised instructions are generated.
Sources (6)
- World Health Organization (WHO) (2006): Five Keys to Safer Food Manual · Keep clean, separate raw and cooked, cook thoroughly, do not leave cooked food at room temperature for more than two hours, use safe water
- European Parliament and Council of the European Union (2011): Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers · Major allergens that must be labelled, including cereals containing gluten, eggs, milk, soy, celery, mustard
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning – Prevention guidance · Never use stoves, grills or burners inside closed spaces or tents – carbon monoxide
- European Resuscitation Council – Resuscitation (journal) (2021): European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2021: First Aid · Cool burns at once with cool running water; call emergency services for severe burns
- Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: The Seven Principles of Leave No Trace (Principle 5: Minimize Campfire Impacts) · Pack out rubbish, keep fires small, use existing fire sites and put fires out completely
- Mors L. Kochanski – Lone Pine Publishing: Bushcraft: Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival · Simple trail cooking with shelf-stable ingredients