One Pot From Dry Staples

Rice, lentils, beans and oats with one fire

5 minBeginnerUpdated 2026-10-23 One Pot From Dry Staples

You will learn

Cook rice, lentils and oats with one pot and little fuel
Soak and boil dried beans so they are safe
Combine staples into filling meals with complete protein

⚠️ Never eat raw or undercooked red kidney beans. Always boil hard for at least 10 minutes after soaking.

⚠️ Cooked rice left warm can grow Bacillus cereus. Eat it hot or cool it within an hour and keep it cold.

The staples that keep

Rice, dried lentils, dried beans, oats and flour keep for a year or more in sealed containers in a cool, dry, dark place. They are the backbone of any food store. Beans with rice, or lentils with bread, give complete protein together, and a kilo of any of them gives around 3,400 kcal. What you need is a pot, water and a fire, and the knowledge in this lesson.

Kidney beans must boil hard

Raw and undercooked red kidney beans contain a toxin, phytohaemagglutinin, that causes severe vomiting within a few hours; as few as four or five raw beans can do it. Soak dried beans for at least 5 hours or overnight, throw away the soaking water, then cover with fresh water and boil hard for at least 10 minutes before simmering until soft, 1 to 1.5 hours. A slow cooker or a warm pot on the side of the fire is not enough on its own; the hard boil is what destroys the toxin.

💡 Soak, drain, boil hard for 10 minutes, then simmer. Never skip the hard boil.

Rice and lentils with little fuel

Rice: rinse it, use two parts water to one part rice, bring to the boil, then cover and keep on the lowest heat for 15 minutes without lifting the lid. Red lentils need no soaking and cook to a thick soup in 15 to 20 minutes; green and brown lentils hold their shape and take 25 to 30. To save fuel, bring the pot to a boil, then wrap it in a blanket or sleeping bag in a box: the retained heat keeps cooking it, and rice is done in 30 minutes with no fire.

💡 The haybox trick: boil, wrap, wait. It saves up to half your fuel.

Porridge and a lentil stew

Porridge: one part oats to two parts water or milk and a pinch of salt, stirred over low heat for 5 minutes. It is the cheapest warm breakfast there is. Lentil stew: fry an onion, add a cup of lentils, three cups of water, a potato or carrot and salt, and simmer 25 minutes. Add greens at the end. With bread, it is a complete meal for two.