Backpacking Recipe: Blueberry Rice Pudding

You can think of this backpacking recipe as either a sweet breakfast or a dessert. Your choice! It’s both gluten-free and plant-based (vegan).

Bag up, seal, and it’s ready to go.

Coconut milk powder has become easier to find in grocery stores, and can be found online. It’s a great source of calories, and will work in most recipes calling for powdered dry milk (instant pudding can be an issue though). In grocery stores look for it with dry and canned milk. Or sometimes in the baking aisle.

Freeze-dried blueberries can be found online, though more grocery stores are stocking them with the dried fruit.

Blueberry Rice Pudding

In a quart freezer bag:

• 1 cup instant rice
• ¼ cup (1 ounce) coconut milk powder
• 2 to 3 Tbsp brown sugar, packed*
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• ¼ cup freeze-dried blueberries*

FBC Method:

Stir the dry ingredients to break up any coconut clumps.

Place the bag in

Add 1¼ cups boiled water to the bag, stirring well. Seal tightly, let sit for 15 minutes. Stir before eating.

One Pot Method:

Stir the dry ingredients to break up any coconut clumps.

Bring 1¼ cups water to a boil in your pot. Add in dry ingredients, stirring well. Cover tightly, turn off stove.

Let sit for 15 minutes. Stir before eating.

In cooler temperatures, and at high altitude, use a pot cozy to insulate.

Serves 1 to 2.

Weight is 6¾ ounces.

Notes*:

If you like a sweeter dish, use the full sugar called for.

This recipe needs freeze-dried blueberries, not dried ones. However, you can make it with freshly picked blueberries or huckleberries, just cut the water back to a 1 cup.

If you live or hike in humid areas, consider adding a moisture absorber packet, to keep the blueberries fresh. After filling the bag with the dried ingredients, roll it up like a tortilla, and then seal the plastic bag. This helps keep air out over time.

~Sarah