For more than a century, beans and rice have been the go-to staples recommended for survivalists and emergency preppers alike. In my hometown in Louisiana, red beans and rice are literally what’s for dinner almost every Monday night.
There’s a lot to love about these two iconic southern and Caribbean staples. Both have an impressive shelf life, they’re inexpensive, and offer a reasonable amount of nutritional value for the money.
On paper, this makes them seem like a logical choice when planning for an uncertain future. Yet in reality, stockpiling massive amounts of beans and rice might not be the best survival strategy. It could even work against you due to the following issues
Nutritional Imbalance
While beans and rice do complement each other to form a complete protein, relying heavily on them long-term can lead to nutritional gaps. Both lack sufficient vitamins A, C, and D, as well as essential fats. They also tend to be a poor source of a wide variety of micronutrients and minerals that the human body needs to stay healthy over time.
Without a more diverse supply of foods, including fruits, vegetables, and fats, your body could suffer from malnutrition. Even though you’re consuming plenty of calories from rice and beans. Not the least of which is scurvy!
Our advice is for you to include multi-vitamins in your stockpile – CLICK HERE to find out which medicines and supplements you should stock up on in the long run. Also, you should take into account stocking up on some form of essential fat, such as peanut butter, or having access to a shelf-stable form of animal fat will also reduce your risks of malnutrition.
The Amish Ways Book provides a few forgotten recipes of dried meats and fats. One of them even has a 20+ years shelf life. Discover their well-kept secrets in this video:
Cooking Challenges During Emergencies
Beans and rice require a significant amount of water and long cooking times to prepare. If clean water is limited or fuel is hard to come by, cooking raw beans could be impractical.
Things get even more challenging if your shelter is outdoors exposed in some way. In this case, the long cooking time and intensity of fire needed to cook beans can also become a security concern.
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Also, you should take into account that in a SHTF scenario, cooking outdoors could also be dangerous. A long-lasting smoke trail and the glowing light from a multi-hour cooking fire needed to simmer beans could advertise your presence to others.
So, if you can’t ensure a clean source of water for your chosen shelter location, it’s wise to keep a separate water filter system just for cooking. Something as simple as the famous H20 filter for the camp kitchen will help.
Moreover, a small camp stove or a tall Canadian candle around your camp firepit will then reduce the presence of light. Camping under a thick canopy of trees or just below a windy ridge line can also reduce the visual presence of campfire smoke.
Prolonged Storage Risks
Improper storage of beans and rice can lead to spoilage, infestations, and mold. Even under ideal conditions, beans harden over time, making them increasingly difficult to cook. Five years down the road, those “emergency” beans might be more of a liability than an asset, requiring excessive cooking times or ending up inedible.
If you are wondering how you can protect your stockpile from these risks, then try to keep your rice and beans from degrading in long-term storage. One thing you could do is to rotate them gradually over the course of a year or two. This could be as simple as buying a new bag of rice and beans every month and then cooking the oldest bag in your stockpile. Over time this ensures that your oldest bags are always less than two years old.
Want to stop mold, pests, and other invisible intruders before they ever become a problem? These proven storage strategies do exactly that. We don’t just recommend them – we’ve tested them ourselves and learned what works and what doesn’t.
Play the video below to find out more:
Potential Rodent Problems
Rodents love to consume rice and beans. One pregnant female fattened by unseen access to stockpiles can create a massive population problem in no time. They also tend to find easy access to rice and beans through the thin bags they’re commonly stored in.
Once you have a breeding population of rodents bolstered by easy access to rice and beans they can spread problems throughout your shelter. Not only is it unsanitary but increases the risk of communicable disease. The rodent problem can spill over to foul other supplies.
To prevent rodents from getting at your rice and beans, you should always keep them in sealable tote bins or heavy-duty containers. You could even repurpose glass canning jars that have already been used – try this Amish tested method and you will never have to worry about rodents ever again!
The Best Thing You Can Do When Stocking Up on Rice and Beans
Eating beans and rice day after day can quickly lead to appetite fatigue, or worse, a complete loss of interest in food altogether. In a high-stress situation, lack of variety can reduce calorie intake and negatively affect morale and mental health.
Instead of relying solely on beans and rice, round out your food storage with other long-lasting staples, such as:
- Dehydrated or freeze-dried vegetables (carrots, onions, peppers, peas) to add nutrients and texture.
- Dried meats such as beef jerky, pemmican, or canned meats for protein variety.
- Cooking fats like olive oil, coconut oil, or ghee to boost calories and improve taste.
- Seasonings and spices (salt, pepper, garlic, chili powder, bouillon) to prevent bland meals.
- Powdered or shelf-stable sauces (soy sauce, tomato powder, cheese powder) for flavor diversity.
- Canned fruits or dried fruits for natural sweetness and essential vitamins.
- Comfort foods like honey, cocoa powder, or hard candy to support morale during stressful times.
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Final Thoughts
Despite some of the potential drawbacks, beans and rice aren’t a bad idea. I think they should absolutely be part of a well-rounded emergency stockpiling strategy.
But the idea of stockpiling hundreds of pounds of beans and rice as a standalone survival solution is outdated and poses multiple risks. A smarter strategy is this – make a plan for flexibility and balance. We recommend you THIS 90-Days Meal Plan, that will help you organize your stockpile in smart way. This perfect plan reduces the risk of mold, desiccation, and other forms of spoilage. It can also give you the chance to come up with your own rice and beans recipes.
So, when the moment to live off them comes, you’ll have family favorite recipes for things like rice and beans with carrots, dried mushrooms, and beef jerky to prevent culinary boredom.
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