How To Make Survival Soup from Rice and Beans [Recipe] (2024)

Soups have long been the mainstay of any cook who is trying to stretch the larder to feed more people, or the budget to save money. Soup is the basic survival food. And for that reason (among many others), it should always have a place on your survival food list.

This is the first in a series of Survival Soup recipesthat you can make from commonly stored foods, your garden in season, foraging wild edibles, or what is seasonally plentiful on the homestead.

This recipe comes from a postwritten by MsKYprepper “Feed a Family ofFour for 1 Year for Less Than $300” and can be seen here:https://seasonedcitizenprepper.com/feed-a-family-of-4-for-1-year-for-less-than-300/

Don’t have time to prepare and cook soup? There are some really great dry soup mixes available. Oregon Lakes has 15 different recipes, and is all natural. See all their flavors here.

Recipe #1 Rice & Beans Soup

Measure out:

• 8 oz (1 cup) of rice
• 2 oz (1/4 cup) of red kidney beans
• 2 oz (1/4 cup) of pearl barley
• 2 oz (1/4 cup of lentils
• 1 oz (1/8 cup) of split green beans
• 1 oz (1/8 cup) of chick peas/garbanzo’s

(The chicken bouillon and salt are optional, but highly recommended!)

Put the ingredients into 6 quarts of water, bring to a boil and then simmer for 2 hours. When I cooked this it didn’t thicken up for me in two hours, but once I turned the burner off and let it sit for a while it did thicken up into a very hearty soup!

If you decide to make this soup, I would suggest going to 1/4 to 1/2 of the recipe and adding liberal amounts of salt and chicken bouillon. Think of it as a very hearty chicken and rice soup with beans, etc. adding protein. This is a very basic recipe that you can add nearly any meat, including jerky, too. It will fill your belly and stick to your ribs. MsKYprepper said it is especially good with cornbread.

I bought all of the ingredients (3 lb. bag of rice and 1 lb. bags of the rest) for less than $10 at Walmart. If I purchased it in larger quantities, it would cost far less for the same amount, but I wanted to try it before I committed myself to larger quantities, and I’m glad I did! If necessary, I’m pretty sure it would feed us (2 adults) for at least a week, maybe two! No, it may not have all the calories you need, but it is meant to be a base for your foraging other foodstuffs from your garden or wherever.

I decided to vacuum seal this, with the recipe, as a gift for one of the kids, to start them on emergency food storage.

Then, to keep it all together in a package they could stash almost anywhere, I put it in a clear baggy that I got with some sheets I just bought – I love to repurpose things!

How To Feed a family of 4 for 1 year, for less than $300

This plan is the fastest, cheapest and easiest way to start a food storage program. It has become semi “internet famous”, and is appropriately referred to as “survival soup.”

Think about this:

• You are done in a weekend.
• There are no hassles with rotating. Pack it and forget.
• It’s space efficient – everything is consolidated into a few 5-gallon buckets.
• You’ll sleep content, knowing that you have a one-year food supply on hand for your family should you ever need it.

With the exception of dairy and Vitamin B12, this bean soup recipe will fulfill your basic nutritional needs. It won’t fill all of your wants, but using this as your starting point, you can add the stuff that you want.

All of the food and storing supplies listed below plus 2 55-gallon recycled barrels to be used for rain catchment cost me $296, including taxes. I purchased rice, bouillon and salt from Sam’s Club. You can buy small bags of barley at the grocery store, but if you don’t mind waiting a few days, special ordering a bulk bag from Whole Foods was cheaper.

All of the beans I purchased from Kroger’s in 1-lb bags. Supplies can be purchased online, although it is usually possible to find more opportunistic deals “on the ground.”

Supplies you need for Survival Soup:

• 8 – 5-gallon buckets with Gamma lids
• 8 – large Mylar bags with 2,000 cc oxygen absorbers
• A handful of bay leaves
• 90 lbs. of white rice
• 22 lbs. of kidney beans
• 22 lbs. of barley
• 22 lbs. of yellow lentils
• 5.5 lbs. of split green peas
• 5.5 lbs. of garbanzo beans
• 1 lb. of salt
• A big box of beef bullion and chicken bouillon.
• A measuring cup

How To Store It

Install the gamma lids on the bucket and insert mylar bags. Place 2 or 3 bay leaves in the bottom and fill the buckets, adding more bay leaves after each 1/3 to full. Place an oxygen absorber in the top. Label buckets with the contents and date. Fill:

• 3 buckets with rice (shake it down good. Get it all in there!)
• 1 bucket of kidney beans
• 1 bucket of barley
• 1 yellow lentils
• In 1 bucket, store the split green peas, garbanzo beans, salt, measuring cup and bouillon (I removed the bouillon from the box and vacuum sealed it as bouillon contains a small amount of oil.).
• Yep, that’s a total of 7 buckets, so far.

I place a broom handle across the bucket and wrap the ends of the mylar bag over the broom handle to give me some support. Then, slowly and smoothly, run a hot iron over the mylar bag to seal all except the last 2 inches. I press out as much air as possible before sealing the remaining 2 inches.

Make sure your mylar is completely sealed from end to end. Now, stuff the bag into the bucket and rotate the gamma lid into place. This will protect your food for roughly 25 years. You’ll have excess mylar bag at the top. Don’t cut it off, that way if you have to cut it open to get into it, you have enough bag remaining to reseal.

Where To Store Your Soup Supplies

It’s pretty easy to find a place for 7 to 8 5-gallon buckets, even in the smallest of apartments. You could:

• Discard a set of box springs and lay a kid’s mattress on top of the buckets
• Line the back of a large closet with the buckets
• Make a couch table by stacking buckets two high between the couch and the wall. The buckets are about 6” taller than the back of the couch. Add a shelf and drape and it looks fine; a convenient place for a lamp and books.

Get creative!

Cooking Your Survival Bean Soup

Measure out

• 8 oz of rice
• 2 oz of red kidney beans
• 2 oz of pearl barley
• 2 oz of lintels
• 1 oz of split green peas
• 1 oz of chick peas/garbanzo’s

Add 6-7 quarts of water. Add bouillon or salt to taste. Then add any other meats, vegetables, potatoes or seasonings you have on hand.Bring to a boil and then let simmer for two hours. You should have enough to feed 4 people for two days. This is thick and hearty. You will be warm on the inside and full with one large bowl. Kids usually eat half a bowl.

After The Emergency Is Over

This system allows you to open the Mylar bags, retrieve as much of the ingredients as is needed and then reseal everything after the emergency has passed. Just be sure to replace the ingredients used so that you always have a one-year supply.

Other Survival Food Items I Would Want (Keep These in The 8th bucket)

This list isn’t included in the $300. This falls into the “what I want” category. As money and resources became available, I’d just go crazy adding all of my indulgences, starting with coffee! You can add what you want, but I’d fill it with:

• Dry onion. Let’s face it, what’s bean soup without onion! Sprinkle on the onions just before serving.
• “Just add water” cornbread mix packets. I just can’t eat bean soup without cornbread.
• Beef jerky and Vienna sausages. Add protein and zest to the bean soup
• Instant oatmeal. Do you really want bean soup for breakfast? Freeze the oatmeal for 3 days before packing to kill any bugs.
• 10 lbs of jellybeans. Now, don’t laugh – it’s a bean. Jellybeans don’t melt like chocolate might. The high sugar content is quick energy, and a morale booster – with just enough of a high to help you over the really bad days. Easter is about here – stock up!

Before Filling Your Final Bucket

Buy small bags of the ingredients and fix a big pot of bean soup for dinner. Eat the leftovers the second night, and 3rd night, until it’s all gone. Find out now – rather than later – what your family might like to add to it. Anything tastes great the first meal, but quickly becomes boring after the 3rd or 4th repeat.

Don’t wait until the emergency happens to discover what you SHOULD have stored in your 8th bucket. … Maybe some Beano!