How Much Rice and Beans Per Person Per Day for Survival
Quick Answer: For a basic survival calculation using a 2:1 ratio by dry weight, plan on about 0.8 pound of dry white rice and 0.4 pound of dry beans per person per day. Together, they provide roughly 2,000 calories.
Use the rice and beans survival calculator below to estimate how many pounds you need based on the number of people, number of weeks, and percentage of daily calories you expect rice and beans to provide.
At 100% of daily calories, one person would need about 24 pounds of rice and 12 pounds of beans for 30 days. For one year, plan on approximately 292 pounds of rice and 146 pounds of beans.
Of course, those amounts assume rice and beans provide all of your daily calories. The figures are meant to put the quantities into perspective, not to recommend living on rice and beans alone.
Rice and Beans Survival Chart: Day, Month, Year
| Time Period | Dry Rice and Beans | Approx. Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Per day | Rice: 0.8 lb Beans: 0.4 lb | 2,000 |
| 30 days | Rice: 24 lb Beans: 12 lb | 60,000 |
| 1 year | Rice: 292 lb Beans: 146 lb | 730,000 |
These estimates assume rice and beans provide 100% of one person’s calories at approximately 2,000 calories per day.
Rice and Beans Survival Calculator
Enter the number of people, the number of weeks you want to prepare for, and the percentage of daily calories you expect rice and beans to provide. The calculator assumes approximately 2,000 calories per person per day and uses a 2:1 ratio of dry white rice to dry beans by weight.
Estimated amount needed
Planning estimate only. Actual calories and cooked yield vary by variety, brand, and preparation method.
How Many 5-Gallon Buckets of Rice and Beans for One Person?
If rice and beans supplied all of one person’s calories for one year, you would need approximately:
10 five-gallon buckets of dry white rice and 5 five-gallon buckets of dry beans.
This assumes approximately 30 pounds of dry food per bucket. Actual weight will vary slightly depending on the type of rice or beans and how densely the bucket is filled.
Storing Rice and Beans Long Term
Rice and beans can be purchased at Walmart, warehouse clubs, supermarkets, or other food retailers. For long-term storage, place the dry food in Mylar bags with properly sized oxygen absorbers, and protect the sealed bags inside food-grade buckets.
Preparing several buckets can take some time, but the process itself is straightforward. Ready-packed buckets of rice and beans are another option for those who prefer not to package the food themselves.
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→ Mylar Bags
→ Oxygen Absorbers
→ Food Grade Buckets
👉 What Size Oxygen Absorbers To Use For 5-Gallon Bucket?
👉 The Bucket Upgrade You Didn’t Know You Needed
👉 How To Seal A Mylar Bag In A 5 Gallon Bucket
Recommended ready-made sealed buckets:(affiliate)
→ Sealed Survival Quality White Rice
→ Sealed Survival Quality Pinto Beans
Recommended Beans from Food to Live, Product of the USA(affiliates)
→ Navy Beans
→ Great Northern Beans
→ Black-Eyed Peas
→ Pinto Beans
Why Use a 2:1 Ratio of Dry Rice to Beans?
There is no single standard ratio for cooking rice and beans. Some meals use nearly equal portions, while others contain much more rice.
For this survival-food calculation, I use a practical 2:1 ratio by dry weight, meaning twice as much rice as beans. That works out to approximately 0.8 pound of dry white rice and 0.4 pound of dry beans per person per day.
Using average calorie values, those quantities provide approximately 1,950 to 2,000 calories. Actual calories and cooked volume will vary by rice variety, bean variety, brand, and preparation method.
The 2:1 ratio is a planning assumption, not a recommendation that every meal must contain exactly twice as much rice as beans.
Calories in Dry Rice and Beans
Below is the calorie math behind the chart, along with practical notes about white rice, dry beans, and long-term storage. Nutrition information for cooked rice and beans appears later in the article.
White Rice
Approximately 1,650 calories per pound when dry
Approximately 660 calories per cup when dry
One five-gallon bucket of dry white rice, weighing approximately 30 pounds, contains:
About 50,000 calories
About 25 days of food at 2,000 calories per day
Tip: For very long-term food storage, white rice is a better choice than brown rice. The bran layer of brown rice contains oils that can turn rancid, giving it a much shorter storage life. Store brown rice only in quantities you can rotate regularly.
TIP: If you’re concerned about possible long-term effects from arsenic in rice, here’s how to mitigate that, and which rice has the least amount of it:
👉 Best Way To Remove Up To 80% of Arsenic in Rice
Dry Beans
Approximately 1,570 calories per pound
Approximately 630 calories per cup
One five-gallon bucket of dry beans, weighing approximately 30 pounds, contains:
About 47,000 calories
About 24 days of food at 2,000 calories per day
Calorie content varies slightly among pinto, black, navy, kidney, and other common dry beans. These figures are reasonable averages for food-storage planning.
Over time, dry beans can develop what is known as the hard-to-cook condition, especially when stored in warm or humid conditions. Older beans may take much longer to soften and can sometimes remain firm even after extended cooking. Store them in a cool, dry location and rotate your supply when practical.
Can You Survive on Rice and Beans Alone?
Rice and beans provide substantial calories, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, and several important nutrients, which is why they are often treated as a practical survival-food combination. However, I would not rely on them alone as a complete long-term diet.
Rice is rich in starch and provides concentrated energy. Beans add protein, fiber, and minerals. They also have complementary amino acid profiles: rice is relatively higher in methionine, while beans provide more lysine.
Together, they are more useful nutritionally than either food alone, but they should remain part of a diversified food storage plan that also includes fats and other nutrient-rich foods.
Tip For Cooking Old Beans
Older dry beans often take much longer to soften, even after soaking. A pressure cooker is usually the best way to cook them because the higher cooking temperature can soften them much faster than ordinary simmering.
We have successfully used a pressure cooker for beans that had been stored for years. Soak them first if possible, add fresh water, and cook until tender. Avoid adding acidic ingredients such as tomatoes, vinegar, or lemon juice until the beans have softened, since acid can slow the cooking process.
Very old beans may still remain firm if they have developed the hard-to-cook condition, but pressure cooking gives them the best chance of becoming usable.
→ Presto 6-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker (Amazon)
👉 Decade-Old Beans — Okay to Eat?
Cooked Rice and Beans Nutrition
Cooked White Rice Nutrition Per Cup
- Calories: approximately 205
- Fat: 0.4 gram
- Carbohydrates: 44 grams
- Fiber: 0.6 gram
- Protein: 4.3 grams
- Very low in saturated fat and sodium, with no cholesterol
Cooked Pinto Beans Nutrition Per Cup
- Calories: approximately 245
- Fat: 1.1 grams
- Carbohydrates: 44.8 grams
- Fiber: 15.4 grams
- Protein: 15.4 grams
- Very low in saturated fat and cholesterol High in dietary fiber and protein
Fat (1.1 grams)
Carbohydrates (44.8 grams)
Fiber (15.4 grams)
Protein (15.4 grams)
Rice and beans can become monotonous when eaten frequently. Store seasonings, fats, bouillon, vegetables, and other ingredients that can improve their flavor and nutritional value.
FAQ
A practical estimate is about 0.8 pound of dry white rice and 0.4 pound of dry beans per person per day. That uses a 2:1 ratio by dry weight and provides approximately 2,000 calories.
At approximately 2,000 calories per day, plan on about 292 pounds of dry white rice and 146 pounds of dry beans for one year.
There is no universal ratio, but a 2:1 dry ratio is a practical planning estimate. It supplies more calories from rice while retaining the protein, fiber, and minerals provided by beans.
Rice and beans provide substantial calories and complementary amino acids, but they should not be considered a complete long-term diet. A well-planned food supply should also include fats, vegetables, fruits, animal foods or other protein sources, and foods containing nutrients that rice and beans lack.
Assuming approximately 30 pounds per bucket, one person would need about 10 buckets of dry white rice and 5 buckets of dry beans.
2 cups of rice is 400 calories tho, not 1320, where did you get these numbers?
Don’t forget the water!
In general 1 cup of rice cooked in 2 cups of water produces about 3 cups of cooked rice.
Preparing 1 cup of pinto beans, however, usually takes rinsing, an overnight soaking in water 2-3 inches above the level of the beans, draining and rinsing again, followed by covering them again with two inches of water then cooking.
This produces about 3 cups of cooked beans.
For a survival situation, prepare accordingly.
“And of course, that’s assuming rice and beans were all you had to eat.”
That’s around 5-1/2 cups of cooked rice and 2-1/2 cups of cooked beans. Every day.
Food fatigue is a real thing.
Boiling water and steeping rice/beans gives off almost no scent, so that’s a plus.
Faced with something like this, folks might think to stock up on salt, spices, herbs, and sauces or the basic ingredients for sauces – soy sauce, bullion, tomato paste/powder, vinegar, sugar, etc.
A white sauce takes powdered milk and flour.
As kids we often ate rice with sugar and milk as a hot breakfast.
Add an egg and a little citrus zest and you’ve got rice pudding.
Leave out the sugar and add flour or cornstarch and you can fry up rice patties.
Mashed beans can be used in almost the same ways.
Plain food needn’t be boring.