9 Survival Recipes That Are Easy To Make (2024)

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So you’ve beefed up your home security, you’ve gathered plenty of emergency supplies, and you’ve stocked your pantry with lots of survival food. Now you’re ready to ride out the next disaster… Or are you?

Just because you have months or years worth of emergency food doesn’t mean you’re ready to live on it. Cooking without power is easier said than done, and it takes practice. So instead of cooking the fancy meals you love so much, you should focus on recipes that are simple and easy to make.

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And since you probably won’t have a working fridge or freezer, they should be recipes that either don’t make a lot (so your family can eat it all in one sitting) or store well at room temperature. Here are nine popular survival recipes that fit the bill.

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1. Hardtack

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Also called hard bread, ship’s biscuit and even tooth dullers, hardtack has been a survival food for many centuries. The Ancient Roman army had a version of the hard biscuit, and Admiral Nelson’s men had barrels of them on their ships. Here in America, we recognize hardtack from the many mentions of it Civil War letters, poems, and songs.

The basic recipe for hardtack always includes flour, water and perhaps a bit of salt or sugar. The resulting baked wafers have an incredibly long shelf life. Hardtack is, well, hard–and quite bland. That’s why soldiers and sailors would soak them in coffee, soup, or grease to soften them up and make them more palatable.

Ingredients

  • 5 to 6 cups of flour
  • 1 cup of water

For more info, here is the full recipe for hardtack.

2. Pemmican

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Created by Native Americans, pemmican is often called the ultimate survival food.

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Its name comes from “pimi,” the Cree word for “grease” or “fat,” and traditional pemmican is made from deer, elk, bison or moose meat. Lean beef can work well too. A concentrated blend of fat and protein from lean, dried meat, pemmican has been known to keep for decades.

Ingredients

  • Lean meat
  • Lard (or tallow)
  • Optional extras (nuts, berries, dried fruit, etc.)

If you’d like to try it, here’s how to make pemmican.

3. Jerky

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Forget about those thin packaged versions you can buy at the supermarket or convenience store. They are filled with all kinds of unnatural preservatives. Homemade jerky is a high-protein, easy to make, and portable survival food.

You begin with strips of lean meat of your choosing – from beef to venison to other wild game – and then follow a simple process of marinating and then dehydrating. If you do not have a dehydrator, you may use an oven for drying. In fact, many people think oven-dried jerky has the best flavor.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds of meat
  • 1/2 cup soy of sauce
  • 1/4 cup Worchester sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. of Morton Tender Quick Cure
  • 1 tsp. of chili powder
  • 1 tbs. of garlic powder
  • 1 tbs. of onion powder
  • 2 tbs. of cracked pepper

Here is the full beef jerky recipe.

4. Biltong

Biltong is a traditional South African food that consists of dried and marinated meat. Whereas jerky is often smoked, biltong is cured with vinegar, salt, and spices, and then it’s air-dried. Also, you can make biltong from a large variety of cuts of meat.

Ingredients

  • 2 kg of lean meat
  • 2 cups of brown sugar
  • 3 cups of plump sea salt
  • 1 tsp. of baking soda
  • 2 tbs. of ground black peppercorns
  • 100 ml. of Worcestershire sauce
  • 5 cups of vinegar
  • 4 tbs of ground coriander seeds

Here is the complete recipe for bitlong.

5. Bannock

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Bannock, sometimes called skillet bread, is a round, flat unleavened bread that is associated with Scotland and northern England. Although you can adapt a bannock recipe for the oven, it is meant to be cooked in a skillet over a campfire or in a fireplace.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. of salt
  • 1/2 tsp. of baking soda
  • 1 tbs. of sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups of dried fruit
  • 1 tsp. of chopped rosemary
  • 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk

Here is how to make bannock.

6. Peasant Bread

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Homemade bread is great, but it can be difficult and time-consuming to make. Peasant bread, on the other hand, is easy to make and doesn’t require any kneading at all. In fact, the whole preparation process takes less than an hour. That’s why it became so popular, especially during the Great Depression.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of warm water
  • 2 tbs. of sugar
  • 1 tbs. of active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 tsp. of salt
  • 3 cups of wheat flour
  • 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Here is our complete peasant bread recipe.

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7. Dried Fruit

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You can get many of the essential vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy in a survival situation by eating dried fruit. In addition to canning your summer and fall bounty, why not consider frying some of it? It is a great everyday snack and it stores well for an emergency. You can use a dehydrator if you have one or you can use your oven. You also can dry fruits in the sun during an emergency situation.

Ingredients

  • Fruit of your choice
  • 1/2 cup of lemon
  • 1/2 cup of water

It’s fairly easy to make. Here is some DIY dried fruit.

8. Beans and Rice

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Beans and rice is easy to make and it offers your family a complete meal in a survival situation. If you have bacon, you can add it for flavor and more protein.

Ingredients

  • Equal parts dry beans (such as Pintos, Great Northern or black beans) and rice (not quick-cook or instant varieties). pintos, great northern, or black beans)
  • Salt and pepper (about a teaspoon per cup or to taste)
  • Water (three times as much as you have of beans and rice)

Directions

  1. Rinse the beans and let them sit overnight.
  2. The next day, bring beans to a simmer and let them cook for about two hours until they are starting to get tender.
  3. Add rice and cook for about another 30 minutes.
  4. If available, add spices or garlic to taste.

9. Ration Bars

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You also can make your own homemade protein ration bars to have on hand in an emergency. They’re not the tastiest food, but they are calorically dense with lots of fat and protein. The energy they provide will keep you going all day.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups of oats
  • 2 Tbs of chia seeds
  • 3 Tbs of hemp flour or almond flour
  • 2 Tbs of fruit powder (optional)
  • 6 scoops of protein powder
  • 1 cup of honey
  • 1 cup of coconut oil
  • 10-12 heaping Tbs of peanut butter

I made a post with detailed instructions on how to make these. You can read it here. Or you can watch the instructional video below.

Conclusion

As you consider survival food preparations, here are some important factors to keep in mind:

  • Price
  • Nutritional content
  • Caloric content
  • Minimum one-year shelf life
  • No refrigeration required after opening or single-serving sizes to reduce spoilage
  • Minimal cooking requirements – Heat and eat or just open and eat
  • Ingredients and flavors your family already likes (an emergency is not the time to experiment with new things if you don’t have to)

Rather than waiting for a disaster before making these survival foods, why not go ahead and make them now? Most of them will last months, if not years, and will be ready to eat when you need them.

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You May Also Like:

  • 5 Amish Recipes Every Homesteader Should Learn
  • How to Make Hardtack: A Cracker That Will Last A Century
  • How To Make Pemmican: The World’s First Survival Food
  • How to Make Bannock, A Healthy and Delicious Survival Food
  • 18 Survival Breads to Make in an Emergency

9 Survival Recipes That Are Easy To Make (11)

9 Survival Recipes That Are Easy To Make (2024)

FAQs

What are the easiest survival foods? ›

  • Meats & Beans. Canned meat, chicken, turkey, seafood. and other protein-rich foods, such as. ...
  • Vegetables. Canned vegetables and vegetable juices. ...
  • Fruits. Canned fruits and fruit juices. ...
  • Milk. Canned, boxed or dried milk and shelf- ...
  • Grains. Ready-to-eat cereal, crackers, pretzels, ...
  • Water. Enough for 1 gallon per day.

What is the most powerful survival food you can make at home? ›

Hardtack, Pemmican, Parched Corn, and Trench Cake Are Some of the Original Foods for the Long Haul. MREs and emergency ration bars are fine examples of modern survival foods. These bug-out-friendly items can be stored for long periods and provide sustaining nutrition, two key requirements for survival food.

What is the oldest survival food? ›

Survival Food of the Past
  1. 1) Hardtack – Potentially over 100 years. Any list of historical travel food would not be complete without the mention of hardtack. ...
  2. 2) Pemmican – Up to 10 Years. ...
  3. 3) Potted Meat – up to 6 months. ...
  4. 4) Salted Meat – up to 6 Months. ...
  5. 5) Stockfish. ...
  6. 6) Acorns.

What 3 foods could you live off of? ›

A balanced diet of survival food will ensure that your body is getting all the protein, carbs, minerals, and vitamins it requires to remain healthy. If you could only select five foods to survive on, potatoes, kale, trail mix, grains, and beans would get you pretty far.

What is one single food you can survive on? ›

The only food which comes close to being something you could survive on long term as a sole ingredient is the potato. The fact that the potato has Vitamin C means that scurvy is not a risk like it would be with almost any other food source lacking in this nutrient.

What is the one food that makes you live longer? ›

Cruciferous vegetables are the most nutrient-dense of all the foods. Eat a variety in both raw and cooked form daily — try some broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale or cabbage.

What is the longest lasting prepper food? ›

Soft grains include things like oats, rye, and quinoa. They are stable for about 8 years on average, but this can be increased to 20 years in ideal conditions. Hard grains include buckwheat, corn, flax, mullet, wheat, and more. These grains can last from 12 years to 30 or more!

How do I make my own survival food kit? ›

Include a selection of the following foods in your short-term Disaster Supplies Kit:
  1. Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables.
  2. Canned juices, milk, soup (if powdered, store extra water)
  3. Staples " sugar, salt, pepper.
  4. High energy foods " peanut butter, jelly, crackers, granola bars, trail mix.

What is the oldest surviving food? ›

Oldest preserved foods

Honey and alcohols, among others, have been one of the oldest found edible foods. For example, ancient Egyptian honey has been found and consumed.

What 5 foods could you survive on? ›

You can survive on a balanced diet of potatoes, kale, trail mix, grains, and beans. This combination offers plenty of protein, carbs, minerals, and vitamins to keep your body healthy and energized.

What food can last 30 years? ›

Foods Lasting 30 Years or More
FoodNew "Life-Sustaining" Shelf-Life Estimates (in Years)
Pinto beans30
Rolled oats30
Pasta30
Potato flakes30
7 more rows

What is the best food to stock up on for emergencies? ›

Canned Foods Have the Longest Shelf Life

You should stock up on beans, vegetables, meat and fruit. Make sure to diversify your canned food selection — there's no telling how long you'll be relying on these options as sources of nutrition, and you'll need to prioritize a balanced diet to maintain your strength.

What should you stockpile before a collapse? ›

If you have the space, experts recommend a week's supply of food and water. Choose foods that don't require refrigeration and are not high in salt. Your stockpile should also contain flashlights, a radio, manual can opener, batteries and copies of important documents.

What are the best long term survival foods? ›

Canned meats are a good selection. Rice and varieties of beans are nutritious and long-lasting. Ready-to-eat cereals, pasta mixes, rice mixes, dried fruits, etc. can also be included to add variety to your menus.

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