Prepper's Pie

Here’s a great rotation recipe that can be made with either ‘grocery’ canned, dehydrated and/or freeze-dried food. It is a slightly more nutritious version of Shepherd’s pie. I always use dehydrated or freeze-dried onions and carrots because it takes a lot of cooking to use up a #10 can for rotation.


• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup onion
• ½ cup chopped carrots
• 1½ cup sweet corn
• 1 cup black or pinto beans (already rehydrated and cooked until soft enough to eat)
• 1½ cup diced or ground beef
• 4 cups mashed potatoes (add another cup if you use a 9 X 13 pan. I use the potato pearls and wait to rehydrate until right before they go on the top)
• 1 to 1½ cup of liquid/gravy (combination of rehydration liquid, beef broth, gravy and/or refried beans)


1. All ingredients are measured as the rehydrated amounts if you are using freeze-dried or dehydrated foods

2. SAVE all the excess liquid from everything you rehydrate to use as the liquid in the pie.

3. If you do not have left over beans, use about half a cup of rehydrated refried beans in your gravy to boost the protein and vitamins provided by the beans.


Saute the onions in the oil until golden and clear or slightly browned. Then add everything but the mashed potatoes in a rectangular shallow glass pan . Mix by hand so the distribution of items is somewhat even. Bake (covered if possible) at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and spread the potatoes evenly over the top and return to bake uncovered for about 20 minutes. If the potatoes are not golden on the peaks, top broil for a minute or two.

Serve and enjoy.


Note: For a camping or emergency recipe, this can be made in a Dutch oven. If so, spread potatoes on after mixing the filling, cover and cook for 30 to 40 minutes at the 300 degree equivalent.

--Gretchen, Arizona