With our crazy fast paced life, it can feel like we have little or no time to eat, much more to prepare our meals.
Having three square meal courses is sometimes difficult, and not all of us have the possibility to cook in the morning.
But, luckily, there are many options when it comes to instant meals.
So in this article, we will cover some instant meals with boiling water that you can enjoy during your break.
Instant meals: basics
Generally, convenience food or instant meals are those that come in various containers and require only a cup of boiling water and some time to be ready.
There are many types of instant meals, but they easily can be divided into 5 groups:
Oatmeal with variations, different soups, couscous with variations, rice with variations, and noodles with various additions. They can easily be cooked right in the container, in a bowl, or in a cup.
But if you have some time, you can make your mixes from instant couscous, noodles, rice, freeze-dried vegetables, herbs, dry spices, nuts, freeze-dried chicken or beef, dried fruits, dried cheese, and powdered milk.
It’s easy to store them in zip bags and later to cook in the same bag or container. Below you can find some already combined mixes, but you can experiment with ingredients and create your own.
Instant meals with hot water: recipes
Couscous with Chicken & Vegetables
If you’re vegetarian, you can skip adding chicken to your mix.
Ingredients: 1/3 cup of whole wheat couscous and freeze-dried chopped chicken, 1/2 cup of freeze-dried mixed vegetables (of your choice), freeze-dried onions, herb blend of your choice, garlic powder, ground black pepper, and salt.
Add all ingredients to the zip bag. Seal it and store it until it is used.
If you’re cooking in the bowl or mug of choice, pour the ingredients from the zip bag into the bowl/mug. Use a kettle and add 1-½ cups of boiling water. Mix the ingredients, cover, and wait for 9 minutes.
Creamy noodles with chicken, mushrooms, and nuts
Ingredients: 1 cup instant noodles of your choice, ¼ cup freeze-dried mushrooms, and chicken, nuts of your choice, 3 tbsp dried Parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp powdered milk, 2 tbsp cornstarch, Italian herb blend, garlic powder, ground black pepper, and salt.
Add all ingredients to the zip bag. Seal it and store it until it is used.
If you’re cooking in the bowl or mug of choice, pour the ingredients from the zip bag into the bowl/mug. Use a kettle and add 1-¼ cups of boiling water. Mix the ingredients, cover, and wait for 9 minutes.
Creamy Chive, Potato, and Bacon Soup
Ingredients: 1/3 cup instant potato flakes, 2 tbsp dried grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 tsp cornstarch, 1/2 cup powdered milk, freeze-dried chives, garlic powdered, onion powder, ground black pepper, salt, and bacon bits.
Note that if you’re doing this mix in advance, don’t add bacon bits till the day you will be eating this soup.
Add all ingredients to the zip bag. Seal it and store it until it is used.
If you’re cooking in the bowl or mug of choice, pour the ingredients from the zip bag into the bowl/mug. Use a kettle and add 1-3/4 cups of boiling water. Mix the ingredients to avoid any clots, cover, and wait for 9 minutes.
Rice, Mushroom and Vegetables Soup
Ingredients: 2 tbsp instant rice, 1/3 cup chopped freeze-dried mushrooms, bouillon granules, powdered garlic, dried thyme, salt, ground black pepper, freeze-dried spring onions, and freeze-dried tomato bits.
Add all ingredients to the zip bag. Seal it and store it until it is used.
If you’re cooking in the bowl or mug of choice, pour the ingredients from the zip bag into the bowl/mug. Use a kettle and add 1-3/4 cups of boiling water. Mix the ingredients to avoid any clots, cover, and wait for 9 minutes.
Oatmeal with dried fruits and nuts
Ingredients: instant oatmeal, dried fruits and nuts of your choice, honey/maple syrup/sugar, and cinnamon.
Note that you can add a chopped fresh fruit of your choice after the oatmeal will be ready to eat.
Add all ingredients to the zip bag. Seal it and freeze overnight.
Boil the water in the kettle. Pour oatmeal with all ingredients in the bowl/mug of choice. Add ½ cup of boiling water and mix the oatmeal. Cover, and wait about 3 minutes. Mix again and eat.
Grits with dried fruits and nuts
Ingredients: instant grits, dried fruits and nuts of your choice, coconut/plant milk of your choice, light brown sugar, and cinnamon/ginger/cardamom.
Note that you can add a chopped fresh fruit of your choice after the grits will be ready to eat. Also, you can substitute plant milk for animal milk.
Add all ingredients to the zip bag. Seal it and freeze overnight.
Boil the water in the kettle. Pour grits with all ingredients in the bowl/mug of choice. Add ½ cup of boiling water and mix the grits, cover, and wait about 2 minutes. Mix again and eat.
Vegetarian Curried Rice
Ingredients: instant rice, drained and rinsed canned chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, grated carrot, chopped fresh cilantro leaves, unsalted butter, curry powder, and salt.
Add all ingredients to the zip bag. Seal it and freeze overnight.
Boil the water in the kettle. Pour rice with all ingredients in the bowl/mug of choice. Add ½ cup of boiling water and mix the rice, cover, and wait about 6 minutes. Mix again and eat.
Miso Chicken Noodle Soup with Tofu
Ingredients: miso paste, cubed tofu, seaweed, sprouts, onions, dried rice noodles, shredded rotisserie chicken, thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms, and thinly sliced sugar snap peas.
Add all ingredients to the zip bag. Seal it and freeze overnight.
Boil the water in the kettle. Pour all ingredients in the bowl/mug of choice. Add 1-¼ cup of boiling water and mix the soup, cover, and wait about 7 minutes. Mix again and eat.
Shrimp Paella Soup
Ingredients: instant rice, frozen corn, frozen peas, cooked shrimps, thinly sliced dried chorizo, chopped roasted red pepper, tomato paste, smoked paprika, and salt.
Add all ingredients to the zip bag. Seal it and freeze overnight.
Boil the water in the kettle. Pour all ingredients in the bowl/mug of choice. Add 1 cup of boiling water and mix the soup, cover, and wait about 4 minutes. Mix again and eat.
Instant Banana Pudding
Ingredients: instant vanilla pudding mix, powdered milk, dried bananas, and vanilla wafers.
Add all ingredients to the zip bag. Seal it and freeze overnight.
Boil the water in the kettle. Pour all ingredients in the mug/jar of choice with the lid. Add 1 cup of boiling water and thoroughly mix the pudding, cover, and wait about 4 minutes. Enjoy the sweet treat.
Conclusion
We hope that our list of instant meals with boiling water inspired you to cook something new for the next time you will be in need of a quick bite.
The basics of all meals on the list are either instant oatmeal, noodles, couscous, or rice.
Then, depending on whether you want to eat something sweet or spicy, you can add freeze-dried fruits or vegetables, herbs, or spices. You should always add boiling hot water to the instant meals for them to be edible.