Bean Pie aka Mock Pecan Pie

I’d heard over the years about bean pie . I’d never had it and there are few places around here that still sell it. It was very popular during the 70’s and various Black Muslim groups would sell it at their businesses and peddle it to other Mom and Pop businesses.

While away in college at an HBCU my brother would buy slices when the bean pie man came to their dorm late at night and they were hungry. Of course this was over 30 years ago. The college was out in the sticks, few students had cars, and the sidewalks of the city were pulled in by 6p.m.

The way I actually came upon the recipe is that I’d also heard about mock pecan pie. After finding that recipe it was pretty much the same as the bean pie recipe.
I used this recipe . There are variations to the recipe. Some use northern white beans,limas,blackeyed peas. Some add pecans to the top of the bean pie before cooking. (How can it still be mock pecan pie if it has pecans?) Since I wanted mine to look more like a pecan pie I used the pinto beans.

I placed the pintos into the food processor to be mashed.

No picture of the mashed beans. I found the photo somewhat disturbing. Unless you’re a fan of hummus you don’t want to see it.

I added all of the other ingredients and poured the mixture into a pie shell that I’d cooked for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

The pie cooked for 60 minutes at 350 degrees. The kitchen smelled so delightful.

After removing it, I was amazed at the beautiful, golden brown ,color.





I allowed it to cool and then cut a slice.

It has more of a sweet potato pie taste. The seasonings were just right. The crust was just right. BUT, the filling had sort of a starchy or chalky quality to it. It was good but just not as smooth as I would have liked it. I plan to let my brother taste it and see what he says.

THAT'S IT***

THIS JUST IN. Brother says the pie was good just a little too sweet. Other than that, it passes the test.