You Made a Pie Out of What? Three Pinto Bean Pie Recipes

We keep hearing that beans are among the most versatile foods you can eat. It's true--you can make all sorts of things from beans. I've seen a recipe for bread made with baked beans as a major ingredient (maybe I'll dig that up and post it here in the future). One of the most unusual uses for beans, however, is the one we'll talk about today. Pinto Bean Pie.

Pinto Bean Pie? I kid you not; you can make an excellent, tasty pie from pinto beans. It's often called Mock Pecan Pie, because it's a lot like a traditional pecan pie in consistency, look, and taste. If you're up for a little culinary adventure, this can be a lot of fun.

Incidentally, both here and over on my other bean website, the Bean Bible (http://www.beanbible.com), I get fairly frequent requests for "that funny pie that you can make out of beans." To keep from answering all those questions, let's put the recipe here on the site for all to see.

I've seen at least a half-dozen different (but similar) recipes for this pie. One of the easiest and most likely to be fairly reliable is from the Idaho Bean Commission (Check out their site for general bean info at http://www2.state.id.us/bean/.)

• 1 heaping cup mashed pinto beans (Note: 1 1/2 cups cooked beans equals about 1 cup, mashed)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Blend sugars, eggs, and butter until creamy. Add the mashed beans and blend thoroughly.

Pour into a 9-inch unbaked pie shell. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until a knife inserted into the pie comes out clean.

These pies taste a lot like pecan pie. Serve them with whipped cream, with your favorite non-dairy whipped topping, or--better yet--with a scoop of ice cream.

It's a lot of fun to serve this pie to guests without explaining what it is. Tell 'em when they've finished that they've been eating beans.

This next one, entitled simply "Mock Pecan Pie 1," uses a few more ingredients to fine-tune the taste, then tops the pie with pecans. Perhaps this version will appeal to you a little more than ultra-simple Idaho Bean Commission version.

The next one after that, "Mock Pecan Pie 2," is also simple but adds pecans.

• 1 cup pinto beans, cooked or canned, unseasoned
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) butter or margarine (the genuine stuff--no "light" substitutes)
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 2 Tablespoons molasses or dark corn syrup
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 9-inch unbaked pastry pie shell
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans for topping

If not using canned beans, cook the unseasoned beans in water until soft. Cool, drain, and measure 1 cup. If using canned beans, drain and measure them. Mash 1 cup of the beans.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the vanilla, molasses, salt, and well-beaten eggs. Add this mixture to the beans and mix well.

Pour this mixture into the pie shell and sprinkle the chopped pecans on top. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees F until the pie is firm or until a knife inserted into the pie comes out clean.

• 1 teaspoon cornmeal
• 1 9-inch unbaked pastry pie shell
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup canned pinto beans, drained
• 1/2 cup pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cornmeal into the pie crust and set aside.

Beat the eggs well in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, butter, vanilla, and pinto beans. Mix until smooth. Pour the resulting pie filling into the pie shell. Spread the pecans over the top of the pie to make it look nice.

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until the crust is golden brown and the pie filling is set.

So there you have it. Three versions of a fun-to-make pie using pinto beans. Pick one (or more) and try it out. You're in for both a treat and a surprise (for your unsuspecting family or guests).

© Copyright Richard Mann, 2003. All rights reserved. Please contact author for permission to use this article (includes reprints in mailing lists, newsletters, and/or any other purpose/format) and give details of its proposed use. Any and all use of this article in any way without permission is prohibited under copyright law. Of course, you can always print these recipes for your own personal use (that's what they're here for). Please feel free to link to this page.