In this article
Pinto bean pie comes from the years when pecans cost money and beans were already on the stove. A cook who needed a pie for company took a cup of the beans left from supper, mashed them until they were a smooth paste, beat them with sugar, eggs and melted butter, and baked the whole thing in a crust. What came out had a brown, crackled top and a dense, soft, caramel filling that looked like pecan pie, cut like pecan pie, and tasted so close to it that people argued.
My grandmother served it to a man who bragged about his pecan trees, and he asked for the recipe. When she told him it was beans he did not believe her until she took him into the kitchen and showed him the pot. She had one rule about this pie: nobody at the table was told what it was until the plates were empty.
The one thing that decides whether the pie works is how well the beans are mashed. There can be no skins and no lumps, because the moment somebody finds a whole bean, the secret is out and the pie is beans. She pushed them through a sieve with the back of a spoon. A food processor does the same job in a minute. After that it is a custard pie like any other: mixed in one bowl, poured into the crust, and left in the oven until the middle stops shaking.
Why this pinto bean pie works
- Beans mashed to a paste. Pushed through a sieve or run in a food processor, the beans disappear completely and give the filling the dense, smooth body that pecan pie gets from its syrup.
- Two sugars. Granulated sugar sets the filling and brown sugar gives it the caramel color and taste that fools people.
- Melted butter. Half a cup, beaten in warm, makes the filling rich and gives the top its thin crackled crust as it bakes.
- A moderate oven and a long cool. At 350°F the filling sets slowly without curdling, and three hours on a rack finishes the job. Warm, it is soft. Cold, it slices like pecan pie.
Ingredients
Makes one 9-inch pie, 8 slices. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup cooked pinto beans (about 180g), drained well, cooked plain without seasoning
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (113g), melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (100g)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- A pinch of ground cinnamon (about 1/4 teaspoon)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
Beans cooked from dried, with no salt or onion in the pot, are best. Canned pinto beans work if you rinse them very well under cold water and drain them until they are dry. Measure the beans whole, before mashing.
How to make pinto bean pie
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Fit the crust into a 9-inch pie plate, crimp the edge, and put it in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
- Mash the beans until nothing is left of them. Push them through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon into a bowl, scraping the paste off the underside, or run them in a food processor for a full minute, scraping down the sides once. You want a completely smooth paste with no skins and no lumps, about 3/4 cup.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth and glossy, with no lumps of brown sugar.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, cinnamon and salt.
- Add the bean paste and whisk until the filling is uniform, thick and the color of caramel, with no pale streaks. If you can see even a fleck of bean skin, push the whole filling through the sieve. It is worth the two minutes.
- Pour the filling into the cold crust and smooth the top. Set the pie on a baking sheet.
- Bake at 350°F for 50 to 55 minutes, until the top is brown and crackled all over, the edges are set, and the center barely trembles when you nudge the plate, like set gelatin. A knife pushed in an inch from the edge should come out clean.
- Cool the pie completely on a rack, at least 3 hours. The filling finishes setting as it cools. Slice it at room temperature or cold, and do not tell anyone what it is until the plates are empty.
Tips that make the difference
- Drain the beans until they are dry. Watery beans make a filling that weeps and will not set.
- The brown sugar must dissolve completely into the butter before the eggs go in, or the top bakes up spotty.
- If the crust edge browns before the filling is done, cover it with a ring of foil for the last 15 minutes.
- Serve it the way you would serve pecan pie: a small slice, cold or at room temperature, with whipped cream. Nobody will ask.
Variations
- Pecan top. For the version that gives the game away, scatter 1/2 cup pecan halves (55g) over the filling before baking. The taste is even closer.
- Brown sugar only. Use 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar (300g) and no granulated sugar for a darker, more molasses-flavored pie.
- Coconut. Stir 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut (45g) into the filling for a texture more like a chess pie.
- Little pies. Pour the filling into 24 unbaked tart shells and bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, for a potluck table.
Storage and make-ahead
The pie keeps, loosely covered, at room temperature for 2 days, and it is better on the second day when the filling has fully set and the flavors have settled.
After that, refrigerate it for up to 4 more days. Cold slices are firm and clean, exactly like cold pecan pie.
The baked pie freezes well for up to 2 months, wrapped in plastic and then foil. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.
Frequently asked questions
Does pinto bean pie really taste like pecan pie?
Yes, closer than anyone expects. The brown sugar, butter and eggs are the same flavors as a pecan pie filling, and the mashed beans give the same dense, soft texture that the nuts and syrup give. Without the pecans on top to give it away, most people guess wrong.
Can I taste the beans?
Not if they are mashed to a smooth paste. Pinto beans have a mild, slightly sweet flavor that disappears behind the sugar and vanilla. What gives it away is texture, so there can be no skins and no lumps.
Can I use canned beans?
Yes. Rinse them very well under cold running water to wash off the canning liquid, drain them until they are dry, and measure a cup. Beans cooked from dried without salt taste cleaner, but the difference is small once the pie is baked.
Why is my filling still soft in the middle?
It probably needed more time in the oven or more time on the rack. The center should only tremble when the pie comes out, and it sets fully as it cools, so give it the full 3 hours before you cut it.
Mash the beans until there is nothing left of them, bake it until the top crackles, cool it all the way, and say nothing until the plates are empty. That was her rule, and it still works.
Pinto Bean Pie (The Depression Pie That Tastes Like Pecan Pie)
Old-fashioned pinto bean pie: a cup of cooked pinto beans mashed smooth, beaten with sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla, baked in a 9-inch crust at 350°F until the top crackles. It looks, slices and tastes like pecan pie, with no pecans in it. Cups and grams.
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup cooked pinto beans (about 180g), drained well, cooked plain without seasoning
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (113g), melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- A pinch of ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Fit the crust into a 9-inch pie plate, crimp the edge, and put it in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
- Mash the beans until nothing is left of them. Push them through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon into a bowl, scraping the paste off the underside, or run them in a food processor for a full minute, scraping down the sides once. You want a completely smooth paste with no skins and no lumps, about 3/4 cup.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth and glossy, with no lumps of brown sugar.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, cinnamon and salt.
- Add the bean paste and whisk until the filling is uniform, thick and the color of caramel, with no pale streaks. If you can see even a fleck of bean skin, push the whole filling through the sieve. It is worth the two minutes.
- Pour the filling into the cold crust and smooth the top. Set the pie on a baking sheet.
- Bake at 350°F for 50 to 55 minutes, until the top is brown and crackled all over, the edges are set, and the center barely trembles when you nudge the plate, like set gelatin. A knife pushed in an inch from the edge should come out clean.
- Cool the pie completely on a rack, at least 3 hours. The filling finishes setting as it cools. Slice it at room temperature or cold, and do not tell anyone what it is until the plates are empty.
