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

• 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.

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