Does The Historically Famous Bean Pie Actually Have Beans In It?
As implied by its name, bean pie does indeed have beans in it. Specifically, it has navy beans as well as spices, and a whole-wheat crust. Like many pies, it also features eggs, milk, and sugar. The creamy sweetness of this nutty dessert often causes diners to confuse it for sweet potato pie. However, it's entirely its own thing.
Although unique, bean pie isn't terribly complicated to make. The first step is to form the crust, using butter, flour, salt, and water. Once the ingredients are combined, the dough is flattened and chilled for about an hour. After that, butter, cinnamon, eggs, flour, milk, navy beans, nutmeg, sugar, and vanilla are blended together into a custard-like filling. The chilled dough is then rolled out, shaped, trimmed, crimped, and filled. Finally, it's put in the oven to bake, and all that's left afterward is to let it cool and serve it up!
The particulars of different recipes vary, but at its core, bean pie is that straightforward. So then, why is it so historically famous? The answer lies with the controversial cultural movement that inspired its creation.
The Nation of Islam inspired bean pie
Nearly a century old, the Nation of Islam began as a Black Muslim organization and accompanying social movement focused on strict discipline and self-improvement. Several of its tenets were positive. Its celebration of the community brought folks together. Its banning of alcohol, illicit drugs, and tobacco improved members' health. Its economic efforts helped generate wealth for a historically disenfranchised American demographic.
Yet, the Nation of Islam has also garnered a poor reputation over time, and it's designated as a hate group by advocacy watchdogs like the Southern Poverty Law Center. Its unsavory elements include both antisemitism and homophobia, and its arguments for racial segregation have even received support from white supremacists.
What does any of this have to do with bean pie? Elijah Muhammad, the man responsible for popularizing the Nation of Islam, believed in eating healthy as well as shunning cuisines of European descent. This meant that much of soul food, which was partially influenced by white enslavers, was off the table — including sweet potato pie.
Bean pie is a Black Muslim symbol
Indeed, the question isn't whether or not bean pies have beans, which they do, it's why do they have beans? Elijah Muhammad was quite adamant about what his followers should and shouldn't eat. He believed that navy beans specifically were a blessed food that could extend one's lifespan, unlike sweet potatoes, which were beneath humanity's standards in Muhammad's estimation. Yet, interestingly, most other legumes were off limits.
Muhammad himself did not mention bean pie explicitly, but he did inspire the inclusion of navy beans in salads and soups. It's been said that the Nation of Islam's original founder actually developed the first bean pie recipe. Some claim Muhammad's daughter invented it instead. Others believe Muhammad Ali's cook whipped it up; Ali was one of the Nation of Islam's more famous members (as was Malcom X), and Ali once blamed his overindulgence in bean pie for making him lose a match.
Bean pie is no longer exclusive to the Nation of Islam, its fundraising events, and associated bakeries. It's since become popular with many Black Muslims and even folks outside of those communities. Once sold on street corners, bean pie can now be found in fancy restaurants and even in pop culture such as "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." In regards to bean pie itself, as a culinary dish, there's very little controversy about it.