Bean pie

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Bean pie is a sweet custard pie with a filling made from mashed beans—usually navy beans—mixed with sugar, eggs, milk, butter and spices. Common flavors are vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg; some recipes also use cloves, ginger, pumpkin pie spice or lemon extract.

An early bean pie recipe appeared in 1884 in the New Kentucky Home Cook Book, contributed by Lucy Keith of Maysville, Kentucky. Today, bean pies are often linked to African American Muslim cuisine, especially the Nation of Islam, and are commonly sold to raise funds. The pie is said to have been introduced by W. D. Fard, a restaurateur who later helped start the Nation of Islam.

Lana Shabazz, Muhammad Ali’s personal chef, included a bean pie recipe in Cooking for the Champ. Ali reportedly blamed his 1971 loss to Joe Frazier on bean pie because he couldn’t resist it during training.