Meet the ‘Mama-Taught’ Chef Making Traditional Navy Bean Pies

Sheree Bishop, Communications Coordinator
November 8, 2024

At her booth decorated in warm and welcoming orange hues at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, you’ll find Zakiyyah Shaheed offering sweet navy bean pies, a recipe that she’s enjoyed throughout her life. “I’ve kind of grown up eating bean pie. I’m a third-generation Muslim, so it’s really synonymous with my childhood and with my culture,” says the owner of Baby Bean Pie.

This unique dessert is just as delicious and satisfying as it is historical and significant. Navy bean pies were created by members of the Nation of Islam in the 1930s and eventually circulated through the larger Black American Muslim community. 

According to historian Zaheer Ali in an interview with Slate Magazine, the navy bean pie was made to replace the sweet potato pie, which was associated with enslavement. Not only are navy bean pies a symbol of a 90-year-long tradition, but they also serve as a marker of Black identity that exists outside the context of oppression. 

Navy bean pie has a creamy, custard-like texture that is often topped with warm, caramelized spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg. At Baby Bean Pie, you can enjoy these pies in three flavors: Original, Vegan, and Buttermilk. There’s also a fourth choice, the Bean Pie Cheesecake, as a less traditional option. 

Because of their main ingredient, navy bean pies also serve as a healthy treat. “It’s a dessert that you don’t have to feel guilty about having,” Zakiyyah says. “It’s rich in nine essential nutrients like fiber, protein, magnesium, potassium, and more.”

Baby Bean Pie: A Labor of Love and Culinary Skills

Baby Bean Pie began in 2020, when Zakiyyah’s husband, Carlton Shaheed, had a craving for navy bean pies. At the time, all of the bakers they knew of had either closed down because of the pandemic or moved away from the Bay Area. As a result, her husband started searching for recipes on YouTube. 

“I was like, ‘You don’t have to do all that. I have pie recipes. We’re not going to get on YouTube to make a bean pie.’” At first, she started baking with her mother’s original recipe. “I kind of just made tweaks here and there to get it exactly how I wanted it to be. And that’s how we got started,” Zakiyyah says.

Zakiyyah began cooking navy bean pies at six years old. Learning to make simple recipes and understanding how to bake at a young age was a rite of passage for her and her siblings. 

“I always say I’m a mama-taught chef,” Zakiyyah says, “I didn’t go to culinary school, but I have a great foundational knowledge.”

As an adult, she studied food and nutritional science at San Diego State University, which came with additional training in commercial kitchens, learning about both food service and food safety. After receiving her degree, she spent 10 years working in kitchens all over the Bay Area. Now, she uses her expertise to create new versions and flavors of the classic navy bean pie. 

For Zakiyyah, sharing this piece of her culture and seeing people react to a navy bean pie for the first time makes it all worthwhile. “Being able to offer samples and get people to try something that they typically wouldn’t experience is the most exciting part of us being at the Ferry Plaza. We really love the reactions when people are like, ‘It’s beans? There’s no way!’ That’s the most rewarding feeling every time,” she says. 

From Sprout to Stalk: Growing a Business from the Ground Up

To help get their business off the ground, Baby Bean Pie joined Mandela Partners’ Food Business Pathways program, which supports BIPOC entrepreneurs in launching their businesses, in 2022. At the time Zakiyyah and her husband were doing everything from their apartment. Through Mandela Partners, Baby Bean Pie later became one of three vendors with a quick-service restaurant at E14th Eatery and Kitchen, a food hall in San Leandro. 

“Having mentorship has been really helpful in navigating the ins and outs of having a legitimate business,” she says of her experience working with Mandela Partners.  “A lot of people have side hustles, but we were very adamant that we wanted to make this a legitimate business and not just a thing on the side.”

Baby Bean Pie was first connected to Foodwise through Mandela Partners, when they participated in a Pop-Ups on the Plaza event in fall of 2022. “During our first experience popping up at Foodwise, me and my husband were both in shock and awe at how helpful and gracious all of the staff were. It sets the standard of how things should operate as we do other pop-ups and other events.”

Just in time for the holidays, Baby Bean Pie became a regular presence at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market this fall through Foodwise’s Building Equity program, which offers technical assistance and financial support for early-stage BIPOC food entrepreneurs as they are building their brand and presence at the market. 

In the future, navy bean lovers can expect to find their delicious pies at other farmers markets and pop-ups throughout the Bay Area, as well as at some local grocery stores in 2025. 

As her business continues to grow, Zakiyyah insists that her family is what keeps her motivated. “I always say that my family is really the inspiration behind my passion for food. My mom directly inspired my interest in cooking. My husband inspired me to use my skills to create a business and create something for myself. And then now, being a mom, it really inspires me to build a legacy so that I can pass something on to my child.”

Find Baby Bean Pie at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in the south front plaza on Saturdays.

Topics: Building Equity program, Entrepreneurship, Family, Farmers market