Tepary bean flour is drought-proof food technology — a flour made from a bean that grew in the desert before anyone invented irrigation. Indigenous people of the Southwest figured out how to make a complete protein food from one of the most water-stressed growing environments on earth. Black Texans have been living next to this food for 150 years and are just now learning its name.
Tepary bean flour is available online through Ramona Farms (Gila River Indian Community — a tribally owned business) and through specialty Indigenous and heritage grain suppliers. Purchasing tepary supports Indigenous food sovereignty while accessing one of the most medically relevant foods for Black Texans managing T2D. The economic connection between Black American communities and Indigenous food producers is itself a form of community solidarity.
Tepary beans have a glycemic index of approximately 29-33 — among the three lowest GI legumes measured in the University of Sydney database — due to their cell wall structure creating extreme resistance to amylase digestion. Research at the University of Arizona confirmed that tepary bean consumption significantly reduced postprandial blood glucose response in Tohono O'odham adults with T2D compared to pinto beans. The traditional tepary diet in Indigenous southwestern communities was associated with dramatically lower T2D rates until commodity food programs replaced them with wheat flour and lard — a natural experiment that confirmed the protective effect of tepary bean for metabolic disease. Potassium at 1460mg per 100g dry weight per serving delivers over 30% of daily potassium needs, directly addressing the potassium deficit central to sodium-driven hypertension. Ground tepary bean flour carries all the nutritional properties of the whole bean — the grinding does not substantially alter the glycemic profile.
Tepary bean flour can be purchased pre-ground from specialty Indigenous food suppliers (Ramona Farms in Arizona being the primary producer). Use 25-35% in any baked goods recipe in place of all-purpose flour — blend with cornmeal, oat flour, or cassava flour for best texture. Can be mixed into soups as a thickener. The flour has a slightly earthy, nutty flavor that complements savory preparations particularly well.
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