This article is part 3 of PMQ Pizza’s three-part series on beans as a pizza topping. Seriously, you need to read the other two stories in the series and give beans (and, sure, peas, too) a chance: Topping Ideas: Healthy and Versatile, Beans Give Pizza Recipes a Fiber-Packed Flavor Dropkick and The Bean Index: Believe It or Not, There’s a Bean Topping for Every Pizza.
By Brian Hernandez
When it comes to throwing beans on pizza, most operators play it safe—maybe a hummus base here, a black bean puree swirl there. But Anthony “Tony Pepperoni” Dezutter of Paulie Gee’s Logan Square in Chicago doesn’t do safe. He doesn’t even do shallow-end bean play. No, Dezutter cannonballs into the legume deep end with a bag of dried pintos in one hand and a ham hock in the other, ready to break every rule in the book—and possibly write a new one.
The pizzaiolo’s bean obsession didn’t start in the kitchen—it started in COVID lockdown.
“I’ve had a thing with beans for a while now,” he recalled. “It was during the shutdown that it became a bit of an obsession, getting to the point where my girlfriend at the time started refusing to eat them because I was making big batches three times a week. I started messing with beans on pizza right after we came back from the shutdown.”
While the rest of the world was learning sourdough starters or binge-watching Tiger King, Dezutter was elbow-deep in legumes—cooking, tweaking, blending them like culinary mixtapes. Beans weren’t just pantry fillers to him—they were possibilities. And yet, outside his kitchen, he found the rest of the pizza world dragging its feet.
“Beans are sexy as hell to me,” Dezutter said. “But I think I am the exception. Most people probably don’t have a great association with beans as an exceptional food. They probably fall into a category of ‘they can feed a lot of people and they are just OK.’”
Still, he pushed forward—blazing bean trails across the pizza crust canvas whether diners were ready or not. And the results? All over the map.
“I’ve had it go in all directions,” he said. “Some are stoked on it, some are skeptical, and some think beans have no business being in a pizzeria.”
But those who get it? They get it. Dezutter’s Pork and Beans pie has earned cult-favorite status with adventurous Windy City eaters. It’s bold, sticky, smoky, sweet and weird in all the right ways. And it started with a can.
“One of my favorites to date has been the Pork and Beans pie,” he said. “I took Bush’s baked beans and reduced them down with pineapple, pickled jalapenos and ham hocks to really intensify the flavors.”
“No bean is bad on pizza,” he added. “They all belong.”
Beans add richness, texture, funk and fat. They can lead, support or hide in the background like a soundtrack to a good meal. “They go both ways,” he explained. “A great bean has a creamy, textured interior once you get past the skin. So just leaving them like they are plays great into a pizza if you want the beans to shine. Now, if you’re looking for more of a subtle bean flavor, a puree base is an amazing way to elevate even the most basic of white pies.”
And if you’re worried about the balance of it all, don’t be. “Beans are rarely the star of the show,” Dezutter admits. “They tend to take a back seat in the flavor profile. Unless you’re trying to get really freaky. In that case, GO OFF!”
Of course, that doesn’t mean just slapping a few kidney beans on a Supreme and calling it fusion. There are rules. Standards. And the golden rule? Effort.
“Don’t just throw some s**t from the can on there,” he warned. “You gotta sexy ‘em up a little.”
He’s spent years playing matchmaker between beans and unlikely partners—Parmesan, kale, cornbread. But some relationships are eternal. “The obvious one is pork,” he said. “Pork and beans are the dream team, but it’s not their limit. Cornbread is one that always surprises me. A whole mess of Parmesan is fantastic with a white bean and some kale as well.”
In terms of prep, he leans toward dried beans—because Dezutter doesn’t just cook food, he engineers it. “For me, it’s dry beans just because I’m a control freak and want the flavors I add to incorporate fully through the bean, not just on the outside. You’ll never see me turn down a bean; they’re great either way and way more convenient cooked already.”
Another Dezutter pie has become something of a signature for him—elegant, acidic, fat-balanced, and fire-kissed. “For a wood-fired pie, I do a white bean puree with charred rapini tossed with lemon juice. The beans give it a lush texture while adding a nice fattiness, then the rapini comes in crisp and acidic.”
But Dezutter doesn’t stop at beans-as-ingredient. He’s tinkering with bean pastes, fermented sauces, even bean-based components for dough. No stone (or chickpea) is left unturned. “I’ve used all of these on pizzas. Hummus, falafel, miso whipped ricotta, and pork belly with fermented black bean glaze,” he said. “I tend to stick to the idea that everything can find balance; it’s just knowing how to adjust fat, acid, spice and savoriness. That’s the challenge.”
That versatility is also helping him meet the needs of evolving diners—whether it’s plant-based or gluten-free. “They expand both categories in our restaurant in many ways,” he noted. “Not just pizza but with salad and side dishes as well.”
So what style of pizza works best with beans? Any style, Dezutter said. You just need the will—and the skills—to make it happen. “Again, it’s my belief you can make them work on anything, it just takes adjustment. Although I haven’t attempted tavern-style yet, that’s next on the list.”
His biggest influences come from traditions that treat beans with reverence: Namely, he said, “Southern cuisine and Mexican cuisine. They have such a deep knowledge of beans that is rooted in tradition.” But right now, miso is living rent-free in Tony’s head—showing up in dough tests and new builds alike. “Miso has been on my mind lately, finding its way not only on top of pizzas for me but also as a salt additive for my dough testing as well.”
Dezutter hasn’t tasted many other bean-forward pizzas in the wild, but he’s always on the lookout. “I can’t say I’ve seen too many, if any at all, in my area. But I would love to see it more.”
He’s even dabbled in bean-based crusts. “I’ve tried things that people at home have given me to try, like a chickpea flour crust, but outside of that I haven’t seen anything in production at the local pizzeria level yet. I’d love to see if it has a place in the pizza community!”
And if you gave Dezutter a stage and the challenge of building the ultimate “Bean Supreme” pizza? “It has to be a play on a cassoulet,” he said without pause. “Braised pork, duck confit, crispy sausage, cannellini, a s**t load of garlic, and parsley sound tits to me.”
Brian Hernandez is PMQ Pizza’s associate editor and coordinator of PMQ’s U.S. Pizza Team.
