This easy cassoulet recipe is loaded with beans, veggies, Andouille sausage, and chicken! The perfect one pot meal for those cold wintry nights!
What Is Cassoulet?
A cassoulet is a slow-cooked stew or casserole that contains both meat and beans. The origin is French, and the name comes from the pot it was cooked in (a cassole). It is meant to be eaten with good crusty bread to sop up all the sauce and juices and it pairs beautifully with a full-bodied wine.
Traditional cassoulet is often made with some sort of rich-tasting fat like duck fat and it usually has beans that have been soaked overnight. Ingredients may vary from region to region or even household to household, but a cassoulet is ALWAYS made by cooking ingredients in layers and bringing them all together at the end.
If you’d rather skip cooking tips, suggestions, handy substitutions, related recipe ideas – and get straight to the Cassoulet Recipe– simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.
How To Cook Cassoulet
Traditionally Cassoulet is rich tasting and time-consuming. While I imagine the taste is stupendous, most of us have a limited amount of time to put towards our family meal. This easy cassoulet recipe does not compromise on flavor, but the method is much simpler.
This recipe starts by browning some smoked sausage. I like using andouille sausage because I love the flavor and the spice, but a regular smoked sausage, chicken or turkey sausage or kielbasa will work just fine. Once the sausage has browned it is removed and set aside. Chicken is added next. I like to use chicken tenders for this recipe. I like how quickly they brown and I think it is easy to dice them into similar size pieces (having everything the same size, ensures even cooking). A mix of vegetables is cooked after the chicken along with a white bean such as Great Northern Beans (although any bean would work). Chicken broth and tomato paste are brought to a simmer and the chicken and sausage are returned to the pan.
I topped my cassoulet with a breadcrumb mixture just before it goes into the oven. The cassoulet will stay in the oven for about 35 minutes or until the mixture has thickened and bubbles around the edges. The breadcrumbs should be perfectly toasted at this point.
Can Cassoulet Be Frozen?
Yes! If you find yourself with a big batch of cassoulet, store any leftovers in an airtight container and place in the freezer for 2- 4 months.
Cassoulet can also be made 24 hours in advance as well. Prepare as directed, however, add the breadcrumb mixture just before baking.
This cassoulet recipe isn’t the only stew to try. Check out This Southwestern Chicken Stew, or this Ropa Vieja recipe1
Yield: 6
Easy Cassoulet Recipe
This easy cassoulet recipe is loaded with beans, veggies, Andouille sausage,and chicken! The perfect one pot meal for those cold wintry nights!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Ingredients
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb chicken tenders cut into bite sized chunks
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 oz Andouille sausage, sliced
1 cup onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 red pepper, chopped
2 whole carrots, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons Italian blend seasoning
2 cloves minced garlic
1 14.5 oz can Great Northern beans rinsed and drained
2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375.
In a large Dutch oven or deep oven-proof skillet, heat sausage in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until browned and slightly crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add chicken to the same skillet, season with salt and cook until browned. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and set aide
Add olive oil to pan and stir in vegetables. Cook the vegetables until softened, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in Italian blend seasoning and garlic. Add the beans, broth, tomato paste and vinegar; stir
Return chicken and sausage to pan, stirring until mixed. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer.
In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese, add olive oil and stir to coat. Sprinkle the brad crumbs over the top of the cassoulet.
Bake cassoulet for 35 minutes or until thick and bubbly.
Cassoulet, a hearty slow-simmered stew of sausage, confit (typically duck), pork, and white beans, is one of the great hallmarks of French country cuisine. The best versions are cooked for hours until the beans and meat meld into a dish of luxuriant, velvety richness.
All the ingredients for a good cassoulet can be found in most grocery stores. Purists will argue that you need to find real tarbais beans but I have found white kidney beans work just as well. They will mention that there are 3 versions of true cassoulets (Castelnaudary, Carcassone, and Toulouse).
The main difference between a casserole and a cassoulet is that a casserole is more of a food category than one specific dish.In contrast, cassoulet is the name of a particular dish. This dish combines meat, usually pork or mutton, with white beans and seasonings. The dish originated in France.
Cassoulet is rich and stewy, with a fragrant meaty broth. A simple green salad and hunks of torn baguette to dip into the broth are all you need to complete the meal. Serve it with a light red wine such as Beaujolais or Cahors, a full-bodied rosé, or chilled dry white wine.
Saucisse de Toulouse - The Best Sausage. Toulouse Saucisse (Toulouse Sausage) is a fresh sausage made in Toulouse, France, in the southwest. It's a classic French pork sausage cooked with white wine and onions. Cassoulet is a fantastic way to use it.
Cassoulet is divided into three types depending on which meats are used. Prosper Montagne, a famed culinary artist, called these three various cassoulets the “Trinity.” He designated the “Father” as coming from Castelnaudary, the “Son” from Carcassone and the “Holy Ghost” from Toulouse.
The first cassoulet is claimed by the city of Castelnaudary, which was under siege by the British during the Hundred Years War. The beleaguered townspeople gathered up the ingredients they could find and made a large stew to nourish and bolster their defenders.
The beans, though, aren't hard to procure. Great Northern and cannellini beans make fine substitutes for the Tarbais, flageolet and lingot beans used in France.
Conran suggests Polish kielbasa as a Toulouse substitute, but the smoky sort I use makes everything taste like a frankfurter, so I'd steer clear – basically, you need something with a very high meat content, and preferably a hefty whack of garlic.
According to his book French Regional Food, co-authored by historian Loïc Bienassis, Castelnaudary cassoulet generally contains confit goose or duck, Carcassonne's has pork chops, and the Toulouse version uses mutton and the city's famous sausage.
Originating in the South of France, cassoulet is a profoundly hearty peasant dish that typically includes white beans, duck (or goose) confit, and sausage, through specific preparations vary from town to town. It also is supposed to take a couple of days to put together, as the flavors of the meat develop slowly.
Convention has it that the cassoulet of Castelnaudary is based largely on pork and pork rind, sausage, and (sometimes) goose; the Carcassonne variety contains leg of mutton and (occasionally) partridge; and the cassoulet of Toulouse includes fresh lard, mutton, local Toulouse sausage, and duck or goose.
In the Dutch oven, arrange a layer of the bean mixture at the bottom, then the various meat, broth, and wine. End with remaining beans. Cover the top with breadcrumbs and dot with 3 tablespoons duck fat. Bake until beautifully browned and bubbly and most of the liquid has cooked away, about 1 1/2 hours.
Address: Apt. 536 6162 Reichel Greens, Port Zackaryside, CT 22682-9804
Phone: +9958384818317
Job: IT Representative
Hobby: Scrapbooking, Hiking, Hunting, Kite flying, Blacksmithing, Video gaming, Foraging
Introduction: My name is Jamar Nader, I am a fine, shiny, colorful, bright, nice, perfect, curious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
