My Easy Cassoulet is a pared down version of the classic French dish and it’s perfect for laid back entertaining or a romantic dinner for two!
*This post is in association with Swanson®
classic comfort food doesn’t have to be complicated
I’m more of a casual entertainer than a fancy dinner-party kind of hostess –I love it when friends and family come in from the cold to gather around a simple comforting meal. No invitations, no place cards…just a big pot of something fabulous like this easy cassoulet plopped down where everyone can help themselves.
But serving classic comfort food to guests can be a little tricky. We love the welcoming, homey quality that makes it so universally appealing, but some classic comfort food dishes (I’m lookin’ at you, lasagna!) can be very time consuming and complex to make. My simplified cassoulet solves that problem, while keeping what makes it special — those distinctive country French flavors. It’s the kind of dish that rallies people round and makes everybody feel warm and cozy.
what is cassoulet?
Cassoulet is a country French dish that features sausage, duck, sometimes pork, and white beans. It’s really a peasant style meal that has grown more complicated over time. My dish is a nod to its simpler roots. I use Italian pork sausage, either hot or mild, and chicken, along with onion, shallot, garlic, fennel, and carrots. Then there’s lots of white beans (canned for ease) and fresh thyme. The sauce is made with chicken stock and tomatoes.
I use Swanson® stock because it’s the best substitute for homemade I’ve found. It forms the backbone of this dish, so it’s essential to use top quality. Swanson® Chicken Stock is the perfect cooking base for the cassoulet because its rich and savory roasted chicken flavor blends well with, and brings out the best in, the other ingredients.
my secrets to the perfectly presentable cassoulet
This dish can actually be made from start to finish in about an hour. But it really gets better with time, so you can feel good about making it ahead. I have a few secrets for making homey stews like this one a little more presentable for party time.
- I like to cook it in a large pot on the stove, but I will transfer it to a casserole dish or a rustic skillet for serving. That allows me to re-arrange everything for a prettier presentation.
- A scattering of fresh herbs, in this case thyme, is essential to brighten up the cassoulet.
- Lastly, I always make sure to have a few vividly colored ingredients, like my carrots, front and center.
riffing on a classic cassoulet recipe
I’ve taken a few liberties with tradition and introduced some Moroccan inspired elements to this dish. A touch of harissa, which is a spicy red pepper paste, lends a bit hint of heat to the mix. And a pinch of cinnamon and allspice gives the sauce a beautiful depth. In fact the sauce is so good it’s essential that you serve some sort of crusty bread alongside the cassoulet so not one drop of it will go to waste.
more cook’s notes on making cassoulet
- Browning the sausages and the chicken not only develops flavor, but also adds color, which helps make an appealing dish.
- I was conservative with the amount on the spices, go for a little more if you like.
- Even though this cassoulet is fairly quick cooking, there are a few elements I hold out until the end because I don’t want them to get mushy. I add the beans and the carrots at the very end of the cooking. The beans will retain their shape and bright white color that way, and the carrots will cook just enough to be tender but firm.
- If you make this ahead, the sauce may thicken after it has been refrigerated, just add more stock as you reheat it.
Easy Cassoulet
Ingredients
- 4-5 sweet Italian sausages
- 4 chicken thighs, or a mix of thighs and legs
- olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 1 large shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 large cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 small head of fennel, diced
- 1/2 cup dry vermouth or other white wine
- 1 heaping cup crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 32 ounces Swanson® Chicken Stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 large bunch fresh thyme, tied with twine, plus more for garnish
- salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp harissa
- 1/8 tsp allspice
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- a small bunch, maybe 8 or so, baby carrots, trimmed and peeled, but left whole
- 28 ounces canned white beans, drained and rinsed
- a splash of sherry vinegar
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy stew pot over medium high heat until quite hot. Prick the sausages all over with the sharp point of a small knife. Brush them will olive oil and place them in the pan. Brown on all sides and set aside. Do the same with the chicken pieces. Remove and set aside.
- Coat the bottom of the pan lightly with olive oil and saute the onions, shallot, fennel, and whole garlic cloves for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until softened.
- Add the vermouth to the pot and let it cook down for a couple of minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and stock, bay leaves, thyme, harissa, and spices, stir well and bring to a simmer. Let the sauce cook uncovered for about 10 minutes to reduce a bit.
- Add the sausage and chicken back into the pot, and nestle down into the sauce. Cover and let simmer on low for about 20 minutes.
- Add the white beans and the baby carrots at the very end of the cooking, just so the carrots barely cook through.
- Add the sherry vinegar and taste to adjust any of the seasonings. Remove the bay leaves and the thyme bundle. Cut each of the sausages in half.
- Garnish the cassoulet with fresh thyme leaves. Serve hot with crusty bread.
Thanks so much for this. I love this recipe! I made it previously (before the update in October) and thought it suggested using duck fat to cook the chicken in. I bought duck fat so that when I made it again I would have it on hand. Am I mistaken? Otherwise can you please provide the prior version of this recipe? Or if I am mistaken what do you think of using the duck fat? Would it be overpowering? I have the duck fat and would like to try it. Thanks!
Hmmm, I never used duck fat, I wonder if it was in one of the comments? But yes, duck fat would be wonderful, and very French!
My son took a French class in his sophomore year of high school and was struggling quite a bit. His teacher, who is from France, gave him a chance to earn extra credit points by videoing himself making any French dish of his choosing at home. We had never made a French dish before and landed on Coq au vin which was very good. My son’s teacher was so impressed with the Coq au vin that he offered him extra-extra credit if he would make and try his favorite dish, which reminded him of home, Cassoulet. We came across this recipe and oh my gosh am I ever glad we did…we just LOVED it! My son loved it so much, he begged me to make it our traditional Christmas dish, and we have! This will be our second year making this delicious Cassoulet recipe for our Christmas dinner. We have never tried a different Cassoulet recipe because we think this one is perfection!
What a story, thanks so much Shelley, and congrats to your son!
This recipe was perfect for our cold Autumn weather. I made homemade crusty bread and mopped up every last bit of sauce. Will make this wonderful recipe once a week as the weather gets colder in Australia. Thank you once again from the bottom of our bellies x
Questions: what is a substitute for harissa? And would you send a link for the pretzel focaccia bread?
You could leave the harissa out, or use a chili paste instead. The pretzel focaccia is here:https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/soft-pretzel-focaccia-bread-recipe/
Sue, this was fabulous! And thanks for the email helping me to find a substitute for the harissa – I happened to have some sambal oelek and the end result tasted great. Other than that, I made it as written, except we were so excited to try it from the delicious aromas wafting through the house that we totally forgot to add the sherry at the end. And your pretzel focaccia bread rounded out the feast royally with a minimum of fuss – we really love that, too and make it about once a month. Yours is always by far the best email in my inbox each day; I’m always curious to see what you come up with next. Bon appetit!