French cassoulet is a must-try if you love hearty stews! This classic French dish is packed with flavor in each bite: from the tender duck, to the melt-in-your-mouth beans, to the rich pork. White bean cassoulet is truly a treat for the senses and is perfect served with crusty bread.
I recommend making cassoulet when you have a few hours to spare. While not difficult, this cassoulet recipe does take some time, so it’s perfect for a slow weekend meal. You can get a head start by soaking the beans overnight and prepping the chopped veggies, so everything is ready to go when it’s time to cook. For more warming stew recipes, try my beef stew, chicken stew, or coq au vin.
What You Need to Make this Recipe
Beans — dry beans are the best option here, not canned beans because they will hold up to the long cooking time. You’ll need white beans like cannellini beans or creamy Tarbais beans (which are used in traditional cassoulet but can be hard to find in the US).
Herbs — make a bundle of fresh thyme and parsley to add flavor to the French stew. (This is sort of like a bouquet garni, except the bay leaf is added separately.)
Duck fat — if you use duck confit, it should have plenty of fat in the package, and you don’t need to source additional duck fat.
Salt pork — salt pork is salt-cured pork belly, somewhat similar to bacon, but it isn’t smoky. If you can’t find salt pork, cubed bacon or pancetta can be substituted.
Duck — use duck leg confit for the best flavor, but regular duck legs can be used if you can’t find duck confit (see tips below).
Sausage — a garlic pork sausage is a delicious option, but any pork sausage with a flavor you love will work.
Vegetables and aromatics — chop up an onion, a carrot, and a couple of celery stalks for the base of the stew. You also need minced garlic cloves and bay leaves. There is no shortage of flavor in this dish!
Tomato paste — tomato paste adds richness and umami.
Broth — opt for unsalted chicken broth. Because the duck, pork, and sausage are salty, in addition to the extra salt you’ll add, using salted broth can make this casserole far too salty.
How to Make Cassoulet
1. Start by soaking the beans in a large bowl filled with 8 cups of water, preferably, overnight or at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours. Drain well and set aside.
2. In a large pot, heat the duck fat over medium-high heat. Add cubed salt pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and you see a lot of rendered fat, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and set it in a large bowl for now.
3. Add the duck confit to the Dutch oven, skin side down, and brown for 5 minutes. Turn and lightly brown the other side for about 3 minutes. Place the browned duck with the salt pork. Then cook the sausage until it is browned on all sides. Cut it into chunks before transferring it to the bowl with the rest of the meat.
4. Drain most of the fat from the pot, but reserve 2 tablespoons and reduce the heat to medium. Add the chopped onion and cook until the onion has softened. While the onion cooks, scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
5. Add the celery, carrot, garlic, and tomato paste to the pot. Stir for 1 minute.
6. Then throw in the bay leaves and soaked beans.
7. Pour in 6 cups of chicken broth, and add a parsley-thyme bundle to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil before reducing the heat to low and covering. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans are almost tender, about 45 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Discard the herb bundle and bay leaves. Stir in the salt and pepper. Set an oven rack to the lower third position and preheat your oven to 300°F.
8. To the pot, add the browned sausage and salt pork and stir well.
9. Arrange the duck confit pieces on top. They should be skin side up.
10. Bake uncovered for about 2 hours, until a skin forms on top of the stew. Carefully remove the pot from the oven. Use a large spoon to push down around the edge of the stew and collect broth. Spoon it over the top. If the beans have soaked up all of the cooking liquid, add just enough broth to cover the beans, then spoon the liquid over the duck. Return to the oven and continue to cook, uncovered, until the top of the cassoulet is a deep, rich brown and a lovely crust forms, about an hour.
Pro Tips for Making this Recipe
- If you can’t find salt pork: Use thick-cut or slab bacon or pancetta but into cubes. You can also use ham hocks, but keep in mind they will smokiness to the stew. Skip browning them and add to the simmering beans, then shred the meat before placing the chicken legs on top.
- If you can’t find duck leg confit: Use regular duck legs or chicken legs and season them generously with salt and pepper before browning. Make sure you use duck fat to brown the legs.
- A note about duck fat: If you use duck confit, there should be enough fat in the packages so you don’t have to buy extra duck fat. If you want to source extra duck fat, you can often find it in specialty or gourmet grocery stores either in the cooking oil section or near the butter. Olive oil can be used in a pinch.
- Use dry white beans: Tarbais beans are the traditional bean in cassoulet, but they are not easy to come by in the US. Cannellini beans are a wonderful substitute, but other white beans like navy beans or Great Northern beans work, too.
- A thick and rich stew: This recipe creates a rich bean stew which a thick broth and tons of flavor. If you want a thinner, more brothy dish, increase the broth amount by 1 cup when initially simmering the beans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Toulouse sausage, a garlicky French pork sausage, is typically used. As it is not always available in the US, I usually go for a garlic sausage, or a garlic and herb sausage (or Italian-style). However, if there is a flavor of pork sausage you love, use it!
While this dish takes some time to cook, you can make it a day or two ahead and reheat it. Return, covered, to a 350°F oven and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until heated through. You may need to add more broth when reheating if the stew looks dry at any point. You can also prep ingredients ahead of time to make the cooking easier. I like to soak the beans and chop up all the vegetables a night ahead so that cooking is seamless the next day!
This dish tastes even better the next day. Once it cools to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Reheat it in a large Dutch oven over medium heat or medium-low heat on the stovetop. If it has become too thick, add a bit more chicken broth.
You can freeze this French stew! Transfer the cooled stew to freezer-safe containers or freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stove. You may need to add some broth to thin it out.
If you’ve tried this cassoulet recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Cassoulet
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven
- Large bowl
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried cannellini beans (or Tarbais beans) (450g)
- 4 parsley sprigs
- 4 thyme sprigs
- 2 tablespoons duck fat
- 8 ounces salt pork* cubed (225g)
- 2 duck legs confit* (split into drum and thigh)
- 1 pound garlic sausage links
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 to 8 cups unsalted chicken broth (1.4-1.9L)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cover the beans with 8 cups of water. Let stand at room temperature overnight or for up to 12 hours. Drain and set aside.
- Tie together the parsley and thyme sprigs, and set aside.
- Heat the duck fat in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the salt pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.
- Add the duck confit to the pot, skin side down, and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn the duck and cook until lightly brown on the other side, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl with the salt pork.
- Add the sausage to the pot and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. Cut the sausage into chunks. Transfer to the bowl with the salt pork and duck.
- Drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion. Cook until the onion is tender, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pot occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, garlic, and tomato paste. Stir constantly for 1 minute. Add the bay leaves, soaked beans, 6 cups of broth, and parsley-thyme bundle to the pot.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans are almost tender, about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat. Discard the parsley, thyme, and bay leaves. Stir in the salt and pepper.
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Add the browned sausage and salt pork to the pot, stirring to blend well. Arrange the duck confit pieces, skin side up on top. (The beans should be mostly covered with broth with the duck resting on top.)
- Bake, uncovered, until a skin forms on top, about 2 hours. Remove from the oven. Using a large spoon, push down around the sides to collect liquid and spoon over top. If your beans have soaked up all of the liquid, add enough broth to barely cover the beans (1-2 cups), then spoon the liquid over the duck.
- Return to oven and continue to cook until top is a deep brown and a crust forms, about 1 hour. Serve warm with crusty bread.
Notes
- If you can’t find salt pork: Use thick-cut or slab bacon or pancetta but into cubes. You can also use ham hocks, but keep in mind they will smokiness to the stew. Skip browning them and add to the simmering beans, then shred the meat before placing the chicken legs on top.
- If you can’t find duck leg confit: Use regular duck legs or chicken legs and season them generously with salt and pepper before browning. Make sure you use duck fat to brown the legs.
- A note about duck fat: If you use duck confit, there should be enough fat in the packages so you don’t have to buy extra duck fat. If you want to source extra duck fat, you can often find it in specialty or gourmet grocery stores either in the cooking oil section or near the butter. Olive oil can be used in a pinch.
- Use dry white beans: Tarbais beans are the traditional bean in cassoulet, but they are not easy to come by in the US. Cannellini beans are a wonderful substitute, but other white beans like navy beans or Great Northern beans work, too.
- A thick and rich stew: This recipe creates a rich bean stew which a thick broth and tons of flavor. If you want a thinner, more brothy dish, increase the broth amount by 1 cup when initially simmering the beans.
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