Easy Cassoulet Recipe

Felicity Vincent
Feb 28, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Aug 1, 2024

This cassoulet recipe is all about the beans: creamy, savoury and the definition of comfort.

Cassoulet recipes may differ slightly, this dish is typical of the South West region of France and will generally consist of slow cooked beans with confit duck legs, pork sausages and various other pork cuts all covered in a garlicky bread crumb. Are you feeling full just from reading that? Yeah it's a pretty substantial meal to say the least.

The hero of the dish in my opinion though: the slow cooked beans. They are so savoury, garlicky, creamy and moorish! I've made them the star of my dish and changed the recipe slightly to lighten them up a bit and make the whole thing healthier and more sustainable with minimal compromise. Perfect for a midweek meal or if you’re entertaining.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

150g dried cannellini beans
2 celery sticks
2 onions
6 mushrooms
1 red pepper
2 cheese crusts (I’ve used comté and parmesan)
3 smoked bacon rashers
1 head of
1 veg stock pot

Method: (see photos below)

The evening before, put the beans in a container with about triple the volume of cold water and leave them to soak for at least 12 hours.
The next morning, peel and dice the onions, celery, mushrooms and pepper. In a large saucepan, sweat off the diced vegetables on a low heat with a little bit of vegetable oil. Cover the pan and cook those off for about 10 minutes or until they start to brown.
Peel and crush the whole head of garlic before stirring it in.
Drain the beans, rinse them and add them to the saucepan along with the veg stock cube, the bacon rashers and cheese crusts.
Add cold water until about 2 inches above the beans, then cover and bring to the boil.
Boil the beans for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop them sticking to the bottom.
Then cook on a low heat for 3-4 hours (even longer if you have the time, this is a great recipe for a slow cooker if you have one too). The aim is for the beans to break down so some of them become mush and turn into a creamy savoury sauce.
Serve in a deep dish with a drizzle of EVOO and a bit of chopped parsley on top. Toast some crusty bread, rub it with a peeled garlic clove and use it to dip into the beans and mop up the sauce. Alternatively, serve with a good quality grilled sausage and a wedge of lemon.
Bon appétit!

More about this recipe:

Traditionally, haricots Tarbais are used in cassoulet recipes. This bean variety also comes from the South West of France but as it’s not as easy to find outside of the region, I’ve substituted them for cannellini beans.

Beans are affordable, nutrient rich and sustainable. They use a lot less water than other plants and meat, and help fix nitrogen to the soil reducing the need for synthetic fertilisers. Plus, they’re a great source of protein, fibre, iron, potassium and B vitamins which make them a great addition to our farming practices and diets alike.

They’re a great energising mood food as

they’re a source of energising iron and B1 which help maintain a steady heartbeat, and low amounts are linked to tiredness and lethargy
It’s a good source of folate! Folate supports brain function and being low in it increases your chance of feeling depressed and is linked to low levels of serotonin (one of the good mood hormones)
They’re high in fibre to support our good gut bacteria and therefore the gut-brain axis.

VEGAN TIP: If you wanted to make these vegan, replace the bacon and cheese with 1 tsp of miso paste and 2 Tbs of nutritional yeast.