French

Serving

Cassoulet

Name: Cassoulet
Total time: 300 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 lb dried Tarbais or Great Northern beans (soaked overnight); 4 duck confit legs; 1 lb pork belly (cubed); 1 lb Toulouse sausages; 1 head garlic; 1 bouquet garni; 4 cups rich chicken or duck stock

The great slow-cooked casserole of the south — creamy white beans, duck confit, garlicky sausage, and a golden breadcrumb crust on top.

300 minutes

Serves 3

Main

105 min prep

165 min cook

No common allergens detected

Based on this recipe's ingredient list. Always verify with your own brands and labels.

Instructions

6 steps

1
Drain the soaked beans. Place them in a large pot with fresh water, the pork belly, a halved onion, and the bouquet garni. Simmer gently for 1 hour until the beans are just tender. Drain and reserve the liquid.
2
In a skillet, brown the Toulouse sausages over medium heat until golden. Cut them into thick slices.
3
Rub a deep, heavy earthenware casserole dish (cassole) with a crushed garlic clove. Layer half the cooked beans at the bottom.
4
Nestle the browned sausages, pork belly, and duck confit legs into the beans. Cover with the remaining beans.
5
Pour the warm stock over the top until it just barely covers the beans. Add a little reserved bean cooking liquid if needed.
6
Bake uncovered at 300°F (150°C) for 3-4 hours. Every hour, press the thick, golden crust that forms on top back down into the stew, adding a splash of liquid if it looks dry. The final crust should be deeply caramelized and crisp.

Cassoulet — plated and served — Serving moment. How Cassoulet looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

72/100

Good fit for most families

Allergen-friendly 100

Kid-friendly 55

Weeknight-easy 54

Budget-friendly 86

Great leftovers 87

Pantry-friendly 34

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

1280

Calories

120 g

Protein

3 g

Carbs

87 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Cassoulet comes from the Languedoc region of southern France and takes its name from the 'cassole,' the earthenware casserole in which it is traditionally cooked. Three towns — Castelnaudary, Carcassonne, and Toulouse — each claim the original version, differing mainly in which meats are required: Castelnaudary insists on pork and duck confit, Carcassonne adds lamb, and Toulouse includes its famous sausages. The dish is said to have medieval origins and became a symbol of Languedoc peasant cooking — slow, thrifty, deeply sustaining — before being elevated into a celebrated regional specialty.

Listahan note

This version uses duck confit legs, garlic sausage, and pork shoulder rather than chasing every regional tradition, keeping the dish achievable without sacrificing the bean-enriched depth that defines it.

Technique cues

Use dried white beans and soak them overnight; canned beans become too soft and fall apart through the long braise, losing the creamy-yet-intact texture that makes cassoulet satisfying rather than mushy.
Break the bread crumb crust that forms on top and push it back into the stew two or three times during cooking — this is the traditional technique that builds layers of flavor into the sauce rather than discarding the crust.
Low and slow is the only approach: 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 to 3 hours produces the kind of gentle bubbling that breaks down the beans' exterior starch into a natural thickener without burning the bottom.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: The day before: soak the beans, make or source the duck confit, and brown all the meats; on the day, assemble and bake — most of the work is done ahead.
Make-ahead: Cassoulet is a 2-day project by design; assemble and bake on day one, cool overnight, and reheat gently on day two — the flavor is noticeably better.
Leftover move: Cassoulet reheats beautifully on the stovetop with a splash of stock; it keeps for 4 days in the fridge and the beans continue to thicken the sauce over time.
Cleanup rhythm: Use the same Dutch oven or cassole for everything from browning to baking; soak it in hot water immediately after serving to loosen the crust.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

dried white beans (Great Northern or cannellini)

creamy, starchy base

Purpose: Dried beans slowly absorb the braising liquid and meaty juices, becoming creamy-tender while thickening the sauce naturally as their starch leaches out.

Handling: Soak overnight in cold water, drain, and simmer in fresh water with aromatics until barely tender before adding to the cassoulet.

Adaptation: Tarbais beans are the traditional choice and worth sourcing online for a special occasion; Great Northern beans are the most accessible everyday substitute.

duck confit legs

rich, falling-off-the-bone protein

Purpose: Duck confit is already fully cooked in its own fat, so it adds intense duck flavor and tender shredded meat without requiring additional cooking time.

Handling: Remove from the can or package, scrape off most of the fat, and nestle into the cassoulet for the last hour of cooking.

Adaptation: Bone-in chicken thighs braised in duck fat or olive oil before adding to the cassoulet produce a lighter but still satisfying result.

garlic sausage or Toulouse sausage

seasoning and textural contrast

Purpose: The sausage seasons the beans as it cooks, releasing fat and aromatics into the sauce that permeate every component.

Handling: Brown the sausages in a skillet before nestling them into the beans so they add fond to the fat used for the rest of the dish.

Adaptation: Any garlicky fresh pork sausage works; kielbasa is a widely available alternative with a similar fat content and garlic presence.

pork shoulder or pork belly

collagen-rich braising meat

Purpose: Pork shoulder has enough fat and connective tissue to become silky and tender over the long cook while contributing gelatin to enrich the bean cooking liquid.

Handling: Cut into 1.5-inch cubes, season, and brown in batches before incorporating with the beans.

Adaptation: Pork ribs (country-style) are an easy substitute that adds bone-in gelatin; reduce the amount by weight since ribs are heavier.

fresh bread crumbs

top crust

Purpose: The bread crumb crust forms during baking and, when pushed back in and re-formed, absorbs the bean liquid and creates successive layers of flavor.

Handling: Pulse day-old bread in a food processor into rough crumbs and scatter in a generous layer over the top before the final bake.

Adaptation: Panko gives a crunchier crust; traditional dried crumbs from a baguette are most authentic.

Technique notes

The cassoulet should look like a lake of barely bubbling beans with a golden crust — if it is boiling vigorously or drying out, add a ladleful of stock and reduce the oven temperature.
Duck fat renders from the confit during cooking and floats to the surface; spoon off some but not all of it — some remains in the dish for richness and is part of the character.
Add a parmesan rind or a small piece of smoked ham hock to the beans while they simmer to build an extra layer of umami that rounds the finished dish.

Ingredient swaps

Lower-fat direction: Use skinless chicken thighs instead of duck confit and leaner turkey sausage in place of pork sausage; drain excess fat after browning the meats before assembling.
Weeknight shortcut: Use canned white beans (drained) and reduce the bake time to 60 minutes at 325 degrees; the texture will be softer but the flavor is still very good.

Serve alongside

Simple green salad with mustard vinaigrette
Crusty sourdough baguette
Roasted carrots with thyme
Languedoc red wine such as Minervois or Corbières
Sparkling water with a lemon wedge

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; add a splash of chicken stock when reheating because the beans will absorb more liquid as they sit.
Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat low and slow on the stovetop.

Equipment

Large Dutch oven or traditional cassole (earthenware casserole) with a lid
Food processor for making fresh bread crumbs
Ladle for checking liquid level during the long bake

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