Sausage Chicken Cassoulet is a delicious take on a traditional cassoulet. Slow cooking and a combination of rich spices, aromatic herbs and hearty ingredients, makes this an unbelievable comfort food.
Cassoulet
- Cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole that originated in the south of France.
- Traditionally it includes white kidney beans, pork sausages, pork, goose, duck confit and sometimes mutton. (Duck confit is duck cooked in its own fat.)
The chicken cassoulet I'm presenting is a twist on the classic, and it's amazing!
It's the combination and the cooking process that make this dish so incredible. It's a fantastic weekend cooking project.
If you love cooking, your house smelling delicious and exceptional food, you should definitely try this.
I call it a project because you can't just whip it up and get it on the table quickly. Sausage and Chicken Cassoulet takes a good amount of time (roughly 3½ hours -- 2½ of which is inactive). I promise you though, the results will be worth it.
What Baking Dish to Use for Cassoulet
This chicken cassoulet recipe can be made in either individual ramekins or in large baking dishes.
The ingredient measurements will make:
- one (9 x 13 x 3 inch) casserole with 6 to 8 generous servings
- two (9 x 13 x 2 inch) casseroles with about 10 slightly smaller servings
- 10 individual servings in (approximately) 5 x 1¾ inch ramekins.
How to Make this Cassoulet
Since this is a pretty involved dish, let's break it down into sections so you can see it's not actually daunting . . . .
First, what can you do ahead? Roast garlic and cook beans. These two things can be done up to three days ahead.
Then . . .
- Prep ingredients. This is a recipe where I really like to have everything sliced and diced and measured ahead. It'll make the whole process smooth.
- Cook all of the meats (sausages, pancetta and chicken), and remove them from the pan.
- Add remaining ingredients (except beans and topping), in stages, return meats, and reduce entire mixture on the stove.
- Add beans and then add mixture to desired baking dish (or dishes), apply topping and bake.
Can you make the whole recipe ahead?
100%! This can be made up to three days ahead. Be sure it's completely cooled before covering and refrigerating. When you're ready to serve, let it come back to room temperature and heat in the oven until it's sizzling along the edges.
Time Saving Tips
- Instead of homemade cannellini beans, which can be made a couple of days ahead of time, canned, drained beans are okay too.
- You can usually buy pancetta in large pieces, or pre-diced. Either one is okay, and pre-diced will save time.
- Instead of the chicken legs, use meat from a rotisserie chicken.
- Roasted garlic adds a different subtly sweet flavor to the dish. If you'd like use raw garlic -- about ½ the amount.
More Tips and Recipe Substitutions
- The recipe calls for sweet Italian pork sausage. If you prefer a little heat, use spicy Italian sausage. It's also okay to use chicken sausage.
- To switch out any dry herbs for fresh, use about ⅓ the amount, and accordingly to use fresh instead of dry, use three times the amount.
- Do not skimp on the long baking time -- this is inactive time that is what creates the wonderful richness and amazing texture.
- Gluten-free? Easy — just use gluten-free bread crumbs
I hope you love this as much as I do!
Oh and for another twist on cassoulet, here's a recipe for a delicious vegetarian version.
More chicken comfort food recipes:
- Cuban-Style Chicken Stew
- Crustless Chicken Pot Pie with Buttermilk
- Skillet Chicken Thighs with Apricots and Olives
- Tomato Balsamic Braised Chicken
- Mexican Chicken Poblano Pasta
Sausage Chicken Cassoulet
Ingredients
- ½ pound diced pancetta (about 2 cups), approximately ¼ inch dice
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausages (about 5 links), cut into about ½ inch slices
- 1¼ pound chicken legs (about 5), skin removed
- 2½ cups yellow onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup roasted garlic (click here for How to Roast Garlic)
- 2½ teaspoons dried thyme
- 1¼ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1¼ cups green olives, roughly chopped (I like Castelvetrano)
- 1¼ cup canned diced tomatoes with about 3 tablespoons of the juice
- 1¼ cup dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio)
- 2½ cups chicken stock
- 4¼ cups cooked cannellini beans
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, washed and dried
- 2 cups breadcrumbs
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil
Instructions
- Roast garlic. If your garlic is not already roasted, do it first. Here's how.
- Cook pancetta, sausage and chicken. Add the pancetta to a large pot or Dutch oven over low heat. Render the pancetta for about 10 minutes. (Rendering the pancetta slowly melts it, releasing all the fat and making the meat crisp.) Turn the heat up to medium and add the sausage to the pot. Cook until it begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Then, moving the pancetta and sausage around the pot to make a bit of space, add the chicken and sear them. Once they're slightly browned on all sides, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and cook until the meat is cooked through, about 15 minutes.Use a slotted spoon to remove all of the meat from the pot and add it to a large bowl, leaving behind the fat.
- Cook onions, add garlic. Over medium-high heat, add the onions. Stirring every few minutes or so, cook the onions until they are very tender and are beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Add the roasted garlic and stir to blend.
- Prep chicken to return to pot. While the onions are cooking, remove the chicken meat from the bones and break it into bite-sized pieces.
- Add spices. Add the thyme and paprika to the pot and cook for a couple minutes, until it’s very aromatic.
- Add olives and meat, deglaze and reduce. Add the olives, return all of the meat to the pot, and stir to combine. Then turn the heat to low and deglaze the pot with the tomatoes, wine and stock. Turn the heat to medium-high and use a flat-bottomed spatula to scrape any stuck bits of food from the bottom of the pot, back into the mixture.Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer to reduce the liquid by one third. This should take about 30 minutes.
- Set oven. Preheat the oven to 275°F and adjust a rack to the center.
- Add beans and season. Fold in the cooked cannellini beans and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Assemble and bake. Pour the mixture into one (9 x 13 x 3½ inch) casserole with 6 to 8 very generous servings OR, two (9 x 13 x 2 inch) casseroles with about 10 slightly smaller servings OR, 10 individual servings in (approximately) 5 x 1¾ inch ramekins.Add the rosemary to the breadcrumbs and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top. (If you're using only one baking dish you will only need ½ the amount, and about ⅓ less if you're using the ramekins.)Drizzle them with olive oil and then bake, covered (with foil or lid), in the preheated 275°F oven for 2 hours. Uncover and place them under the broiler to brown the tops, about 1 minute.
- Serve. Let the cassoulet rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.
NOTES
Time Saving Tips
- Use canned, drained beans.
- You can often buy pancetta pre-diced.
- Instead of the chicken legs, use meat from a rotisserie chicken.
- Use raw garlic — about ½ the amount.
NUTRITION
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sandy miller
Valentina,
This looks sooo good, can't wait to try it. I am going to make your beans from scratch too, a first for me.
Love your blog,
Sandy
valentina
Thank you, Sandy! I think you'll love it! xo
sandy miller
Dear Valentina,
Made the Cassoulet last night. I didn't have any pancetta or Italian sausage, so I used bacon and Keilbasa, it was outstanding....lots of work, but worth every minute.
Thanks for sharing.
Sandy
valentina
Sandy, I'm so happy you made this! And happier it was worth it! 🙂
stacey snacks
I used boneless chicken thighs, and tweaked it a bit, but very close to your recipe.
Looks and smells delicious!
About another hour in the oven to go!
Thank you for the recipe!
Stacey Snacks
valentina
Hi Stacey! Thanks so much for your comment -- hope it tasted as delicious as it looked and smelled! 🙂
angiesrecipes
Have never made or had a cassoulet...looks like it needs a bit of work, but looks definitely worth it.
valentina
It's worth it, Angie. Promise. 😉 ~Valentina
Eha
The classic version of this with pork, duck and sweet sausages used to be a huge favourite of mine in the days when crowds for dinner were commonplace and one did not think as often of that 'h' word ! It may have taken a fair amount of work but there was/is so little to do at the last minute !! Your recipe using chicken is a definite drawcard. I do not remember using olives but do cook my own beans . . . I love garlic a few friends doo not . . . methinks good old asafoetida can help again . . . shall halve the recipe for self to try and invite a crowd for the full dish when . . . 🙂 !!!
valentina
Hi Eha. You are so right -- it's a lot to do, but really nothing at the last minute. And I just like the idea (and flavor!) of the green olives. Indeed, not traditional. Hope you give this a go one day and enjoy. 🙂 Valentina
P.S. Thank you for sharing this in your emails. Much appreciated.
David
I haven’t made a traditional cassoulet for several years, and your version sounds wonderful. Like Eha, I don’t recall using olives but why not? I imagine they add some really interesting depth to the dish. And I don’t find there’s need to add asafetida (I bet Eha was talking about me) — there is plenty of onion in it already! I look forward to trying this soon!
Eha
*smile* you know me too well, David . . . but you have two soulmates on my lists !!!
valentina
Thanks so much, David. Just so you know, whenever I add garlic to a recipe, I now think, "oh no, David doesn't eat garlic." Shallots to the rescue -- or really, no replacement needed in this recipe. There are so many robust flavors. 🙂 ~Valentina
Chef Mimi
Your cassoulet looks outstanding. I’ve had cassoulet twice in France - both places claimed it was the original recipe, even though we all know there’s never just one recipe…. And I didn’t like either. Traditional dishes to me are all bland, because they’re the original peasant food. I do like what modern cooking has done to these dishes - and case in point - your cassoulet!
valentina
Thanks, Mimi. What a disappointment that you didn't like the ones you had in France. Guess you'll just have to make your own. 😀 ~Valentina
John / Kitchen Riffs
This is a really clever recipe. I love cassoulet, but the traditional with duck confit etc etc is such a pain to make (more assembling/sourcing some of the ingredients, like the duck confit, I guess than the actual making of the dish). This dish doesn't require anything "unusual" and, if you use canned beans, is much more straightforward to prepare. Really good stuff -- thanks.
valentina
So happy you like this recipe, John. Thank you and enjoy! 🙂 ~Valentina
Rita Yee
I made what I believe was an "authentic" French cassoulet a few months ago. It was a LOT of work, but it turned out amazing. I was looking for a faster, easier recipe and came across this one. I followed this recipe perfectly with a couple of substitutions for what I had on hand: I used diced thick hickory bacon instead of the pancetta, I used "beer bratwurst" instead of the Italian sausage, and I made the breadcrumbs out of a loaf of Seeded Rye bread, so i omitted the rosemary altogether. The results of this turned out absolutely amazing! I was thrilled to happen to have the Castelvetrano olives on hand, left from something my husband had needed them for. It was a bit of a different flavor profile from the first cassoulet I made, but this one was even BETTER. It helps immensely that it was a heck of a lot easier to make and required a lot less interaction than that dish. I will absolutely be making this again. I will probably stick to my changes because I was so thrilled with the final taste. I like the seasonings in bratwurst better than Italian sausage. Thanks for an amazing recipe!
Valentina
Hi Rita, Thank you so much for writing in. I'm so happy you loved this recipe. Your couple of changes sound delicious -- it's always fun to mix things up to suite your taste. Perfect you had the Castelvetrano olives on hand. They are my absolute favorite variety. Enjoy and thanks for trying my recipes. 🙂 ~Valentina