Easy Chicken and Sausage Cassoulet
With only about 20 minutes of prep work, this Easy Chicken and Sausage Cassoulet recipe smells amazing and tastes even better!
By Yankee Magazine|Mar 05 2020|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanThis easy recipe for chicken and sausage cassoulet takes only about 20 minutes of prep work and cooks for two hours in the oven, but tastes like it was cooking all day with layers upon layers of flavor and enticing smells. Read more about the process of making this Easy Chicken and Sausage Cassoulet. And for more delicious sausage recipes, try our Portuguese Kale and Sausage Soup or Baked Mac & Cheese with Sausage and Tomato.
Yield:
6 servingsIngredients
6 chicken drumsticks or thighs
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 16-ounce package smoked sausage, cut into 3-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped medium-size
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 19-ounce cans cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup plain breadcrumbs, divided
Fresh thyme sprigs
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300°. Sprinkle chicken all over with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown meat in 2 tablespoons olive oil, about 5 minutes.
Turn and brown other side, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Add sausage to skillet and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Add remaining olive oil to skillet. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Return chicken and sausage to skillet. Add beans, tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to a boil and sprinkle with 1/2 cup breadcrumbs.
Bake, covered, 2 hours. Then uncover and sprinkle with remaining breadcrumbs. Bake 20 minutes longer, or until cassoulet is golden.
Remove bay leaf before serving. Garnish with thyme sprigs.
Made this meal using turkey kielbasa and chicken thighs, had unexpected company that evening.Made more than enough delicious food for 4 hungry adults, plus lots of leftovers. They thought I’d been cooking for hours.
I’ve served this three times for guests and all loved it. I have one suggestion, as this is a very heavy, filling dish. Have the thighs cut in half by your butcher, and cut the sausage in 2-inch pieces. It will easily serve 8.
This is a perfect meal for a cold winter’s eve. And surprisingly easy. I’ll make it again for my in-laws who are picky eaters — should satisfy many different tastes. Made this with Chorizo (Mexican spicy sausage).
This recipes got raves from my family the first time I made it. So now I make it for guests and family. It is so easy and satisfying and they all think I am a genius cook! I have used different kinds of smoked sausage with great success and cut up chicken as well as the thighs. I have served it with couscous as well as roasted potatoes.
I used a cut-up chicken and kielbasa, was very tasty. The kids loved it too.
Really delicious recipe as written, the only change I made was to use about 10-12 boneless, skinless thighs and only cooked in oven for 1 hour. Perfection. Stir in some baby spinach at the end and you have a perfect one pot meal.
My husband’s on a very low carb diet. Any suggestions on substitutions for beans?
Very disappointing. I followed the recipe as written but it was so dry. My guess is the bread crumbs. As written there was not enough liquid. O K taste, but not a keeper.
Sound yummy except for the beans (I don’t like Beans). I guess I could eliminate the beans from the recipe.
Tasty
Made it for dinner this past weekend and we both loved it. A couple of changes: I used unsmoked sausage. I didn’t measure my broth but probably used 1.25-1.5 cups….I did this because I knew I’d cook it for a long time. I did one hour at 300, then another 90 mins at 275, then another 20 mins w/the second batch of bread crumbs. I used panko and again didn’t measure…I used enough for a thin overall coating (in a dutch oven), which looked wet after the initial cooking. I covered that wet-looking batch a little more thickly and had a nice crunchy topping when it was done. Oh, and I used three 15oz cans of beans. They take on such a nice texture, really creamy, after cooking so long in broth. Definitely a keeper!
Well, a little false advertising on 20 minutes of prep, but overall a family favorite. Three of us usually finish most of it. It takes me almost an hour with chopping, trimming the boneless thighs that I use, draining beans, etc. Granted not the swiftest cook in the kitchen, but not 20 minutes. anyway, I agree on a couple of the other comments. I add the whole can of stock, so no waste. And I add a good couple of glugs of red wine. Because wine. Fair amount more than one cup of crumbs, too. I used panko. The reason I’m writing this at the moment is that I have a batch in the oven and drooling while waiting for it to come out in an hour or so. So good.
This recipe for cassoulet was easy and delicious. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs to cut some fat, and d’artangan merguez sausage for flavor, added carrot and celery to the onion and a cup of cooking sherry (didn’t have wine on hand or would have used a light red or dry white). Cook up perfectly in my Le Creuset casserole. Definitely will be a winter staple!
Not a fan of chicken wings or thighs, especially in a nice cassoulet. . I hope to make this with chicken breasts. Will this be okay? Also because I read in ‘comments’, will increase chicken broth.
Not chicken breasts, it will be too dry and the breasts will suck up any excess broth. Original recipe used duck and lamb for a reason, as they are both dark flavorful meats and add moisture through fat. Yes, fat. Anyone surprised? . Better to use chicken thighs ( even skinless) to keep with the original intent of what cassoulet is.
If you don’t like beans, dont make a cassoulet. It’s a bean dish.
Thanks Bob, mighty astute of you…
I make a similar vegetarian style dish:
1 15oz can cannellini beans, rinse & drain
20 Grape tomatoes sliced in half lenthwise
¾ cup (inexpensive) white wine
2 Tablespoons Kraft (inexpensive) parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons EVOO
1 teaspoon dry parsley
¼ teaspoon each dry: oregano, thyme, seasoned salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash & chicken bouillon
Few shakes granulated garlic
Mix all ingredients together in a PAM sprayed oven proof pan. I use a 7×9 inch old green pyrex pan. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 325 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn off oven heat and let pan rest in oven until dinner. Warm in MW if dinner is delayed.
This is a great recipe that I’ve made numerous times. I use boneless skinless thighs. Sometimes substitute one can of black beans for one of the canellini. Use a tablespoon of dried thyme. Also use panko but sparingly. Large handful of fresh spinach just before serving. Rather than chicken broth I use a cup of good white wine and dissolve a teaspoon of better than bouillon chicken base in it. Use smoked chicken apple sausage.