Slow-Cooker Cassoulet

Name: Slow-Cooker Cassoulet
Total time: 5 h
Yield: At least 4 servings
Cuisine: french
Ingredients: 1/2 pound dried small white beans, like pea or navy; 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed, plus 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 1 medium-large onion, chopped; 2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks; 2 cups cored and chopped tomatoes, with their juice (canned are fine); 3 or 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme; 2 bay leaves; 1/4 pound slab bacon or salt pork, in 1 piece; 4 sweet Italian sausages, about 3/4 pound; 1 pound boneless pork shoulder; 2 duck legs; Chicken, beef or vegetable stock, or water, or a mixture, as needed; Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; 1 cup plain bread crumbs, optional; Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

By Mark Bittman

Updated Feb. 29, 2024

Slow-Cooker Cassoulet — Craig Lee for The New York Times

Total Time: 5 to 7 hours
Rating: 4(1,341)
Comments: Read comments

Many look down their noses at the slow cooker, but it's perfect for some dishes. Stews, for one. This sausage, duck and white bean stew is rich and hearty, and you can leave the dish wholly unattended for five to seven hours as it cooks. Brown the meat before you put it in the pot or not.

Featured in: Slow and Low Is the Way to Go

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Ingredients

Yield:At least 4 servings

½pound dried small white beans, like pea or navy
4cloves garlic, peeled and crushed, plus 1 tablespoon minced garlic
1medium-large onion, chopped
2carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2cups cored and chopped tomatoes, with their juice (canned are fine)
3 or 4sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
2bay leaves
¼pound slab bacon or salt pork, in 1 piece
4sweet Italian sausages, about ¾ pound
1pound boneless pork shoulder
2duck legs
Chicken, beef or vegetable stock, or water, or a mixture, as needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1cup plain bread crumbs, optional
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Combine beans, crushed garlic, onion, carrots, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves and meats in a slow cooker, and turn heat to high. (If you like, brown sausage and duck legs in a skillet before adding.) Add stock or water to cover by 2 inches. Cover and cook until beans and meats are tender, 5 to 6 hours on high heat, 7 hours or more on low.
Step 2
When done, add salt and pepper to taste, along with minced garlic. If you like, remove cassoulet from slow cooker, and place in a deep casserole; cover with bread crumbs and roast at 400 degrees until bread crumbs brown, about 15 minutes. Garnish and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,341 user ratings

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Comments

Donna Harrison7 years ago

What a delicious dish! Highly rated by my family and friends!
To me, it is crucial to brown the meats before you add the beans and liquid. Otherwise you just have stewed meat, which I find rather bland. My slow cooker has a browning feature, which makes it easier. I had a lot of chicken thighs in the freezer, so I used them instead of duck. I browned them in duck fat and, gosh! They tasted pretty ducky! I also added red wine, because I had an open bottle. I think that deepened the flavor a lot.

Jeanie Cass7 years ago

The first time I made this, it was truly a culinary treat. The next time I made it, I swapped the duck legs for chicken thighs (which are easier to find in rural Maine), and the result was slightly different, but equally delicious.

Katherine7 years ago

This is a company-worthy dish! My observations:
1. The two "optional" steps -- browning the meat before putting into slow cooker, and decanting the concoction into a pan to roast with breadcrumbs for 15 minutes -- are both well worth doing. They add a LOT to the flavor.
2. This recipe, as written, generates quite a bit of liquid. That's another advantage of the final step: one can remove meat, beans, and vegetables with a slotted spoon, leaving that extra liquid for delicious soup the next day.

Angie7 months ago

I used dried flageolet beans - didn't soak them. Cooked on low for 8 hours and they still were sort of tough. I was worried the acid from the tomatoes wouldn't allow them to soften, but just turned the cooker up to high and let it go for another hour and they were perfect. I skipped browning the meat (also swapped out cuts for things I had on hand) and the breadcrumbs. Served it with a crusty bread - so good. Next time I'll experiment with the extra steps.

JB7 months ago

Excellent! Like others said, brown the meat, double the beans, and use a slotted spoon to put it into a casserole dish with bread crumbs in the oven at the end.

Jane1 year ago

I love my slow cooker, but sometimes I want the good reduction that comes from the stove top. I browned the meats in duck fat (chicken thighs, a kielbasa, and a ham hock) but otherwise followed the recipe on the stove, removing the meats after one hour and continuing to simmer and reduce until the Tarbais beans were creamy (another hour) before adding the meats back. There was minimal broth by the end, but it was intensely flavorful. Much less work than “long form” cassoulet and delicious!

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