Instant Pot Cassoulet
Between the soft, creamy great northern beans, smoky bacon and sausage, and falling-apart chicken, this cassoulet is a big bowl of comfort!
If the weather outside is cold and snowy and you don’t feel like chili or stew, try this fabulous protein-rich French cassoulet. Cassoulet is a versatile dish of beans, often prepared with duck legs, sausage, and pork, among other proteins. This version is relatively simple and includes chicken thighs, bacon, and smoked sausage. All you need is an Instant Pot or another brand of pressure cooker, dried beans, bacon, smoked sausage, and chicken thighs, and you’ll have a fantastic dinner dish in about 1 1/2 hours!
Between the soft, creamy Great Northern beans, smoky bacon and sausage, and falling-apart chicken, this cassoulet is a big bowl of comfort. The 45-minute pressure cook time makes it an excellent meal for any night of the week. If you can’t find dried Great Northern beans, use cannellini beans, navy beans, or pinto beans. For smoked sausage, I prefer using spicy andouille, but any smoked sausage will work. Try turkey or chicken sausage, or use fresh-cooked sausage instead of smoked.
Recipe Variations
- Use duck confit in place of chicken thighs for a more traditional and richly flavored cassoulet.
- Substitute cooked pork shoulder or sausage for one of the meat components for extra depth.
- Add a ham hock or slab bacon to the beans during cooking for a smoky, savory base.
- Top the finished cassoulet with buttered breadcrumbs or panko before broiling for a classic crust.
What to Serve With Cassoulet
- Crusty French bread or a rustic French fougasse.
- A light green salad with mustard vinaigrette to cut through the richness.
- Roasted or sautéed greens like kale, Swiss chard, or Brussels sprouts.
- A glass of dry red wine, such as Côtes du Rhône, Bordeaux, or Malbec.
- Simple poached pears or fresh fruit for dessert.
How to Store and Reheat Leftover Cassoulet
Refrigerate: Cooled leftover cassoulet should be refrigerated within 2 hours of serving in an airtight container, and consumed within 3 days.Freeze: Transfer the cassoulet to a freezer container or resealable freezer bag. Label with the name and date and freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheat: Reheat the cassoulet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until hot. The USDA recommends a minimum safe temperature of 165 F for leftovers. Alternatively, transfer the leftover cassoulet to a baking dish, cover it with foil, and reheat in a preheated 350°F oven until hot, about 30 to 40 minutes.
Instant Pot Cassoulet
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon, diced
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 12 ounces smoked sausage
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 12 ounces dried great northern beans, about 2 cups, rinsed
- 4 chicken thighs, with skin
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 to 6 sprigs thyme
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Sauté: Add the diced bacon to the Instant Pot and choose the sauté function. Cook the bacon for 3 to 4 minutes, until most of the fat is rendered. Add the onions and smoked sausage and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the sausage is browned. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
- Fry the Chicken Skin: This is optional, but the fried chicken skin makes a tasty garnish and adds to the texture of the dish. Remove the skin from the chicken thighs and set aside. Sprinkle the thighs with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Lay the chicken skin flat in a skillet and cook it over medium-low heat to render the fat slowly. This will take about 7 to 10 minutes. Press with a spatula or another pan to keep it flat as it crisps. Season with salt and pepper and fry until golden brown and crisp. Drain the crispy skin on paper towels and set aside.
- Pressure Cook: Add the chicken stock and beans to the Instant Pot. Tuck the chicken thighs into the beans and add the bay leaves and thyme. Lock the lid in place and choose the pressure cook function. Ensure the lid is in the sealing position and set the timer for 45 minutes. When the time is up, let the pressure come down naturally; this will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
- Finish the Dish: Remove the chicken thighs and slice the meat; remove and discard the bones. Add the meat back to the Instant pot and keep the pot on warm until serving time.
- Serve: Spoon the cassoulet into bowls and serve with crusty French bread. Garnish with the crispy chicken skin and parsley or thyme leaves, as desired.
Very nice and easy recipe. Minimal prep. New to the instant pot and this one is a super quick and easy way to get a bangin and hearty dish (with leftovers). I’ve done this a couple of times and I really like: setting the pressure cook time to 1 hr over 45 minutes (flavor seems to dig into the beans more) and adding a 1/2 cup of dry white wine, which really makes the flavors pop. However, that’s just my preference and the recipe is lovely as is.
Fascinating, Cassoulet recipes seem to range between super elaborate ( Anthony Bourdain in LesHalles cookbook) to to Chef John’s mid complicated version online, to Chef Rattray’s version here, reduced to the bare minimum of complication, preserving the essential elements of the Dish with New World practicality. My wife and I, in all fairness, cooked at the former end when we were young, cooking elaborate meals for eight that destroyed the kitchen. ( we DID learn to clean up as we go, a maturation process?) and now delightedly embarace simplicity for most of the week of the week or month, having a station in the kitchen with a stainless steel cart equipped with instapot, air fryer, Vitamic blender below. The knives are still sharp, but the oxo mandoline does a lot of prep. The prep is fast, as is the cooking, and the clean up. C’est tout.
Epifani
So good! I used cassoulet beans from rancho gordo and they were amazing. The only thing to note is that you’ll need to adjust the cooking time to 1hr because the cassoulet beans are heartier than great northern. This was a huge hit at our house and we will definitely be making it again!
Fantastic! Thanks for posting!