All the satisfaction of a hearty, rich, bean-based cassoulet with none of the painstaking hours of assembly and cooking. Lentils, which do not require presoaking, sub in for beans, which means the whole thing comes together in a single pot. Be sure to seek out black beluga or French green lentils; they taste great and hold their shape.
Recipe information
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
½
1
2½
1
1
1
2
2
11
1
1¼
½
3
2
1
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Heat ¼ cup oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high until smoking. Add mushrooms and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown underneath, about 5 minutes. Turn mushrooms over and cook, undisturbed, until browned on the other side, about 5 minutes. Season mushrooms with ½ tsp. salt; transfer to a plate.
Step 2
Add 3 Tbsp. oil to same pot and add sausage, arranging in a single layer. Reduce heat to medium and cook, undisturbed, until browned underneath, about 3 minutes. Turn sausage over and cook on second side until browned, about 3 minutes. Add chopped fennel bulb, onion, carrots, celery, sliced garlic, and 1 tsp. salt and cook, stirring often until vegetables are softened but have not taken on any color, 10–12 minutes. Add thyme, paprika, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until paste darkens in color and begins to stick to the bottom of pot, about 1 minute.
Step 3
Stir mushrooms, lentils, and 1 tsp. salt into sausage mixture and add 8 cups water. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, leaving lid slightly askew, and continue to cook, stirring a few times, until most of the liquid has been absorbed and stew is thick and lentils are barely al dente, 25–30 minutes.
Step 4
Meanwhile, pulse bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form (the largest ones should be about ½"). Transfer breadcrumbs to a large rimmed baking sheet and arrange in an even layer. Drizzle with remaining ¼ cup oil and toss to evenly coat. Bake until deep golden brown, 25–30 minutes. Remove from oven and finely grate remaining 3 garlic cloves over breadcrumbs; toss to incorporate. Add fennel fronds (you want to have about ½ cup) and toss again to combine.
Step 5
Scatter half of breadcrumbs evenly over stew. Transfer pot to oven and cook stew, uncovered, until some of the breadcrumbs have cooked into the stew and stew is bubbling around the edges, 13–15 minutes.
Step 6
Scatter remaining breadcrumbs over stew and cook until stew is very thick, 10–15 minutes.
Step 7
Do Ahead: Kielbassoulet can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Reheat, uncovered, in a 350° oven.
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Reviews (33)
Back to TopI love kielbasa and am a big fan of Molly’s recipes so was excited to try this out, but unfortunately it ended up being underwhelming. I’ve never had traditional cassoulet which I’m guessing was part of the issue, as I was expecting this to be more of a stew. With that in mind, I wish I’d halved the lentils since 2 cups makes the dish pretty cloggy and stodgy. I enjoyed it most during the first bowl, but as leftovers the bread of course got soggy and you lost the textural difference that was a highlight when it was fresh. It’s not so bad that I’m not trying to finish the ample leftovers (enjoyed adding some Greek yogurt to it) but wouldn’t opt to make it a second time.
lnj
Philadelphia, PA
2/26/2020
Made this without the bread, so it was more of a stew, but really loved it. Been working on the leftovers for days and we’re not sick of it yet!
Kristine Eng
Philadelphia, PA
3/3/2020
Made a traditional cassoulet a couple of Christmases ago and loved it, so was happy to see a pretty "easy" version here. This turned out just okay. It was all one brown color with bits of orange carrot at the end and wasn't that appealing. Not sure if my bread got too browned, but the whole thing came out somewhat bitter. Everyone ate it, and agreed it was not their favorite, but we even took care of the left overs a couple of days later. Won't be doing this one again.
TXHusker
Texas
3/9/2020
Made this today and found it delicious. It makes a LOT of bassoulet, (at least 12 servings) but I think the leftovers will be very good. Chopping the vegetables takes a lot of time—maybe I’ll use food processor next time. And I would keep kielbasa amount same but reduce everything else a little, to produce a smaller but meatier dish. And I’ll cut the kielbasa into smaller pieces. I liked that I could cook it all in advance up to putting into the oven.
Anonymous
Chicago IL
3/16/2020
This turned out wonderfully for me. I didn't have a full two cups of lentils on hand so of neccessity I used only 1.25 cups and about 4-5 cups mix of chicken broth and water. Very high quality kielbasa is helpful. We get ours from Walden Meats, a meat share home-delivered available in New England. Cooking the tomato paste long enough to mellow is also key.
joandalton452051
Massachusetts
3/18/2020
Made this for my dad for Father's Day. I've never had a cassoulet so nothing to compare it to, but I like how this turned out. I cut the recipe in half, and sauteed the mushrooms with half butter, half oil. I deglazed the pot with red wine a few times, and used red lentils instead of green. They were really starchy but I personally enjoyed how thick it came out. Also did two cups veggie broth and two cups water. The veggie broth left me without a need for added salt. I did keep the Spanish paprika measurement the same though. As a whole this came out wonderfully.
dalex27
Pittsburgh, PA
6/22/2020
Pretty good dish, but I would make some adjustments. First, I would leave out the mushrooms. They are really expensive but dont really feel like they fit into or add anything to the dish. Second, make extra breadcrumbs. They really complete the dish and its nice to have some fresh with leftovers. Also I used 2 cups of beer as a replacement for one cup of water which was really good. Will definitely make again.
Frauline_Turnip
Wisconsin
6/28/2020