JB's Chicken Cassoulet (French Chicken & Bean Casserole)

Recipe video above. This is JB's gorgeously cosy chicken and bean casserole that is the sort of thing French people actually make at home. It's essentially an easy take on the famous French dish Cassoulet, with duck confit and Toulouse sausages swapped for chicken and bacon, and dried beans for canned. But he's kept all the wonderful flavours of cassoulet with tender meat, creamy beans, the crunchy topping (LOVE THIS!) and a beautiful tomato-based sauce that rich with wine and herbs.

It's got everything to make it a complete meal - protein, good-for-you-starch and vegetables - though that sauce is begging to be mopped up with crusty bread!

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: Baking, Chicken, Dinner, Mains

Cuisine: French

Keyword: chicken and bean stew, Chicken and beans casserole, Chicken cassoulet

Servings:

Calories: 739cal

Author: Nagi and JB

Ingredients

2 tbsp cornflour / cornstarch
800g / 1.75lb boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets , ~6 pieces (Note 1)
1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt , divided (half for table salt, 50% extra for flakes)
1 tsp black pepper , divided
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
200g / 7oz streaky bacon , cut into 1cm / 0.4" pieces
2 brown onion , finely chopped
2 carrots , peeled, quartered lengthways, cut into 1 cm / 0.4" thick pieces
3 garlic cloves , finely minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 thyme sprigs (substitute 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
2 rosemary sprigs , ~10cm / 4" long (substitute 1 tsp dried rosemary)
2 fresh bay leaves , or dried
1/4 cup chardonnay or other dry white wine , (sub low-sodium chicken stock)
1 1/2 cup chicken stock / broth , low-sodium (homemade if you want)
3 x 400g / 14oz cans cannellini beans , drained (or other beans)
12 cherry tomatoes

Topping

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs , substitute regular breadcrumbs
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley , substitute 2 tsp dried parsley
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt , (half for table salt, 50% extra for flakes)

Cups - Metric

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE

Make cornflour slurry with 1/4 cup stock. Cook bacon, remove. Brown chicken but don't cook through, remove. Sauté garlic, onion and carrot, then cook tomato paste and herbs. Deglaze with wine, add beans, stock, cornflour slurry, bacon, salt and pepper. Top with chicken and cherry tomatoes, bake 20 min at 200°C/390°F (180°C fan). Sprinkle with topping, grill/broiler 2 - 3 min to brown. Serve!

FULL RECIPE

Preheat oven to 200°C / 390°F (180°C fan-forced).
Slurry - Whisk the cornflour in a small bowl with 1/4 cup of the chicken stock until lump free. Set aside.
Season chicken - Sprinkle both sides of the chicken using 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Cook bacon - Heat the oil in a shallow 30cm / 12" ovenproof casserole dish over medium-high heat. (Note 2 for baking dish) Cook the bacon until golden (about 4 minutes), then transfer into a small bowl using a slotted spoon, leaving all the fat in the pan.
Brown chicken - Turn the heat up to high. Add more oil if the pan is looking dry (eg if you used lean bacon). Place the chicken into the pan, smooth side down and cook for 3 minutes until golden brown, flip then cook the other side for 1 minute. Remove onto a plate and set aside.
Sauté aromatics - Add the onion, garlic and carrot and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes until the onion has softened. Add the tomato paste, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Stir for 1 minute.
Deglaze - Add the wine and simmer for 30 seconds, scraping the base of the dish.
Add the rest of the stock, cornflour slurry (give it a quick stir to redistribute the cornflour), beans, cooked bacon and remaining salt and pepper. Stir until combined, place the chicken on top (pour over any juices pooled on the plate), smooth side up. Press the chicken down slightly. Scatter over the cherry tomatoes.
Bake - Bring it to a simmer, then place into the oven for 20 minutes, uncovered.
Topping - While the chicken is cooking, mix the topping ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Brown topping - Turn the oven grill on to 240°C / 460°F (220°C fan-forced). Pull the dish out and sprinkle the panko topping on top, avoiding the chicken and tomatoes. Place the dish back into the oven (15cm / 6" away from the grill) and leave for 2 to 3 minutes to allow the surface to brown.
Serve - Remove from the oven and serve hot!

Notes

1. Chicken - Chicken breast isn't the best for this dish because you can't be precise about the cook time to ensure it's not overcooked. However, it can be done, as follows: Split breast in half horizontally. Fully cook through in the pan after the bacon, then bake the beans without the chicken. Only put the chicken back on for the part when it goes under the grill/broiler - this will reheat it.

To use bone-in thighs, brown per the recipe and bake for 40 minutes.

2. Baking dish option - If you don't have a large oven proof pan, you can always transfer everything to a baking dish for the baking part.

Leftovers will keep for 3 days, though the crunchy bits will go soggy. But it's still beautiful! It can be frozen for 3 months.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.

Nutrition