| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 55 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Inactive: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 55 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Inactive: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, cut in 1/2 through the bone
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 pound slab bacon, sliced into large lardons
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 cups cooked Northern white beans
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 tomato, sliced very thinly
- Garlic Bread Crumbs, recipe follows
- 1 baguette, sliced, for serving
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 slices slightly stale or dried bread, pulsed into crumbs in food processor
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse and dry the chicken well and season with salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- In a large Dutch oven, over medium-low heat, add the bacon and slowly render the fat. Remove the bacon to a plate when crispy, leaving the fat in the pan. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken on both sides and then remove to a plate. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with white wine and reduce by half. Stir in the beans, bay leaf and thyme. Nestle the chicken thighs and bacon into the pot. Add the chicken stock, cover and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the lid and top the cassoulet with sliced tomatoes and the Garlic Bread Crumbs. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, 15 minutes longer. Serve the cassoulet with baguette slices.
- In a small saute pan over low heat, add the oil and the garlic. Stir until the oil is fragrant, about 1 minute. Toss in the bread crumbs and cook until the bread crumbs start to turn golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from heat.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1411 |
| Total Fat | 65 g |
| Saturated Fat | 18 g |
| Carbohydrates | 126 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 21 g |
| Sugar | 13 g |
| Protein | 76 g |
| Cholesterol | 227 mg |
| Sodium | 1513 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1411 |
| Total Fat | 65 g |
| Saturated Fat | 18 g |
| Carbohydrates | 126 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 21 g |
| Sugar | 13 g |
| Protein | 76 g |
| Cholesterol | 227 mg |
| Sodium | 1513 mg |
Reviews
Lots of flavor!! Used boneless skinless thighs. Added can of diced oven roasted tomatoes before putting in oven for 30 minutes and eliminated sliced tomatoes. Used 2 cans rinsed black beans, as did not have northern beans. Did not add bread crumbs. Would be great served with bread as suggested. Will definitely make again!!
I absolutely love this recipe! Melissa does it again! Only made a couple of additions. Added 1/2 tsp. allspiceto the veggie mixture ,added slices of smoked sausage to the top, then made some anchovy breadcrumbs for the topping. It was a hit! My dinner guests loved it ♥️
I love this recipe so much and have been making it for years. I follow the recipe exactly except that I don’t put on tomato slices and I stir in one tablespoon of tomato paste instead, as I always have some in the freezer and don’t like to use tomatoes when they’re out of season. I also don’t make the croutons. It’s so flavorful without being too fussy, although I wouldn’t say I have the time to whip this up after work.
Amazing recipe; have been making this for years and we love it. Use skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut into large cubes. Drain most of the bacon fat, leaving only enough to saute the veg. Use fresh thyme, 2 cans of rinsed and drained great northern beans, and instead of the sliced tomatoes, I add a can of petite diced tomatoes at same time as broth and bake for 30 minutes from that point on. I skip the garlic breadcrumb part and just serve the stew with some nice garlic bread and a good chardonnay wine. Just Beautiful!
We love this recipe, especially on a cold, wintry day. Yes, removing part of the fat is a good idea. For those that felt the thyme was too strong, try using a couple sprigs of fresh instead of the dried. Also, I usually skip the tomatoes and only occasionally take the time to add the breadcrumbs (I ‘m gluten free). But always add more beans to make the dish more like a hearty stew and often include rope sausage or smoked pork. Love it as is, but don’t be afraid to experiment.
If you substitute sliced bacon for slab bacon there will be more drippings because slab bacon is meatier. This is the likely reason some people found this greasy. That said I love this dish. So comforting and hearty with amazing flavor.
I make this dish all lot…especially when I’m having company. Sometimes I include rice to add a little bit of substance because it’s just chicken and veggies. I ALWAYS double or tripple the sauce because there tends to not enough in my opinion. I also do 2 thighs per person because they tend to shrink in the oven.
This dish really lives up to the 5 star rating. It was fantastic. I tripled this recipe because I was hosting 10 people so I wanted to post some helpful notes if you plan to do the same. Increasing the recipe meant my cooking time took FOOORREEVVVEEERRR. But don’t let that dissuade you. Because I was hosting the party on a Monday night and I usually work until 5, I prepared everything to the point it was ready to go in the oven the day before and then put in the fridge. I increased the covered bake time to ~50 minutes since it was coming out of the fridge and not already hot but then I only had to let it bake and add the tomatoes and breadcrumbs before my guests arrived. Also, since I increased the proportions it wouldn’t fit in my dutch oven so I just transferred everything into a covered roaster and that worked just fine. I was worried these adjustments would ruin such a classic dish but it still turned out delicious so this is a great make-ahead option for entertaining.
I’ve wanted to make this for a long time because the recipe sounded awesome and I generallly like everything Melissa makes. Very disappointing. The ratio of celery, carrots and onion is way off with the beans. If I ever made it again I would cut the veggie quantity in half. I also used only half the thyme and it was still too strong. Should have paid attention to the comments and drained the bacon grease before browning the chicken. It was so greasy I ended up removing the skin before putting it in the oven. Just not my cup of tea at all.
Easy to make and I used skinless chicken breasts and one can of beans. I also used just regular Italian bread crumbs since I worked all day and didn’t want to spend the time making bread crumbs. Give this one a try for easy weekday meal. Nice flavor. Enjoy!