Description
A veggie-full French cassoulet full of good French flavor made with mixed beans with a nice crust of crunchy breadcrumbs on top, this hearty, healthy dish can be easily customized for almost any diet.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 – 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 – 2 strips bacon (optional)
- 2 chicken (or vegan) sausage links, chopped
- 2 – 4 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
- 1/4 of a large onion, peeled & chopped
- 8 oz. fresh baby bella mushrooms, sliced and roughly chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled & chopped
- 2 – 2 1/2 cups cauliflower broken into small florets
- 1 pint home-canned tomatoes (or 1 15-oz. can of tomatoes), with juices
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- A few fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
- 2 – 2 1/2 cups cooked mixed beans (I used my Instant Pot beans-recipe here)
- Salt, cayenne & freshly ground pepper, to taste
- For the crunchy topping: 1/2 – 3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs (or crushed rice chex) mixed with 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan or 1 Tablespoon olive oil (for a vegan option)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a large saute pan, add the olive oil, then the bacon (if using) and chopped sausage. Cook until the bacon is cooked and sausage is browned. Remove the meat and drain any excess oil from the pan.
- Add the onion and garlic and saute briefly, then add the mushrooms. Cook and stir to coat the mushrooms with oil, then cover and cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender. Add the carrots, celery and cauliflower. Stir and cook for several minutes until the veggies start to get tender.
- Stir in the tomatoes, bay leaf and herbs. Bring to a boil, then add the beans. Cook for about 10 minutes, then taste and add salt, a bit of cayenne and/or black pepper to taste. Pour into a casserole pan.
- Bake at 375 F. for 25 minutes; then fish out the bay leaf and add the crunchy topping and bake 25 minutes more or until the topping is nicely browned. Serve hot!
Notes
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