Recipe · 28 October 2026
Duck Confit Cassoulet
A slow-baked French cassoulet of white beans, confit duck legs, Toulouse sausages and pork belly, with a golden crust on top. A generous, make-ahead centrepiece for a winter dinner party.
- Serves 6
- Prep 40 min
- Cook 240 min
- Total 280 min
- Main course
- French
Suits
- Dairy free
- Gluten free without the breadcrumbs (check the sausages)
For the beans
- 500g dried white beans, such as haricot, lingot or Tarbais, soaked overnight in plenty of cold water
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 carrot, peeled and halved
- 1 bouquet garni (a few sprigs of thyme, 2 bay leaves and some parsley stalks, tied together)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
For the cassoulet
- 4 confit duck legs, plus 3 tbsp of their fat
- 400g pork belly, rind removed, cut into large chunks
- 6 Toulouse sausages, or other coarse, garlicky pork sausages
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 60g fresh white breadcrumbs (optional)
- Salt and black pepper
Cassoulet is the great bean dish of the Languedoc in south west France, named after the cassole, the glazed earthenware dish it is traditionally baked in. It is slow food in the best sense: white beans cooked gently with aromatics, then layered with confit duck legs, garlicky Toulouse sausages and pork belly and baked for hours until the beans are creamy and a deep golden crust forms on top. This version uses ready-made confit duck legs, which you can buy in tins or vacuum packs, to keep it manageable at home. It is even better made a day ahead and reheated, which makes it a brilliant dinner party main for a cold night. Serve it with nothing more than a sharp green salad and a glass of red.
Method
- 1
Drain the soaked beans and put them in a large pan with the halved onion, carrot, bouquet garni and 2 whole garlic cloves. Cover with fresh cold water by about 5cm, bring to the boil, skim off any foam, then simmer gently for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the beans are just tender but still holding their shape. Don't add salt yet, as it can toughen the skins. Drain, keeping the cooking liquid, and discard the vegetables and herbs.
Simmer the beans until just tender - 2
Heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan). Warm the duck legs gently in a pan or the oven so you can scrape off 3 tablespoons of their fat. In a large frying pan or casserole, heat the duck fat and brown the pork belly well on all sides, then lift it out. Brown the sausages in the same fat, then lift them out and cut each one in half.
Brown the pork belly and sausages in duck fat - 3
Lower the heat and cook the chopped onion in the remaining fat for 8 to 10 minutes until soft and golden. Add the chopped garlic and tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir this into the beans and season with salt and pepper.
- 4
Spread a third of the beans over the base of a large, deep ovenproof dish or casserole. Add the pork belly and sausages, then another layer of beans. Push the duck legs into the beans, skin side up, and top with the remaining beans so just the tops of the duck show. Pour in enough of the stock and reserved bean liquid, mixed, to come just below the top of the beans.
Push the duck legs into the beans - 5
Bake, uncovered, for 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours. Every 45 minutes or so, a crust will form on top: break it gently with the back of a spoon and push it down into the beans, adding a little more stock or bean liquid if the cassoulet looks dry. For the last 30 minutes, scatter over the breadcrumbs, if using, and leave the crust to turn deep golden.
- 6
Leave the cassoulet to rest for 15 minutes before serving straight from the dish, with a crisp green salad dressed with a mustard vinaigrette.
Tips
Make it ahead. Cassoulet tastes even better the next day. Cool it, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat it, covered, at 160°C (140°C fan) for about an hour until piping hot all the way through, then uncover for the last 20 minutes to re-crisp the top, adding a splash of stock if it looks dry. The beans. Tarbais beans are the traditional choice but are hard to find in the UK. Good dried haricot beans work very well. In a hurry, you can use 4 x 400g tins of cannellini or haricot beans, drained, and skip step 1, though the texture won't be quite as creamy. The duck. Confit duck legs are sold in tins, jars and vacuum packs in larger supermarkets, delis and online. Keep any leftover duck fat for roast potatoes. Breadcrumbs or not. Cooks in different towns of the Languedoc disagree about whether breadcrumbs belong on a cassoulet. Without them, the crust forms naturally from the beans and the fat. Both are delicious. To serve. Cassoulet is rich, so keep everything else simple: a bitter leaf salad, good bread and a robust red wine from the south of France.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is cassoulet?
Cassoulet is a slow-baked dish of white beans with meat, usually confit duck, pork and sausages, from the Languedoc region of south west France. It is named after the cassole, the earthenware dish it is traditionally cooked in.
Can I make cassoulet with tinned beans?
Yes. Use 4 x 400g tins of haricot or cannellini beans, drained, and skip cooking the dried beans. The cassoulet will be ready sooner, though the beans won't be quite as creamy.
Where can I buy confit duck legs?
Larger supermarkets, delis, butchers and online food shops sell confit duck legs in tins, jars or vacuum packs. They keep well and only need warming through.
Can I make cassoulet the day before?
Yes, and it improves overnight. Cool, cover and refrigerate it for up to 2 days, then reheat covered until piping hot and uncover for the last 20 minutes to crisp the top.
What do you serve with cassoulet?
A crisp green salad with a sharp vinaigrette and some crusty bread. Cassoulet is rich and filling, so it doesn't need potatoes or other sides.
Can you freeze cassoulet?
Yes. Cool it quickly and freeze in portions for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
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