Easy Vegan Cassoulet

This quick 30 minute Easy Vegan Cassoulet recipe is bursting with French flavor. Beans are slow simmered in a flavorful sauce and then topped with golden brown breadcrumbs to make the perfect side to dinner. A few vegan hacks allow us to make this recipe feel traditional while omitting the meat.

Cassoulet. The big, hearty, french casserole to proceed all casseroles, is better than all other casseroles, and tastes like no other casserole. It is the casserole of casseroles.

It originates from the south of France, and can anything coming from the motherland of champagne, chocolate souffle, and croissant be anything but delightful?

Cassoulet is a dish made of stewed beans and meats, but for this version, we say au revoir to the meats and amp up the flavor and texture of the beans to make them the star. Then, in a happy turn of fate, the top gets scattered with herbed breadcrumbs and the whole thing is baked off to golden brown perfection.  The end result is a big pot of warm, rich, stick-to-your-ribs winter comfort food, French style.

Just picture this, walking a big dish of this out to the dinner table, the sauce is bubbling gently around the edges of the baking dish, the top is golden brown and visibly buttery. You take a rustic spoon into the dish and begin to serve your guests. The sauce coating the beans is thick and glossy, the smells are intensely savory and rich. The ooohs and ahhhhs from your friends are audible.

Close your eyes and you will see the rustic French castles, deeply purple lavender fields, the bright blue Mediterranean sea...

Your guests think that you have spent the entire day cooking in the kitchen, but you haven't because this is an EASY vegan cassoulet recipe, because you know by now that we are all about the most flavor bang in the smallest amount of time.

This Easy Vegan Cassoulet is a simple recipe with few ingredients and straightforward flavors. So let me say one thing. Choose high quality ingredients for this recipe.

Since there are few ingredients with simple flavors, we need each one to shine on its own, before cooking.

For the herbs, choose the brightest green thyme and rosemary that you can find.

For the stock, make sure it is a vegetable stock that has a deep hearty flavor (I use homemade or mushroom stock), and pass, on those that fall flat.

And for the bread, make sure it is one that you like to eat plain jane. Most gluten-free breads are well... of questionable taste and texture, but find one that you love or make your own. If you are not gluten-free, opt for a crusty French loaf in the bakers section.

There are a few very non-traditional elements in this recipe. Steps that I added and tweaked to create a traditional feeling end result without the animal products.

First, drain the beans, but do not rinse them. We want some of that, well, slimy water still in tact. Since we are foregoing the gelatinous duck fat and meat, this viscous bean water will help to thicken up the sauce and give it a beautiful glossy and smooth texture.

Second, liquid aminos. This gluten-free soy sauce substitute adds depth of flavor miles deep to the recipe. It adds that umami taste that we would otherwise be missing by omitting the meat. Liquid aminos is much less salty and more flavorful than regular soy sauce or tamari. I am usually one to go with the flow when it comes to substitutions in my recipes. Don't like one thing, swap it out for another! With this recipe, however, I am siding with the rule followers. I do not recommend substituting or omitting the liquid aminos from the recipe.

I can see Provence now...

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Easy Vegan Cassoulet

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• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 people 1x
• Category: Side Dish
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: French

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Description

This quick 30 minute Easy Vegan Cassoulet recipe is bursting with French flavor. Beans are slow simmered in a flavorful sauce and then topped with golden brown breadcrumbs to make the perfect side to dinner. A few vegan hacks allow us to make this recipe feel traditional while omitting the meat.

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Ingredients

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• 4 teaspoons good quality vegan butter, divided
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 stalk celery, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans great northern beans, drained but NOT rinsed
• 1 cup good quality mushroom stock OR homemade broth
• 2 leaves bay
• 3 teaspoon sprigs thyme plus 1 teaspoon leaves, divided
• 1 teaspoon thinly sliced sage
• 1 teaspoon minced rosemary
• 1 ½ tablespoons liquid aminos
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• 2 slices good quality gluten free OR French bread

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Instructions

1. In a pot, melt 2 teaspoons of the vegan butter over medium heat. Add in the shallot and celery. Cook until the vegetables are softened and translucent, about 7 minutes. Add in the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
2. Add in the beans, broth, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, sage, rosemary, liquid aminos, and white pepper. Bring the mixture up to a simmer, and simmer until the sauce has thickened and reduced, about 15 minutes.
3. While the beans are simmering, add the bread, remaining butter and thyme to a food processor. Process until the bread has broken down into breadcrumbs.
4. Add the reduced beans into a casserole dish. Top with the breadcrumbs and broil in the oven until the top is golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Watch this step carefully as the breadcrumbs can go from golden to burned very quickly. Serve.

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Notes

• As this recipe is simple, be sure to choose high quality ingredients for maximum flavor!
• When draining your beans, put them into a colander and give them a gentle shake to remove excess bean liquid. Leave whatever liquid that clings to the beans in place. This will help us thick our sauce.