Vegetarian white bean cassoulet
White beans, browned mushrooms and soft vegetables baked under a crunchy golden crumb topping, the French farmhouse casserole made meatless and very cozy.
- 70 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $1.79 a serving
- 340 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup grated parmesan (optional)
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 340 calories, 16 g protein, 49 g carbs and 10 g fat, and costs about $1.79 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No baby bella mushrooms? White mushrooms work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a or large oven-safe pot over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring only now and then, until and their liquid is gone.
Dutch oven. A Dutch oven is a heavy pot, usually enameled cast iron, with a tight-fitting lid. It holds heat evenly, so it’s great for soups, stews and anything that simmers a long time.
How you’ll know: Any large, heavy pot with a lid does the same job if you don’t have one.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: Leave them alone for the first few minutes. Mushrooms need time on the hot pan to brown.Turn the heat to medium, add the onion, carrot, celery and of salt, and cook 8 minutes, until soft.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Medium heatTimer: 8 min
Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, thyme and smoked paprika and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until the paste darkens.
Medium heat
Add the beans, broth, the rest of the salt and the pepper, , and mash a few beans with your spoon.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heat
No oven-safe pot? Pour it into a 9x13-inch baking dish now.
the panko with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the parmesan and sprinkle it evenly over the beans.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
uncovered 25 to 30 minutes, until the crumbs are and the edges bubble.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 25 min
Let it sit 5 minutes, then scatter parsley over the top and serve.
Timer: 5 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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