Sausage and White Bean Skillet

The recipe and photography for this post was provided by Carolyn Hodges of The Dinner Shift.

This is a weeknight-friendly version of a classic slow-cooked French casserole known as cassoulet. A traditional cassoulet requires preparations to begin at least two days in advance and calls for a variety of meats, including duck confit and sausage. Needless to say, we’re not throwing down classic French cassoulet on a Tuesday, but we can certainly use it as inspiration for a very satisfying and comforting one-skillet meal.

This one-pan wonder comes together in about 45 minutes using a handful of fresh ingredients and quite a few from your pantry. To build big flavor fast, be sure to spend time deglazing the pan, scraping up all the delicious browned bits to season the sauce. I also like to use Heinen’s Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes which add depth of flavor.

I’m using chicken sausage in this recipe, but you can certainly swap in pork sausage. Pork sausage has a higher fat content, so you likely will not need to sauté it in olive oil. Simply remove the casings and brown it in the pan. Depending on how much fat it renders, you can cook the vegetables in the drippings and add olive oil as needed.

Sausage and White Bean Skillet

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

• ¼ cup olive oil, divided
• 18 oz. Gerber’s Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage Links, casings removed
• ½ large onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 ½ tsp. dried thyme
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 14.5 oz. can of reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 14.5 oz. can of Heinen’s Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
• 2 15 oz. cans of Heinen’s Organic Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• ⅛ tsp. salt

Instructions

1. Preheat broiler.
2. In a large oven-safe skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken sausage and brown, crumbling into smaller pieces using the back of a wooden spoon.
3. When sausage is browned, add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of olive oil and the onion, carrots and celery. Continue to sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the garlic, tomato paste, thyme and salt and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add half the can of chicken broth to deglaze the pan. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan for about 2 minutes. Add remaining broth, diced tomatoes and beans. Bring mixture to a simmer and season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue to cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often.
5. In a small dish, combine the breadcrumbs, olive oil and salt. Sprinkle over the top of the sausage and white beans and carefully transfer pan to the broiler. Broil for 1-2 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs turn golden brown.

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