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National Cassoulet Day

Food · January 9

A day for cassoulet, the slow-baked French casserole of white beans and meats, and for the long, patient cooking that makes it.

National Cassoulet Day falls on Saturday, January 9, 2027. That is 74 days away.

Cassoulet is a slow-cooked casserole from southwestern France, built on white beans and several kinds of meat. Pork, sausage and duck or goose confit are the usual company, all baked together until the beans turn soft and rich.

It is not a quick dish. Cooks often spread the work over a day or two, soaking the beans, browning the meats and letting everything bake for hours. As it cooks, a crust forms on top. Many cooks stir that crust back into the pot and let a new one form, sometimes more than once. The name comes from the cassole, the deep earthenware pot it was traditionally baked in.

The result is heavy in the best sense, the kind of food that makes a cold evening feel planned. It is usually served straight from the pot at the table, with bread and not much else, because there is no room for much else.

Towns in the region have their own versions and opinions about what belongs in the pot, and those opinions are held firmly. At home, people make it their own way, with whatever beans and sausages the local store carries. A smaller pot works too, and so does a slow cooker, though the crust is harder to coax out of one.

Leftovers are often said to taste better on the second day, after the flavors have settled overnight.

Ways to celebrate

• Try baking a simple cassoulet with white beans and sausage.
• Order cassoulet at a local French restaurant or bistro.
• Share a pot of cassoulet with friends at a slow dinner.
• Look up a regional cassoulet recipe and compare the ingredients.
• Save some leftovers and taste them again the next day.

Dates

All national days on January 9

Also on January 9

• National Apricot Day
• National Static Electricity Day
• Balloon Ascension Day
• National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day
• National Word Nerd Day

Categories: Food days