A hearty Polish stew of white beans simmered with smoked sausage, bacon, and a tomato base seasoned with marjoram and bay. Thick, smoky, and filling, it is comfort food often eaten as a stand-alone meal. Despite the 'Breton' name it is a thoroughly Polish staple.
'Breton-style beans' — white beans stewed with sausage and bacon in a tomato-and-marjoram sauce. Despite the French name, it is a thoroughly Polish 20th-century comfort dish, a staple of canteens, the bar mleczny and camp kitchens.
Creamy beans soak up a smoky, marjoram-laced tomato sauce dotted with chunks of sausage and bacon. Each spoonful is thick, savory, and deeply warming. Mopped up with crusty bread, it is pure rib-sticking comfort.
Slow simmering lets the starchy beans absorb the smoky sausage fat and tomato, thickening the stew naturally as some beans break down. Marjoram and bay are the aromatic backbone that defines the Polish version.
Variations
Extra-smoky kiełbasa versions, spicier paprika-tinged takes, vegetarian bean-only versions, thicker baked finishes
On the Palate
Where Fasolka po Bretońsku sits in the Polish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · 20 min
- 110 min
Soak the white beans overnight, then drain.
- 250 min
Simmer the beans in fresh water until tender.
Watch outSimmer the beans until a squeezed one is creamy through with no chalky center — undercooked beans stay hard even after the tomato goes in.
- 38 min
Fry diced bacon until the fat renders, then add chopped onion.
Watch outRender the bacon slowly until its fat runs clear and the bits turn golden — that rendered fat is the backbone of the flavor.
- 45 min
Add sliced smoked sausage and brown lightly.
- 54 min
Stir in tomato paste and a little of the bean cooking liquid.
- 65 min
Combine with the cooked beans and season with marjoram and bay.
- 725 min
Simmer gently so the flavors meld and the stew thickens.
Watch outLet it simmer until some beans break down and the liquid coats a spoon — that natural thickening, not flour, is what makes it right.
- 84 min
Adjust seasoning and serve hot with bread.
