Green Bean Casserole

This homemade Green Bean Casserole recipe made without cream of mushroom soup. Easy and the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving dinner or any other holiday meal. If you’re looking to make a green bean casserole from scratch, this recipe is easy and delicious! It has homemade cream of mushroom, tender green beans, and crispy onions.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE RECIPE

Last year my goal was to make the entire Thanksgiving menu from scratch. Usually I don’t have such ambitious goals but I was having a moment.

For a long time, I had only ever made green bean casserole with canned beans and canned soup. You know, the classic green bean casserole everyone has to have at the Thanksgiving table but did they actually eat it?

While most people think cooking from scratch isn’t their thing, I enjoyed every single moment of the cooking process. My girls helped me snap all of the green beans. We spread out the bread to dry it out for the stuffing.

And the rolls – rolls are always a labor of love but SO worth it and maybe my favorite part of Thanksgiving.

This Green Bean Casserole is kind of my compromise. I didn’t make the crispy fried onions from scratch because why. Like really why when I can buy them and they taste better.

But the homemade cream of mushroom soup is actually so easy. It’s just a basic bechamel sauce: a roux (equal parts fat and flour) mixed with milk. My husband said this is the best green bean casserole he’s ever had, the star of the show. We have it at the holiday table every year.

FRENCH’S GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

This is very similar to French’s recipe but with fresh green beans and homemade cream of mushroom. This is semi-homemade because we use French’s onions.

HOW TO MAKE GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.

2. In a large microwave safe bowl, add the green beans and 3/4 cup water. Microwave on high for 5-8 minutes or until just tender. Drain the beans well and set aside.

3. In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper and cook until the mushrooms over medium-high heat until they have released their juice. Add the garlic, and cook for an additional 30 seconds. 

4. Sprinkle the flour on top and cook over medium heat for a minute. The mixture will be thick. Whisk in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cream and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until mixture thickens.

5. Pour sauce over green beans, 1/2 cup of the fried onions and toss well to combine. Pour into the prepared casserole dish. If making this ahead of time, cover and store in the fridge. You can even cook it in the next step and reheat and add the fried onions the day of.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until green beans are to desired doneness (I like mine on the more cooked side). For the last 5 minutes of cooking, sprinkle the remaining fried onions on top and cook until golden brown. 

For this sauce I started off with 4 tablespoons of butter to 4 tablespoons of flour. Seems like a lot maybe but we have 2 pounds of fresh beans. No canned mushy green beans here. I definitely prefer fresh but fresh or frozen green beans can be used here.

And fresh mushrooms which admittedly we left out last year because we had mushroom haters.

You simmer until the sauce is thick. The thicker the better in my opinion.

Pour it all together in a big bowl and toss to combine. 

Now if you’re making ahead of time just cover the green bean mixture and stick it in the fridge here.

See, that wasn’t hard at all. This recipe from scratch takes just as long as the other version and with crispy onion topping! Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until beans are done!

An easy homemade Green Bean Casserole that you can make!

CAN YOU MAKE GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE AHEAD OF TIME?

Yes. You can prepare the casserole ahead of time, baking the green beans and then reheating the day of and adding the French onions on top so they are crispy.

RECIPE TIPS:

Depending on how well done you like your green beans will determine how long you steam them before baking. If you like a crisper green bean cook for less time.

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