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Green Bean Casserole
A homemade green bean casserole made from scratch with a creamy sauce and crispy fried onions. A classic old-fashioned Thanksgiving side dish recipe.
Growing up, I always had the green bean casserole straight from the back of the cream of mushroom soup can. There had to be a better way! I wanted to make a homemade from scratch green bean casserole that had all of the flavors, but used fresh ingredients. After some experimenting, I have to say that we were blown away by these creamy green beans with crispy onions! You will definitely forget you are eating a vegetable.
The key to a killer green bean casserole is to create layers upon layers of flavors. This all begins with sauteeing onions in a good amount of butter in order to caramelize them. Once the onions are tender and golden, the mushrooms are added to the pan to bring out their natural nutty flavors. Garlic is the ultimate flavor enhancer, bringing a punch to the sauce.
The cream sauce is made with half-n-half, spices, and flour or cornstarch to thicken it. It is a simple cream sauce, but the caramelized onions, mushrooms, garlic, and spices make it taste so savory.
The star ingredient is definitely the green beans. I use fresh green beans in this recipe and just snap off the stems. It is important to cook the green beans in boiling water before baking them with the sauce. This will give them the right amount of crispness! If you want the green beans to be a little more bite-size, I suggest cutting them in half.
If you want to use frozen or canned green beans, go for it! Canned green beans don’t need to be cooked ahead of time.
The green beans and creamy white sauce are topped with crisp fried onions. This is what brings another textural element to the dish while adding some salty goodness. These fried onions are addicting!
This Green Bean Casserole will be a huge hit at your Thanksgiving feast! Even if you don’t love green beans, you will love this green beans side dish.
If you are looking for more amazing Thanksgiving Recipes, click the recipes below:
- The Best Award-Winning Pumpkin Pie Recipe
- Caramel Apple Pie
- The Best Homemade Dinner Rolls
- Sweet Potato Brown Sugar Pecan Bake
- Gulliver’s Creamed Corn
- Cranberry Apple Sausage Stuffing
- Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
- Honey Butter Glazed Carrots
- Green Beans with Almonds
- All Butter Flaky Pie Crust Recipe
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Homemade Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Fresh Green Beans (ends snapped off)
- 8 Tablespoons Salted Butter (divided)
- 1 Large Onion (chopped)
- 8 ounces Sliced Mushrooms
- 3 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 2 1/2 cups Half n Half
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Flour or Cornstarch
- 2 cups Fried Onions (such as French's)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated (optional)
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat 4 Tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until tender and caramelized, about 7-8 minutes, stirring often. Add mushrooms and cook for 4 minutes longer. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
- After the onion-mushroom mixture has been removed, use the same skillet. Heat skillet to a medium heat and add remaining 4 Tablespoons of butter. Add flour or cornstarch and begin to quickly whisk the mixture. Let cook, whisking often, for about 2 minutes. Stir in half-n-half, salt, and pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes until mixture thickens. Taste and check for seasonings.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add green beans and cook for 6-7 minutes. Drain and transfer to ice bath to cool (optional).
- Add onion-mushroom mixture to cream sauce and stir. Add green beans and stir to coat. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if using. Pour into a 9 x 9 baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Remove from the oven and cover with fried onions. Bake for 5 minutes longer. Serve immediately, if possible.
Notes
- May use fresh, frozen or canned green beans. If using canned green beans, they don't need to be cooked ahead of time.
- Don't use anything less than half-n-half in these green beans as it creates a thick sauce.
- If you want bite-size green beans, cut the fresh green beans in half.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I hope you love this homemade creamy green bean casserole with fried onions!
I was looking specifically for a made from scratch (no canned soup) green bean casserole recipe. I am so glad I found this. It was hands down the best green bean casserole we have ever had. The only thing I did differently was I used a mixed peppercorn grinder instead of black pepper. We did use the parm as well. Amazing dish and will now become part of our family gatherings! Thank you.
Hi all – If you’re finding this turns out soupy for you, it’s because the roux is off. It’s a 1:1 ratio. Increase the flour to 4 TBS. Melt the butter, add the salt & pepper, then add 4 TBS. of flour – whisk as you slowly add the half & half. I also take my half & half out of the fridge as ai start prepping this recipe so it’s not such a hot to cold contrast. This recipe turns out absolutely delicious and perfect (and thick) with the above change – trust me. It’s my favorite!
Hello, I was wondering if this recipe can be made in advanced?
Absolutely! You can put it all together (except for the fried onions), place in the refrigerator, and bake the day of (don’t forget to add the fried onions). I hope this helps!
Oh my goodness! This green bean casserole is fabulous. Best I’ve ever had!
Thank you and Happy Holidays.
Can you please give some insight on whether or not this can be made ahead of time?!
You bet! You can make it ahead of time and do everything but bake it and top with the fried onions. The green beans will soak up some of the cream mixture once it is in the refrigerator but that is okay. If you desire, you can always add 1 Tablespoon of heavy cream before baking. I hope that helps! 🙂
This is a wow! I cut the butter down, did 2Tbs avocado oil for the veggies, then like others did 4Tbs butter and 4Tbs flour for the roux. I doubled the beans, used frozen haricot vert, but thawed before cooking. It was wonderful! Thank you!!!!
Can this dish be prepared in the morning and reheated mid-day before eating? If so. would it be best to refrigerate and then re-heat or leave covered with foil on counter until re-heating if only a couple hours? Thanks in advance!
Can you put this together ahead of time and bake the day of?
I made this for the first time tonite.
It was amazing. The only changes I made was using mini portabella mushrooms and adding 1 tsp of soy sauce to the cream sauce and adding about a 1/4 cup of crispy onions to the casserole like the classic recipe. I will never buy canned soup again. Simply amazing thank you!
Made tonight. Flavors are great but it came out much more soupy than I expected. I followed the directions to a tee so I’m not sure what happened. Even after removing a few ladles of the liquid prior to cooking, it was too wet. Regardless, it’s yummy!
I made this for an early Thanksgiving last weekend, and felt it was kind of runny when the sauce was still on the stove. I just added some more corn starch before I moved it to the casserole dish. It ended up being thick enough when done. I don’t know how much I added, I just shook a little in. I’d guess 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons though.
Can heavy cream be used in place of half and half?
Hey Cassandra,
Pardon my ignorance, but being a South African I am not familiar with Half n Half. I am guessing that it is half milk half cream. Please confirm. Looks like a great dish, and as we grow our own green beans can’t wait to try it out