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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!
Hi! I plan to make this for my thanksgiving this year, I’m excited to try it! I plan to do a triple batch and I have an XL casserole dish, I’m not sure what the dimensions are but it’s a bit longer, wider, and deeper than a 9×13. Would you recommend using that or a 9×9 and a 9×13? Does the dish affect how it cooks drastically? I could also potentially do 3 9x9s instead.
Hi Lisa, I love your green bean casserole I made it last year but this time I would like to know if I can put baby Bella mushroom instead of white mushrooms?
I made it with baby Bella’s and it was delicious!
Hi! If I wanted to add bacon to this, what step should I do that?
Hi Leah! I would add it at the very end of the sauce just to add some flavor or if you want them to be crunchy, you can sprinkle them over the top.
Can you tell me what kind of mushrooms to use?
Hi Denise! I like to use white button mushrooms in the green bean casserole. When I am making it for kids, I like to dice up the mushrooms. Hope you love it!
Would you still bake this for 30 min at 350° if it was prepped the day before? Not sure if the temp coming out of the fridge would need a longer cooking time. I make this every year and it’s awesome but this year I want to make ahead of time. Thank you!
I made two different recipes this year and this one was by far the best. Even using frozen green beans kept the recipe feeling fresh.
Awww thanks so much, Kelley! I am so happy that you loved it. It is a family favorite too…so much flavor! Happy Thankskgiving!
Hi there!
Is it possible to make this ahead of time and bake on Thanksgiving?
Hi Lisa! I make this ahead of time every single year and it works out great. Let me share some tips…you can make the mushroom sauce days ahead and just put it in the refrigerator in a covered container. You could cook the green beans days ahead of time and toss them with the mushroom sauce put them in the baking dish and cover them until you are ready to bake the day of. Then, you top it with the french fried onions and bake when ready to serve. I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more questions. 🙂
Thank you so much for getting back to me! I’m excited to try this dish! It looks delicious!!
If I double this, will a 9×13 be sufficient?
Hi Austin! It will just make a thicker green bean casserole but you should be able to hit a doubled batch in a 9 x 13 pan. I hope you love it!
Can these be frozen ahead?
Hi Nancy! I haven’t tried freezing it but I bet it would work. I just wouldn’t include the french fried onions. You can make the mushroom sauce up to 5 days ahead of time and just keep it in the refrigerator.
If I use heavy cream instead of half and half, do I still need the flour?
Hi Priscilla! I love the idea of using half-n-half or heavy cream, which will make a richer sauce. You will still need some flour but you can reduce to 1 Tablespoon of flour or cornstarch.
Best way to make ahead and reheat day of?
Hi Jessica! Great question! This is an easy make ahead dish. I suggest making everything ahead of time except don’t add the french fried onions to the top. We want those to be nice and crunchy. So you can assemble everything (cooked green beans, mushroom sauce) and place in a covered baking dish in the refrigerator. On Thanksgiving day, you can remove it from the refrigerator, top it with french fried onions, and heat it. I hope that helps!