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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!
Made for Thanksgiving this year and it was SO GOOD! I added thyme and a pinch of red pepper flakes which added the perfect amount of flavor. Making this my new staple Green Bean Casserole!
Wonderful
I made this for Thanksgiving today! So delicious! I used non dairy substitutes even and it still turned out awesome :).
Listen, thank you sooo much for this recipe! It was shared with me by a friend some years ago. I thought I lost the recipe this year but I’m soo glad I found it! Y’all, this recipe is such a hit, I’m making 3 pans right now for thanksgiving dinner this evening to make sure everyone gets some! Easy to make and soo yummy!
I’m not used to cooking with salted butter, so adding 1 tsp of salt was a little too much for me. I added about a 1/4 cup more of the half &half to cut the salt and cooked the sauce a little longer which seemed to help. I would suggest either sweet butter or cutting the salt by half. Anyway, still delicious and will definitely go in my sides roatation and not just for holidays! 😋
Just made this, and entire family loved it, even the littlest kids. I used a pound-plus of fresh green beans, and a mix of baby crimini, trumpet, and brown Shimeji mushrooms. I also used a little less grated Parmesan and fried onions—it was fabulous! Next time, would decrease half and half to 2 cups.
Absolutely the best ever bean casserole. Si easy to make my son loves green bean casserole and I wanted to try a new recipe. I used fresh green beans. I love pintrest . Who needs a cookbook anymore. Wonderful recipes..
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hands down- the best green bean casserole I’ve ever had!
If I am doing 1.5 of the recipe should I still use a 9×9?
I just made your green bean casserole. I usually just wing it. It was so easy, the sauce was beautifully silky. When I poured it into my casserole dish I told my husband that it would be nice with seafood in it. Thank you.