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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!
Happy Thanksgiving 🦃Should I bake it covered or uncovered?
Happy Thanksgiving, Kathleen! Great question! I suggest baking the green bean casserole uncovered so the topping crisps up and the sauce thickens. If you find that the topping is browning too quickly before the casserole is heated through, you can loosely cover it with foil for part of the baking time, then uncover it for the last 5-10 minutes to crisp up the top.
HI,
If I am using french style green beans 14.5 oz cans, how many cans would you recommend?
Thank you
Hi Kari! I would say it would be a least 2 and possibly 3 cans of green beans. If you want a saucier green bean casserole, you can go with 2 but you may want 3, depending on how many people you are feeding. I hope that helps and Happy Thanksgiving!
Have you tried adding bacon to this recipe?
Hi McKenna! That would be DELICIOUS! I would add about 4 slices of crumbled crispy bacon to the top when you remove it from the oven…or you can mix it into the mushroom gravy mixture. It would stay crispy, if you just sprinkle it on the top though. Great idea!
Hi Melissa! I am going to triple the recipe and bake in a large lasagna plan. Should I adjust the cooking time in the oven?
Hi Kathleen! Since it will be thicker, you may want to add 5-7 more minutes of baking time. I like to watch for the green bean casserole to bubble on the sides to signal that it is fully warmed throughout. I hope this helps!
Would you follow the doubled recipe exactly? I feel like 16 tablespoons of butter is a ton..
Hi Carley! If you would like to reduce the amount of butter, this is what I would suggest doing. Instead of sauteeing the onion in 4 Tablespoons of butter (if doubling the recipe, that is 8 Tablespoons of butter), I would suggest halving that amount of butter…so you would use 2 Tablespoons (use 4 Tablespoons if doubling) so that will save you 4 Tablespoons overall and you end up using 12 Tablespoons of butter total. I hope that helps!
Do you use white or yellow onions?
Hi Donna! I have made this homemade green bean casserole many times with different onions. I generally use sweet yellow onions or red onions in the recipe. I hope you love it! Happy Thanksgiving!
Sounds like a delicious recipe. I have a ton of heavy cream in the fridge already. Would this still be good with heavy cream instead of 1/2 and 1/2?
Hi Sarah! Absolutely, that would be delicious! It will be a richer, creamier sauce which will taste so good. I hope you love it!
Hi Melissa! Am I able to prep this, leave refrigerated over night and then bake the next morning?
Hi Audrey! Absolutely! You can prep everything, except don’t add the crispy fried onions yet because we want those to stay crispy, so we add them very last. But this green bean casserole is perfect to make ahead of time. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hello- can this be halved ?
Absolutely! You can half the recipe, no problem.
Hello! I am looking to try this for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Would this be a dish that I could possibly make before hand, like the day before, and have it turn out nicely for the dinner table the next day? Thanks!
Hi Catherine! Great question! Yes, I usually make my green bean casserole the day before. This is what I do…I make the cream sauce the day before. You can also cook your green beans and fold them into the cream sauce and then cover and refrigerate overnight. You can bake it the day of and then top it with the fried onions. I hope that helps!
This casserole was a hit for Easter Dinner 2024 it was easy to make. I added the mushrooms, onion, and bacon bits with the French onions to this recipe it was Delicious 😋 I will make it again!