Green bean casserole is a classic Thanksgiving side dish that never seems to get old. Although the condensed soup version of the green bean casserole recipe seems to be pretty popular, the homemade, from scratch, version is pretty easy to make and well worth the extra effort! Really it is as easy as sauteing some onions and mushrooms and then making a quick creamy broth before continuing to mix in the green beans and bake until golden brown. When you take the time to make it yourself, you can take a few extra steps to build up the flavour. Once the onions and mushrooms are just cooked you could move on to the next step but cooking them a bit longer until they caramelize a bit will pack in a wallop of flavour! For the sauce you can go with all cream or you can add some more flavour by using some broth and of course some white wine will help you deglaze the pan. Cheese is always a welcome addition to the creamy sauce and you can change things up by using different a cheese every once in a while. The french fried onion topping is one of my favourite parts of the green bean casserole and they are also the one part that I am willing to go with pre-made for as they can be a bit of work to make yourself. You really cannot go wrong with green beans and creamy mushrooms!
Green Bean Casserole
Green beans baked in a creamy mushrooms sauce and topped with golden brown bread crumbs and french fried onions in this classic Thanksgiving side dish that is really easy to make from scratch.
ingredients
- 2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup gruyere or cheddar (optional), grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup french fried onions
directions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, add the green beans, cook until they just start to turn tender and plunge then them into cold water.
- Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the onions and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms start to caramelize, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- Sprinkle then mix the flour in and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the white wine and deglaze the pan.
- Add the broth and cream and simmer until it thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the cheese and let it melt, season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.
- Mix the green beans into the mushroom sauce and pour into a baking dish.
- Mix the melted butter, bread crumbs and french fried onions and sprinkle onto the casserole.
- Bake in a preheated 400F/200C oven until the sides are bubbling and the top is golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.
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An upscale version of the classic Campbell’s soup casserole! This makes me think of those tongue-in-cheek “blue plate” offerings at fancy restaurants, like poutine made with purple potatoes and chevre, or burgers made with Kobe beef. This is like a green bean casserole a la Jamie Kennedy. Well done!
I love green bean casserole! And now you’ve made it fancy and I just love that. I am printing this out and saving it for Thanksgiving.
It’s a shame onion rings don’t last, eh?
i love green bean casserole, though i prefer the completely homemade over the ones that use the canned stuff. this is pretty much on almost every dinner table around thanksgiving here in the US!
YUM! I love GBC…growing up we always had it for Thanksgiving. But that was the only time…
Ahh, something familiar.
You don’t have FRENCH FRIED ONIONS there? It’s only Canada, not Nepal or something. Geez, I can’t believe that.
I don’t think you have any idea of how popular this dish is. It’s like a must-have dish here on Thanksgiving. You’re version is much better though. Ew…canned vegetables.
This is a cool ingredient combo…the contrast in texture between the onions and beans…neat-O!
Again, those onions pop up on the screen and my mouth is watering. I have made a similar green bean casserole with onion rings and it just is such a nice touch to an old favorite.
What an elegant casserole! More mushroom goodness too.
Ooo, that looks lovely. I love onion rings. And green beans. And mushroom sauce, and… well yeah. That looks very good indeed.
I gave you an Award, come visit my site. Being born in Quebec I often went out to get onion rings and poutine. I loved it so much.
I have never seen the onions in a can either Kevin…I wonder if it would take away from the dish if they just weren’t there 😀
Ooh, a wonderful classic–one of my favorite dishes any time of the year. I’ll admit, I could take it as a main dish!
I love green bean cassarole… not for its culinary pros and cons, but because my grandmother used to make it. Everytime I have it, I’m reminded of what a wonderful person she was.
I love that you made this a little more gastropleasent and less 1950’s Americana.
Yum!!
I haven’t had onion rings in years! Think I better make myself a large batch.
Oooh I love green bean casserole! It is a staple at my family events too. I am not a huge blue cheese fan but the thought of adding some cheese to this sounds like a wonderful idea. Thanks for the tip!
I like such dishes and i printed the recipe. I am going to cook it soon.
New photos?
I LOVE green bean casserole but refuse to eat it if it's stuffed with cream of soups. Perfect alternative!
These look very scrumptious
I know the homemade version has got to be better for sure. I will have to try this at Christmas. You always have such wonderful photos 🙂
Do you have preference on the brand of fried onions? Yours look so good that dont look like from a can?
Do you have a preference on the brand of fried onions? Yours look amazing!
Susan: French fried onions can sometimes be difficult to find here and I have found that the Asian style fried shallots can be a great substitute and that is what I used for the casserole in this photo. You can find them in very large bags on the cheap in an Asian grocery store or even in the Asian section of some larger grocery stores.
I have never tasted this, that looks good !
Thanks. I am reluctant to use canned soup in recipes. I know that I can generally sub a white sauce but there is the issue of proportions. I love green bean casserole (even with canned soup) but suspect I'll like this better.
This is wonderful. I've made it twice now and it's a hit.
Kelsey: I am glad that you enjoy it!
I keep meaning to come back and tell you this.. I made this for Thanksgiving Kevin and it was wonderful. Thank you!
How do you deglaze the pan if not using wine?
Use vegetable broth to deglaze the pan with if not using wine. Enjoy!