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A good green bean casserole is an absolute must at the holiday dinner table. This simple, classic Thanksgiving and Christmas recipe using the traditional can of cream of mushroom soup, but uses fresh green beans, mushrooms and onions, alongside the requisite can of French-fried onion, to create a tender, juicy, and still tender crisp casserole.
For an interesting twist to this classic recipe, why not try making an Asparagus Green Bean Casserole? Or some bacon wrapped green bean bundles?
Green Bean Casserole
The idea of combining green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and fried onions might seem strange to some people, but it’s a Midwestern US tradition. There’s just something wonderfully satisfying about tender crisp green beans soaked in rich, flavorful mushroom-y sauce and topped with fried onions.
Whether served alongside a giant roast turkey or just as a side dish for a weekend meal, this green bean casserole is a staple of any holiday menu.
Ingredients for Green Bean Casserole
This is just a list of ingredients for you to skim over and see if you have them or need to shop, the exact amounts of ingredients are listed in the printable recipe card below!
- Fresh green beans
- Salted butter
- Mushrooms
- White onion
- Garlic
- Whole milk
- Can of cream of mushroom soup
- All-purpose flour
- Can of French-fried onions
How to Make Green Bean Casserole
- Clean & trim your green beans, then steam them in the microwave for about 3 minutes
- Cool the green beans under the cold water to stop the cooking
- Melt the butter in a large skillet, then sauté the mushrooms and onions, adding the garlic once they are softened
- Whisk together the milk, mushroom soup, and flour until smooth
- Add to the green beans the skillet, then pour in the mushroom soup mixture and stir to combine
- Spoon the mixture into a greased 9×13 baking pan and top with the fried onion, then bake at 350 Fahrenheit for 30 minutes
- Cool for 5 minutes, and then serve steaming hot
How to Store & Reheat Your Green Bean Casserole
Despite the rather saucy texture of this casserole, it actually stores and reheats really well.
You just need to tightly wrap the entire casserole dish in plastic wrap and then store the whole thing in the fridge. When you want to eat some, just scoop out a portion and put it in a serving bowl, and microwave the whole thing for about 30-90 seconds, or until piping hot.
You can also put it in the oven at around 350 Fahrenheit for 15 minutes until bubbly, but you might start to see the milk sauce separating if you leave it too long.
Do You Have to Use Cream of Mushroom Soup
Not everyone is a big fan of canned mushroom soup, so you might be wondering if you could substitute other soups instead or just skip it entirely. While you could certainly just use a different type of condensed soup, like Campbell’s cream of chicken, for example, unless you are allergic to mushrooms, you really should definitely stick with the cream of mushroom.
The soup provides a lot of great salty, umami flavors and helps bind the dish together. And really, this is THE classic recipe, so canned soup once or twice a year is fine.
The fresh mushrooms really make this amazing for the mushroom lovers, but if you aren’t a fan you can leave them out as the aren’t the traditional recipe. But you know me and my love of mushroom anything! More is always better!
More Vegetable Side Dishes
Try some of these reader favorites for side dish recipes!
- From scratch creamed corn – so good when it’s homemade you guys!
- Simple roasted acorn squash – this is one that the kids love because brown sugar
- Roasted broccoli – simple but knocks it out of the park compared to steamed broccoli
- Corn pudding – don’t knock it till you try it!
- Spinach casserole – from scratch and delicious!
Happy cooking!
Love,
Karlynn
Green Bean Casserole
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 45 minutes
- Course
- Side Dish
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 8
- Calories
- 105
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh green beans
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 pound fresh mushrooms cleaned and sliced
- 1 medium white onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup whole milk
- one 11.5 oz can Cream of Mushroom soup
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- one 16 ounce can French fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F. Get out a 9×13 baking pan and lightly coat with butter. Set aside.
- Clean and trim the green beans. In the microwave, steam the green beans until tender crisp, about 3 minutes.
- Run the green beans under cold water to stop them from cooking and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet and sauté the mushrooms and onions. Once they are cooked, add the minced garlic and continue to cook until fragrant.
- Whisk together the milk, mushroom soup and flour until completely combined and smooth.
- Add the cooked green beans to the skillet. Pour the mushroom soup mixture over the vegetables and stir until coated.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared 9×13 pan into an even layer. Top with the fried onions.
- Place in the preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes or until bubbly on top.
- Remove and let sit for 5 minutes then serve hot.
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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