Green Bean Casserole

About This Recipe

Green bean casserole is one of the most iconic dishes on the American Thanksgiving table, created in 1955 by Campbell's Soup Company test kitchen employee Dorcas Reilly as a way to showcase the company's cream of mushroom soup. The dish combines green beans with a creamy mushroom sauce, topped with crispy French-fried onions, and baked until bubbling -- simple, nostalgic, and instantly recognizable to generations of American home cooks. The technique that matters, whether using the classic canned-soup shortcut or a homemade version, is not overcooking the green beans before baking, since they continue cooking in the oven and can turn mushy if already fully tender going in. A homemade version builds the creamy sauce from scratch with sauteed mushrooms, a roux, and stock or cream, achieving a fresher, more nuanced flavor than the canned original while keeping the same comforting spirit. The crispy fried onion topping, added generously in the final minutes of baking, is essential for the textural contrast that defines the dish. Served as a Thanksgiving and holiday side dish, green bean casserole is deeply nostalgic American comfort food -- a dish whose simplicity and mid-century origin story have made it a permanent fixture of the country's holiday tables.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 700 ggreen beans(trimmed and halved)
• 3 tbspbutter
• 250 gmushrooms(sliced)
• 1onion(diced)
• 2 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 3 tbspall-purpose flour
• 1.5 cupschicken stock
• 0.5 cupheavy cream
• 0.75 tspsalt
• 0.25 tspblack pepper
• 1.5 cupscrispy fried onions(store-bought)

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch the green beans

   Boil green beans in salted water 4-5 minutes until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.

2. 2

   Cook the mushrooms

   Melt butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Cook mushrooms and onion 8-10 minutes until softened and browned. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.

3. 3

   Make the sauce

   Sprinkle flour over the mushroom mixture and cook 1-2 minutes. Gradually whisk in stock and cream.

4. 4

   Simmer

   Simmer 5-6 minutes until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

5. 5

   Combine

   Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Fold the blanched green beans into the sauce and transfer to a baking dish.

6. 6

   Add topping

   Sprinkle half the crispy fried onions over the top.

7. 7

   Bake

   Bake 20 minutes, then top with remaining fried onions and bake 5 more minutes until golden and bubbling.

8. 8

   Serve

   Serve hot straight from the dish.

Variations

• •

  Use fresh green beans blanched at home rather than canned for a fresher texture and flavor.

• •

  Add a splash of soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce to the sauce for extra umami depth.

• •

  Make homemade crispy fried onions by thinly slicing and frying onion rings if store-bought aren't available.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat covered in a 180C/350F oven for 15-20 minutes, adding fresh fried onions on top before serving to restore crunch.

Frequently Asked Questions