Green Bean Casserole (2024)

This easy green bean casserole recipe can be made with fresh, frozen, or canned green beans. We’ll skip the condensed soup and make our own for the best, most flavorful version you’ve ever had! Recipe includes a how-to video!

My Favorite Green Bean Casserole Recipe

My green bean casserole recipe is like the classic version you grew up with, but better. Made with fresh green beans and a from-scratch mushroom base, this recipe is creamy and rich (but not too rich) with a crisp-crunchy French fried onion topping. It’s a Thanksgiving staple that must be served each year, nestled besides the mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce (and of course the turkey, which is somehow always an afterthought to me!).

Why you want THIS recipe on your dinner table:

• No canned cream of anything–we’ll make our own from scratch! The flavor is truly unparalleled this way (your guests are going to be blown away).
• Shockingly easy. Anyone can make this dish at home, you won’t believe you didn’t make it this way in the past!
• Includes instructions for using frozen or canned green beans (though fresh are my preference).
• Can be made ahead of time to take the pressure off on the big day (just like my brussels sprouts salad or make ahead dinner rolls).
• Easily doubles or triples for a crowd (or if you’re just a really big fan of this dish like I am 😉).

What You Need

Since we are making our own cream of mushroom soup, there are a few more ingredients here than you’d typically expect, but nothing too complicated. Here are the important ones!

• Green beans. I love using fresh green beans in this green bean casserole recipe; they have the perfect texture that keeps the dish from being too rich. You could use canned or frozen green beans though; I include instructions for substituting them below.
• Mushrooms. Instead of using a canned cream of mushroom soup, we will be making our own. I use sliced white button mushrooms for this, but you could use whatever type you like.
• Chicken broth. Chicken stock or vegetable broth would also work just fine! Whatever you use, make sure to add it slowly and scrape the bottom of the pan as you do; this will create a creamy, almost gravy-like base.
• Milk and cream. You could substitute the milk and cream with half and half (1 cup of half and half total).
• French fried onions. I cook completely from-scratch most of the time, but when I’m prepping Thanksgiving dinner, I don’t have the time to fry my own onions. It’s just not worth it *to me* in this particular instance, but you certainly can though; here’s a good guide on how to make French fried onions from scratch. Store-bought works just fine for me here though!

SAM’S TIP: If you’d really like to mimic the canned cream of mushroom soup, you can finely dice your mushrooms so they are in small bits just like the kind in the soup.

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Green Bean Casserole

Blanch the Beans

Blanching the green beans is important! This step partially cooks the beans so they need less time in the oven, ultimately creating the perfect tender texture when the casserole is baked.It only takes minutes.

1. Add the green beans to pot of boiling salted water and boil for 5 minutes.
2. Drain the green beans and immediately place them in an ice bath. Set aside.

Make the Sauce

1. Saute the onions in melted butter until softened, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add the mushrooms and stir frequently as they cook until they are softened (they’ll shrink a bit in size, too).
3. Sprinkle in the flour and stir until it is absorbed, then cook for 30 seconds more to let the flour toast.
4. Slowly drizzle in the chicken broth while stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan.

Assemble and Bake

5. Stir in the milk, cream, salt, pepper, and thyme and cook until the sauce thickens. Make sure to stir frequently so it doesn’t burn.
6. Thickness test: the sauce should coat the back of a spoon. Swipe your finger down the middle; if your finger leaves a clear trail, the sauce is ready.
7. Add the drained green beans and stir to combine, then transfer to a 2 quart baking dish.
8. Evenly sprinkle french fried onions over the top of the casserole and bake at 350F (175C) for 30 minutes.

SAM’S TIP: If you’d like to prepare this green bean casserole in advance, wait to add the french fried onions until just before baking. I’ll talk more about this below.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve got a few more Thanksgiving sides to share before the big day–stay tuned!

Enjoy!

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