A house divided. On one side, you have my boyfriend. He LOVES green bean casserole. It’s one of his favorite things to eat on Thanksgiving and he is a purist when it comes to the recipe. He likes it just like his Grandma used to make it with canned soup, canned green beans, and French’s crispy onions.
And then there’s me. I avoid green bean casseroles like the plague. To be honest, I avoid canned green beans in ANYTHING like the plague, let alone canned cream of mushroom soup. It is NOT for me. Don’t act like you’re surprised!! I like my food to be fresh, and I like to avoid processed products with preservatives as much as I can. Plus, canned green beans are just so… waxy 😝
BUT after a heated conversation about the subject one day, I realized I should just try to make my own version. I promised I wouldn’t even try to make it “healthier” – no non-dairy milk or vegan anything. And I’ll even keep the crispy onions! He’s gotta go for that, right?
Well… he refused to tell me it was on par with his grandma’s (🙄), but he still ate it! And I liked it, which we can’t say for the OG recipe. So, without further ado…. here’s how to make green bean casserole with fresh green beans – and NO canned soup!
The first step is all about cooking the fresh green beans! Since you’re also going to bake them, you just want to get them tender. Then, after you drain them, add them straight into a bowl of ice water. This stops them from cooking further… until they go back in the oven!
But the key to this recipe for me, is the mushroom sauce. I’m not sure why Adam loves the canned version so much, but I figured few things can rival mushrooms, onions, and garlic sautéed in butter, right?
After the mushrooms, onion, and garlic cook down, whisk in some flour and broth to create a little rue. Once the flour dissolved, add half & half and let it simmer and thicken. See?! I told you I wan’t going to try to make it healthy!
Once the sauce is done, it’s time to toss the green beans in!
And as I’ve been told, no green bean casserole is complete without crispy onions! I totally wanted to make my own crispy onion topping, but then I thought… baby steps. We’ll introduce this version first, and then see what else I can get away with 😉
Not gonna lie, I’m pretty pleased with myself. I don’t even care what Adam says!
Are you a fan of green bean casserole?
Do you make it with canned green beans/soup or do you make it from scratch? I love to hear everyone’s preferences and quirks – especially around the nostalgic holidays!
Ingredients
- 24 oz green beans, ends trimmed, and cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 12 oz white button mushrooms, stems removed, wiped clean and cut into small pieces (about 3 cups chopped)
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup half and half
- ½ tbsp parm
- crispy onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and fill a large bowl with ice water.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil with 1 tbsp salt . Once boiling, add green beans and cook until tender, about 7 minutes.
- Drain the beans and add them to the ice bath.
- Add butter to pot over medium heat. Once melted, add chopped mushrooms, chopped onion, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 8 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add flour and stir constantly, adding little bits of broth at at time.
- Once the flour has dissolved, gradually stir in the rest of broth. Continue stirring.
- Add half and half, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let it reduce for about 10-15 minutes.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
- Add green beans to the sauce and stir until all of them are coated.
- Add to a baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.
- Take out and top with crispy onions, then bake for another 5 minutes.
- Serve immediately!
Want to remember how to make green bean casserole with fresh green beans on Thanksgiving? Pin the image below!
PS. You might also like Crockpot Cranberry Apple Sauce, Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts, and The Best Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms.
Looks delicious! I love making my own Green bean casserole! My relatives ask for it each year!
http://www.themilestraveled.com
I usually pass on this, but my best friend is joining us this year and this was her one request. I’m going to with your approach…will report back!
Let me know how it goes!!