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Ready to wow your Thanksgiving dinner guests with the best holiday side dish ever? Of course you are! Our creamy green bean casserole from scratch, inspired by Sally’s Baking Addiction, is so delish your family and friends will never ask for the traditional green bean casserole again.
You can thank the Campbell’s Soup Company for the invention of the green bean casserole. Created in 1955 in their company kitchen, this quick and easy recipe featured a simple combination of cream of mushroom soup, green beans, and fried onions. The casserole was immediately popular and became a holiday staple. An estimated 40% of the cream of mushroom soup sold in the United States is purchased specifically for making green bean casseroles.
Tradition isn’t always the most delicious. Once you taste the authentic earthy flavor of fresh mushrooms bathed in a homemade creamy sauce, you’ll find the processed canned flavor and rubbery bits of mushroom in cream of mushroom soup unappealing. A from-scratch mushroom sauce, oven-baked “fried” onions, and fresh green beans make the classic green bean casserole a coveted gourmet dish.
ALSO TRY: Instant Pot green bean casserole with cheese
Oven-baking onions give them a fried flavor and texture. Instead of frying onions in a vat of hot messy oil, you’ll bread your onions and bake them in the oven. Breading is a three-step process that coats the onion rings in flour, an egg mixture, and panko breadcrumbs. Once you’ve breaded your onion rings, lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until crispy and golden brown. Baking isn’t just easier than deep-frying, it also cuts down on the calories and fat that the store-bought french-fried onions bring to the table.
Fresh green beans are the best! Many green bean casserole recipes call for frozen green beans or — gasp! — canned green beans. Not our creamy green bean casserole recipe! Fresh green beans offer the best flavor, most gorgeous color, and an appetizingly plump texture. To prepare the green beans, blanch them in boiling salted water for a few minutes and then transfer these bright green gems to an ice water bath to halt the cooking process.
Mushroom sauce made easy: Homemade doesn’t have to mean complicated. Our mushroom sauce is a cinch. Saute fresh mushrooms in butter and garlic. Sprinkle flour over top and stir in broth and half-and-half. Then, simmer until the sauce is thick.
Let the baking begin. To assemble the casserole, combine green beans, the mushroom sauce, and about one-fourth of the “fried” onions. Pour this mixture into a casserole dish and top with the remaining onions. Bake the casserole for 15 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly. Serve this creamy green bean casserole from scratch hot out of the oven.
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Bread the onions for baking
Breading is a three-step process that covers the onion slices in a crunchy coating that gives them a crispy “fried” texture. To prepare the onions, place flour in a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk in a medium-sized bowl, and then place panko bread crumbs in another small bowl. Working with one onion at a time, dredge the onions first in the flour, then dip them in the egg mixture and finish them by placing them in the Panko to fully coat.
Bake the “fried” onions
After you bread the onion slices, lay each of them down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 475 F for 25 minutes, flipping them twice during the baking time, until they are golden brown.
Blanch the green beans
Blanching the green beans will partially cook them and preserve their bright green color. To blanch the beans, bring 1 gallon water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil in a large stockpot. Add the green beans and boil for 5 minutes. Drain the green beans and place them in an ice water bath to halt the cooking process. When the green beans are cool, drain them into a colander.
Cook the mushrooms
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms start to release their moisture. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Make the sauce
Sprinkle the mushrooms with flour and stir to combine. Stir in the chicken broth and simmer for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the half-and-half. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the sauce is thick.
Combine the green beans and sauce
Place green beans in a large bowl. Add the sauce and 1/4 of the “fried” onions. Stir to combine the ingredients.
Transfer green bean mixture to a casserole dish
Pour the green bean mixture into a casserole dish and top with the remaining “fried” onions, layering them evenly over the top.
Bake the green bean casserole
Bake the casserole at 400 F for 15 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly. Serve hot.
A beautiful dish your guests will love
A creamy casserole covered in crispy, flavorful onions.
Have you ever seen a green been casserole that looks this good?
Grab a bite of this classic casserole before it’s all gone!
Creamy green bean casserole from scratch
Yield 6 servings
Ingredients
Baked “fried” onions
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
Green bean casserole
- 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed, halved
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced into halves or quarters
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1-1/4 cups half-and-half
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475 F.
- For the onions: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Pour flour in one small bowl.
- Pour panko, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.
- Whisk the egg and milk together in another small bowl.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To bread the onion slices, use one hand for dry ingredients and the other hand for wet ingredients. Dip a few onion slices into the flour, then dip them into the egg mixture. Now place them in the panko mixture and coat well. Lay each onion onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remainder of the onions.
- Bake onions for 25 minutes or until they are golden brown. Flip the onions twice during the baking time. Set aside.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 400 F.
- For the beans: Bring a gallon of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil in a large stockpot.
- Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain the beans and place them into an ice water bath to halt the cooking. Keep them in the ice water bath until they cool, then drain into a colander.
- For the casserole: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter.
- Add mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms begin to release their moisture.
- Add the garlic, stir, and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and stir until combined.
- Add the chicken broth and simmer for 3 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Stirring occasionally, cook for about 10 minutes or until the mixture is thick.
- Place green beans in a large bowl and add the mushroom sauce and 1/4 of the onions. Stir to combine.
- Transfer the green bean mixture to a casserole dish. Top the green beans with the remaining onions.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until bubbly.
- Serve hot.
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