This Homemade Green Bean Casserole is completely made from scratch! With a creamy mushroom sauce, fresh green beans, and a homemade “fried” onion topping, this Green Bean Casserole recipe is truly the best!
This green bean casserole is a must for any holiday feast and is perfect served alongside Roasted Turkey, Instant Pot Ham, or Instant Pot Turkey Breast.
Homemade Green Bean Casserole
Green Bean Casserole seems to be on most family’s must make list for holidays. But I was never really hooked on the casserole.
The classic recipe for Green Bean Casserole, while easy to prepare, leaves little to be desired in my book. It tastes overly processed and canned green beans are nowhere near as tasty as fresh green beans. But a Homemade Green Bean Casserole is a different story!
No canned soups. No canned green beans. No freeze dried onions. Instead this casserole is made completely from scratch with fresh green beans, a luscious homemade cream of mushroom soup, and a homemade crispy onion topping.
Green Bean Casserole made from scratch is the ONLY way to go when you want to make the BEST Green Bean Casserole. In fact, now this recipe that used to be so so for me, is a must make side dish at my holiday gatherings!
How to Make Green Bean Casserole from Scratch
You may be thinking that making Green Bean Casserole without the help of processed products is a bit overwhelming. And while this recipe does take more time to make, the steps are simple to follow and the extra 15 minutes of prep time is more than worth the results!
To make this casserole from scratch there are four key steps.
- Prepare Onion Topping
- Prepare Fresh Green Beans
- Prepare Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Assemble the Green Bean Casserole
You can certainly use the canned mushroom soup, or frozen green beans, or even a store bought French Fried Onion topping, but for the best flavor, I really suggest you take the time to make all the components from scratch.
Step One: Prepare Onion Topping
It is best to start by preparing the onion topping so that while it crisps up in the oven, you can prepare your green beans and cream of mushroom soup.
- Thinly slice one onion. I really prefer to use a mandoline to get the onion super thin, but of course you can use a knife as well. You just want the onion in about 1/8 inch thick slices. Once sliced, separate the onion into rings or individual strips.
- In a mixing bowl mix together oil, panko, flour and seasoned salt. I use oil right in the bread crumb mixture. This helps the breading adhere to the onions without first being dipped into an egg mixture, and helps the onions to brown up beautifully. Note: Panko Bread Crumbs is best to keep the topping light and crispy, but traditional unseasoned bread crumbs work as well if that is all you have on hand.
- Toss the onions with the breading, shaking off any excess and spread the onions out onto a sheet pan.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, to just start to brown the onions. Remove from the oven and turn the heat down to 375 degrees, which is the temperature the completed casserole will bake at.
Step Two: Prepare Fresh Green Beans
You can use fresh haricot vert or thicker garden green beans. Even frozen green beans work beautifully in this casserole. Frozen green beans are a bit less work to prep and still give this casserole a fresher taste than when prepared with canned green beans.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. It is best to use salted water to help season the green beans.
- Trim the ends off the fresh green beans and cut into 2 inch pieces.
- Drop the fresh (or frozen) green beans into the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes for thick green beans, and 3 minutes for thin green beans.
- Remove the beans from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and immediately place into a mixing bowl filled with ice water to stop the cooking process.
Step Three: Prepare the Mushroom Sauce
I use my recipe for homemade cream of mushroom soup. This recipe is thick, creamy, and full of mushrooms. It is absolutely delicious and really takes just minutes to make.
- Melt butter in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and add in mushrooms and fresh herbs if using. Saute for 3-5 minutes, until the mushrooms just begin to break down.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the wine (or additional stock) and cook until thickened.
- Slowly mix in the stock and milk, whisking to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes or until sauce is thickened and then remove from heat.
Step Four: Assemble the Casserole
- Grease a 2 quart casserole dish with butter or non-stick spray.
- Drain the green beans and pat dry and then add to the mushroom sauce. Toss to coat the beans evenly in the sauce.
- Pour the prepared mixture into the casserole dish and then top evenly with the onions.
- At this point you can cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking or bake until bubbly and the onion topping has browned.
Modifications for Green Bean Casserole
To make this Green Bean Casserole Gluten Free
- In place of all purpose flour, use 1:1 Gluten Free Flour Blend.
- In place of panko bread crumbs, use Gluten Free Bread Crumbs.
To make this Green Bean Casserole Dairy Free
- Instead of butter, use olive oil or non-dairy butter, such as Smart Balance.
- Instead of milk, use additional stock or unflavored, unsweetened non-dairy milk (like soy, almond, or oat milk.)
More Holiday Worthy Side Dish Recipes
Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ pound fresh green beans trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 cups mushrooms any variety diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves optional
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup marsala wine or additional stock
- 1/4 cup chicken stock see note
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Onion Topping
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion peeled
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
Instructions
Onion Topping
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Mix together oil, flour, panko, and seasoned salt together in a large bowl, until well combined.
- Very thinly slice onions, using a mandoline, or a very sharp knife. Separate onion slices and then place onions in the breading and toss to coat.
- Shake off excess bread crumbs form the onions and spread out onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 375 degrees.
Green Beans
- While the onions are cooking, fill a large stock pan with water and bring to a rapid boil. Add the trimmed beans to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes for thin green beans or 5 minutes for thicker green beans. Immediately transfer the beans to a large bowl or ice water, using a slotted spoon.
Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Melt butter in heavy bottomed stock pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and thyme leaves and saute until mushrooms are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add flour to pan and stir to coat. Allow to cook for 1 additional minute.
- Slowly whisk in marsala wine or stock, whisk until smooth and thick and then gradually add in the stock and milk, whisking well. Add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder and stir well.
- Bring to a boil over medium to medium high heat and whisk well until mixture is thickened, anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Green Bean Casserole
- Lightly grease a two quart pan.
- Drain green beans from ice water and pat dry.
- Add green beans to mushroom sauce and toss to coat. Pour green bean mixture into prepared casserole dish. Top evenly with onions.
- Bake at 375 degrees until warm and bubbly and topping is browned.
Notes
- For the stock, use Mushroom Stock, Vegetable Stock or Chicken Stock. If not using Marsala Wine, use additional stock.
- The fresh thyme leaves add depth to the homemade mushroom sauce, but feel free to omit.
- Feel free to use haricot verts or garden variety green beans. Just trim off the ends of green beans and cut into 1-2 inch pieces.
- If using frozen green beans, use 16-20 ounces frozen green beans and precook following the instructions for fresh green beans.
- Canned green beans are not recommended for the best flavor, but can be used. Drain two 15 ounce cans of green beans and mix in with mushroom sauce.
- In place of the homemade crispy onions, feel free to use 1 cup prepared french fried onions. Or if you are opposed to onions, sprinkle with 1 cup panko bread crumbs instead.
- In place of homemade cream of mushroom sauce, use 1 (10.75 ounce can of cream of mushroom soup).
- To prepare up to 24 hours in advance: Prepare the green beans, sauce and homemade fried onions as directed. After the sauce is finished, toss with the green beans with the mushroom sauce and pour into the prepared casserole dish. Top with the onions and cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove the casserole from the fridge and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
- Leftover green bean casserole will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Kristen Chidsey
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