Published November 14, 2018. Updated August 21, 2019
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The only Green Bean Casserole recipe you’ll ever need! It’s made with fresh tender green beans, a rich creamy mushroom white sauce, and it’s finished with the classic French’s crispy fried onions to give it that delicious reminiscent touch. Plus there’s parmesan in the recipe for extra flavor! This recipe is a Thanksgiving staple and one people will request again and again!
The Best Green Bean Casserole!
We’ve all had our fair share of nasty green bean casseroles. You know the kind with mushy, lifeless canned green beans and canned condensed mushroom soup (with lots of strange ingredients).
This version is made from scratch and is a million times better! It’s worth the few extra steps, I promise! You’ll never look back to that lazy version.
You may likely even find green bean casserole haters becoming true believers.
Ingredients You’ll Need for This Recipe
- Fresh green beans
- Butter
- Mushrooms
- Salt and pepper
- Garlic
- Flour
- Chicken broth
- Half and half
- Parmesan cheese
- French’s crispy fried onions
How to Make Green Bean Casserole
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cook green beans in a pot of boiling water until just tender.
- Drain green beans from pot and transfer to ice water.
- Drain green beans well from ice water then pour into a baking dish.
- Saute mushrooms until softened, while adding in garlic and sauteing briefly near the end.
- Sprinkle flour evenly over mushrooms then toss to coat and cook briefly.
- Stir in chicken broth and half and half.
- Bring mixture to a simmer to thicken, while stirring frequently. It should have a nice creamy consistency.
- Pour sauce mixture over green beans in baking dish and toss to coat.
- Sprinkle fried onions evenly over top.
- Cover with foil (so onions don’t brown too much) and bake 10 minutes, uncover and bake 10 minutes longer.
- Serve warm for best results.
Tips for Perfect Green Bean Casserole
- Only use fresh green beans for best flavor and texture.
- Stick with half and half, don’t try to substitute milk or it won’t be as good.
- Par cook green beans, this way they won’t end up crisp and under-cooked by the time casserole is baked through.
- Blanch beans in ice water so they won’t end up overcooked in the end. It also helps then retain that pretty green color.
- The sauce should have a great consistency but if you happen to have watery or dry mushrooms you can adjust consistency a bit if desired (thicken with a little more of a flour/water mixture or thin with a little half and half).
What is Half and Half?
One question I get a lot is “what is half and half?” Half and half is basically a mixture of half milk and half cream so if you can’t find it you can make your own. Simple blend 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup heavy cream.
Want it Even Richer?
If you love a really rich sauce in green bean casserole, you can substitute heavy cream in place of half and half. I’d use 3 Tbsp flour if doing so as cream is thicker.
Can I Make it in Advance?
You can prep it day in advance to do so:
- Make up to step 7 (be sure not to add onions yet, you want them to stay crisp).
- Cover and refrigerate.
- The next day let it rest at room temperature while oven preheats.
- Sprinkle with onions and bake as directed.
- Add additional baking time as needed, sauce should be bubbling around edges. You may need an additional 5 – 10 minutes since it’s starting out colder.
More Thanksgiving Recipes You’ll Love!
- One Hour Dinner Rolls
- Honey Roasted Carrots
- Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Chicken and Gravy (if cooking for a smaller crowd)
- Apple Slab Pie
- Easy Chocolate Mousse Pie
- The Best Pumpkin Pie
16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)
4.86 from 7 votes
Print Recipe
Green Bean Casserole
The only green bean casserole recipe you'll ever need! It's made with fresh tender green beans, a rich creamy mushroom white sauce and it's finished with the classic French's crispy fried onions to give it that flavor we all remember. Plus there's parmesan in the recipe for exciting flavor! This recipe is a Thanksgiving staple and one people will request again and again!
Servings: 10
Prep25 minutes minutes
Cook25 minutes minutes
Ready in: 50 minutes minutes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. fresh green beans, ends trimmed, halved
- 1/4 cup (57g) butter
- 1 lb bella (crimini) mushrooms, cleaned, sliced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 3 1/2 Tbsp (34g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups (295ml) low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups (355ml) half and half
- 1/2 cup (45g) finely shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 cups French's crispy fried onions (or more to taste)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook green beans until just tender, about 5 - 6 minutes. Meanwhile fill a large bowl with ice water.
Drain green beans, pour into ice water, stir. Drain green beans well from ice water, pour into 12 by 8 or 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
In a large skillet melt butter over medium-high heat. Add in mushrooms, season with salt and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
Sprinkle in flour and toss and cook briefly (about 30 seconds). Pour in chicken broth and half and half and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring mixture to a simmer to thicken sauce, stirring frequently. Stir in parmesan cheese.
Pour sauce over green beans in casserole dish and toss to evenly coat.
Sprinkle with crispy fried onions.
Cover with a sheet of foil and bake 10 minutes, uncover and bake 10 minutes longer. Serve warm.
Notes
- Button mushrooms can be used as well.
- Use freshly grated parmesan cheese for best results.
- For even more flavor try it with homemade chicken stock.
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Green Bean Casserole
Author: Jaclyn
Categorized:
- Thanksgiving
Tagged:
- garlic
- green beans
- half and half
- onions
- parmesan
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26 Comments
Gracie
This is truly a delicious recipe. Thank you. I’m back doing it again for Christmas after having it at Thanksgiving as well. So yummy. This might be scandalous, but I go ahead and use frozen french cut green beans. As a busy Mama of seven, and having a husband who really likes french cut, it’s a nice shortcut. :-) And the result is still fabulous!
Halie
This was so good 🤤 I made it this year for Thanksgiving and now I’m making it again for Christmas because it was just that delicious! It was the fav out of what others had brought.
Morgan
Can you freeze this ahead of time and pull out to thaw and add the onions then bake?
Jaclyn
The sauce won’t be quite the same so I’d make it fresh for best results.
James Gonzalez
What was the parmesan cheese for?
Jaclyn
Extra flavor.
Christy
Eek! I got out of the store w/o parm cheese tonight! Any suggestions for a cheese work around? I have cheddar (mild & medium), mozzarella, swiss, havarti, colby jack, montery jack, and a bit of feta… but ironically just a 1/4 C of processed shaker cheese parm. Help… Anyone? I LOVE this recipe and have been using it for years now. I’m usually more on it. I must’ve been thrown off my game by the grocery cart gridlock and 5-cart pile up – including the grocier’s stocking cart. I got outta there a bit shaken. LOL! ;-)
Thamks!Jaclyn
Hi Christy – I’d probably go with the she shaker parm and 1/4 c swiss. Glad you’ve enjoyed the recipe!
Christy
Thank you so much! I was just about to try dicing shredded mozzarella with lightly dusted corn startch. 8-O
Christy
This worked *BEAUTIFULLY!* Once again, you not only saved the night & day, but as this recipe continues to make memories around our family’s Thanksgiving table, if I showed up with subpar beans (you set the bar high), I would’ve become a jokester target for years to come. LOL! You saved me and all is well. ;-) Thank you, and peace & love to you and yours this Thanksgiving. <3
Jaclyn
Thanks so much for your kind words Christy! I’m glad that worked out well for you :). I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Allison
I made this for Easter Sunday with my family. My mother in law who always hosts every holiday meal said this is the best green bean casserole she has ever had! I missed a few salting steps but everyone still loved it. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
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