Green Bean Casserole
This Green Bean Casserole is easy to make from scratch with no canned soup! It’s made with fresh green beans, but frozen or canned green beans work as well! You will love this incredibly flavorful filling and crunchy topping!
Be sure to try my Homemade Mashed Potatoes, Sausage Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, and Dinner Rolls next!
Green Bean Casserole
One of my all-time favorite side dish recipes at a holiday dinner table is definitely Green Bean Casserole. I promise you, this recipe does not disappoint!
This dish is made entirely from scratch with a flavorful creamy mushroom filling that’s accompanied by a two-cheese combo and classic crispy fried onions!
Bonus: The entire dish can be made 2 days ahead of time! Be sure to check out my PRO tips below!
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Boil green beans for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside. Sauté the mushrooms and garlic in butter.
Add more butter and flour to make a roux. Then add filling mixture. (Chicken broth, half and half, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings.) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until thickened. Add the green beans.
Add Parmesan cheese, half of the cheddar, and half of the crispy fried onions. Stir to combine. Transfer to a lightly greased baking dish.
Add remaining cheddar and crispy fried onions. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes.
Make Ahead Method
- This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead of time.
- Assemble the casserole as outlined but don’t top with fried onions yet. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To serve, cover and bake for 20 minutes, then add the fried onions and bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or until brown and bubbly.
Crock Pot Method
- Prepare as outlined, but arrange in a crock pot instead of casserole dish. Heat in a crock pot on low for 2-3 hours.
- Pro Tip: Bake the fried onions on a baking sheet at 375° for 10 minutes, then sprinkle over the cooked casserole prior to serving.
Pro Tips
- Cheese: Shred/grate the cheese from a block as it will melt and taste much better than packaged cheese. I use Cracker Barrel Sharp Yellow and Belgioioso Parmesan.
- Baking Soda: Adding baking soda to the water helps maintain the vibrant color of the green beans!
- Green Beans: These beans are soft, but still tender crisp. If you prefer softer green beans, boil for an additional minute.
- Using Frozen Green Beans: Let frozen green beans thaw and pat them completely dry. Boil for just 3 minutes instead of 5.
- Using Canned Green Beans: Drain the beans and pat them completely dry. No need to boil them first. Note that canned green beans contain sodium as well.
- An alternative topping option is 3/4 cup crushed Ritz crackers + 1.5 tbsp. melted butter.
- Check out all of my holiday recipes here!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Leftover casserole does freeze/reheat well (aside from the crunchy topping doesn’t stay crispy).
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- Sharp Paring Knife– to cut the green beans
- Box Cheese Grater– Shredding your own cheese from a block yields the best results!
- Colander– to drain/rinse green beans after boiling.
- 9 x 13 inch baking dish
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Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
Green Beans
- 1 ½ lbs. fresh green beans, washed. See notes for frozen or canned.
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 Chicken bouillon cubes
Filling
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon EACH: onion powder, dried parsley, mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon EACH: salt, pepper
- 8 oz. mushrooms, plus a pinch of salt for cooking
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 tablespoons butter, divided
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 ¼ cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 ½ cup crispy fried onions
Instructions
Boil the Green Beans
- Begin boiling water in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Once a boil is reached, add the baking soda and bouillon.
- Boil the green beans for 5 minutes. Set a timer to avoid overcooking, we don’t want them to be mushy. When they’re done, they’ll have softened but will still hold their shape nicely.
- Drain well and rinse with cold water to stop them from cooking further. Spread out on a clean dish towel to dry.
Make the Filling
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Combine the chicken broth, half and half, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, parsley, mustard powder, salt, and pepper in a medium measuring cup with a spout. Set aside.
- Dice the mushrooms and cut the green beans in halves or thirds.
- Use the same pot that you used to boil the green beans and melt 3 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, garlic, and a pinch of salt and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring continuously.
- Add the remaining butter and the flour and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add the chicken broth mixture in small splashes, stirring continuously. (Adding it slowly ensures that the mixture is thick and that the roux doesn’t break.)
- Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let it bubble gently for 4-5 minutes, or until desired consistency is obtained. Stir occasionally as it cooks.
- Remove from heat. It will thicken a little more upon standing.
Assemble and Bake
- Add the green beans and stir to combine. Stir in the Parmesan cheese along with half of the cheddar cheese and half of the crispy fried onions.
- Transfer to a lightly greased baking dish. (I used a 9x13-inch, but any size that holds the casserole is fine!) Top with remaining cheese and fried onions.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until the top is brown and bubbly. Serve!
Notes
- Cheese: Shred/grate the cheese from a block as it will melt and taste much better than packaged cheese. I use Cracker Barrel Sharp Yellow and Belgioioso Parmesan.
- Baking Soda: Adding baking soda to the water helps maintain the vibrant color of the green beans!
- Green Beans: These beans are soft, but still tender crisp. If you prefer softer green beans, boil for an additional minute.
- Using Frozen Green Beans: Let frozen green beans thaw and pat them completely dry. Boil for just 3 minutes instead of 5.
- Using Canned Green Beans: Drain the beans and pat them completely dry. No need to boil them first. Note that canned green beans contain sodium as well.
- An alternative topping option is 3/4 cup crushed Ritz crackers + 1.5 tbsp. melted butter.
- Check out all of my holiday recipes here!
Make Ahead Method:
- This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead of time.
- Assemble the casserole as outlined but don’t top with fried onions yet. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To serve, cover and bake for 20 minutes, then add the fried onions and bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or until brown and bubbly.
Crock Pot Method:
- Prepare as outlined, but arrange in a crock pot instead of casserole dish. Heat in a crock pot on low for 2-3 hours.
- Pro Tip: Bake the fried onions on a baking sheet at 375° for 10-15 minutes, then sprinkle over the cooked casserole prior to serving.
Storage:
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Leftover casserole does freeze/reheat well (aside from the crunchy topping doesn't stay crispy).
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. This recipe makes 8 servings.
I made this green bean casserole for Thanksgiving 2024. It was a hit with the family. I could not believe I made this from scratch without using any caned, creamed soups. I have used and trusted so many of your recipes and my family loves them. I received your second cookbook which pairs nicely with the first one I bought. I am a huge fan! Anyone that can take a novice cook like me and be able to show me how to cook restaurant quality dishes is commendable. Thank you!
Hey Karen!!! WOW I couldn’t ask for any better compliment than this!! Both on the Green Bean Casserole and my cookbooks! You care TRULY the best and I cant thank you enough for your support!! Really. Thank you SO SO much!! XOXOXOXO ❤️ -Stephanie
This was so so good. Best green beans we have ever had. Everyone loved it and had multiple servings which was funny because green beans have never been the sought after side at our house. When one family member had to head into work they even asked to take some of (just this) with them. My brother was yelling out for me not to give her too much because he wanted whatever was left. Ha
Also, made your yukon mashed potatoes (with a couple of the added suggestions) and we had your breakfast hashbrown casserole earlier in the day. We have yet to find a single recipe on this site that wasn’t loved.
Will definitely be keeping this green bean recipe for future holiday meals.
Oh my gosh I am SOOOO thrilled that the Green Bean Cassserole was such a hit! I kid you not, I make a batch of this just for myself because I love it that much. I divide it into portion sizes and freeze it to reheat whenever I feel like it, lol. I’m so glad that you had my Mashed Potatoes and Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole too! You made my day, thank you so much Lex!!
Could you sub corn starch for the flour to make this gluten free?
I would use gluten free flour instead. ❤️
Can you freeze the uncooked casserole and add the onion topping once you bake?
Hi Kelley! yes you can! 🙂
The printed recipe directions state that the 3T butter is divided but it only references adding butter when cooking the mushrooms. In the picture directions it does say to add more butter to make the roux after cooking mushrooms but it doesn’t say how much to add to the mushrooms and how much to add when making the roux. I did a search through the page to see if I missed something when reading but I don’t see anywhere the this is clarified.
Hi Kelley! I’m so sorry for the confusion, there is 5 tablespoons of butter total. 2 tablespoons are used to cook the mushrooms, and the remaining three are used to make the roux! Thank you for asking! ❤️
This was very good; I used canned green beans-2 cans. I wouldn’t change anything.
I am soo happy that you loved it Pat!! I’m slightly obsessed with this recipe and make it all year long! Thank you so much for the review! 🙂 -Stephanie
If I use the crockpot method am I still boiling the green beans first?
Hi Jen! Yes, you’ll prepare them as outlined in the recipe, you’ll just assemble them in a crock pot instead of a casserole dish! Enjoy! 🙂
I made this w/o cheese for Thanksgiving and it was the BEST green bean casserole I’ve ever had. Our guests were raving about how delicious it was!
I’m so happy it was a hit for Thanksgiving Alexandra💗! It’s always such a relief pulling off a successful Thanksgiving dinner!
I prepared this the day before Thanksgiving and I knew it was going to be amazing when I tasted the mushroom sauce before assembling it. Wow! The finished dish the next day was delicious, with its delightful variety of flavors and textures. I especially appreciate the fact that it doesn’t rely on canned condensed soup. The resulting difference in quality is worth every bit of the extra time and effort. Making it from scratch is truly a labor of love. Cheers!
Sounds like you really nailed it Dennis nice work! I love that you appreciate the homemade soup, it really does make such a difference. Thanks so much for the great comments and review!❤️
I was very excited to try a new Green Bean Casserole this year and it was very delicious! I loved the addition of cheeses. Can’t wait to make this again!
I’m so happy the Green Bean Casserole was a big hit Courtnie! Any time you can make a make ahead meal for the big day it’s huge! Thanks so much for the great review!❤️