Forget that soggy canned green bean casserole. This year, try our classic green bean casserole with fried onions from scratch. Once you’ve done this, you’ll never go back to the pre-made version.
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Our family, like any family on Thanksgiving, is no stranger to green bean casserole, with its crispy fried onion topping and rich, creamy filling. It’s one of my favorites to be honest, along with the jellied cranberry sauce.
Here’s my all-new version – you’ll never look at green bean casserole the same way again.
Video: How to make Green Bean Casserole
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Casserole turned green
Homemade fried onions – better than the French!
Frying your own onions gives them a crispy texture that nothing canned can beat. The onions are soaked in buttermilk and then coated in crunchy panko crumbs, herbs and flour before deep frying to a golden crisp.
If you want to treat yourself to a shortcut on this busiest holiday of all, French’s Fried Onions are a good substitute. Trader Joe’s also makes a brand that we really like!
Homemade Mushroom Cream Sauce – better than canned!
I also make my own mushroom cream sauce. Button and cremini mushrooms are always good choices here, but try buttery chanterelles if you want something decadent. Mixing the mushrooms is one way to give this dish a different flavor and make it stand out.
We do not recommend swapping out this cream sauce for canned cream sauce. The casserole just isn’t that good!
A make-ahead Thanksgiving dish
This dish can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to heat. To keep the fried onions crispy, store them separately in an airtight container on the counter. Wait until just before baking to top the casserole.
It’s hard to go back to the pre-made version afterwards!
Not into mushrooms? Skip them!
You can omit the mushrooms in this casserole if you wish and use just the cream sauce. Skip step 6 altogether. In step 7, put the butter, garlic, and thyme that you would have used to fry the mushrooms in step 6, in a saucepan, add the flour, half and half, and the broth and follow directions, to prepare the sauce.
If it’s the texture and not the flavor of the mushrooms that isn’t appealing, use an immersion blender to puree the mushrooms into the sauce.
If you skip the mushrooms, add additional green beans.
Gluten-free tweaks for green bean casserole
- Use gluten-free flour or cornstarch instead of all-purpose flour. If using cornstarch, reduce the amount to 1 1/2 tablespoons.
- Buy gluten-free fried onions or use gluten-free panko and gluten-free flour to prepare the onions.
A vegan casserole with green beans?
While we’ve never attempted to make this casserole vegan, one of our commenters did. If you follow commentator ABC’s suggestions, remember that they have not been tested.
- coconut milk plus 1 tablespoon vinegar for the milk.
- Vegan sour cream for half and half.
- Vegan Parmesan for the Parmesan.
- Vegetable broth for the chicken broth.
Looking for more Thanksgiving pages from scratch? Please!
- Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows
- Baked Acorn Squash with Butter and Brown Sugar
- Slow Cooker Carrots with Honey Dijon Glaze
- Sweet potato casserole with pecans
- Perfect mashed potatoes
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Green bean casserole from scratch
progress: Store the fried onions in an airtight container at room temperature and refrigerate the prepared filling. Wait until just before baking to sprinkle the onions on the casserole. The cooking time can be a little longer.
ingredients
For the crispy onions:
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1 Middle Red onion, thinly sliced
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1 1/2 cups buttermilk
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1 Cup all purpose flour
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1 Cup Panko bread crumbs
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2 tablespoon mixed Dried herbs (parsley, dill, thyme, whatever you want!)
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Kosher salt, For seasoning
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vegetable oilto fry
For the casserole:
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2 lb green beanstrimmed and cut into 2 inch lengths
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1/4 Cup (1/2 stick) regularly salted butterright
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1 lb cremini or mushroomstrimmed and sliced
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3 cloves garlicchopped
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1 teaspoon dried thyme
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2 to 3 tablespoon all purpose flour
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1 1/4 cups half and half
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1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
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1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese
method
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Prepare the onions for frying:
In a bowl, combine the sliced red onions and buttermilk. Stir to coat the onions, then refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
In another small bowl, whisk together the flour, panko, and dried mixed herbs.
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Heat oil for frying:
Fill a Dutch Oven or other deep saucepan with about 2 inches of vegetable oil and heat to 375°F or until shimmering but not smoking (lower the heat if you start seeing plumes of smoke). To check if the oil is hot enough, throw in a pinch of panko mixture; When it starts bubbling and frying, you’re good to go.
Place a paper towel-lined baking sheet next to the stove to drain the fried onions.
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Fry onions:
Scoop the onions out of the buttermilk by hand and toss them in the flour and panko mixture.
Carefully place the coated onions in the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Scoop the onions out of the oil with a heatproof slotted spoon or tongs and place on paper towels to drain.
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Preheat the oven and prepare a bowl:
Preheat the oven to 375°F and set a strainer over your sink and prepare a bowl of ice water.
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Blanch green beans:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until just tender but still slightly crispy, 5 to 6 minutes.
Drain the green beans, then plunge into the bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Once cool, drain again and set aside.
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Cooking mushrooms:
Melt the butter in a large pan and add the mushrooms. Season with salt and cook until soft and tender. Add garlic and thyme.
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Make the creamy sauce:
Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and stir until the mushrooms are coated. Stir in the half and half and the chicken broth.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow the sauce to thicken. Stir in the parmesan cheese and green beans.
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Assemble and bake casserole:
Transfer the creamy green bean and mushroom mixture to a 3-quart or 9×13 casserole dish. Scatter the fried onions on top and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the casserole is bubbly. Serve hot.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 268 | calories |
| 12g | Fat |
| 33g | carbohydrates |
| 9g | protein |
