What’s Thanksgiving without a homemade Green Bean Casserole?…a pretty sad turkey day if you ask me! That creamy mushroom sauce, tender green beans, and fried onion topping are a match made in heaven. But while I’m all for a good kitchen shortcut, I’m not a fan of casseroles made with canned soup. So, I’ve created a from-scratch version that’s just as easy (even for a novice cook!) and even more delicious. Although, I did make an exception for those crispy fried onions. They’re still my fave. ;)
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
What Is Green Bean Casserole?
Green bean casserole is a classic American side dish often served during Thanksgiving. It’s a seriously budget-friendly recipe made from green beans in a creamy sauce and topped with French-fried onions. But did you know it actually made its debut all the way back in the 1950s after being created by an employee at Campbell’s Soup Company?! However, there are many variations nowadays, and my from-scratch version skips the canned soup and uses simple, everyday pantry staples for an EVEN tastier result!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy green bean casserole recipe (with no canned condensed soup):
- Mushrooms: I use fresh mushrooms to infuse the creamy, gravy-like sauce with flavor. Baby Bellas are my favorite mushrooms to use in this recipe, but button mushrooms are just as good.
- Garlic Cloves & Garlic Powder: I double-dose the sauce in this recipe with fresh garlic and garlic powder! It tastes so good, not overpowering or too strong at all.
- Flour & Salted Butter: I make a roux with equal parts butter and flour. A roux is a thickening agent used as the base for many sauces and gravies. It’s important to cook it long enough so there’s no “raw” flour taste left.
- Vegetable Broth & Whole Milk: I almost always use Better Than Bouillon to make broth because it’s already well flavored and salted. Mixing it with milk also adds just the right amount of creaminess to the casserole.
- Cream Cheese: Makes the sauce extra creamy and decadent.
- Green Beans: I use frozen green beans for convenience, but you can use fresh if you prefer. If using fresh, I suggest steaming them first to make sure they cook through properly. I prefer French-cut green beans because I like how they combine with the sauce, so you get a nice bean-to-sauce ratio in every bite.
- Fried Onions: I can’t get enough of these crispy little bites! So, I mix them into the casserole filling AND sprinkle them on top for that crispy finish.
- Salt & Pepper: A little salt and pepper always helps make the flavors POP.
- Olive Oil: For sautéing the mushrooms and minced garlic.
Can I Use Canned Green Beans?
For a really stellar green bean casserole, I suggest using either fresh or frozen green beans. Canned green beans tend to be too mushy, and their flavors are a bit muddy. I highly recommend steering away from the canned green beans just this once, but hey, it’s your kitchen and your preference! Just note the texture of the finished casserole won’t be nearly as nice if made with canned green beans.
The Secret to a Good Green Bean Casserole
Nope, it isn’t canned soup (sorry, Campbell’s). It’s CREAM CHEESE. I know this might seem unconventional, but this is one of those times you’ve got to trust me.
The cream cheese adds the most amazing creaminess and makes the sauce extra rich. It also helps to stabilize the casserole for baking so the sauce doesn’t separate or curdle. But if you’re still a little skeptical, just check out all the 5-star reviews from happy readers below! This secret ingredient is definitely not a secret anymore. ;)
Variations to Try
The classic version of this casserole is great, but if you want to make it a little more fancy, here are some fun toppings or add-ins I think you’ll love:
- Bacon crumbles (mixed in or sprinkled on top)
- Cheddar cheese or Parmesan (for topping or mixing into the sauce)
- Buttered breadcrumbs or crushed potato chips (in place of the fried onion topping)
Make it Ahead!
You can prepare this creamy green bean casserole one day ahead of time (minus the onion topping), cover it in plastic or foil, and refrigerate it. I’d add the fried onion topping the next day and bake as directed, slightly extending the baking time to account for the casserole being cold.
Why it’s a great recipe for new cooks
Green Bean Casserole is an absolute staple of the holidays. If you’re attending a family function or potluck, you will be the star of the show when you show up carrying this dish! It was one of the first recipes that I mastered for the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, and I’ve been making it ever since. It’s truly simple to make from scratch, and I never regret doing so.
Green Bean Casserole
Servings 6 (about ¾ cup each)Ingredients
- 8 oz. mushrooms ($2.49)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.12)
- 3/4 tsp salt, divided ($0.04)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, divided ($0.02)
- 4 Tbsp salted butter ($0.56)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour ($0.04)
- 1 cup vegetable broth ($0.17)
- 1 cup whole milk ($0.26)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 4 oz. cream cheese ($1.09)
- 24 oz. frozen French-cut green beans* ($3.58)
- 1 cup crispy fried onions, divided ($1.16)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Roughly chop the mushrooms into small pieces. Mince the garlic.
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté the mushrooms until soft, then add the minced garlic and continue to sauté until the liquid in the skillet evaporates.
- Add the butter and flour to the skillet. Stir to melt the butter and allow the butter and flour to create a paste that coats the bottom of the skillet. Continue to stir and cook over medium for one to two minutes, or until the flour begins to turn golden on the bottom of the skillet.
- Add the vegetable broth, milk, and garlic powder to the skillet. Whisk to combine and dissolve any browned flour off of the bottom of the skillet. Allow the liquid to come up to a simmer, at which point it will thicken.
- Add the cream cheese to the skillet and whisk over medium heat until the cream cheese has fully melted into the sauce.
- Add the frozen green beans to the sauce and stir to combine. Continue to heat over medium, stirring occasionally, until the green beans have heated through and the sauce comes up to a gentle simmer. Let the green beans simmer for a few minutes. Give them a taste and add salt and pepper to your liking (I added about ½ tsp salt and another ⅛ tsp pepper).
- Stir ¼ cup of crispy fried onions into the green bean mixture. Pour the green beans into a 2-quart casserole dish and top with the remaining ¾ cup crispy fried onions.
- Bake the casserole for 20-25 minutes, or until the fried onions have turned deep golden brown and the sauce is bubbling up around the edges.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Green Bean Casserole – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Wash 8oz. button mushrooms and roughly chop them into small pieces. Mince two cloves of garlic. Heat a large skillet over medium, add 1 Tbsp olive oil, and swirl to coat the skillet. Pour in the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and pepper to the skillet and sauté until the mushrooms become soft. Add the minced garlic and continue to sautè until all of the moisture in the skillet evaporates.
Add 4 Tbsp salted butter and ¼ cup all-purpose flour to the skillet. Continue to sauté the mushrooms with the butter and flour until the flour begins to coat the bottom of the skillet and turn golden brown. This toasts the flour and prevents that floury flavor.
Whisk 1 cup vegetable broth, 1 cup whole milk, and ⅛ tsp garlic powder into the skillet, making sure to dissolve all of the flour off the bottom of the skillet as you whisk. Allow the liquid to come up to a simmer while whisking, at which point it will thicken.
Cut 4 oz. cream cheese into chunks, add it to the sauce, and whisk until it has fully melted in.
Add 24oz. French-cut frozen green beans. Stir the green beans into the sauce and allow them to heat through and the sauce comes up to a gentle simmer. Allow them to simmer for 2-3 minutes. At this point, you want to taste the sauce and add more salt and pepper (I added about ½ tsp salt and ⅛ tsp pepper).
Stir ¼ cup of crispy fried onions into the skillet.
Transfer the green beans and sauce to a 2-quart casserole dish and top with ¾ cup of crispy fried onions.
Bake the casserole in the preheated 350ºF oven for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through and the fried onions have become golden brown.
Once you try this from-scratch green bean casserole with cream cheese, you’ll never go back to the canned soup version again!
I blanched at the idea of missing this recipe, because aside from your expertise you have some of the best photos of food. Wow. I’ve been in love with this dish since my childhood, but now I get to improve on the idea with your recipe.
Thanks for the hard work you continue doing.
_ga-
Thank you! That is very kind. :)
Could I prepare this the day before Thanksgiving? I’m thinking on Thanksgiving I’d add the crispy onions and bake?
I haven’t tried assembling the day before, but you might have some water seepage from the vegetables (the salt in the sauce will pull water out of the vegetables as it sits). It might be fine, but I can’t guarantee it.
I ended up making this the night before. On Thanksgiving, I added the crispy onions and baked as directed. It came out perfect. I had no issues with water seepage. Everyone loved it! Thanks for the recipe.
Awesome!! So good to know. Thank you for updating me. :)
Just wondering if I can sub half and half, almond milk or maybe a combination of the two? I never keep whole milk and don’t want to buy it just for this dish.
I would try a combo of the two. Half and half on its own might be too thick and almond milk on its own would probably be too thin.
I was in charge of making green bean casserole for my family’s Thanksgivng yesterday. Everyone loved it, and I got to brag that I made it from scratch.
This recipe looks & sounds yummy and the best part, easy to make! Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
I am going to make this for Thanksgiving, it looks delicious!
Butter, flour, and cream is the base recipe for anything ‘cream of.’
You can do it with celery or onion or mushroom or tomato or cheese or broccoli or potatoes or anything. Cream is best, evaporated milk is good and is handy in the cupboard, and milk is a last resort.
I made this on Friday, but made the mistake of using fresh beans (could not find frozen green beans). They need to be cooked for an additional 20-25 minutes to become tender. Next time when I use fresh beans I will make sure to cook them thoroughly, probably by boiling, before putting them in the casserole. The “cream of mushroom” sauce is amazing, definitely tastes better than the gross canned chemical BS!
Yes, in the intro to the recipe I suggest boiling for a few minutes before adding to the recipe if using fresh beans. Frozen beans are blanched before freezing, so you’ll essentially want to do the same thing with fresh beans.
Made this to test it before Thanksgiving and was blown away by the flavor of the sauce as well as the creaminess. We used fresh green beans and it turned out great. Will for sure be making and doubling this for Thanksgiving!
Can this be made with canned green beans?
I suppose you could, although the texture won’t be quite as nice.
Think there’d be any adjustments needed for fresh green beans instead of frozen?
Yes, I suggest blanching them for 3-5 minutes in boiling water (just until they are bright green) before adding them to the casserole. :)
This is basically the beginning of your creamy garlic mushroom soup (Which I LOVE) and then you turned it into the green bean escarole…which I also love.
So I HAVE to try this!
I LOVE green bean casserole!!!! :-)
Sounds yummy. Can this be made ahead?
I would suggest making this one fresh as the sauce can separate a little during refrigeration.
I’m definitely going to have to try this with the GF fried onions from Sprouts! Last year we used a GF “Cream of Soup” and it was super gross and shockingly, way too much garlic!
Meg! In order to make this completely GF, would would you replace the flour with?
Rice flour.
Use Cup4Cup flour