Green bean casserole is a classic holiday side dish to pair with Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham. This green bean casserole is made entirely from scratch with a creamy mushroom sauce and crispy fried onions.
Recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Tender-crisp green beans are tossed in a mild, creamy mushroom sauce and baked with homemade fried crispy onions on top.
Pan size: 1.5 quart or 8x8
Serves: 8 people
Similar to: Cheesy Broccoli Casserole or Green Beans and Onions
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Fried onions - You'll need sliced onion, buttermilk, panko bread crumbs (regular bread crumbs also work), all-purpose flour, salt, and pepper.
- Green beans - Fresh, frozen, or canned green beans work in this recipe. If using canned green beans, skip the boiling step and continue with the recipe as written.
- Mushrooms - Button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms are great choices.
- Sauce - A simple, savory sauce is made with chicken broth, half & half (whole milk also works for a slightly thinner sauce), butter, fresh minced garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme.
How to make green bean casserole
- Toss onions in buttermilk.
- Transfer onions to panko mixture and toss to coat.
- Carefully drop into hot oil and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
- Use a spider strainer to remove onions from oil and transfer to paper towels.
- Cook diced mushrooms in butter over medium heat until lightly browned. Add flour, stir to coat, and cook 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth and half and half and whisk to incorporate.
- Decrease heat to medium low. Stir in seasoning and cook until mixture coats the back of a spoon thickly.
- Stir in cooked green beans.
- Pour green bean mixture into a baking dish.
- Top with crispy fried onions and bake until mixture is hot and bubbly in the center.
Tips and tricks
Dish size - Use any 1.5 quart or 8x8 square baking dish for this recipe. If doubling, this recipe will fit a 3 quart or 9x13 casserole dish.
Breading the onions - Allow excess buttermilk to drip off the onions before dipping in the breadcrumb mixture. This ensures the onions aren't overloaded with coating, which can fall off during the frying process.
Drain your green beans - Be sure to drain your green beans well before adding to the cream sauce. Overly wet green beans can make the sauce watery and thin.
Use a whisk - When preparing the cream sauce, use a whisk to ensure lumps don't form while cooking.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! Assemble your green bean casserole without the onion topping. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 days in the refrigerator. Store your fried onions in a separate container. When ready to bake, preheat your oven and transfer the casserole to the counter top to bring to room temperature. Top your casserole with fried onions, then bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes.
I prefer fresh green beans when they're available at my local grocer. However, frozen green beans are flash frozen and maintain their fresh flavor, so they're just as good as fresh in my opinion. Canned green beans will work in this recipe, but have a softer texture.
Yes - store bought fried onions are a great time saver if you don't have time to make your entire casserole from scratch.
Green bean casserole makes an excellent side dish for holiday meals. I recommend pairing it with ham or turkey, your favorite potato dish (like mashed potatoes or potatoes au gratin), and a side of cranberry sauce.
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📖 Recipe
Green Bean Casserole From Scratch
Ingredients
Fried onions
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 4 ounces buttermilk
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- canola oil
Casserole
- 1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut in half
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 ounces button mushrooms, diced into ½" pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 8 ounces chicken broth
- 8 ounces half and half
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Fried onions
- In a bowl, pour buttermilk over sliced onions and toss to coat. Set aside. Combine flour, panko, salt, and pepper in a second bowl.
- Begin heating a saucepan with 1-2 inches of oil over medium-high heat on the stove top.
- A handful at a time, transfer onions from buttermilk into panko mixture (allow excess buttermilk to drip off onions first). Toss quickly to coat, then transfer into the hot oil. Fry for about 2-3 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Continue until all onions have been fried.
Casserole
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Grease a 1.5 quart dish or 8x8 baking pan and set aside.
- Meanwhile, bring a gallon of salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath (water and ice) in a large bowl and set aside. Add green beans to boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain beans and immediately transfer to the ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once cooled, drain beans thoroughly and set aside.
- In a sauté pan over medium heat, add butter. Once melted, add diced mushrooms and cook 3-4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add flour, stir to coat mushrooms, and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth and half and half, whisking to incorporate. Decrease heat to medium-low.
- Add dried thyme, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickly coats the back of a spoon, about 4-5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add green beans to the sauce. Stir to coat, then pour into prepared dish. Top the casserole with fried onions.
- Bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until mixture is hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- To make ahead: Prepare casserole as directed, but before adding onions or baking, cover and refrigerate overnight. Store onions separately. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375F, add onions on top, and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until bubbly and warmed through.
- If doubling: Serve in a 9x13 or 3 quart casserole dish.
- Storage: Leftovers will keep for up to 4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
I realize it isn't anywhere near thanksgiving but I was craving a good GB casserole and this recipe did not disappoint! The gravy sauce was perfectly delicious even without mushrooms and I was really impressed by how easy it was to make the homemade crispy fried onions. I absolutely will be making this dish again! Thank you so much!
Thanks for the great review, glad you enjoyed it! And I agree a good green bean casserole isn't just for Thanksgiving 🙂
Can it just be next Thursday already? This post is going to have me dreaming of green bean casserole until then, 100%. Love it!
Yes me too - I can't wait to make it again 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!