Thanksgiving is almost upon us here in the USA. I love Thanksgiving because the entire meal is based around comfort foods! Turkey, mashed potatoes, and my favorite side dish – the green bean casserole. This year, I decided that I wanted to make my green bean casserole from scratch. Fresh green beans are covered in a creamy mushroom sauce, then topped with breaded and fried onions. You will love this recipe because it uses only simple (read: no canned soup!) ingredients and the final product is totally worth it.
When I initially started working on this recipe, I realized that there are a lot of little steps to complete this dish. Don’t be daunted by this, each step is simple and requires minimal ingredients and work. I promise! Simplified, here’s what you’ll be doing:
- Slice onions, green beans, and mushrooms
- Bread and fry onions
- Blanch and ice bath green beans
- Cook mushrooms
- Make sauce
- Mix together and bake
That’s not so bad, right?
Plus, if you absolutely need to cut some corners to save time and/or sanity, you can. Pre-made fried onions can be used on top (I’m told there are organic varieties available!). I won’t hold it against you. However, if you’re like me and can’t stand to use canned soups, this creamy homemade sauce is a must. Plus, it tastes a thousand times better. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.
What is your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?
Green Bean Casserole From Scratch
Ingredients
Fried Onion Topping
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- canola oil
Green Beans and Mushroom Sauce
- 1 pound green beans trimmed and cut in half
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 ounces button mushrooms diced into 1/2" pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Fried Onions
- In a bowl, pour buttermilk over 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. Toss quickly to coat, and transfer into hot oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy. Transfer to paper towels. Continue until all onions have been fried.
Green Beans and Mushroom Sauce
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 1.5 quart dish or 8x8 baking pan and set aside.
- Bring a gallon of water and a dash of salt to a boil over high heat on the stove top. Meanwhile, 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 place into ice bath to stop cooking. Once cooled, drain again and set aside.
- In a sauté pan over medium heat, add butter to pan. Once melted, add diced mushrooms and cook 3-4 minutes, until almost cooked through. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add flour and stir to coat mushrooms. Then add the chicken broth and half and half, stirring constantly. Decrease heat to medium-low. Add dried thyme, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, about 7-8 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add green beans to mushroom sauce. Stir to combine, and pour into prepared dish. Sprinkle top with fried onions.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, until mixture is bubbly. Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Karly says
November 18, 2017 at 2:21 amCan it just be next Thursday already? This post is going to have me dreaming of green bean casserole until then, 100%. Love it!
Heather says
November 18, 2017 at 3:29 pmYes me too – I can’t wait to make it again 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
maylorteyer says
July 29, 2018 at 6:58 amI 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!
Heather says
July 29, 2018 at 8:43 amThanks for the great review, glad you enjoyed it! And I agree a good green bean casserole isn’t just for Thanksgiving 🙂