This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 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.
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!
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 🙂