Easy Green Bean Casserole
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This Green Bean Casserole is an easy and favorite holiday side dish. It requires only minutes of prep and can be made with canned, frozen, or fresh green beans. With a couple of unique ingredients, this twist on the classic is just as delicious as ever.
Looking for easy side dishes? Try this quick and easy green bean salad, Neopolitan garden green beans recipe for fresh, savory flavors, or this easy French classic side, Green Beans Almondine!
Recipe Overview
- Make-Ahead: Assemble up to 24 hours ahead; add the topping and bake just before serving.
- Flavor: Creamy, savory, and comforting with tender green beans and a golden, crispy onion topping.
- Ease: Simple to prepare with pantry staples; can be made with fresh or frozen green beans.
- Time: About 10 minutes prep + 30-35 minutes baking.
- Servings: Makes 6-8 servings as a side dish.
- Occasions: Classic for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, but easy enough for Sunday dinner.
What to Love About This Casserole
When you're cooking a holiday feast, simple side dishes mean everything.
If you've never made or tasted this holiday classic, think of a tender green bean mixture cooked in a mushroom sauce with a bit of melting cheese and seasonings. Then top all of that goodness with crispy, French fried onions.
- Prep in minutes: Simple side dishes with very little prep leave you plenty of time for the rest of the holiday meal.
- Kids love it, even if vegetables aren't their favorite thing.
- Easy to Make Ahead: Assemble and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Whether you make this green bean casserole with frozen green beans, fresh, or canned, it's a simple side dish with crispy onions that your family and friends will love.
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Ingredients in Green Bean Casserole
Here is all you need to make this incredibly simple dish. The exact measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Green Beans
For this recipe, you can use fresh, frozen, canned, or French-cut green beans.
- Canned green beans are soft and require zero prep. They're ready to drain and use in the casserole.
- Frozen green beans: You can use frozen green beans or parboil them for 5 minutes in boiling water before proceeding with the recipe, which is my preferred method.
- Fresh green beans can also be used. Their tender-crisp texture makes them a delicious choice. Cut to the desired length and simmer for 8 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.
Mushroom Sauce
The base of this mushroom sauce is a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup. It's what makes this casserole so incredibly easy and perfect for holiday gatherings. To that sauce, you will add a bit of milk for consistency, shredded cheese for flavor, and seasonings of salt, pepper, ground nutmeg, garlic powder, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. The pepper flakes are optional but SO good.
Shredded Cheese
This is a bit of a deviation from the classic, but I love the flavor of adding shredded cheese to this casserole. Use your favorite cheese, like cheddar, Parmesan, or an Italian mix is especially nice.
Crispy Fried Onions
Crispy Fried Onions make this casserole iconic. While you can substitute buttered and toasted panko crumbs, the onions are hard to beat!
How To Make Green Bean Casserole
I keep using the word "easy" in this recipe because it's incredibly simple. And I love simplicity during holiday feasts. There are so many recipes that require my attention and detail, but this isn't one of them. Here's how to make the casserole.
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. and pre-cook the beans until crisp-tender, draining the liquid if you're using fresh or frozen beans.
- Step 2: In a large bowl, combine mushroom soup, milk, shredded cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Stir in the green beans and crispy onions.
- Step 3: Transfer to a prepared baking pan and add another layer of crispy onions over the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, remove from the oven, top with additional crispy onions, and bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until crisp and golden.
Variations
- Homemade Mushroom Sauce: Swap the canned soup for a quick homemade cream sauce with butter, mushrooms, garlic, flour, and milk for a from-scratch upgrade.
- Cheesy Casserole: Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar, Parmesan, or Gruyère cheese to the sauce for extra richness.
- Crispy Topping Options: Instead of fried onions, try buttered panko breadcrumbs, crushed Ritz crackers, or a mix of breadcrumbs and Parmesan for a crunchy twist.
How To Make This Recipe Ahead of Time
If you're planning a feast or want to make this casserole ahead, it's an easy dish to prep. Here's how:
- This recipe can be assembled ahead of time, then stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.
- Store the crispy onion topping separately and add it just before baking.
- When you're ready to bake the casserole, remove it from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. You may need to add extra minutes to the cooking time.
Serving Ideas
- Holiday Dinners: A staple for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners alongside Roast Turkey or Glazed Ham.
- Everyday Side: Pair with a simple baked chicken breast or turkey meatloaf for an easy weeknight dinner.
- Potlucks & Gatherings: This casserole travels well and can be kept warm in a 9x13 dish, making it a crowd-pleaser at church suppers or family reunions.
- Part of a Buffet: Serve with other classic sides like Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole, and classic Thanksgiving Stuffing for a complete spread.
Recipe FAQs
No. You should bake the casserole uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, or until it's bubbling in the center and the onions are becoming golden.
Absolutely! Make the casserole ahead, but do not add the crispy onion topping. Cover with foil and store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, remove from the refrigerator, add the crispy onion topping and let sit while the oven preheats.
Green beans are very versatile and go with almost any main dish you're serving. They are particularly good for holidays with turkey, ham, chicken, roast beef, and pork.
A 1.5-quart baking dish is perfect for this recipe.
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Green Bean Casserole Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups cut green beans frozen, fresh or canned
- 10.5 ounces cream of mushroom soup
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup shredded cheese cheddar, Parmesan, or your favorite blend
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups crispy fried onions divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- For fresh or frozen green beans, boil under crisp tender; about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Combine mushroom soup, green beans, milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and 1 cup of crispy onions. If you are using shredded cheese, stir that in as well. Transfer to a casserole dish.
- Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly.
- Remove from the oven, stir, and top with remaining onions. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the casserole is beginning to turn golden.
Video
Notes
How to Prep the Green Beans
For this recipe, you can use fresh, frozen, or even canned green beans. I also prefer cut green beans as they are bite size and work well in the casserole.- Canned green beans are soft and require zero prep. They're ready to drain and use in the casserole.
- Frozen green beans can be used frozen or parboiled, which is my preference, before proceeding with the recipe. I like to cook for about 5 minutes in boiling water.
- Fresh green beans can also be used. They have a tender-crisp texture that makes them a delicious choice. Cut to the desired length and simmer for 8 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.
Making Ahead the Green Bean Casserole
If you're planning a feast, or you want to make this casserole ahead to take to an event, it's an easy dish to prep ahead. Here's how:- This recipe can be assembled ahead to the point of baking and stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
- Store the crispy onion topping separately and add it just before baking.
- When you're ready to bake the casserole, remove it from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. You may need to add extra minutes to the cooking time.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
What are "Crispy Onions? Canned, with "Crispy Onions" on label?
Crispy Onions is an iconic product that reminds me of potato chips. It's the best way I can think of to describe them. Often used to sprinkle over soup and salads, they are the flavor essential for a traditional green bean casserole.
Here is an Amazon product link so you can see what it looks like. It's really more of a carton than a can.