Make one of the classic holiday side dishes using fresh green beans, mushrooms and half and half with this Semi-Homemade Green Bean Casserole.
If I had to pick one recipe that is always a must-have on Thanksgiving, it would be French's Green Bean Casserole. It's my absolute favorite side dish and I only eat it once, maybe twice a year.
But the funny thing is that I generally don't get to eat it while were savoring all of the other food. I'm just too full from picking and taste testing throughout the day that I don't eat much when it comes time to sit down.
Instead, I prefer to heat it up until it's scalding hot and pick on it late at night after our guests go home or the next day.
When I usually make green bean casserole, I use frozen french cut green beans, Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup, milk and Durkee Onions.
I think the original recipe from back in the 1970's also calls for a bit of soy sauce, but that ingredient seems to have been eliminated in our family over the years.
I wanted to try my hand at making this recipe using fresh ingredients and came up with this Semi-Homemade Green Bean Casserole recipe using fresh green beans, portobello mushrooms, chicken stock, and fat free half and half.
Of course, I couldn't forget about the fried onions. So I opted to still use the Durkee brand to save some time; however, if you would like to make your own fried onions, check out this recipe for Vanilla Almond Onion Straws.
You can use this as a guide and substitute regular milk for the almond milk if you'd like.
what makes this recipe for Green bean casserole different than the rest?
Not much probably as there are only so many ways to write about the combination of green beans, mushrooms and fried onions. In fact, I almost didn't post this recipe because of it.
That is until I mentioned making this to several friends and they couldn't wait for me to share it here on Carrie's Experimental Kitchen.
It's really quite easy and only involves a few extra steps than the classic recipe; however, since it doesn't use canned or frozen ingredients, I could control the amount of sodium my family ingests. I don't like to cook with a lot of salt as you can probably tell by many of my recipes.
That's because I'm a salt-o-holic who salts EVERYTHING before I eat it, no matter if I cook with it or not. So to save my blood pressure numbers from skyrocketing, I just don't add it during the cooking phase.
You can feel free to use as much salt (and pepper) as you like while you're making these recipes for your own family.
How do you make Green Bean Casserole?
Trim the ends of the green beans; then cut them in half. I left them whole and it was a bit hard to scoop out without making a mess. Next, blanch the beans in boiling water for about 2 minutes or cook over a double boiler.
You want to them to turn bright green and still be a little crisp. Remove the beans, drain the water and set aside.
In the same pot (or bottom of the double boiler), melt the butter and add diced mushrooms. Cook until they start to soften; then whisk in flour to form a roux. Add chicken stock and ½ & ½ and mix until it thickens.
Add the beans back into the pot along with 1 c. fried onions; mix well. Place in an oven safe baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes; then place the remaining fried onions on top and bake for an additional 5 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
This take on the classic French's Green Bean Casserole was SOO good; I think it was even better than using the canned and frozen ingredients. It had a much fresher flavor. I did get to enjoy these the night I made them, but they were even better reheated the next day.
The best part about this recipe is that you can prepare it the night before by omitting the last step of adding the remaining fried onions. Allow to cool, cover and refrigerate.
Then when it's time to heat for your Thanksgiving feast, remove from the refrigerator about 15 minutes or so before placing in the oven with the remaining onions.
Since the turkey has to rest before carving anyway, this is a good time to heat all of your sides if you're tight on oven space. ~Enjoy!
Visit the recipe index to search for more recipes by category.
More Green Bean Recipes
- Crispers with Lemon Garlic Aioli {Applebee's Copycat}
- Green Beans with Bacon
- Sea Salt Roasted Green Beans
- Chili Garlic Green Beans
- Green Beans with Tomato and Garlic
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Semi-Homemade Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh green beans (or haricot verts)
- 2 cups diced mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup fat free half and half
- 2 cups french fried onions (divided)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Trim the ends of the green beans; then cut them in half.
- Next, blanch the beans in boiling water for about 2 minutes or cook over a double boiler. You want to them to turn bright green and still be a little crisp. Remove the beans, drain the water and set aside.
- In the same pot (or bottom of the double boiler), melt the butter and add diced mushrooms. Cook until they start to soften; then whisk in flour to form a roux. Add chicken stock and ½ & ½ and mix until it thickens.
- Add the beans back into the pot along with 1 c. fried onions; mix well.
- Place in an oven safe baking dish and bake for 20 minutes; then place the remaining fried onions on top and bake for an additional 5 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
Nutrition
Catherine says
Dear Carrie, the green bean casserole is one of my favorites during Thanksgiving. This is pure and delicious comfort food. Looks perfect! xo, Catherine
alicia szemon says
yum! i love green bean casserole!
Anna says
Interesting recipe, I may try it soon.
Karly says
Perfection! Much better than the canned soup version. š
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Thanks Karly and I think so too! š
Sara Zielinski says
I love green been casserole, its perfect for Thanksgiving.
Sara Zielinski says
This is perfect for thanksgiving.
Jeanne Coulombe says
I make this every year family loves it!
Farrah King says
I can't wait to try this recipe! This is also my favorite Thanksgiving side and if it's as good as it looks...it's sure to be a keeper! Thanks for the recipe!
Shannon says
Thank you for sharing how to make this at home and simple to make as well.
Betsy Rubendall Barnes says
This is a nice recipe. I love that you use fresh green beans, bet it really improves the taste of this widely made casserole š
Betsy Rubendall Barnes says
Or Betsy Barnes (may have entered my name incorrectly in the widget)
Tabitha S says
yum this is my fav thanksgiving sidedish
Melanie says
Iām having someone over for Christmas that has celiac disease. If I omit the onions and use slivered almonds on top would that be a gluten free dish?
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
You can use almonds, but I'm not sure you're going to get the same effect with the mushroom cream sauce inside of the vegetable casserole. I'm not sure where you live, but Aldi's sells a gluten free fried onion product. You can see if there's a store near you here: https://aldi.us/stores/. If one isn't close to you, I found this recipe for gluten free fried onion rings on the Betty Crocker website that looks pretty easy too. Good luck and Merry Christmas!
Vegetable oil for frying
2 large onions, cut in half, thinly sliced (3 cups)
1 1/2 cups milk or buttermilk
3/4 cup Bisquick⢠Gluten Free mix
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper