Semi-Homemade Green Bean Casserole

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

Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a FREE eBook! 

Semi-Homemade Green Bean Casserole

Carrie's Experimental Kitchen

Make one of the classic holiday side dishes using fresh green beans, mushrooms and fat free half and half with this Semi-Homemade Green Bean Casserole.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Calories 152 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 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

Calories: 152kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 3gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 316mgPotassium: 285mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 448IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 52mgIron: 1mg

Keyword casserole, green beans

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Connect with me on Social Media

Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram