The Best Green Bean Casserole Recipe for Your Thanksgiving Table

What's a Green Bean Casserole?

Thanksgiving dinner is nothing without a green bean casserole. This popular baked dish consists of just four main ingredients- green beans, French fried onions, cream of mushroom soup, and shredded Cheddar cheese.

The recipe for green bean casserole was invented by Dorcas Reilly more than 60 years ago at the Campbell Soup Company in Camden, New Jersey. Originally, the dish was called green bean bake.

According to the Campbell Soup Company, its recipe for green bean casserole is viewed four million times each year on Thanksgiving Day and the dish is served at 20 million dinners each Thanksgiving. A spokesperson of the company revealed that 40% of the company's sales of cream of mushroom soup go towards preparing this delicious side-dish.

Notwithstanding its status as the side-dish star of the Thanksgiving table, it was originally intended to be a regular, everyday side-dish. It took off as a Thanksgiving dish only in the 1960s when the Campbell Soup Company started printing the recipe on the labels of cream of mushroom soup cans.

Green bean casserole can easily be turned into a main meal by adding cooked shredded chicken to the sauce. Cooked pasta can be added too and grated cheese used as a topping to turn the dish into a pasta bake.

Reilly's original recipe card is now a part of the National Inventor's Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio.

Origins of this Side Dish

The original recipe for the green bean casserole was created by Dorcas Reilly, an employee of the Campbell Soup Company, in 1955. Reilly was one of the first full-time employees of the company's Home Economics department, which is better known today as the Campbell Test Kitchen.

In 1955, Reilly was a supervisor at the Campbell Test Kitchen, when she was tasked with coming up with a recipe for a feature that was slated to appear in the Associated Press. She had to craft the recipe out of ingredients that are easily available to a home cook, including green beans and Campbell's cream of mushroom soup.

According to a Today.com article, Reilly and her team toyed initially with the idea of adding ham and celery salt. However, in the end, they zeroed in on six affordable and simple ingredients, which could be stirred and mixed together in a casserole dish and popped for 25 minutes into the oven. What emerged was the green bean bake, which later became the green bean casserole.

The recipe, even to this day, calls for six simple ingredients, namely canned or fresh green beans, soy sauce, Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, milk, black pepper, and French-fried onions.

Reilly's dish hardly took time to get ready and worked perfectly with canned or frozen green beans and packaged fried onions. It tasted resounding success! The green bean bake recipe was well-suited to post-war USA, when hassle-free and cheap cooking methods were highly valued. A convenience cooking culture set in during this time as wartime rations on canned products were lifted and innovations in freezing and canning made packaged foods more and more accessible.

However, as mentioned in the preceding section, the popularity of the dish reached another level altogether after Campbell's began printing the recipe on its cream of mushroom soup cans.

How to Make an Outstanding Green Bean Casserole

If you are going to use fresh ingredients to make your green bean casserole, you need to use a stovetop. The texture and taste of onions and mushrooms improve when they are cooked in a skillet. Moreover, if everything is cooked on the stovetop, the flavors meld well and the time required in the oven is reduced.

Make sure that the onion topping is crispy and does not get burned. Thicken the casserole with flour or cornstarch before adding the topping so that it doesn't fall to the bottom. Appliances like pressure cookers or slow cookers employ moist heat and would prevent the green bean casserole from acquiring its signature crispy topping. So, if you are using these appliances, be careful to not add the topping till it is placed on the serving dish. Also, make sure that the oven is not too hot and that the topping doesn't stay in the oven for too long to prevent it from burning.

The green beans used in this dish should be tender. They should, however, not be mushy. Classic green bean casserole recipes require French-cut green beans, or beans cut thinly lengthwise. Canned beans contain a lot of sodium which would make the casserole unduly salty. Therefore, go for frozen French cut green beans, which retain their texture better and can be cooked right from the frozen state.

The sauce that coats the green beans should be thick and not soupy. Add sufficient amounts of a thickener such as cornstarch or flour. Sprinkle the thickener over the beans as they cook to form a slurry. Remember, you need to cook the ingredients on the stovetop long enough to prevent the vegetables from leaching water when the casserole is in the oven.

Be mindful of Food Safety while preparing, storing, and reheating your green bean casserole. This dish can be made three days in advance.

Avoid holding the dish at the food temperature danger zone (40-140 F). If the dish has been out at room temperature for two hours, immediately refrigerate it. For reheating, after you remove the green bean casserole from the fridge, let it stay at room temperature for half an hour. Then add the French fried onion topping, and reheat the dish in an oven that has been preheated to 350 F till the onions become golden brown and the casserole is heated through and through.

Store in an airtight container. It stays safe in the refrigerator for four days at the most.

Thaw the green beans and drain them before adding them to your casserole. Use running water in a colander for thawing the beans.

Ingredients for Your Casserole

Green bean casserole is a must-have during the Thanksgiving holiday. Let's now look at an extremely easy recipe that uses ingredients that are easy on the pocket too. The dish consists of crunchy French fried onions and tender green beans in a cheesy, creamy sauce, and can be prepared in just under half an hour.

As far as food nutrition is concerned, this dish per serving (serving size of 6) provides 322 calories of energy, 23g of fat, 20g of carbohydrates, 7g of protein, 1.06g of sodium, 3g of sugars, 2g of dietary fiber, and 20mg of cholesterol. It also contains minerals like calcium, potassium, and iron; and Vitamin C.

Here are the ingredients needed-

• 2 cans (14.5 ounces) of drained green beans
• 1 cup of divided shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) of condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can (6 ounces) of French fried onions

Steps to Making Your Casserole

1. Preheated the oven to 350 F.
2. In a big microwave-safe bowl, thoroughly combine condensed soup and green beans. Microwave for three to five minutes on high till warm.
3. Into the green bean mixture, stir in half a cup of Cheddar cheese. Microwave for two to three minutes on high.
4. Transfer the mixture of green beans, Cheddar cheese, and condensed cream of mushroom soup to a casserole dish. Spread the mixture over the bottom evenly. Top with French fried onions and the remaining cheese.
5. Bake for around 10 minutes till the cheese melts and the onions start to turn brown.

How to Gussy up Your Green Beans- Variation 1

Green bean casserole with a secret ingredient

The secret ingredient in this dish is porcini mushrooms. They lend an earthy, nutty flavor to the dish. The classic green bean casserole can be a little bland, and porcini mushrooms, sauteed onions, and black pepper can jazz it up. Here are the ingredients needed-

• 1 pound of halved fresh green beans
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1/4 cup of dried porcini mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• A pinch of salt
• 4 ounces of cheddar cheese
• 21 ounces (2 cans) of cream of mushroom soup
• 2.8 ounces of crispy fried onions

1. Preheated the oven to 350 F. Pour 10 cups of water in a big pot and bring it to a boil.
2. Trim the green bean ends and cut the beans in half. Boil them for 10 to 15 minutes until they become tender.
3. Mince the garlic and dice the onions.
4. When the beans turn tender, strain them and use a kitchen towel to dry them off.
5. Add onions, cooked green beans, porcini mushrooms, and garlic to a frying pan with pepper, salt, and olive oil. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes over medium flame till the onions become transparent and the liquid in the pan entirely dries up. This allows the vegetables to be seasoned, reduces extra moisture, and rehydrates the porcini mushrooms.
6. Add the cream of mushroom soup and combine thoroughly. In order to reduce extra moisture, simmer on low flame for around five minutes.
7. Transfer the mixture to an oven-safe casserole dish measuring 10.5 x 7.5 inches. Sprinkle a thin cheese layer on top and add a layer of crispy fried onions.
8. Bake for around 35 minutes till the cheese melts and the onions turn brown.

How to Gussy up Your Green Beans- Variation 2

Uncle Al's improved green bean casserole

Ingredients-

• 2 (9 oz) packages of frozen and cut green beans
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 coarsely chopped medium onion
• 1/2 pound of fresh mushrooms
• 1 (10-3/4 oz) can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 can (2.8 oz) of divided French fried onions
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon of vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon of hot pepper sauce (or more to taste)
• Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste
• 1/2 cup of chopped pecans (toasted if you prefer)

1. Cook the green beans according to the directions on the package in a medium-sized saucepan. Drain thoroughly and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large-sized frying pan, melt the butter.
3. Add the onions, cooking them over medium flame. Stir occasionally till the onions are translucent.
4. While the onions get sauteed, clean the mushrooms. Halve the smaller mushrooms and quarter the large ones. Add the mushrooms to the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, till they let go of their juices.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
6. Stir the milk and soup into the onion mixture. Add around half a can of fried onions. Stir in the vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, hot pepper sauce, mustard, pepper, salt, and pecans.
7. Stir in the green beans. Adjust the seasoning.
8. Transfer the mixture to a 1 1/2-quart baking dish and bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining onions on top. Bake for an additional five minutes.

Extra!! Two More Delicious Green Bean Dishes

1. Green bean and Chicken Salad

Ingredients-

For the salad-

• 20 oz of canned and drained salt-free white meat chicken
  Or
• 2 cups of shredded chicken (from 1/2 a rotisserie chicken)
• 31 oz of drained and rinsed canned, salt-free, or low-sodium green beans
• 3 tablespoons of chopped, unoiled, and unsalted almonds
• 3 chopped celery stalks

• 1 teaspoon of ground mustard mixed with 2 teaspoons of water
  Or
• 1 tablespoon of spicy brown mustard or Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons of canola oil or extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper

1. Add the mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper, and thyme to a small-sized bowl.
2. Use a whisk or fork to combine.

1. Add the ingredients to a large-sized bowl and mix.
2. Add the dressing to the salad. Toss to combine.

• 1 pound of cubed stew beef
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 peeled and chopped medium-sized onion
• 1 (16 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
• 2 peeled and minced cloves of garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)
• 8 cups of water
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper (or to taste)
• 1 (4 oz) can of tomato puree
• 1/4 cup of flour with a little splash of water
• 1 pound of frozen or fresh green beans

1. Pour two tablespoons of olive oil into a Dutch oven or a large-sized pot. Add the cubed stew beef and let it brown on all sides.
2. Add the minced garlic and chopped onion.
3. Stir in the crushed tomatoes thoroughly with the meat, onion, and garlic.
4. Add the ground coriander, ground cumin, ground allspice, pepper, and salt.
5. Add the tomato puree and water. Stir and mix well. Add the beans and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer on low flame for two hours till the meat turns tender and is done.
6. Make Sure that the sauce slightly thickens as it cooks. If you want the sauce to be thicker, whisk in the slurry made of flour and water till well mixed. Cook the sauce on high flame for a few minutes so that the raw flour cooks and the sauce thickens.
7. Serve the green bean and Beef Stew over white rice, along with a green salad.