Side Dishes

Green Bean Casserole

Hey ya’ll! It’s Liz again from Love Grows Wild, and I am SUPER excited to be here today! Do you know why? It’s because we are officially on the countdown to Thanksgiving! I adore this wonderful holiday where we reflect on all the things we cherish in our lives, and almost equally as important… we get to pig out on the BEST meal of the year! So today I’m sharing one of my absolute favorite parts of the Thanksgiving meal… the Green Bean Casserole! We’ve all had the age-old casserole with green beans out of a can topped with those tasty little french fried onions, but I promise that you have NEVER eaten a green bean casserole like this! Mine stands apart from the rest with fresh green beans, fresh sliced mushrooms, garlic, Parmesan, and homemade crispy onion strings! There will not be a single bean left when you serve this incredible side dish at your Thanksgiving table!
Green Bean Casserole with Fresh Mushrooms Recipe
Okay, so let’s start with the star of the show: the green beans. I cannot even begin to tell you how much of a difference using fresh beans makes! Canned green beans tend to be mushy and tasteless once baked into the casserole, but using fresh beans cooked in chicken broth makes them perfectly crisp-tender and full of flavor! I promise once you use fresh, you will never go back to the can! I just grab a few big handfuls of beans, chop off the ends and cut them in half. You want them in about 1 1/2 inch pieces.
Fresh Green Bean Casserole
Now there are very few things that could make this casserole any better, but the addition of fresh mushrooms… perfection! I’m a huge mushroom-lover, but if you’re not a big fan, just go ahead and leave them out. But seriously though… you should leave them in and feel good about doubling your veggie intake for the day : )
Green Bean Casserole with Mushrooms
Now green bean casserole just would not be green bean casserole without those yummy little fried onions on top. It’s against Thanksgiving rules. But why buy those onions in a can when you can make your own? I LOVE making homemade crispy onion strings to add to casseroles, hamburgers, salads, and possibly even straight to my mouth. Dipped in ketchup. By the handful. They’re THAT good!
Green Bean Casserole Thanksgiving side dish
Even though I use all kinds of fresh and homemade ingredients in this dish, I still stick with the classic cream of mushroom soup to bind all the ingredients together. Yes, I could make a sauce from scratch (and you totally can!), but I love using the canned soup as a shortcut and quite frankly I’ll take all the help and shortcuts I can get during the holidays! I really hope you try this awesome side dish at your Thanksgiving meal because I promise you won’t be disappointed! I know I will be chowing down on a big plate of it on turkey day!
Best Green Bean Casserole Recipe
4.7 from 3 reviews
Green Bean Casserole
 
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A perfect green bean salad that is a great side to any meal!
Author:
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ cup onion, finely diced
  • 8 ounce package button mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 cups fresh green beans, ends removed and cut in half
  • 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 10.75 ounce can low-sodium cream of mushroom soup
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • homemade crispy onion strings
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender. Add garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.
  2. Place green beans and chicken broth in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook about 8 minutes until beans are crisp tender and drain.
  3. Spray a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Place the soup, mushroom mixture, green beans, Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish and top with crispy onion strings. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until casserole is heated through.
Notes
Adapted from a Paula Deen recipe.
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    • Alyssa Rivers

    I am Alyssa and the blogger behind The Recipe Critic. I started my blog in June of 2012 as a place to share my passion for cooking. I love trying new things and testing them out with my family.