There's just something special about a Green Bean Casserole made with Fresh Green Beans, especially around the holidays. It's simple to make, bright on the table, and guaranteed to win over even the biggest veggie skeptics at Thanksgiving dinner!
This lightened-up twist on the classic holiday side dish delivers all the cozy, nostalgic goodness without the heaviness that you're used to.
If you ask me what my favorite Thanksgiving side is, I'd say it's a toss-up between green casserole and homemade cranberry sauce. IYKYK 😉
And because I grew up eating the green bean casserole made the traditional way, I was sure to create a recipe using perfectly tender green beans and a topping of crispy onions.
You know me, as a dietitian mom I'm always trying to find easy ways to get more veggies in, so get this - this recipe isn't just made with fresh green beans instead of canned. It's made with more green beans, one-and-a-half more to be exact! 😍
Here's to celebrating the holiday season with incredible flavor, more veggies, and less time in the kitchen!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy Side Dish While green bean casserole is an infamous Thanksgiving side, it's easy enough to make year-round, even on busy weeknights.
- Simple Recipe 5 ingredients - super simple! Aside from using fresh green beans (and more of them), I otherwise stick to the simple recipe found on the container of French's fried onions (cream of mushroom soup, black pepper, milk, green beans, and fried onions).
- Family Approved Let's just say, even my husband approved of this green bean casserole even though it isn't made with canned green beans. 😉
Dietitian Tips
- Using fresh green beans in green bean casserole is an easy way to reduce the amount of sodium without sacrificing taste.
- Increasing the amount of vegetables a classic recipe calls for is a great way to extend the rest of the ingredients (in this case, cream of mushroom soup). For instance, I this recipe calls for one-and-a-half the amount of green beans in the original French's recipe for green bean casserole.
Ingredient Notes
Here are a few notes on the key ingredients for making Green Bean Casserole with Fresh Green Beans. For the complete list of ingredients, including amounts, please scroll down to the recipe card.
- Fresh Green Beans Use fresh green beans, not frozen.
- Cream of Mushroom Soup I like to use cream of portabella mushroom soup from Trader Joe's. Of course, you can always make homemade cream of mushroom soup, but then you're getting even further away from the original recipe.
- French Fried Onions After years of making green bean casserole with French's French-Fried Onions, I've started making it with Gourmet Fried Onion Pieces from Trader Joe's. Both brands of crispy fried onions add incredible flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Cut full length green beans into thirds. They should be similar in size to cut green beans in a can.
- Add green beans to boiling water and cook for 11 minutes. Drain (drain off as much excess water as possible).
- Stir cream of mushroom soup, black pepper, milk, cooked and drained green beans, and about one-quarter of a cup of the crispy onions together in an 8x8 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven, top with the remaining French fried onions and bake for another 5 minutes. The onion topping should be golden brown.
Helpful Tips
- To save time, while the green beans are cooking, add the cream of mushroom soup, milk, and black pepper to a prepared 8x8 casserole dish so you can add the green beans when they're done cooking.
- When doubling this recipe, increase the initial baking time by 5-10 minutes ensuring the mixture is bubbling around the sides before adding the french onions for the final five minutes.
- Check on the green beans after about 7 minutes, then check again in 2-minute increments until your desired consistency is reached. For me, it takes about 11 minutes for fresh green beans to achieve a similar consistency to canned green beans.
- Can use whole milks, low-fat milk, or skim milk. Using whole milk or 2% milk will result in a creamier sauce mixture than skim milk.
- Allow leftovers to cool to room temperature before storing refrigerated in an airtight container.
Questions You May Have
Take a handful or two of crispy potato chips and crumble them up. Then use the chip crumbles in place of the crispy onions.
Yes, absolutely. Just don't add the crispy onions until you bake it.
You can add either one if you want to! I did try adding Worcestershire sauce to this recipe, and while it did level up the flavor, it did add a different taste than I was used to.
📖 Recipe
Green Bean Casserole with Fresh Green Beans
Equipment
- 1 Large pot. or Dutch oven
- 1 8x8 baking dish 1½ quart casserole dish
- 1 strainer to strain the green beans
Ingredients
- 6 cups green beans One 24 oz bag of fresh green beans. Washed and ends snipped.
- 11 oz cream of mushroom soup one 10½ or 11 oz can or brick pack (Trader Joe's version doesn't come in a can).
- ¾ cup milk skim, low-fat, or whole milk. Whole milk will thicken the sauce the most.
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup French Fried Onions Divided. I've used French's and Trader Joe's brands.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut fresh green beans into thirds. Each piece should be similar in size to cut green beans from a can.
- Boil cut green beans for 11 minutes, checking on them after 7 minutes and every 2 minutes after to make sure they don't overcook.
- While the green beans are cooking, mix together the cream of mushroom soup, milk, black pepper, and about ⅓ of a cup of French-fried onions together in a greased 8x8 baking dish.
- Drain green beans well to remove as much excess water as possible.
- Stir cooked and drained green beans into to the soup and milk mixture.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until it's bubbly around the edges.
- Top the cooked green bean mixture with the remaining ⅔ cup of crispy onions and bake for an additional 5 minutes, until the onions are golden brown.
- Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Check on the green beans after about 7 minutes, then check again in 2-minute increments until your desired consistency is reached. For me, it takes about 11 minutes for fresh green beans to achieve a similar consistency to canned green beans.
- To save time, while the green beans are cooking, add the cream of mushroom soup, milk, and black pepper to a prepared 8x8 casserole dish so you can add the green beans when they're done cooking.
- When doubling this recipe, increase the initial baking time by 5-10 minutes ensuring the mixture is bubbling around the sides before adding the French onions for the final five minutes.
- Can use whole milks, low-fat milk, or skim milk. Using whole milk or 2% milk will result in a creamier sauce mixture than skim milk.
- Allow leftovers to cool to room temperature before storing refrigerated in an airtight container.
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