December 1, 2023
Fresh green beans and not a can in sight—our homemade green bean casserole recipe gives your favorite creamy veggie side dish a bit of a makeover.
Categories
- Fall
- Thanksgiving
- Winter
- Dinner
- Vegetarian
More Holiday Dinner Classics
Parker House Rolls
Scalloped Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows and Pecan Streusel
Classic Sausage Stuffing
Classic Green Bean Casserole Made From Scratch
You can make a fresh green bean casserole, from scratch! It’s not even harder than the canned version! Starting with fresh green beans—or even frozen ones—will yield a green bean casserole with better texture. Add this to the holiday list, and make some other greats from our 40 Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes. Or if you’re looking for other ways to serve string beans check out Green Beans Almondine and Green Beans with Apples and Sage Butter.
Can You Make Green Bean Casserole Ahead of Time?
A few hours ahead of time? Yes! A day or two ahead of time? Not really. Green bean casserole is just one of those things that’s best enjoyed freshly-baked. Especially if you’re making it from fresh green beans instead of canned, and making this classic casserole from scratch! There are a few shortcuts.
Blanch the green beans ahead of time! You can do this step easily a day or two ahead, and just keep the bean in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the casserole.
On Thanksgiving Day, if you’re short on stove top and oven space, prep the casserole up to the point of putting it into the oven. Then pop it into the fridge until 20 minutes before dinner time. Then, pop it in the oven to bake. You’ll be pulling it out right as the turkey is finished carving.
If you’re looking for ways to cut down on prep time, the Green Beans Almondine is a real game changer!
Fresh Green Bean Casserole Ingredients
Green beans–fresh or frozen–either is OK!
Dairy: Butter and Half & Half
Flour
Dijon mustard
Seasoning: Onion powder, garlic powder, nutmeg
Vegetable or chicken stock. FYI, if you use veggie stock, this green bean casserole will be fully vegetarian, in case you’d like to offer a vegetarian side dish at Thanksgiving.
French’s fried onions. This is the one classic ingredient that we’re not messing with. There’s just nothing quite like these crispy fried onion bits, and we’re keeping ‘em! Plus, we’ve been known to snack on them as we cook on Thanksgiving Day—it’s a marathon! We need snacks!
How Do You Make Green Bean Casserole From Scratch?
Blanch the green beans until they’re just bright green—three minutes for frozen, about five for fresh. Drain green beans, pat them dry, and add them to a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Start making the cream sauce by melting butter, then whisking in flour, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, salt, nutmeg and Dijon mustard in a large saucepan.
Whisk in the stock until it’s thoroughly combined, then stir in the cream.
Bring the cream sauce to a gentle simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
Pour the sauce over the green beans, and mix to combine.
Bake the casserole for 20 minutes.
Pull the casserole out, give the green beans another stir, then top with French’s crispy onions and bake them for another 10 minutes.
Serve piping hot!
How to Store Leftover Green Bean Casserole + Tips
Leftovers will last for 3-4 days in the fridge, and are best reheated in the oven.
Can you freeze green bean casserole? We don’t love the texture of this green bean casserole after it is frozen. Best to eat those leftovers as soon as possible!
More great Thanksgiving recipes to complete your meal: Baked Brie, followed by Perfect Roast Turkey Recipe, Potato Leek au Gratin and Glazed Carrots, finished with our homemade Pumpkin Pie.
A Few New Classics Holiday Dishes You Will Love
Endive and Roquefort Salad with Pear Vinaigrette
Creamed Brussels Sprouts
Crispy Shallot Mashed Potatoes
Cornbread Stuffing
- Endive and Roquefort Salad with Pear Vinaigrette An easy and delicious salad for the holiday table, this endive and roquefort salad with pear vinaigrette is easy to pull together and looks stunning on a serving platter.
- Creamed Brussels Sprouts Brussels sprouts need very little work to make them delicious, but we’ve added cream, seasonings, parmesan, and toasty hazelnuts to take them to the next level.
- Crispy Shallot Mashed Potatoes Mashed potatoes are transported to the next level with crispy shallots and the oil they are cooked in, with butter and milk, of course!
- Cornbread Stuffing Delight your family and friends with this delicious and easy cornbread stuffing recipe filled with big pieces of crumbly seasoned cornbread and crunchy buttery veggies.
We’ve Got The Full Thanksgiving Menu + More
For more recipe inspiration, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest or order our cookbook. We love when you share your meals. Tag us on Instagram using #themodernproper. Happy cooking!
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