Green Bean Casseroles come out of cans and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. Creamy mushroom sauce, soft green beans, and a thick layer of French fried onions on top that bakes up golden and crackly. It tastes exactly the way it’s tasted at every holiday table you’ve ever sat at. I’ve never once wanted it any other way.
Classic Green Bean Casserole With French Fried Onions
I make this every Thanksgiving and while I tried to fancy it up many times, this is the recipe I come back to. No homemade mushroom sauce, no fresh beans blanched in ice water, no shallots I fried myself. Cans, all of it, and I sleep fine.
And it’s so good. Creamy and savory underneath, salty and crackly on top, and better than it has any business being for something that came out of my pantry.
That pantry once took delivery of 80 pounds of pasta because Walmart wouldn’t sell it any other way, so a few cans of cream of mushroom soup are the least of my problems out here. It also takes 10 minutes to put together, and on Thanksgiving morning that’s 10 minutes I get back.
Ingredients in Green Bean Casserole
- Cream of mushroom soup (2 cans, 10.5 ounces each): Condensed, straight from the can, no water added. Everything creamy in this casserole comes from these 2 cans. Cream of chicken works if that’s what’s in the cupboard, it’s just less mushroomy.
- Milk (1 cup): This thins the soup out so it coats the beans instead of sitting on them in clumps. Whole milk, 2 percent, whatever you’ve got. Half and half if you’re feeling generous.
- Soy sauce (2 teaspoons, low sodium): People skip this one and I’d keep it. You won’t taste soy sauce at all. It just makes the whole dish taste like something instead of tasting like soup.
- Black pepper (½ teaspoon): You don’t need salt. Between the soup, the soy sauce and the fried onions, there’s plenty in here already.
- Green beans (8 cups cooked, or 4 cans at 14.5 ounces each, drained): Canned is traditional but if you want something fresh, this is where I’d go. Drain them well, then drain them again, because any water left in the can is water that ends up in your casserole. Fresh and frozen both work.
- French fried onions (1 can, 6 ounces, about 2⅔ cups, divided): Half go in and half go on top. The ones stirred in soften and melt into the sauce, which is its own kind of good, and the ones on top stay crunchy. Buy the big can. I eat a handful straight out of it every single time.
How To Make Green Bean Casserole
Heat the oven: Set it to 350°F.
Make the sauce right in the dish: In a 9 by 13 inch baking dish, stir the cream of mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce and black pepper together until it’s smooth. No bowl, no whisk, just go at it with a spatula right in the dish you’re baking in. One less thing to wash later.
Stir in the beans and half the onions: Add the green beans and about half the French fried onions and stir until everything’s coated. It’ll look like way too many beans for the amount of sauce and then it comes together as you stir, so keep going.
Bake it: Spread it into an even layer and bake 30 minutes. You want it hot all the way through and bubbling around the edges, not just warm in the middle.
Add the rest of the onions: Scatter the remaining fried onions over the top and bake another 5 minutes, until they’re golden and crisp. Keep an eye on them at the end, they go from golden to too dark quickly.
Let it sit: Give it 5 minutes before you serve it. The sauce tightens up a little as it rests, and straight out of the oven it’s hot enough to hurt somebody.
Can You Make Green Bean Casserole Ahead Of Time?
Yes, and I’d plan on it if you’re cooking a whole Thanksgiving dinner. Assemble everything except the onions that go on top, cover the dish, and refrigerate it for up to 2 days.
When you’re ready, pull it out while the oven heats so it isn’t going in ice cold. Bake it as written and add about 10 minutes to the 30 minute bake, since it’s starting from the fridge. The topping onions go on at the end the same way. Don’t put the topping on ahead of time. They go soft sitting in the fridge overnight and then they never crisp up properly.
On Thanksgiving morning my oven has a turkey in it and a lineup behind that, so anything I can build 2 days early gets built 2 days early.
Why Is My Green Bean Casserole Watery?
The beans. It’s almost always the beans. Canned green beans sit in liquid and they hold onto more of it than you’d think. Drain them in a colander, give the colander a good shake, then let them sit a minute and drain again. If you want to be thorough about it, pat them dry with a paper towel.
Frozen beans are worse for this. Thaw them all the way and press the water out before they go anywhere near the soup.
The other cause is pulling it out of the oven too early. It should be bubbling around the edges, not just warm. If it still looks loose at 30 minutes, give it another 5 and check again. I’ve served a watery one. It got eaten anyway, but I knew.
Can You Use Fresh Or Frozen Green Beans?
Both work. For frozen, you’ll want about 2 pounds. They’re already blanched, so just thaw them completely and drain them really well. Frozen beans carry a surprising amount of water.
For fresh, about 2 pounds again. Trim them, cut them into bite sized pieces, and boil them 5 to 6 minutes until they’re tender but not falling apart. Drain and cool them before they go in, because raw beans won’t soften enough in 30 minutes in the oven.
Fresh beans give you more bite and a brighter green. Canned give you that soft, familiar texture. Neither one is wrong, they’re just slightly different casseroles.
Can You Freeze Green Bean Casserole?
You can, but I’d freeze it before it’s baked rather than after. Assemble it without the topping onions, cover it tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and bake as written, adding 10 to 15 minutes since it’s going in cold.
Freezing it after it’s baked works too, it just comes back softer. The beans go limp and the sauce can separate a little as it thaws. It’s fine. It’s not as good. I don’t usually bother freezing this one, since it takes 10 minutes to make and I’d rather make it fresh.
What To Serve With Green Bean Casserole
- Turkey, obviously. This is a Thanksgiving dish first and everything else second.
- Ham at Christmas or Easter, where it works just as well.
- Mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy, because they’re all going on the same plate anyway and this is the only thing on it that isn’t beige.
- A roast chicken on a regular Tuesday. There’s no rule that says you have to wait for a holiday, and I don’t.
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Pork and Beans
- White Chicken Chili
- Many Bean Chili
- French Onion Chicken Bake
- French Onion Grilled Cheese
Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, 10.5 ounces each
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce, low sodium
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 cups cooked green beans, or 4 cans (14.5 ounces each), drained
- 1 can French fried onions, 6 ounces , about 2⅔ cups, divided
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a 9 by 13 inch baking dish, stir together the 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, 1 cup milk, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, and ½ teaspoon black pepper until smooth.
- Stir in the 8 cups green beans and about half of the French fried onions until everything is coated.
- Spread into an even layer and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly around the edges.
- Scatter the remaining French fried onions evenly over the top and bake for another 5 minutes, until the onions are golden and crisp.
- Let it sit for 5 minutes, then serve.
Recipe Notes
- Drain the beans well. Canned green beans hold more liquid than you’d think, and that liquid is what makes a casserole watery. Drain, shake the colander, and drain again.
- No bowl needed. The sauce gets stirred together directly in the baking dish.
- Onions go in twice. Half are stirred into the casserole and half are scattered on top in the last 5 minutes so they stay crisp.
- Don’t add the topping early. Fried onions added before baking go soft and never crisp up.
- No extra salt. The soup, the soy sauce and the fried onions bring plenty.
- Fresh or frozen beans. Use about 2 pounds. Boil fresh beans 5 to 6 minutes and drain, or thaw frozen beans completely and press out the water.
- Make ahead. Assemble without the topping onions, cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. Add about 10 minutes to the 30 minute bake since it’s going in cold.
- Storage. Keep leftovers in the fridge up to 4 days, covered. Reheat in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes. Freeze unbaked for up to 3 months, without the topping onions.
Nutrition Information
Frequently Asked Questions
Cream of chicken is a straight swap and tastes a little milder. If you want to skip the cans entirely, that’s a different recipe and I’ve got one over on JoCooks.
Not if you’re using canned, they’re already cooked and ready to go. Fresh beans need boiling first, and frozen need thawing and draining.
Plain green beans, yes, dogs love them. The casserole, no. There’s onion in the fried topping and a lot of salt in the soup, and onion isn’t good for them. Solo has shared his opinion on this policy and it has been noted and filed.
Two days in the fridge, covered, with the topping onions held back until it goes in the oven.
They either went on too early, or the casserole wasn’t hot enough underneath when they went on. The topping only needs 5 minutes, but it needs to land on something that’s already bubbling.
Yes, in 2 separate 9 by 13 inch dishes. If you put it all in one deep pan the middle takes forever and the edges overcook while it catches up.
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