Let me start out by saying that I LOVE GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE. And I mean the canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup, mushy, casserole-y, classic that I eat 4 helpings of on Thanksgiving. That being said, my husband doesn’t love it. He doesn’t like any canned vegetables. I think he is crazy, but that doesn’t mean I want him to starve. So a few years ago I started making him this fresh version and he absolutely loves it so now it’s a tradition for me to make both each year. This one isn’t much harder than the canned version, it just takes more time. But trust me, it’s worth it!
The recipe’s key is the homemade “cream of mushroom soup” which is actually a mushroom gravy that you pour over fresh green beans. There is no replacement for French’s fried onions, in my opinion, so those stay in the recipe. Please give this homemade green bean casserole a try and let me know how it stacks up to the classic!
Ingredients
1 lb. fresh green beans – trimmed and cut
2 + 1 Tablespoons butter
8 oz. white mushrooms – sliced
2 garlic cloves – minced
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half & half or cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup French’s Onions
Salt
Pepper
Additional 1 cup French’s Onions for topping
How to Make Homemade Green Bean Casserole
First, you want to get your green beans ready by snipping off the ends and cutting them into rough bite-size pieces. This is optional, but I don’t like trying to maneuver whole green beans on my fork.
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Once the water is boiling, add your green beans and let them cook for 5 minutes, until they’re bright green.
Use a slotted spoon to remove all green beans from the boiling water and into a large bowl of ice water. Set aside.
For the gravy, melt the first 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan on medium heat, then add your mushrooms.
Let saute for about 5 minutes, until they’re brown and soft. Next, add your garlic and saute for another minute.
Stir in your flour and another tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle in your salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg, and let the flour get brown, about 3 minutes. It will almost look like your mushrooms are coated in a paste.
Add your chicken broth and bring it back up to a simmer, still on medium heat, for about 2 minutes. It will thicken up quite a bit.
Pour in your half & half or cream and stir regularly until thickened, about 8 minutes.
Drain your green beans and add them, along with the 1/2 cup French’s Onions to the gravy.
Transfer everything to a baking dish.
Sprinkle the French’s Onions all over the top.
Bake at 400-degrees for 15 minutes, until the top is golden and the gravy is bubbly.
Cookware
Here are a few cookware options to help make this recipe easy!
- Saute Pan – I like to use a sauté pan for this recipe. The wider surface area makes it easier than using a saucepan.
- Enamled baking dish – I LOVE these dishes for casseroles. The enamled surface makes cleanup a breeze.
- Microplane/Grater – This is my number one kitchen tool. I love to grate my garlic directly into dishes so that it melts in and gives a garlicky flavor with no big pieces.
Could You Use Frozen or Canned Green Beans?
Yes, absolutely! I make this with fresh green beans because that’s my husband’s favorite. But, if you just want to zhuzh up your classic green bean casserole, you can by all means use canned or frozen green beans in place of the fresh. The homemade gravy is so tasty, it will liven up any kind of green beans you have in your kitchen.
How to Avoid Mushy Green Beans
I think my husband loves this homemade green bean casserole recipe so much because the green beans have such a nice texture. They’re not overly crispy but they’re also not mushy. The key here is blanching the green beans before you add them to the recipe.
Blanching is the process of putting vegetables in hot, boiling water to cook them briefly, and then placing them in ice water to stop the cooking process at the exact doneness you want.
I babysit my green beans while they’re in the hot tub. Using a fork, I test them every minute or so until they’re the doneness I want. The fork will pierce them with just a tiny bit of resistance. Then you know they’re done.
Homemade Green Bean Casserole Tips
- Blanch your green beans before adding them to this recipe to avoid an over-crunchy texture. A quick 3-5 minutes in boiling water makes them perfect.
- Use room temperature half and half and chicken broth to avoid lumps in your gravy.
- Make sure you cook your flour for at least a minute before adding your liquids to the gravy. This cooks out any raw flour flavor. But don’t overcook it, once it starts turning brown, you’ve gone a little too far. It won’t ruin the flavor, but you want a nice creamy, light gravy.
- If using frozen green beans, thaw them before adding them to the recipe.
- If using canned green beans, be sure to drain them well before using.
Homemade Green Bean Casserole
This homemade green bean casserole recipe uses fresh green beans, homemade mushroom gravy, and the classic French's fried onions.
- 1 lb fresh green beans (trimmed and cut)
- 2+1 tablespoons butter
- 8 oz white mushrooms (sliced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced or grated)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1/2 cup French's Onions (+ More for topping)
- Salt
- Pepper
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Trim the ends off the green beans and cut them into bite size pieces.
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Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot
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Add your green beans and let them cook for 5 minutes, until they’re bright green
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Use a slotted spoon to remove all green beans from the boiling water and into a large bowl of ice water. Set aside.
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Melt the first 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan on medium heat and add your mushrooms.
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Saute for about 5 minutes, until they’re brown and soft
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Add your garlic and saute for another minute
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Melt the additional tablespoon of butter and then sprinkle in your flour. Cook for 3 minutes
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Add your chicken broth and bring it back up to a simmer for about 2 minutes until very thick
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Pour in your half and half and sprinkle in your salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper
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Simmer, stirring often, until thick and creamy. About 5 minutes.
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Drain green beans and add them, along with 1/2 cup French's onions, to the mushroom gravy mixture
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Transfer everything to a baking dish and top with more French's onions
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Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400-degrees until it's bubbly and brown on top.
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