Green bean casserole is a Thanksgiving staple that gets a facelift by using fresh green beans and adding cheddar cheese.
Keeping Tradition
Thanksgiving is a holiday steeped in tradition and I can’t remember a Thanksgiving without green bean casserole on the menu. While tradition can be sacred, its also important to leave room for you traditions to evolve. Familial situations, locations, who’s at your table, and tastes are all going to change with time. So it was time to let this dish evolve.
For years we made the recipe off the can of cream of mushroom soup, but the all canned casserole needed some freshening up. While not deviating too much, this recipe holds fast to its roots while incorporating fresh green beans and mushrooms.
Green Bean Casserole Ingredients:
- Green Beans: We’re going fresh for this dish. Luckily most American grocery stores have them on sale and in plentiful supply heading into the final weeks of November. For this dish I like to cut the ends off of the beans, then cut them in half to mimic the size of the canned green beans.
- Mushrooms: I like a baby bella in this dish. I find their taste to be deeper and a little earthier than their white button cousin, and they’re easy to find in most stores. That said, if you like white buttons, use while buttons. In this casserole I like to chop the mushrooms so that they are similar in size to the chopped onions.
- Onions: Don’t look surprised, onions are in everything that tastes good. Any onion will work, but I gravitate towards white or cooking onions for this.
- Chicken Broth: You’re going to be boiling your green beans in chicken broth and wondering why you’ve never done it before.
- Cheddar Cheese: Cheese makes everything better and green bean casserole is no exception. Pile it on and melt it up! If orange looks to foreign for a dish you’re expecting to look green, give a white cheddar a shot. The slightly salty and nutty flavors work well with mushrooms.
- Cream of Mushroom Soup: A classic can of Campbell’s will serve you well. Choose your own sodium level, but you know I’m going full because its a holiday and I love myself.
- Crispy Fried Onions: These crispy boys are the star of the show and it wouldn’t be thanksgiving without them. The recipe calls for 3 ounces, but I’m not going to tell anyone if you treat that as a guideline instead of a rule.
Pro Tips
- If you’re feeling adventurous, try substituting a can of cream of asparagus soup for the cream of mushroom soup.
- Hold back a few of the crispy onions to add back on top of the casserole when you add the cheese
- If you’re doubling this recipe… and you should be doubling this recipe, you can put it in a 9×13 dish and keep the same cook times listed in the recipe.
Green Bean Casserole
This holiday classis casserole gets a facelift by adding fresh beans and cheddar cheese
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Green Beans (sliced)
- 3 Cups Chicken Broth
- 3 Tbsp. Butter
- ½ Cup Mushrooms (Sliced)
- ½ Cup Onion (Diced)
- 1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup (10 ¾ Oz)
- 3 Oz Crispy Fried Onions (Like French's)
- 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese (Shredded)
- Salt and Pepper (To Taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter and sauté the mushrooms and onions until the onions are translucent, about five minutes. In a separate sauce pan, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Once boiling, add the green beans to the broth and boil for 10 minutes.
- After boiling, drain the green beans and add them to the mushroom and onion mixture. Then add the Cream of Mushroom Soup, Crispy Fried Onions, and Salt and Pepper to taste.
- Stir the mixture well, then pour it into a greased 9×9 baking dish. (if doubling the recipe, use a 9×13). Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, then add the cheese and cook an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and melted.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- If doubling this recipe, bake in a 9×13 dish and keep the same baking instructions as above