We all grew up eating the classic green bean casserole, right? My Mom made it every Thanksgiving, complete with canned cream of mushroom soup and french fried onions on top. I actually really liked it. But as I got older, I stopped using canned soups in most recipes, and the idea of making a fresh green bean casserole became more appealing. I think you’ll love it as much as I do!
Ingredients needed:
green beans sweet onions extra virgin olive oil white sugar whole grain bread butter mushrooms garlic all purpose flour chicken broth dry sherry half and half cream kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make Fresh Green Bean Casserole:
The complete printable recipe is at the end of this post. The first step is steaming the green beans and then draining them. Next caramelize the onions. Sauté them with a little olive oil and sugar until golden and soft and sweet. Pulse bread or bread cubes in a food processor with butter, salt and pepper. Combine the bread crumbs with the caramelized onions, and set aside. This will be the topping for the fresh green bean casserole.
The next step is making the mushroom sauce. Mushrooms and garlic are sautéed in butter and salt/pepper. Flour, chicken broth, sherry and half and half are added in to create a creamy mushroom sauce. The sauce is then combined with the cooked green beans.
The bean and mushroom mixture is then transferred to a baking dish. The caramelized onion bread crumbs are distributed on top.
DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING RIGHT AWAY:
Preheat the oven to 425°F, and bake for 20 to 30 minutes.
DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING LATER:
Transfer the green bean mixture only to a baking dish. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When ready to bake, return the casserole to room temperature (it takes about 2 hours to reach room temperature). Remove the plastic wrap. Heat in a preheated 425°F. oven for about 30 to 35 minutes. Add the topping and bake for another 15 minutes.
It’s so delicious made with fresh green beans instead of frozen or canned. The recipe is really a game changer in terms of how good this fresh green bean casserole turns out. Everyone will note how much better it is than the original! It will pair perfectly with your mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce.
This recipe is easy to make gluten-free too! Just use gluten free bread, gluten-free flour or cornstarch as the thickener, and make sure your chicken broth is gluten free as well. Enjoy!
