Everyone loves Green Bean Casserole with tender green beans and crispy fried onions in a shortcut cream sauce. It’s topped with more crispy onions and baked until browned and bubbly.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Fast prep: It needs just 5 minutes of prep—it’s the easiest side dish ever.
- Use any kind of green beans: It can be made with fresh, frozen, or canned green beans.
- Make ahead: Make this casserole a few days in advance and bake before serving (see notes).
- Serve anytime: Perfect for a holiday meal or alongside a Sunday supper like meatloaf.
Ingredient Tips For Green Bean Casserole
- Use fresh, frozen, or canned green beans:
- Canned green beans have a softer texture and require no prep—drain and stir (personal favorite).
- Frozen green beans require no cutting and have a tender-crisp texture. They should be boiled for about 5 minutes, and you’ll need to add extra salt.
- Fresh green beans have a tender-crisp texture and a fresh flavor. Simmer for 8 minutes.
- Sauce: Condensed cream of mushroom soup is the base of this casserole and makes it easy to prep. Use any flavor of “cream of” soup, such as cream of celery.
- Crispy Fried Onions – French’s Crispy Fried Onions adds both flavor and crunch.
Variations
- Cheese: I love to add cheddar cheese to the green bean casserole sauce. Try other favorite cheeses.
- From Scratch: Swap out the soup for mushroom cream sauce and replace the onions with fried shallots.
- Garlic: Add minced garlic cloves cooked in butter or ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Topping: Swap the crispy onions with ¼ cup of Panko breadcrumbs mixed with 1 tablespoon each of melted butter and Parmesan cheese.
Prep Ahead Tips For Green Bean Casserole
- Prepare as directed, except store the crispy onion topping in a separate container or sandwich bag. Refrigerate for up to 48 hours.
- Remove the casserole from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before baking.
- Sprinkle the onions on top, bake as directed, adding up to 10 minutes of extra cooking time if needed.
Did you enjoy this Classic Green Bean Casserole? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Green Bean Casserole
Tender green beans, cheese, and crispy onions are tossed in a delicious creamy sauce and then baked!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups frozen cut green beans see notes for canned or fresh beans
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of mushroom soup 1 can
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon seasoned salt more to taste
- 1½ cups crispy fried onions divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the frozen green beans and boil until tender crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine green beans with soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, salt, 1 cup of crispy onions, and cheese if using (see notes). Transfer to a 2-quart or 8×8-inch baking dish.
- Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes or bubbly.
- Remove from oven and stir. Top with remaining onions and return to oven for an additional 10 minutes or until golden.
Video
Notes
Green beans: Canned, fresh, or frozen beans work in this recipe. In place of frozen beans, you can use either of the following:
- drain 2 (14 ½ ounces each) cans of cut green beans
- 1 ½ pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and simmered for about 7-8 minutes
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese mixed into the sauce (favorite!)
- fried mushrooms, onions, garlic, and/or shallots
Nutrition Information
Calories: 112 | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 475mg | Potassium: 190mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 409IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole, Side Dish
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Why doesn’t this give the amounts of each ingredient. I didn’t see the measurements!
Click the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post.
confused on the frozen green beans….
do I just thaw them and then mix into the casserole to bake or do they need to be boiled first?
thank you! I’m excited to try this today. I usually use canned French green beans.
They need to be boiled first until tender—they won’t soften much as they bake.
Thanks for your fast reply! Happy Thanksgiving!
Can I use seasoned can green beans plus putting the seasoned salt? I don’t want it too salty and this will be my first time cooking green beans caserole
Yes, you can use seasoned green beans—I would suggest mixing it all together without the salt and having a little taste (everything in the recipe is safe to consume before cooking) and decide if you’d like to add the salt.
Absolutely amazing!
hello holly!
i love your recipes and they are often the ones i find to be my favorite.
i am planning on using fresh green beans and cutting them in half lengthwise. will this change the recipe very much or should i just cut them into little chunks as pictured?
thank you for all you do!
You’re so welcome, glad you’ve enjoyed the recipes. While the time may vary, boil them in salted water until tender. They won’t soften much more as they bake. Enjoy!
i am planning on preparing this dish tonight and then baking it tomorrow morning around 9:30 because we should be leaving the house no later than 11:00 to get to our destination by noon.
should i blanch the green beans before combining everything?
Yes, they should be cooked before mixing it all together. They won’t soften much when baked.
thank you! i hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving!
I have something that needs to be in the oven at same time at 375. How you recommend I adjust the time? Thank you!
I would check the casserole at about 20 minutes, if it’s heated through, you can stir and add the onions on top and continue cooking until they’re lightly browned.
If making ahead of time, do I still put the fried onions into the mixture? Or should I wait until I pull it out of the fridge to bake?
I know the fried onion topping goes on before I bake.
The onions in the mixture can be added, the onions for on top should be kept on the side.
wanted a good green bean casserole
Thank you Holly this is perfect.
I know green bean casserole is traditional. Any thoughts on using frozen mixed vegetables instead of just green beans?
I think that would be a delicious idea! You’ll want to simmer them just until tender before using. Let us know how it goes!
If I 1/2 the recipe how long do you suggest I cook it for?
I would suggest baking it for about 15 minutes or so before stirring and then adding the topping and baking for another 10 minutes. It should be fairly hot by the time you stir it and add the topping.
What do you do about the topping if making it in the slow cooker? When do I add it and will it still get golden brown? Thank you!
Once cooked through, turn the slow cooker to warm. To get a toasty topping, place the remaining crispy onions in a dry non-stick skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted. You could also put them in the air fryer for a minute or two if you have one. Sprinkle on top for serving.
did you consider leaving the measurements for us laymen. would be nice.
You bet James! They’re just above this comment box. You can also click the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of any post to view the full recipe and measurements.
Thinking about adding some fresh sautéed portobello mushrooms to this recipe and making it ahead of time. Do you think the mushrooms would hold well if making it 48 hours ahead of serving? I’ve made this exact recipe before and was delicious but thinking about adding more depth to it.
If you sautee them first, they will be great and hold up well!
are the crispy onions store bought or do we caramelize them ourselves?
I use French’s Crispy Fried Onions.
Easy to follow recipe.
What type of cheese do you recommend?
I love sharp cheddar.
I made it for the first time for dinner at a friend’s, and it was a total hit!!
Planning to make this tmr (tripled) and I was wondering if I would perform all the steps (aside from the crispy onion and baking) then just leave it in the fridge to bake tmr?
Yes, that would work. You’ll need to add a little bit of extra cooking time if you’ve tripled the recipe.
Would you recommend making the homemade condensed mushroom sauce or the creamy mushroom sauce? Also, are both of those good as-is, without adding soy sauce and milk?
The mushroom sauce is a bit richer, the homemade condensed soup is a replacement for the canned soup in this recipe vs. being its own sauce. If using the condensed soup, you will want to add the soy sauce and milk.
If I wanted to try the recommended homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup in place of Campbells (1) If doubling casserolle recipe then just double the homemade soup recipe as well? (2) Do I still add the milk and soy sauce?
Yes you will double the homemade sauce. No, you do not need to add the milk or soy sauce.