Everyone loves this classic holiday side dish—and it takes about 5 minutes to prepare.

This Green Bean Casserole recipe has tender green beans and crispy fried onions in a cream shortcut sauce. It’s topped with crispy onions and baked until bubbly.

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Why This Green Bean Casserole Appears On Every Holiday Menu…

  • 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 days in advance and bake before serving (see notes).
  • Serve anytime: Perfect for a holiday meal or alongside a Sunday supper like meatloaf.
mushroom soup , cheese , milk , green beans , soy sauce , fried onions , seasoned salt with labels to make Green Bean Casserole

What You’ll Need For Green Bean Casserole

Green Beans – You can 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. Swap it for a homemade version or any flavor of “cream of” soup such as cream of celery.

Crispy Fried Onions – French’s Crispy Fried Onions adds both flavor and a bit of crunch. A less expensive store brand works great in this recipe.

Green Bean Casserole ingredients in clear glass bowl

Variations

Cheese: Cheddar cheese is a great addition to green bean casserole sauce.

From Scratch: Swap out the soup for mushroom cream sauce and replace the onions with fried shallots.

Garlic: Add minced cloves of garlic cooked in butter or a dash of garlic powder.

Topping: Swap the crispy onions with ¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs mixed with 1 tablespoon each melted butter and parmesan cheese.

How To Make Green Bean Casserole

There’s a reason this dish has been around for years: It’s simple. It’s delicious. It’s perfect in every way. Full recipe below.

  1. Cook Beans: Simmer fresh or frozen green beans (no need to cook canned beans) and drain well.
  2. Mix Sauce: Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir in the green beans, some crispy onions, and cheese if you’d like.
  3. Top & Bake: Bake for a bit and then stir. Top the green bean mixture with crispy onions and bake until golden and bubbly!

Voila!

Recipe Tips

To double this recipe: Prepare as directed and place in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Add 10 minutes to the cooking time.

Slow cooker: If your oven is full, this recipe can be made in a slow cooker or crock pot—full details here.

Green Bean Casserole in a white baking dish

How To Make Green Bean Casserole Ahead of Time

  1. Prepare as directed, except store the crispy onion topping in a separate container or sandwich bag. Refrigerate for up to 48 hours.
  2. Remove the casserole from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before baking.
  3. Sprinkle the onions on top, bake as directed, adding up to 10 minutes of extra cooking time if needed.

How To Freeze

Prep this green bean casserole months in advance! Prepare as directed and freeze before baking. Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed, adding 15 minutes to the baking time.

Travel Tip

If you’re taking this dish to a gathering, prepare everything as directed and skip the last 10 minutes of baking. Cover with aluminum foil, wrap it in a towel to insulate the heat, and place it in a cooler or insulated bag.

Once you arrive, top with crispy onions and bake until hot and bubbly!

Green Bean Casserole on a white plate

Fun Fact

This recipe has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame! Green bean casserole was originally called “green bean bake” and was developed for Cambell’s Soup Company in their test kitchen by Dorcas Reilley in 1954. It’s sometimes called French’s Green Bean Casserole and is a holiday favorite!

Did you enjoy this Classic Green Bean Casserole? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!

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Green Bean Casserole

Tender green beans, cheese, and crispy onions are tossed in a delicious creamy sauce and then baked!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Author Holly Nilsson

Equipment

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Ingredients  

  • 4 cups frozen cut green beans thawed, 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.
  • If using fresh or frozen green beans, boil just until tender crisp (see notes).
  • 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 2qt or 8×8 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
Optional additions:
  • 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese mixed into the sauce (favorite!)
  • fried mushrooms, onions, garlic, and/or shallots
Cheese: If adding cheese, you can mix the cheese in with the soup for a cheesy sauce or sprinkle it on top after stirring. I prefer to mix it into the sauce.
Slow cooker:  Prep the green bean casserole as above and cook in a 4qt slow cooker on low for about 2-3 hours. Once heated through, turn the slow cooker to warm. If your slow cooker is larger than 4qt, double the recipe.
Make ahead: This casserole can be made up to 48 hours ahead of time—store the topping on the side until baking. Remove the casserole from the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking. You may need to add 10 minutes of extra cooking time.
Leftovers: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. 
 
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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
Cuisine American

© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.

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About the author

Holly Nilsson is the creator of Spend With Pennies, where she creates easy, comforting recipes made for real life. With a passion for nostalgic flavors and simplified techniques, Holly helps busy home cooks create delicious meals that always work. She is also the author of “Everyday Comfort,” which promises to inspire even more hearty, home-cooked meals.
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Comments

  1. Simple and delicious! I used fresh green beans which I think is the way to go. I doubled the recipe and the beans needed par boiled for about 9 minutes. Other than that I make the basic recipe, no cheese and it’s amazing!5 stars

    Reply

    1. Hi Russell, the crispy onions can be added into the casserole and used as the topping without additional cooking. If adding fresh garlic and onions to the casserole, we recommend cooking them first for the best result.

      Reply

  3. I’ve made this recipe with extra pan fried onions and cheese and I replaced the mushroom soup with cream of celery (I don’t like mushrooms) and everyone loved it !5 stars

    Reply

  4. I made this recipe with (a generally good level of) confidence (given the # of very positive ratings and alternatives for making it) for a Thanksgiving (bring a dish) event today. This was a total hit. I used Holly’s recipe exactly as listed: with her recipe link for the “creamed mushrooms” (with fresh mushroom sauté..) instead of the can of cream of mushroom soup AND I added the cheese (optional). At dinner, it got positive comments, “Oh my, who made the green beans? … they are so good”. But when it came time to request “leftovers” to take home, EVERYONE wanted to take some home. YES! Another GREAT recipe from Holly! Highly recommend!5 stars

    Reply

  5. I made a double recipe for Friendsgiving and there are NO leftovers. I made it vegan with unsweetened soy milk in place of dairy milk, & used the vegan condensed mushroom soup recipe from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken. it was perfect. second year I’ve made this for thanksgiving and I think I’ll make it always. thank you!!!5 stars

    Reply

  6. Thank you for your easy to follow recipe! I am also enjoying reading your replies to other reviews lol happy Thanksgiving!5 stars

    Reply

  7. What should I do if I want to use a regular (non-condensed) cream of chicken soup instead of the condensed cream of mushroom soup?

    Reply

    1. The consistency is different, it will be quite runny.

      While I can’t say for sure how it would work since I haven’t tried it, you can try thickening the soup. Bring 10.5 oz soup to a low bowl. Combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Drizzle it into the boiling soup while whisking to thicken, you may not need all of the cornstarch mixture.

      Another option would be to make homemade condensed chicken soup.

      Reply