Everyone loves a classic green bean casserole recipe with tender green beans and crispy fried onions in a shortcut creamy mushroom sauce. This is a perfect Thanksgiving side topped with crispy french-fried onions and baked until golden brown and bubbly.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
I love green bean casserole, it reminds me of holidays from my childhood. This version is great because…
- Fast prep: It needs just 5 minutes of prep—it’s the easiest side dish ever.
- Versatile: 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 Notes
- Use fresh, frozen, or canned green beans:
- Canned green beans have a softer texture and require no prep—drain and stir (my personal favorite).
- Frozen green beans require no cutting and have a tender-crisp texture. They should be boiled for about 3-5 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.
How To Make Green Bean Casserole
There’s a reason this dish has been around for years, it’s simple. It’s delicious. Perfect in every way.
- Cook Beans: Simmer fresh or frozen green beans. (drain them if they’re canned)
- Mix Sauce: Combine mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce, and salt & pepper (full recipe below).
- Toss Together: Add the sauce, green beans, some crispy onions, and cheese to a bowl.
- Top & Bake Top the green bean mixture with more crispy onions and bake until golden and bubbly!
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.
Green bean casserole needs to cook for about 40 minutes at 350°F. If your green bean casserole has been in the fridge, you will likely need to add some extra time!
Yes, it can be prepared up to 48 hours ahead of time. Add about 10 minutes to the cook time when reading to bake.
Yes, this casserole can be frozen. Prepare as directed and freeze before baking. Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed adding 10 minutes to the baking time.
More Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Did you enjoy this Green Bean Casserole? Be sure to leave a rating and comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups frozen cut green beans see notes for canned or fresh beans
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 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 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
- drain 2 (14.5 ounce 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
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.
You mention you use a 2qt casserole dish – is that equal to an 8×8 square? Thanks.
Yes, an 8×8 is perfect!
If we add cheese to this recipe as you recommend as a variation, should we use mild or sharp cheddar cheese?
I prefer sharp cheddar as it has more flavor.
When using frozen green beans, do you cook them frozen in the casserole?
This is in step 2 of the recipe.
2. If using fresh or frozen green beans, boil just until tender crisp.
do you have an approximate time for how long to boil until they are tender crisp? the recipes notes describe a time for fresh green beans, but not for frozen.
I cook them in boiling water about 5 to 7 minutes. You can take one bean out and taste it and see if it is cooked soft enough to your liking.
does frnch cut beans work?
Hi Becky, French-style cut green beans do work for this recipe, but remember they’re thinner than regular ones. So, adjust the cooking time, they’ll need less time to cook :)
I see my question about adjusting the size is answered in the other questions – but how about cooking time in the crockpot? If I am making 1.5 the recipe in the crockpot does the cooking time change also? And what about traveling – should it be fully cooked at home and then transported? thank you
Hi Patty, In the oven, if you’re heading to someone else’s house for dinner, do everything except the last 10 minutes of baking and bring it along with us covered in tin foil! Top with crispy onions and finish baking until hot and bubbly!
In the crockpot, you can fully cook it at home on low for about 2-3 hours. Once cooked through, turn the slow cooker to warm. I would turn it back on warm once you arrive at your sisters. If your slow cooker is larger than 4qt, I would recommend doubling the recipe. It shouldn’t require you to adjust the cooking time. But it might take a bit longer to fully reheat once at your sisters though.
Hi Holly, I am planning to make this in a crockpot and driving it to dinner, due to my sister’s lack of oven space.) I need it large enough for 12 adults. Would I double or maybe 1 and 1/2 the recipe? And if the amount changes, does the cooking time change also? Thanks, looking forward to trying this recipe.
Doubling the recipe will give you lots of yummy leftovers! It shouldn’t change the cook time by much when made in a crockpot. You may need to give it a little extra time to fully cook.
I too would like tips on making in crock pot.
To cook in the crockpot, prepare as directed and cook on low about 4 hours or so. Once hot, you can leave it on low. The topping may not crisp up as well so the onions can be added about 30 minutes before serving.
I want to make this for 12 servings how should I adjust the ingredients and what size dish?
Since this recipe yields 8 servings, multiply all ingredient quantities by 1.5. You might need a slightly larger casserole dish and a bit more baking time. I hope this helps!
Does this do well in the crockpot? Or is it preferred as a baked dish?
Hi Kassie, this can be cooked in the crockpot. Prepare as directed and cook on low about 4 hours or so. Once hot, you can leave it on low. The topping may not crisp up as well so the onions can be added about 30 minutes before serving.
How hard is it to add a size of casserole dish instead of just generically linking to amazon where I still don’t know what size dish I need.
I use a 2qt casserole dish but this can be baked in any size of dish ranging from 1 ½ qt to 2 ½ qt. Hope that helps!
Has anyone tried making this recipe in a crock pot as it suggests can be done? Want to make it, but not having enough oven room!
What casserole sized dish do you recommend for this recipe? The link to the dish doesn’t specify what size you recommend! Thanks! Looking forward to trying this.
I use a 2qt dish.
If I’m prepping this the day before Thanksgiving, do I cook it at all that day or just prep it all and bake the next day?
You can do either, I prefer to prep it and bake it just before serving.
Sooo, for this year’s Turkey Day festivities, I have been delegated with the preparation and presentation of the Green Bean Casserole (in James Earl Jones voice). Umm yeah, it’s kind of a big deal, so I don’t want to mess it up. lol Your recipe options include fried mushrooms, onions, garlic, and/or shallots. If desired, how much of each should I use when frying them up? I know the easy answer is “to taste”, but that doesn’t help those of us who shouldn’t deviate too far from the recipe. Thanks!!
When adding mushrooms, I add about 6 oz, sliced and then fried. For onion, I would suggest 1 small onion or about 1 cup sliced and cooked until tender in butter. You can add 1 to 2 cloves of garlic, I would recommend cooking the garlic with either the mushrooms or onions. Enjoy!
So I am using canned green beans and when I adjust the number of servings for the recipe, all of the items under the ingredients heading adjust with the number of servings selected. However, the amount of canned green beans listed in the notes section doesn’t change if I select 4 or 10 servings. I am looking to make either 6 or 8 servings.
For 4 servings you would need 1 can (14.5oz)
For 6 servings you would need 1 ½ cans (14.5oz each)
For 8 servings you would need 2 cans (14.5oz each)
For 10 servings you would need 2 ½ cans (14.5oz each)
Made this for the Thanksgiving side dish November cooking challenge. It was delicious. I added in the suggested extras of cheddar cheese, fried shallots and garlic and then also put some buttered panko bread crumbs mixed with parmesan as well as the suggested cheddar cheese over the top at the end. Decadent and very tasty. Thanks for the recipe!
Sounds delicious, Sarah!
If I double the recipe and add cheddar cheese would I also double the cheddar cheese? 3 cups of shredded cheese seems like a lot.
If you double the recipe, you can double the cheese as well. You can certainly add a little less if you’d prefer.
If making 2x or 3x the portion does the cook time need to be adjusted?
Yes the cooking time will need to be increased.
What size cooking dish needed for this recipe?
I use a 2qt dish.
What kind of cheddar cheese should I use? Mild, sharp, medium? Can’t wait to make this, I’ve never had green bean casserole.
For this casserole, we actually top it with crispy fried onions not cheese!
It is a little confusing because your ingredients picture shows shredded cheese and you mention cheese in the narrative but then in the recipe there is no cheese.
Hi Pamela, cheese is an optional ingredient listed in the ‘notes’ section of the recipe. It’s a delicious add-in, I would highly recommend it!
I made this recipe exactly as published as a “test-run” tonight before T-Day to narrow down the sides I want to serve and it’s hands-down the best green bean casserole I’ve ever tasted! I used frozen green beans and cooked them in boiling water for about 5 minutes and I found the texture to be perfect and pleasing when biting into a forkful of the casserole.
Thank you for sharing such a terrific recipe!! Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Thanks for the comment, Martin!