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.
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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
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Great recipe. I used 2 cans of soup because I had extra green beans. Also added garlic and a big handful of grated cheddar.
You said in place of fried onions you can use bread crumbs and butter. Could you tell me how, please?
For the topping in place of crispy onions you could make a mixture of bread crumbs and butter (just enough to help it all stick together) and spread it over top.
Yum!
Question, which may not be answered in time for me making this(tonight) it doesn’t state if you are talking about condensed cream of mushroom soup or ready made.
Thanks in advance:)
Nic
I use condensed cream of mushroom soup (and do not add the water/milk called for on the can). Enjoy the recipe Nic!
This recipe is absolutely delicious as is! My daughter LOVES when I add some bacon and caramelized onions.
I made this recipe for tomorrow’s Easter dinner, I prepared a separate ramiken for my supper tonight and it was delicious. I know my family is going to love it. Thank you and God bless.
I have read all the positive reviews and I’ll be making this with my Easter dinner but I just needed clarification on one thing please. If I use frozen beans and thaw them then do they go directly into the casserole but if they are frozen then I boil them for 5 minutes? Thank you
I perfer them when they’ve been boiled as they’re more tender.
Absolutely delicious, everyone loved it. Make sure to add the cheese! Made for Easter !!
Can I use cream of chicken instead? I’m allergic to mushrooms.
It will change the flavor but should still turn out great!
This is such a yummy fav for my family. I add a couple tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, a couple dashes of tabasco, extra sliced mushrooms and a can of drained sliced water chestnuts for added crunch. Garlic would be a nice touch as well.
I sauteed fresh mushrooms and added to this recipe in it really enhanced flavor.
I live in a retirement community, and I made this for our monthly neighborhood potluck. I doubled the recipe, and it was a hit. Everybody LOVED it. This will be one of go-to sidedishes from now on. Thank you!
great recipes thanks
Always one to tinker, my tweaks to make this inspired but my own: One 12oz bag of frozen green beans (organic here), 1/2 can cream of chicken soup (my kiddo is dicey regarding mushrooms), 1/4c milk, 1/2T oyster sauce (Maekrua brand here, authentic OS in Asian markets), 1/4c salted pumpkin seeds, 1/4tsp Old Bay seasoning, plus a 1/4c of dried onion flakes (rotating cupboard stocks). The flavors ramped into awesomesauce land!
Those sound like delicious variations! Thanks so much for leaving a comment
Gotta say I didn’t love this one. It was way too runny…I doubled the recipe and ended up scooping out two cups of liquid at the end. I think the recipe could have skipped the milk altogether. I was expecting a nice cheesy, bubbly dish and got bean soup. Also found it way too bland…I increased the portions of the seasonings, then added onion and garlic powder, smoked paprika and a good dash of mild hot sauce. Still in the end it was just ok. Won’t make this one again.
Sorry this recipe didn’t turn out as expected, Zyna. Usually it’s a reader favorite! Did you use condensed soup or did you add milk to the soup?
When you say ‘simmer’ fresh green beans, I am assuming you mean in a pan and not in a boiling pot of water. There is some confusion there. Can you please specify, thanks
We boil the green beans before adding to the casserole in step 2 so you will want to simmer then until tender-crisp. I hope that helps!
Absolutely amazing! I’ve always turned my nose up to green bean casserole but this recipe has me sold. Only this recipe though! I used cream of onion instead of the cream of mushroom and it was so yummy. Don’t pass this recipe up, try it!!!
Silly question, what size casserole dish are you using. I’m looking forward to making this today.
Hi John, we use a 2 qt (or 8×8) dish for this recipe. Let us know how it turns out for you!
I’m worried the commercial crisp onions are made with palm oil. Have you got a recipe to make crispy fried onions at home with some more sustainable oil?
Here is our recipe for Crispy fried onions that uses vegetable oil. I hope that helps!
I made this for a gathering we are having tonight and I would suggest adding the size of pan to your recipe card. It just lists “casserole dish” but doesn’t make a note on the size of the dish pan in the recipe card. I thought one batch would fill a 9×13 pan one batch only fills half that, maybe an 8×8 pan. I just printed off the card, so an exact pan size would be helpful in the recipe card in addition to the serving size.
Hi Sarah, we use a 2 qt (or 8×8) dish for this recipe. I hope that helps!
Directions for frozen green beans say boiled, but note says simmered. If I thaw them out, do they need to be boiled? Or is it best to boil instead of thawing? If so, how long usually for frozen green beans until a pot of boiling water?
I would cook frozen beans in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Let us know how this dish turns out for you!